Axirae
Nomads of the Flooded Paths
The Axirae are a small amphibious people born during the Cradle of the First Rain, their bodies and minds shaped by the emotions that surrounded their creation. With soft features, frilled head crests, and vibrant skin in calming hues, the Axirae wander the waterways of Erenel as nomads of the Flooded Paths, forever in search of places where their hearts feel at peace. Gentle by nature but deeply intuitive, they form powerful emotional bonds and adapt quickly to the energy of those around them. Playing an Axirae means exploring a character whose identity flows with feeling and whose presence brings empathy, curiosity, and quiet resilience to every party they join.
The Axirae were first born during the Cradle of the First Rain, a singular, sacred event in Erenel’s history. After the Great Sacrifice tore the young deities of light, Asanna, Luniwyn, and Rezmir, from their mortal forms, the world grieved. For days, divine sorrow blanketed the sky, and the first rainfall that followed was no ordinary storm; it was an outpouring of loss and love from the land itself. Where this sacred rain pooled, life emerged. From still waters heavy with divine emotion, the Axirae stepped forward, shaped by empathy rather than biology.
The first generation of Axirae were not born but awakened, their forms molded by the ambient emotions saturating their birth waters. This phenomenon, known as emotion-shaped evolution, imprinted their bodies and minds with emotional echoes, giving each Axirae unique physical markings, tones, and temperaments that continue to evolve subtly over time.
by Alec Adams
While their origin was miraculous, Axirae now reproduce like other humanoid species, forming familial bonds and raising young born through natural means. These children still bear the echoes of their ancestral rain, and their evolving features reflect the emotional environment in which they are raised. As the species wander the rivers and floodplains of Erenel, their legacy continues as gentle reminders that life can spring from sorrow and that beauty often follows the storm.
“Follow the Flooded Path not with your feet, but with your feeling. The current does not care where you’ve been. Only who you are becoming.”
Basic Information
Anatomy
Axirae are small, amphibious humanoids standing between 3 and 4 feet tall, with slender, slightly elongated limbs and smooth, slick skin that ranges in color from pale lavender and soft coral to deep teal and iridescent blue. Their skin often glistens with moisture, and subtle bioluminescence traces patterns across their body, especially along their shoulders, cheeks, and back. These glowing lines pulse softly in response to strong emotions, giving Axirae an unintentional but beautiful way of expressing their feelings.
The most striking feature of an Axirae is their external gill fronds, three on each side of the head, which fan out like delicate feathery fins. These fronds twitch when startled and shimmer with their own faint glow Their large, expressive eyes dominate their faces, typically reflecting gentle hues of violet, silver, or green, and are adapted for seeing underwater and in dim light.
While hair is rare, some Axirae grow fine tendrils or frond-like growths along their heads, resembling kelp or soft moss. Clothing is usually minimal and lightweight, woven from river reeds, enchanted silks, or scavenged materials waterproofed with herbal resins. Jewelry made of shells, polished stones, and braided grasses is popular, often worn to reflect moods or signal milestones in a nomadic life.
Growth Rate & Stages
The Axirae are not a long-lived people by traditional standards; yet their lives are marked by vibrant intensity and adaptability. Most Axirae reach maturity around age 10 and live between 60 and 70 years old. However, their unique biology allows for rare outliers, those who experience profound emotional or spiritual clarity may live well beyond a century, often becoming wandering sages or memory keepers.
What truly defines an Axirae’s life is not its length, but its shape. Their bodies subtly change over time, reflecting the emotional landscape they’ve traversed. An Axirae who has known deep sorrow might develop darker hues and more somber frond patterns, while one who has lived a life of joy and connection may appear brighter, with more elaborate bioluminescence. These physical cues become part of how Axirae measure age, not just in years, but in how deeply one has felt, grown, and changed.
by Alec Adams
For the Axirae, death is seen not as an end but as a final transformation as water returns to water. When an Axirae dies, it is tradition to submerge their body in a river or pool, allowing the current to carry their essence forward as part of the great emotional tide of the world.
Behaviour
The Axirae believe that emotion is a current, a spiritual force that connects all living things. To them, every emotion felt is a ripple in the great river of existence, guiding individuals toward their purpose. Joy, sorrow, anger, and hope are not just fleeting sensations but sacred signs, each a nudge from the water's will. This emotional awareness shapes how the Axirae make decisions, form bonds, and interpret the world. They place deep trust in their instincts, believing that strong feelings are never without reason.
Their nomadic lifestyle is more than a tradition; it is a form of spiritual listening. As the Flooded Paths change with the seasons, so too must the Axirae adapt. Settling for too long in one place is seen as emotional stagnation, a refusal to grow. Water guides them to the places and people who need them most. Many Axirae see themselves as emissaries of change, sent by the waters to bring healing, insight, or transformation wherever their hearts are drawn.
“I asked her how she found the trail when there was no river to follow. She smiled, touched her chest, and said, ‘The waters flow where the heart points.’ I’ve been lost ever since.”
