Belaul

Belaul
Leader	None
System	Razor's Rift
Homeworld	Paperweight
Capital	Yr'sh'eya
Allies	Twice-Departed
Enemies	Unknown

Morphology and Physiology

A hardy race of avian bipeds native to Paperweight, with four-taloned hands and feet, sharply curved beaks and wide-spanning wings that adorn their shoulder blades, with feathers longer and thicker than those that cover the rest of their bodies. A top layer of glossy, waterproof feathers cover downy, soft feathers underneath, all of which vary in color between phenotypes, from black through to white, gingery colors, blonde and brown and even a pale blue coloring that tends to only be found in entirely tundra dwelling individuals, who tend to live in underground burrows or caves rather than the trees favored by the more populous tribes. The skin on their thickly muscled arms and calves is generally pure black. They have large eyes adapted to a world of almost-permanent twilight, which are usually golden-brown or orange, though green tones appear infrequently as well. On average their height range is shorter than most species, with many standing taller than an Elgan, or roughly equivalent to a Human, with some significant variation in more isolated populations.

They have adapted to live in a tundra, and so have thick plumage and deep downy underfeathers, as well as strong wings and legs that are not quite powerful enough to lift their relatively bulky bodies into the inclement weather for long enough to grand them sustained flight. They are generally long-lived, living up to around 250 years old. They can eat anything, but are naturally carnivores, and are excellent at fishing, which they often do by cutting holes in the ice. They can swim very well, and are able to avoid immediate hypothermia thanks to the insulation provided by their waterproof feathers, but seldom do so due to the risks and extreme discomfort posed by their frosty climate. They are omnivores, who need a lot of high-protein foods, for which they prefer meat and fish, and with which they supplement fruits, vegetables, fungi and other herbs, including crops of fichi beans, tanata root, arrine, fallu sedge, chikurri, and a variety of herbs and leaves from the forest.

Height ranges: 75cm - 200cm

Age ranges: 16-250

History

Originally at home in the rolling meadows, wooded foothills and sparse forests of the cool and temperate Paperweight of yesteryear, a slow creep towards an Ice Age was beginning to cause ecological and social changes across the many nomadic Belaul tribes, recorded with modern telemetry as early as 212 A.E. following the crash of the Li'Gon. As the climate continued to shift, resource shortages and an increased need for shelter, food and warmth led the roaming tribes to found permanent settlements in the most protected locations, typically in mountain caves, hill burrows, within the woodland realms of the belfir forests, or for those lucky enough, within the greatest millennia-old belfir giants. It is thought that many matters of technological, cultural and historical importance to the Belaul were lost in this decades-long dark age as their societies restructured.

Reproduction and Development

After mating, a female Belaul will lay several eggs, which are typically cared for at home within a nest of soft furs and leaves, or given over to the communal creche for centralised egg-care services. After hatching, the chicks are reared within the creche by experienced Belaul irrespective of gender identity, who care for the young Belaul by keeping them warm and fed, playing with them, telling them stories, and providing them with the beginnings of an education.

After the chick begins to lose its infant down and gain its flight feathers as it nears 20 years of age, they will typically join society as an adult and find a satisfying niche to fill, or cultivate a mentorship with a more experienced adult in a field that appeals to them - the most popular fields are the traditions of hunting, herblore and ecology.

Culture

Belaul are a thoughtful, calm and perceptive race, of very intelligent and highly intuitive people, who have adapted to the sudden and nigh-apocalyptic climate change with grace, choosing to come together to guarantee care for all individuals, including the environment in which they live. Large-scale industries are absent from Paperweight's Belaul population, who see little good in diverting a great deal of time and resources into securing a surplus, particularly if it will do harm to the land form which it is taken - as a result, the Belaul tend to be highly ecologically conscious, taking active roles in land management and conservation.

They tend to mate for life, forming strong connections of trust and care for a chosen partner. Their society is matriarchal, with egg-laying women granted a special place of protection in the shelter of their Nests, and this deep respect for women means that they are often more readily favored in the otherwise meritocratic selection of tribal chiefs. These chiefs, called Wings, are chosen for their strength and endurance, and their wisdom and foresight respectively, becoming the Wing of Leading Wisdom and the Wing of Guiding Strength. Neither is considered to be better or more important than the other; both are seen as necessary for survival in the harsh and endless winter. As a whole, they are incredibly protective of the weaker or more marginalised members of their community, which acts like a large extended family, typically extending that welcome to travelling Belaul of other tribes.

Forming a close connection to the natural world as a necessary means of survival and a source of truth, Belaul have a rather animistic perspective in which the spirits of the animals and plants are personified in aggregate, and have profound understanding of the world, which wise Belaul must reflect on and practice. Many Belaul will dedicate themselves to a particular spirit like a patron, immersing themselves in the experience of the animal in order to better understand its teachings, before ultimately moving onto another spirit, or returning to the mundane demands of the Nest. Other spirits exist as well, though the increasing levels of abstraction tend to make the lessons these teach more complicated and less personal, including the Deep Water, the Forest, the Mountain, and perhaps most importantly, the Hearth, which is the spiritual center of their community.

The settlement of Yr'sh'eya near the refuge of the Li'Gon is known as the Hearth of Many Stars, and they dwell inside an enormous ancient belfir tree, which they consider to be a living spirit named Mymaeir.

They are seldom gifted with kith affinities and few Nests maintain kithlore traditions with which to teach new users, who are typically left to cultivate their own gifts as a result. They are surprisingly technologically advanced, which is often overlooked because of their seemingly organic way of life - they just believe in respecting nature and only doing what is necessary. Their advanced technology is limited to what is needful, but can go toe to toe with modern space-age tech found across the sector, with their specialty lying in wireless energy transmission, optics and glassworking, solar power and small-scale terraforming.

They enjoy music, and have a complicated tonal language which they incorporate into songs and storytelling, and they enjoy a variety of low-tech arts and crafts, including rudimentary holograms, wood- and stone-carving, bone and ivory scrimshaw, dye-making, weaving and textiles.