Aeriens

Aeriens are the most anatomically distinct of the humanoid races. Their lungs are slightly larger, and their respiratory systems are capable of processing the thin air of upper altitudes without needing the gradual change to adjust that other races do. Their hearts also beat slower and stronger in order to keep blood supplied to their wings and extremities. On each side of their head are three "spire feathers," which help them sense atmospheric changes as well as protecting the short points of their ears from the cold. Aerien eyes outwardly look similar to those of other races', but internally they are built more for distant vision. They also have an additional eyelid, a thin, clear membrane that extends from the corners of the eyes while in flight and prevents them from drying out and protects them from small debris.   Besides arms and legs, each Aerien has a pair of wings, the bases of which are set between the shoulder blades and connect to the spine and ribs. They have no less than a twenty foot wingspan, with some as large as thirty feet. The wings fold via the elbow and wrist joints to rest across their backs, with the "lower arm" portion of the wing extending just above their head and ends of their primary flight feathers equal with their calves or ankles. Aeriens' wings vary in shape from longer soaring wings to more rounded wings more suited to short, swift flight. Both shape and plumage are genetic, though coloration often skips a generation and it is not uncommon to see Aerien children with wings very different from their parents'.

Aeriens can stand from under 6 feet tall to just over 8. Their females, on average, are almost half a foot shorter than males. They are significantly heavier than other humanoid races due to the extra bone and muscle structure of their wings. On average, they live 110 to 120 years, which is relatively short compared to the other humanoid races. This is due to complications caused by the structure of their spine in relation to their wings and differences in their respiratory and cardiovascular systems to support flight. It simply takes (relatively) less time for their systems to fail in age. The longest lived Aerien to date was 152 when she died, though with recent medical advancements their lifespans may be able to be extended.

The gestation period for Aeriens is 12 months. The fetus develops without growing a significant amount until the last 3 months, allowing the mother to continue flying as normal until near the end of her pregnancy. The wings barely begin development in the womb, their structure clinging to the infant's back to allow passage through the birth canal. Aerien mothers are by far the most likely of the races to require surgery to aid in child birth, as should the wings be misaligned it is disastrous for mother, infant, or both. With intermarriage between Aeriens and other humanoid races as common as any other mixed blood match, it is clear that wings are an extremely recessive trait, requiring both parents to be Aeriens to form.

Aeriens mature in thirty to thirty-six years, reaching adolescence at around age twenty-four. They say their first word between two and four years of age, and can speak in complete sentences at around eight. Aerien's wings stay small until after the infant is able to sit upright on their own, usually at about eight months. At this point the wings begin to grow rapidly until the child is about a year and a half old, at which point they are rather oversized and remain so until late adolescence, growing at the same rate as the rest of their body. At this time, Aerien children usually are taking their first steps, and they begin giving experimental flaps as they attempt to fly. They go through the final molt of their baby down feathers no later than two years of age and learn to fly at the same time that they are mastering walking independently. Aerien parents typically use carrying harnesses while traveling with young children, as while they are able to sustain flight at two and a half to three years old, their navigational abilities do not develop until the age of ten or twelve.

Aeriens tend to live in small family groups within larger communities. A married couple leads their children, usually two or three, as a single unit. The father teaches the children history and self-defense, and the mother teaches them about folklore and any religion they follow as well as teaching them how to fly. All other duties are split between them. Until they have families of their own, grown children live with their parents. As they get into late middle age, the couple will either move in with one of their children's families, if they are ailing, or live near them, if they are still able to live independently. When an Aerien with children is widowed, they are encouraged to remarry after a few years in order to maintain this social structure.

Aeriens typically have much more pronounced noses than the other humanoid races, sometimes rudely referred to as "beaklike." Their eyes tend to be deep-set and can be yellow, green, or blue, with yellow being the most common. Those with lighter skin often freckle. They have thick hair, sometimes straight but usually wavy, and their males can grow thick, full beards.

Aerien's eyes are built for excellent distance vision, though this varies between individuals. Some can simply make out faces across a large room, while others can see the details of a town while soaring a thousand feet above it. However, this is a trade-off. The Aeriens with the best distant vision are farsighted, needing assistance for close tasks such as reading. Many took to carrying a pair of reading glasses with them once they were invented.   The appendages known as "spire feathers" due to their feather-like appearance have nerve endings at their tips and are sensitive to changes in wind direction and atmospheric pressure. This allows Aeriens to adjust their flight and find the best wind currents, as well as giving them a warning when a storm is on the way.

