Hadozee

Appearance

Hadozee are lean, long-limbed mammalian folk with furred bodies and expressive faces somewhere between small monkeys and flying squirrels. Their fur ranges from sandy brown and russet to charcoal and silver, sometimes with lighter muzzles or dark “mask” markings around the eyes. Wide, curious eyes and mobile ears give them constant alertness, and their mouths split into easy grins lined with small, sharp teeth.
  Most distinctive are the membranes of skin that hang between their arms, flanks, and legs. When they spread their limbs, these flaps stretch into gliding wings that let them swoop from mast to mast or branch to branch. At rest, they wrap these membranes around themselves like cloaks against chill winds. Their hands and feet are equally dexterous, each with opposable thumbs, making them frighteningly good at climbing, tying knots, and picking pockets. Clothing tends to be light and layered: short vests, sashes, rope harnesses, and lots of pockets for tools, snacks, and shiny things.

Culture & Society

Hadozee culture grew out of life in the trees, where community and quick reactions meant survival. Even in raftcities, they instinctively build upwards: rope bridges, hanging nests, lookout platforms, and tangle-walks strung above the main decks. Socially, they prefer tight-knit bands made up of extended family and crewmates, where teasing, story-swapping, and communal meals are daily rituals.
  They have a strong tradition of “crew families,” where the line between blood kin and shipmates blurs completely. A hadozee might claim their captain, quartermaster, and favourite cook as siblings without a second thought. Songs and tales celebrate daring rescues, perfect landings, and spectacularly stupid stunts that somehow worked out. Religion varies, but many hadozee favour wind and sky spirits, small household gods of rope and sail, and any sea power that values freedom and wit over rigid rules.

Biology & Lifespan

Hadozee are light-boned and extremely flexible, built for climbing and gliding rather than brute strength. Their wing-membranes let them turn falls into swoops and give them surprising control when leaping between masts or trees, though they cannot truly fly without help from wind or height. Their feet are as nimble as their hands, allowing them to cling, hang, and work upside-down for long stretches.
  They mature a bit faster than humans, reaching adulthood in their mid-teens. Hadozee typically live around sixty to seventy years, with elders often shrinking slightly and gaining extravagant, fluffy fur around the face and shoulders. As they age, many lose some gliding range but gain uncanny balance and a sixth sense for when a rope or beam is about to give way.

Homelands & Environment

The oldest hadozee tales speak of predator-choked forests where their ancestors learned to glide to escape jaws and claws. Remnants of that lifestyle persist in their canopy villages, hidden high in the sea-forests where branches tangle over sheltered lagoons. There they build woven platforms, netted hammocks, and rope-ladders that sway in the breeze and are almost impossible for ground-bound strangers to navigate.
  In the present day, though, most hadozee call raftcities home. They colonise the masts, rigging, and upper structures, turning forgotten corners into bustling “sky quarters” linked by rope bridges and pulley-lifts. One famed raft-town is almost entirely hadozee-built, with masts and trees interlaced into a multi-level maze of balconies, nests, and gliding paths that is a nightmare for invaders and a playground for children.

Relations with Other Peoples

On the High Seas, hadozee have a reputation as excellent sailors and delightful company. Captains of many peoples—human, dwarf, elf, smallfolk, orc, and more—compete to recruit hadozee riggers and lookouts. Their quick jokes and faster hands make them popular in dockside taverns, even if their love of harmless pranks occasionally frays tempers. They are generally friendly toward other arboreal or sky-touched folk such as arakocra, owlin, and kenku, often trading climbing tricks and aerial games.
  Conflicts arise mostly when someone tries to force them into rigid hierarchies or ground-bound lives. Hadozee dislike cramped, low-ceilinged spaces and heavy-handed discipline, and they are quick to abandon crews that treat them as expendable. Those who earn their loyalty, though, gain allies who will swing through cannon smoke and storm wind to haul a friend back from the edge without hesitation.