Aelsa
The aelsa are a protean, angelic race that were created by the now absent god Aelasar. While they can now be found in enclaves throughout Vyril, they are native to Lossul and primarily still reside there. Members of the species typically thrive in districts attached to another city or settlement, but they do sometimes create their own communities that have a low or nonexistent population of other races. The largest aelsa city, Mengaladin, sits nestled amid some of Lossul's tallest mountains.
Basic Information
Anatomy
As with many of the races on Vyril, the aelsa are a bipedal, humanoid race. However, they differ from many other species in that they are born with feathered, angelic wings and are fully capable of flight. To some degree, their ability to do so may have a magical component, but the aelsa themselves have never seen any purpose to questioning this ability.
Though it varies by family lineage and geographic subgroups, aelsa range from between 5' to 7' tall. Some isolated enclaves may have heights skewed one way or the other, and even mild sexual dimorphism in some sense, but at base members of the race are roughly the same size. They tend to be a bit lean, but a skeleton-thin aelsa would still be considered unhealthy. Their features are elegant, graceful, and refined. For their size, they are often quite strong.
An aelsa's hair, eyes, feathers, and skin tone all trend toward shades of white or grey, silver, gold, brown, and other metallics such as bronze or copper. Variations from this coloration usually indicate a non-angelic influence in the bloodline. They have no "standard" complexion, so individuals may be as pale as snow or as dark as the night in which it falls. Some families may be more prone to one than the other, just as some lineages are marked by distinct wing patterning while others are not.
Growth Rate & Stages
The gestation period for an aelsa lasts about a year. They grow to adulthood in a few decades and after reaching maturity can live for many thousands of years. Once they are adults, they cease to age in the way that a traditionally mortal race might. Aelsa may become more stately and wise, their features less childish, but they do not develop common signs of aging such as lines, achy joints, or mottled skin. Only when an aelsa is truly old will their appearance begin to change.
At this stage, a physical glow will begin to creep through their body. This may manifest as luminous eyes, light seeping through their hair, or even "cracks" of brilliance spreading across their skin. The process does not impede functionality, as it is more a metaphysical, magical transformation -- the sign that an aelsa is nearing the end of their natural life and thus growing closer to their "perfect self" as they will exist in the afterlife. Likewise, this luminescence will affect their aura, signalling that it is time for them to put their earthly affairs in order and spend time with loved ones who are still mortal. These aelsa are often entrusted with messages to ancestors or other family and friends who have previously passed on.
When an aelsa dies, their body dissolves away into formless light that will then move between the planes. They do not leave behind a physical body to mourn, but those remaining may erect a small shrine, decorated with items important to them during life, where they will pay their respects.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
In addition to the standard senses that most humanoids possess, the aelsa also have the ability to detect the auras of others aelsa. It does not extend to members of different species, but the capability does allow them to determine factors such as relative health, age, and mood. Though it is a separate sense unto itself and thus not reliant on sight, most aelsa describe the auras in terms of bright versus pale or shaded. Subtle differences between these things can provide clues to when a loved one is worried or not feeling well, and a certain aspect of glow only develops with age.
Civilization and Culture
Culture and Cultural Heritage
From the moment they were made, the aelsa have been, and have remained, somewhat clannish and private. While they are quite willing to interact with and live among other races, they keep their personal business and traditions to themselves. When hosted by a city or settlement where they are not the most populous group, they often fill in whatever societal niche would otherwise be lacking -- and their business acumen often translates into a profitable turnaround in doing so. It is rare to find a destitute group of aelsa, and they are all but guaranteed to not remain that way for long. Given their extended lifespans and ability to suss order out of apparent chaos, they possess a marked skill for making sound financial decisions and lucrative long-term investments.
