Nerisiens

At first glance, Nerisiens may seem like there is nothing that sets them apart physically from other humanoid races. Their main difference is small but significant. They have slight changes in throat structure that give their vocal cords a wider range of sounds that they are capable of producing. This difference makes Nerisiens the only humanoid race capable of actually speaking draconic languages, and allows them to more easily alter their voices for entertainment or disguise.

While Nerisiens can live to be 100 years old, they typically live to 80 or 90. Relatively speaking, they are one of the longer-lived races, likely due to their reverence for the elders among them. Their males and females are, on average, about the same height, standing anywhere from five and a half to seven feet tall. They do not typically have as active a lifestyle as Selkens or Aeriens, riding on their long journeys rather than walking or flying, but the work necessary to maintain their lifestyle keeps them in good physical condition.

The gestation period for Nerisiens is about 9 months. By the end of the pregnancy, the mother needs help getting around and is unable to comfortably ride a horse. In the nomadic tribes, this means stopping for a few weeks to help the family prepare for the birth, which is a difficult process. Despite the difficulty, if there are no complications then both mother and baby are often capable of travel a day after the birth.

Nerisiens mature in about 18 to 20 years, reaching puberty at 12 or 13. The areas of the brain that involve memory and language develop faster than in other races, with babies often saying their first words at 9 months old. Their understanding and vocabulary increase rapidly, and they are able to speak in incomplete phrases at 18 months. Parents encourage this by telling them stories and prompting them to repeat them back, something they are often capable of at 2 years of age. However, their physical and magical capabilities develop a bit slower than other races, with children taking their first steps between 15 and 18 months old. Nerisien mages show their first element typically between the ages of 5 and 7, and often struggle to fully control it until they are 9 or 10.

Nomadic Nerisiens travel in tribes, groups of families led by their elders. These elders serve as the heads of their extended family, as well as coming together with the rest of the tribe to make decisions. The entire tribe shares a large flock of livestock, often sheep, as well as a herd of horses that bear them and their burdens, being tended by members of each family. As they do not stop to farm, the nomadic tribes trade with the other races or with settled Nerisiens, exchanging meat, bone tools, and woven clothes for grain and vegetables.   Should a tribe of Nerisiens decide to stop wandering and find a place to stay, the elders choose an area of land with access to water and fertile land and construct a town. The elders serve as a council, governing the settled region as it continues to grow. Even then there are members of the community who wish to wander, and they either split off from the settlement to become a separate nomadic tribe or serve as traders, always circling back to their home.

Nerisiens typically have round to oval faces with rounded ears and flat noses. They have round eyes that are a bit larger on average than those of the other races and colored either brown or black. Their hair ranges from wavy to extremely curly, with their males able to grow thick, curly beards.

While Neriizar is not used in daily speech any more, it remains as the Nerisien's naming language. Names such as Laviin and Terchilz are common among traditional Nerisien families. However, there are other families who use languages learned from other races for their naming, to signify their closeness with those around them. Whichever language they choose, they pick meaningful names, whether positive traits that they hope their children will possess (Terchilz means courage) or words with strong positive connotations (Laviin means melody). Surnames are chosen in the same way by an individual when they come of age, with children being known by both of their parents' surnames until adulthood.

Neriizar, the oldest language of the Nerisiens, is still used in their naming practices. Unique among the ancient languages, there are still a few capable of speaking it, reciting the oldest stories in their original forms. However, while they maintained their connection to their original language, they allowed it to change as their world did. Among the natural linguistic changes they also deliberately worked to develop a new one. As they learned the languages of the other races, they considered what parts of each were easy to learn, and near the end of the Integration Age they had cobbled together an early form of the common tongue. With the widespread conquest of Kyrr, Avin became an important influence on the development of the common tongue. In 415 KE, Emperor Vydrus declared the common tongue the official language of the empire. While the elites in Kyrr continued to speak Avin, the controlled territories now were better able to communicate, enhancing trade within the empire. Even after the fall of Kyrr, the common tongue continued to spread, thanks to the Nerisiens who were eager to teach it to those they traded with.

Nerisien cultural heritage is one of an oral storytelling tradition. Different tribes and nations that are now distant from each other geographically still tell variations of ancient folktales. Their storytellers memorize not just old and new Nerisien tales and songs, but also those of other races. They value discovery, not from a technological standpoint but from a cultural one. The Nerisien tradition of storytelling continues with their travelers retelling their journeys through prose or song, or creating tales of what could lie ahead in a new land. More bards and minstrels are Nerisien than any other race due to their widespread cultural belief that stories and song connect all peoples.

The origins of Nerisien culture are traced back through their oral tradition to the Oltochiia Desert, when it was a fertile area. Geographical studies suggest that a branch of the Kirus River originally split off near the source in the Dragonspire Mountains and flowed southeast through Oltochiia. However, rockslides due to erosion eventually blocked off this branch, leaving only the sparse rainfall to water the land. Ancient stories and songs refer to "the withering" as the Oltochiia region grew drier and what was once productive farmland was left a wasteland.   While some tribes continued to live within the desert, surviving off of the plants and animals able to thrive within it and resting at oases, others journeyed out of the Oltochiia region. One major group, an alliance of three tribes- Olzuph, Maac, and Chentisiir- found that the Morolti Mountains just west of the desert received significant rainfall on their western face, and decided to settle there. Their initial settlements eventually became the kingdom of Amiira, which due to treaties made with the nomadic tribes within it also contains the Olotchiia Desert and the ore deposits within it.   The Nerisiens who had no wish to settle continued on, journeying throughout Terraris and going on to cross the ocean. They quickly made a name for themselves as traders and entertainers, and served as the greatest connection between races in the early Integration Era. Allying themselves with Selken clans, they settled lands in Overdeep, Eshilrans, and Daisterro. Learning the arts of shipbuilding and navigation from the Selkens, many became seafaring merchants, while others sought out new lands that they eventually settled. There are still Nerisien nations and tribes being rediscovered in the inland regions of Eshilrans and Daisterro.