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Axirae names are melodic and flowing, often containing soft consonants and syllables that mimic the rhythm of falling water or gentle waves. Names are considered sacred reflections of the emotional resonance present at birth. Because of this, it’s common for parents to consult a community elder to help shape the name through quiet observation of the newborn's emotional aura during their first week’s sleep.
Surnames are rare among Axirae. Instead, individuals are often identified by titles tied to deeds or by their birth group, such as "of the silver current” or "born under quiet storm.”
Masculine Names
Aros, Emek, Kelin, Shoan, Tivar, VenarFeminine Names
Caeli, Esha, Nimue, Rasha, Serai, YinaliCulture and Cultural Heritage
The culture of the Axirae is inseparable from the Flooded Paths, a vast network of waterways, wetlands, and memory-laden rivers that serve as both home and highway. As nomads, the Axirae do not build permanent cities. Instead, they travel from one ephemeral settlement to another, guided by intuition and the emotional pulse of the water. The rivers are their roads, and each stream holds ancestral whispers that shape their daily life and decisions.
Axirae cultural identity revolves around a deep, almost spiritual connection to emotion. Joy, sorrow, longing, and serenity are not just feelings but navigational tools. Young Axirae are taught to "read" water by listening to its rhythm and watching how it stirs when different emotions are present. Settlements are often built on giant lily pads or floating reed platforms that drift slowly with the currents, always in harmony with nature's design. Storytelling, often accompanied by bioluminescent murals painted with glowing sap, is a cherished tradition, and every tale told reinforces the value of emotional truth.
Lifespan
About 70 years
Average Height
Small (about 3-4 feet tall)
The Flooded Paths
The Flooded Paths are not a place marked on maps but a living, ever-shifting network of rivers, lakes, marshlands, and mist-choked lowlands that ripple across Erenel. To the Axirae, these waterways are more than geography. They are sacred, spiritual conduits that connect the world’s emotional resonance. The Flooded Paths are believed to have formed during the Cradle of the First Rain, when sorrow and healing wept from the sky, birthing the Axirae and awakening the memory-soaked currents that pulse beneath Erenel’s surface.
Axirae do not settle in permanent cities. Instead, they nomadically follow the rhythm of the water, tracing the Paths as they shift from season to season. Some regions of the Flooded Paths are shallow and peaceful, teeming with bioluminescent reeds. Others twist through forgotten ruins or snake into treacherous bogs where spirits cling to lingering grief. For the Axirae, traversing these routes is a sacred duty. They believe the Flooded Paths hold the stored emotions of the world, and by flowing through them, they help keep the emotional balance of Erenel intact.
by Dean Spencer
Traveling the Flooded Paths
The Axirae travel the Flooded Paths with a grace that borders on the supernatural, and emotional intuition. Unlike conventional travelers, they don’t rely on maps or landmarks. Instead, they read the "mood" of the water to determine direction and destination. A stream running fast and cold may signal grief or warning, while a still, silty pond might suggest a place of reflection or healing. Every Axirae learns this emotional cartography from a young age, treating each journey as both physical migration and spiritual communion.
To move swiftly across the wetlands, Axirae craft slim, flat-bottomed rafts called driftwings, often woven from reeds or giant lily leaves and enchanted to respond to the rider’s intent. These rafts can glide silently across water. For longer journeys or deeper waters, traveling Axirae may tame giant waterbound creatures such as dire eels or shellbacks that guide them through the shifting currents.
At night, Axirae light their way using bioluminescent moss. When danger arises, they scatter into the water, hiding in submerged tunnels or narrow channels until the threat passes. Some Flooded Paths are so ancient and full of memory that stepping into them is said to briefly blur the line between present and past, allowing a traveler to witness echoes of forgotten times. Because of this, no two journeys are ever the same, and even the same route walked twice may reveal new feelings hidden in the current.
by Alec Adams
Tidebound
When an Axirae loses their empathy, they undergo a profound and unsettling transformation. One not merely of mind, but of spirit and even form. Known among their kind as "Tidebound," these individuals become emotionally stagnant, their once-fluid souls hardening like cracked riverbeds. An Axirae does not fall to evil in the conventional sense; instead, they become emotionally calcified, obsessively fixated on a singular trauma or unresolved feeling that overrides their ability to connect with others.
Tidebound Axirae are marked by physical changes: the natural vibrancy of their frills dulls, their eyes take on a cloudy hue, and their skin becomes more rigid and mottled, resembling dried mud. Their movements lose their characteristic grace, replaced by hesitation or violent bursts of energy.
In most Axirae communities, becoming Tidebound is not seen as damnation but as a call for healing. Communities will attempt to bring the Tidebound back through ceremonies, where emotions are channeled through ritual storytelling and shared tears. If the Axirae cannot be redeemed, they are exiled, not in punishment, but in hope that solitude may one day soften the hardened tide within them. Some Tidebound vanish forever, while rare tales speak of those who return, weeping and reawakened, their empathy reborn like water over scorched stone.
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