Often, this translates into careers within banking, accounting, or roles as artisans. When they aren't turning their talents toward economics, aelsa still retain the sense of craftsmanship and aestheticism they inherited from Aelasar. Even those who don't pursue an occupation as such will entertain some manner of creative hobby. Much like the church they once shepherded, their creations emphasize the ability for functional items to still hold beauty. Their architecture, clothing, and crafted goods all feature some combination of swooping, natural lines or intricate geometric patterns. Even "simple" items are made with care and ascetic elegance. The ability to marry these two concerns represent the highest pinnacle of art to their people, regardless of what form the physical object, academic taxonomy, or organizational structure might take.
Despite their apparent aloofness, aelsa are highly social within their own kind. Hierarchies are important to them, but they are not beholden to that order, and moving among aelsa society is relatively easy. Their precise natures and exacting attitudes might appear to lend well to pettiness or grudges, but in reality most aelsa have a healthy dose of being able to let things go. After all, they are all reunited in the afterlife forever; the differences of opinion or loyalty that might plague them during their mortal lives are, ultimately, trivial things that will be left by the wayside. In this sense, they are connected beyond the mere bounds of the physical plane. No matter their personal disagreements, aelsa will always support other aelsa when it counts.
History
In the days of ancient Lossul, Aelasar created the aelsa to be his messengers. Unlike some servants of other gods, however, they were never meant to be unquestioningly subservient or slavish to their originator. Rather, Aelasar granted them existence in order to bring a little more order to the universe and so that they might function as extensions of his will and doctrines. At the time, aelsa often served as guides within the god's church, teachers for his mortal followers, and even artistic muses to particularly gifted worshippers. Those aelsa who had completed their mortal lives then became guardians of Aelasar's realm and arbiters of the afterlife that opened to individuals who had been faithful to the deity during their lives.
Just as the rest of the Church did, the aelsa one day discovered that they could no longer hear Aelasar's voice. The god that had given them life appeared to simply have vanished, and no trace of him remained beyond the aelsa themselves and his now silent chapels. For a time, his loyal angels sought their deity -- or at the very least endeavored to learn his fate. No other being claimed to have killed him, and Aelasar had left behind no indication where he might have gone. As mortal followers fell away from his worship to those of gods whose influence could still be felt on the plane, the aelsa likewise disavowed their former patron. They now see his disappearance as, at worst, a betrayal: but most view it as a personal failing on Aelasar's part and now carry with them the aloof disillusionment of divine creations who were abandoned.
Rather than letting Aelasar's realm fall -- and thus so their afterlife -- the aelsa have continued to maintain it as their personal paradise. It is administered to by a council of ancestors, and each aelsa who finds their way there tends to its upkeep. They likewise continue to protect the souls of Aelasar's former followers who found themselves in the realm upon death.
On the mortal plane, the aelsa have since spread far beyond the bounds of their former home. Mengaladin remains their central and most recognized settlement, but groups of aelsa have now made a place for themselves in all corners of Vyril. They often enjoy a symbiotic relationship with other races in their region, particularly since their skills as organizers, architects, and craftsmen make them a popular addition to countries and city states.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Owing to their origins, the aelsa consider themselves a chosen people. This leads to a certain sense of superiority over other races, though they are always gracious about these differences, even if their attitudes may seem superior. Toward others, they typically seem aloof and distant; even their actions with other aelsa, when observed by an outsider, may seem very cold. To groups who do not share the same sense of connectivity and community, the way they conduct themselves often appears alien.
Aelsa that entertain even temporary dalliances outside their race are relatively uncommon, and those who engage in devoted relationships are even rarer. This arises in part due to the nature of their afterlife, wherein non-aelsa are not necessarily guaranteed a place. They see members of other species as typically beholden to other gods, and the idea of spending the rest of eternity without a loved one seems utterly tragic, even barbaric, to the hyper-connected aelsa.
On occasions where they do produce children from mixed unions, their genetics prove strong and often supersede even dominant characteristics from other species. While a non-aelsa coloration might shine through, their offspring almost always appear more like their angelic parent -- ie, they will bear fully formed wings and the ability to fly, shine with a similar kind of radiance, and age in much the same way. Mixed blood aelsa are still welcomed into their traditional afterlife.
Lifespan
Several thousand years
Geographic Distribution
Comments