Aeriens in the past often used the common or Avin names of birds for their children, with Wren (for females) and Finch (for males) among the most common. More recently, while bird names are still regularly used, they are not as prevalent apart from the Avin translations, some parents preferring Avin or Avin-sounding names such as Atrus or Verina. As surnames came into regular use, an Aerien would use their plumage colors to choose a bird name that would then be passed down throughout the family line. While this is fairly common, as with the Thrush family of Dularia, there are others who use surnames that are more tangentially related, as with the Stormcrows of Caeruleus.

Aerius was the original language of the Aeriens. Few writings remain, and those that do are mostly indecipherable due to Aerius having an entirely different set of letters than those used by Avin or the common tongue. Avin, the language later spoken by the Kyrren Empire, remains preserved in historical documents and naming conventions although it has not been truly spoken in centuries. It served as one of the bases for the common tongue, as well as a few other languages including Kyran, spoken by those descended from refugees of the fall of Kyrr, and Caelish, in the southern country of Cael that was settled by Aeriens in the second century after the founding of Kyrr.   Along with spoken languages, early Aeriens also developed hand signals to use while in flight. These signals have changed over the centuries, with more being added until communication could be clear even when unable to hear each other. However, there was no complete language using these signs until Lalu of Tavirach and her partner Chaviers filled in the gaps. Lalu began teaching the newly developed sign language in 792 Fiendfall, and since then, it has grown widespread.

Aerien culture values physical strength and ability. This includes flight, hand-to-hand combat, and typically one or more weapons. Mothers teach their children to fly, while fathers train them in hand-to-hand combat. Once they reach adolescence, one of their parents or another adult in their community may train them with the weapon of their choice. They consider it their duty to serve in their country's military for at least 10 years of their early adulthood, using their strength to serve their people. If they live in a mixed country, it is unusual for women to be allowed into the army. Aerien women within such nations often serve as peacekeepers within their smaller communities and work alongside local militias, though a few turn to vigilantism.

Based on a number of cave drawings within the region, the earliest Aerien civilization was most likely within the Rentran mountain range on the north side of the Tihravehl Peninsula. No other signs remain, and it is probable that the area was abandoned due to the abundance of dangerous wildlife still prevalent all along the Rentrans. They found the Dragonspire Mountains more to their liking, as evidenced by the Aerien city-state of Feathermont, the largest Aerien settlement in the world.   Most Aeriens remained in the Dragonspire Mountains, founding a country called either Eyracus or Aevicis based on records of nations who traded with them. The capital city was called Avix, and there are a few surviving historical documents within Feathermont that refer to it, as well as the crumbling state of the nation due to war with a nation to their south they call Tyrix, likely referring to early Tirba. The ruins of this nation are close to the base of Pennamons Peak and the surrounding mountains, and there are many stone structures with architecture similar to that of Feathermont. Most likely, the founders of Feathermont left this ancient nation as they saw it was nearing its end, moving their civilization to a more defensible position on the mountainsides.   For the centuries after the founding of Kyrr (1 Kyrrfind) by mixed-blood humans of primarily elvish and Aerien descent, Feathermont prospered due to allying itself with the rapidly growing empire. During this period of time, some groups of Aeriens grew discontent with their reliance on an empire that could easily conquer them should it wish to, as well as lack of room to expand in Feathermont. Many of them flew south into Kiervel, and traveled across the sea in a convoy of Nerisien ships to the continent of Daisterro. Wanting a nation of their own, they crossed over the Safiquieol Mountains, almost impassable to the Nerisiens, and settled on mountainsides surrounding a valley. This grew into the nation of Cael.   After the fall of Kyrr, Feathermont diminished in influence, though of the nations around them, they were the only ones to resist invasion by the wyvern Fiend and her forces during her first conquest. Upon her return, they allied themselves with Tirba against her and played an instrumental war in defeating her forces. As peace returned and communication opened with the Arinnian Empire, Aeriens from both Feathermont and Cael traveled there. Those who preferred to live primarily among other Aeriens joined together to found the province of Caeruleus from newly acquired territory in the Frostshield Mountains in 938 Fiendfall.