Ash Demi

A proud and reclusive race who live in the smokey Ashlands of the east. The Ash Demi are able to survive in the barren conditions due to a number of factors; their transparent, secondary eyelids help keep upturned ash and sediment from getting into their eyes, their slow metabolisms allow them to go weeks without needing food, and the soot-covered fur covering their bodies keep them camouflaged from predatory monsters. The Ash Demi have gone through a few name changes throughout history, being named the "Beast People" in the ancient times and then "Wind Demi" after their powers of wind control was discovered. Finally, their own self-given name of the Ash Demi came about after the great earthquake nicknamed "Melka's Snore" reshaped the eastern lands of Latani and plunged the eastern coast into a grey wasteland of ash and soot from the constant smoke from the newly formed volcano range nearby. The word "demi" refers to the term demi-magic or half-magic, which describes species who have fractions of magical power. Like the two other variant races of Demi, the Wind Demi have small fractions of magic within them, for them it was the essence of controlling the air around them in bursts and torrents of wind. When it was first discovered, many other races made fun of their seemingly useless and harmless powers for years, but when the ash began to fall like rain around their homes, the Ash Demi realized they could use their bursts of wind to blind enemies and hide themselves using the ash, the jokes slowly stopped after that.   The Ash Demi are quadrupedal, their beastly forms do not immediately indicate sapience, but they can talk and think just as well as any other person. Their thick fur can be anywhere between short to shaggy, and can range from colors of beige to gray to brown and everything in between. Black stripes run along along their bodies in various patterns, which is the main way Thern differentiate themselves from other individuals besides from using their incredible sense of smell. The long, sharp quills on their backs and shoulders help deter predators, while the longer quills on their targe, flat tails are able to be detached and flung as an efficient form of attack. Many Ash Demi warriors also use their wind powers to fire these tail quills at extreme velocities and with increased accuracy, these quills can all grow back with time. Their bodies start out slender and athletic when they are young, and never stop growing as they age, growing bigger and more muscular, trading their natural speed and agility for brute force and power. Their size ranges from 3 feet tall to the shoulder as a young adult, to over 7 feet tall as an elder, with people describing their appearance as wolflike to wolverinelike to bearlike as they mature. Ash Demi can balance back on their hind legs to grab things with their clawed front paws that have two apposable thumbs on each paw, which allows them to build and handle objects more easily than if they had more animalistic paws, though they still prefer to walk on all fours. Ash Demi have wide heads and powerful jaws filled with sharp teeth that are actually direct extensions of their skull, not as separate bones. They don't have much when it comes to facial expressions, but their tails and ears do well to express their otherwise hidden emotions.   Due to life in the colorless and silent Ashlands, the Ash Demi are very quietly spoken, if they even speak at all, the art they make is common but not complicated, and the food they make is equal parts too bland or too intense according to almost every other race in Latani. It is rare to see an Ash Demi leave the great smog of the Ashlands, but when they do it is usually just to escape the dreariness of their home for a short while, though most are content to stay in such a dreary place, for they believe that simplicity is a gift to be cherished as long as possible. Ash Demi are often stereotyped as no better than wild animals when it comes to some of their mannerisms and ways of hunting, they are said to be like a pack of wolves as they bring down prey with just their teeth and claws. In reality, they actually use their tail quills like arrows and spears to launch at prey. Many seem to underestimate the Ash Demi when it comes to their intelligence and warfare, mostly because of their animalistic forms, but the Ash Demi have made many advancements to their weaponry that allows them to become all the more dangerous. Iron masks that fit in and around their jaws are lined with long iron fangs to pierce armor and tear flesh more efficiently, and metal claw extensions and blades are fitted to their arms and paws for the same effect. Along with their reflexes, leadership, bulk and simple but effective tactics, the Ash Demi have barely lost any of their territory in the many centuries of warfare in their history.   Back when the humans were first banished to Latani within the great pillars of light, one pillar landed to the east in the lands of the Wind Demi, the humans began to build the great city and castle named Ruma, which infringed on their lands, the battles that followed, aptly named the "Eastern Conflicts" were very much one-sided in favor of the human's superior dark magic, so the Wind Demi were forced into smaller and smaller sections of land. This continued until a great earthquake more powerful than any other recorded in history drastically altered the entire eastern face of Latani, giving birth to the Lava Range, Ashlands and Deadwood Forest. The Wind Demi seized this chance to attack the great city as the earth continued to shake and as the land was in the process of burning and crumbling. They attacked in full force, taking the city with ease with their overwhelming numbers and newfound use for their powers. After that, the newly named Ash Demi seized back control over the western lands and gained a newfound respect and fear in the eyes of the other races who came since.