Verdandai

-And so Ipkatomac braved the Forest of Bears, Dotalli upon her back, sick with fever, to ask of the harpies in their mountain nests the child's fate. At last she came to the foot of the Perch, and ascended the slope of the highest peak, pursued by beasts and gods both, until the air grew thin and her breath sent forth smoke into the air. Then fell back her foes, unwilling to tread where not even the strongest trees can thrive. Still Ipkatomac climbed, and rested only to feed her babe. Such was the strength of men in those days, that even when she had reached the summit, she did not fall upon her knees. Ipkatomac knew no danger had passed, for she had heard the beating of wings in the nights of her climb, and smelled the carrion stench upon the bitter air, and knew she was not alone. Upon the peak of the mountain she called out to the skies and was heard by her twisted stalker, and Gethra descended to her, to learn what bargain she would make.

   "Any price I can give to you, I shall," said she, for she had forsaken all right to clan and holding in preparation for the journey, "but tell me the fate of my son, and how he might be saved."

   Alighting upon the peak in a flurry of feathers came Gethra, her eyes shining fearsomely with blinding glare, to fix upon Ipkatomac as a still lake catches the setting of the sun. from her tattered wings hung the bones of many creatures, which clacked and whistled in the wind as she flew. "Show to me the child, then, and I shall tell you its fate," said she, "then we shall discuss your payment."

   Out came Dotalli from the pack upon Ipkatomac's strong shoulders, to rest on cold stone before the piercing gaze of Gethra, who studied the child with glee. Out came wicked talons, sharp as obsidian and fast as snakes. Open the child's belly, blood upon stone and feather. Down fell Ipkatomac to her knees, too fast for tears to fall with her. Up swooped Gethra upon a sudden breeze, cackling. "In your face I see my price already paid, and in the sacrifice's entrails I see that Dotalli shall die, and there shall be no saving him, now!"-

Verdandi (pl:verdandai, adj.: verdandar)

Beliefs: personal philosophy, often based on secrets gleaned from the past and future.

Values: secrecy, cleverness, inflicting suffering

Verdandai are a secretive race with intimidating arcane prowess and a hedonistic passion for cruelty and mischief. They have great talent for magics that peer into the past and foretell the future, which has greatly shaped many aspects of their culture. This unique propensity, as well as their solitary and vicious nature, means that verdandai have little mythology or religion of their own. That is not to say that verdandai lack inquisitiveness or a penchant for philosophy; these characteristics are archetypes of the verdandar mindset. Verdandar beliefs are as nuanced as they are private. Being largely self-sufficient and anti-materialistic, verdandai hoard knowledge above all else, using secrets as bargaining chips and delighting in the feeling of superiority that withholding important information gives them.

Biology: variant lifespan, avian, unstable, unique ocular abilities, hollow bones, efficient liver capable of rehydrating off of salivated water and resisting most poisons

Verdandai come in a variety of forms, all of which are wild, chimaera-like amalgamations of humanoid and avian parts. While no two verdandai are exactly alike, they do have a few archetypal forms. (Four-legged, human head, wings; human torso and head, wings instead of arms, bird legs; bird head, human body complete with arms and legs, wings extended from shoulders.)

The most unique feature of the verdandar anatomy, however, are their eyes, which are avian in appearance, and usually golden or silver in color. Verdandar vision is both powerful and nuanced. Verdandai can see for miles clearly and can discern great detail at close range, even in the dark. This last detail is especially important, since verdandar eyes are incapable of seeing the light of the sun, and, by extension, the moon, which appear to them only as dark circles which blot out the light of the ever-present stars. Verdandar hearing is notoriously poor, however, and most verdandai rely on close proximity or lip-reading to communicate.

Mating and family: solitary parent, multiple hatchlings, sparse upbringing

Male and female verdandai are occasionally seized by an instinctive urge to reproduce during a time they refer to as a “continuation.” During this time, a verdandi seeks out a verdandi of the opposite gender and bargains for their aid in conception, often with arcane knowledge or prophecies which might prove useful to their potential mate. If the propositioned verdandi is amenable to such a deal, it is summarily consummated. A short period of time then follows while the female verdandi lays eggs, during which the male is expected to provide fresh kills, the amount of which is usually specified in their agreement, but otherwise leaves the female alone. After the eggs are laid, the verdandai not in continuation departs, leaving their mate to move the eggs to a secret location, where they watch over the eggs during their gestation period, which lasts anywhere from one month to three. During such a time, they recite aloud what knowledge they think will be useful to their offspring, including rituals and spells they wish to pass on. Upon hatching, juvenile verdandai are raised by the parent verdandi for the better part of a year, during which time they are taught only rudimentary language and a single charm used to peer back in time, so that they might learn all else their parent has to offer them. The verdandi then destroys all evidence of their nesting grounds, leaving its offspring to fend for themselves. Often, the parent will return to their nesting grounds at a later date to ensure that it’s location remain secret.

Language: largely self taught, sparse system of glyphs involving specifying time and place of events.

The early accustomation to gleaning knowledge directly from the past has made most written forms of verdandar language obsolete. Instead, verdandai have a set of astronomically-associated glyphs which can be used to specify date and place with great accuracy. In the rare case that a verdandi wishes to make record of some event for posterity or leave a message for another verdandi, they simply speak what information they would like written aloud, and inscribe upon stone a few glyphs to denote the time and place. Any other verdandi coming upon the glyphs might then fly to the location and peer back to that time to view the message or event that was intended to be communicated. Verdandar knowledge of astronomy and its recording is precise enough that many cultures which have had the good fortune to bargain with verdandai for knowledge of these glyphs use them to record dates or to navigate by starlight.

Customs/games: fortune telling, riddle-making, questing for knowledge, bargaining, confounding other sentients.

Government and law: anarchic, oath-based.

Verdandi are, in large part, solitary creatures, preferring the freedoms of travel, the rigor of self-sufficiency, and their own contemplative cunning to the bindings of social structures, the ease of cooperation, and the strength of numbers. However, the verdandar love of secrets, cruelty, and bargaining usually ensures that verdandai never wander too far from civilization. Verdandai who were born stunted or with some deformity, an occurrence made common by the eclecticism of verdandar forms, have been known to form small flocks for protection, but such groups are prone to infighting among their members, and often foist their cruel desires upon others to avoid their malice turning inwards. Such flocks inevitably either tear themselves apart, or else become such menaces to their neighbors that they invite destruction upon themselves.

Technology/magic: potent oracular abilities, mostly natural tools.

Art/clothing: most art forms based off of manipulating the remains of dead creatures. Known for creating eerie bone musical instruments which are powered by natural wind, like flutes, whistles, or wind chimes. Very little clothing.