Govvari Ethnicity in Ysireth | World Anvil

Govvari

Govvari, or gauflen in their tongue, are one of the oldest kinvaren races outside of the "prime" kinvari (Aeldvari and Duovari). Govvari are acknowledged as kinvari but have always been a minority in culture and population on Harokin.   Physically, govvari are extremely tall and lanky with exaggeratedly long limbs and fingers; if they stand straight, they can range between 8-10' in height, but they move in a perpetual slouching crouch, spine curled and legs bent. Their movement is languid, their legs acting as shock-absorbers for even large leaps or falls, and their frame tends to be leanly muscled rather than bulky and broad.   Their skin is tough and thick, but largely hairless; they come in a range of blues, greens, and purples, from pale unsaturated shades to deep jewel-tones. They do possess a shock of stiff, dense hair on their skull, which can be lighter or darker than their skin tone from near-white to almost black.   Govvari have very large ears that have an Aeldvaren taper to their tips, but govvaren ears tend to protrude outwards from the head at a much more severe angle. Their brows are heavy, their noses large and long and often hawkishly curved, and they possess a pair of tusks that jut sharply from their bottom jaws. They have sharp vision, excellent in dim and dark areas, primarily cued to movement; their color vision is somewhat duller than Aeldvaren vision, making their preferred colors seem too vivid and garish outside of their own people.   Govvari are a story-focused people; they have myths, folklore, ancestral stories, and personal narratives as a centerpiece of their communities and their lives. Everything around them, from home to tool to toy to their own skin, is a canvas for stories and the symbols that stem from them. Most govvari are heavily tattooed or ritually-scarred, and a vibrantly-colorful henna-like substance is used to temporarily decorate children who have not yet earned their permanent ink.   Despite their physical athleticism and their tight-knit communities, govvari have always been outcompeted by Aeldvari and Duovari for natural resources. Warfare in the earliest ages has since been replaced with more civil disputes and jurisdictions, most of which result in govvari being given just enough to survive and otherwise shooed away from the choicest natural resources, such as hunting grounds, farming fields, fishing spots, and foraging places.   The disparity between the "prime" kinvari and everyone else is so eternal and constant that most Aeldvari are unaware of it, chalking up the inequality to consequences of cultural differences.


Cover image: by Ty Barbary via Midjourney

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