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Elders and Gods:
Elders and Gods:
Elderless: Humans (Behndiga, Riders, etc.)
What we learn in Heaven’s Tempest:
Elders are omniscient and all powerful, beyond life and death
There are thirty-six known Elders
Gods are chosen avatars of their Elder, given 1-3 forms depending on their power.
Able to shift into a bestial visage, or their smaller, animal-like theriomorph form, and finally a primordial form, which is usually some sort of humanoid.
The Council, or God Council are a group of gods that act on behalf of all Elders and planets, basically the rulers of the universe.
Luftimelhim believes that godhood should result from sacrifice, not simply given
Willow becomes a two-form god (“Two is enough for now.”-Luftimelhim)
Lykeenid and Luftimelhim are working together for some unknown purpose
“The chain of fate is unfurling… and they will be ready.” -Luftimelhim
Willow being chosen as a god by Luftimelhim marks the coming of their destruction (intentionally vague)
Elder Name | Planet | Children:
Luftimelhim | Kahzia | Himmels
Lykeenid | San Syla | Lykodines
Ihmogenit | Dimarea | Felidpiens
Behndiga:
Behndiga:
What we learn in Heaven’s Tempest:
Behndiga lived alongside himmels and evolved to bond with them, telepathically sensitive.
Willow calls them the ‘people of the wind’
The Behndiga adopted the shape and markings of the himmel fins as a symbol of the tribe.
Behndiga and Riders are somehow related.
Every few generations, a Behndiga is born with enhanced mental power (Armin)
Tseren mentions that the tome Armin stole recorded a group of Behndiga who left underground and never heard from again. He makes the assumption that they are what became Lykodine Riders, who wandered the rifts thousands of years ago before getting forced to San Syla by the Council.
Behndiga used himmel fur to weave into clothes
They were nearly wiped out 100 years ago alongside himmels after fighting back against a monster horde that ate the very earth beneath them
Family
Behndiga, like himmels, have fluid relationships. Polyam-relationships are expected. Family groups raise children together. Every fortnight, Behndiga gather to mingle family groups.
Magic
Telepathic. Every few generations a Behndiga is born with the strength of ten Behndiga. How they use this strength is up to them. Himmels tend to be attracted to mental strength if the Behndiga is compatible, but they will undoubtedly dominate their Bonded. This is an accepted fact of the himmel-Behndiga bond.
Education
Their society has fully dedicated themselves to himmel ways. Herbalism, the art of growing things, artistry.
Government
In an unusual circumstance, they have turned from previous methods to a council system similar to the God Council. Himmels care not for the leadership of the Behndiga, as they are subservient to the himmel matriarchs.
Healthcare
They use herbs for most everything and are well versed in their craft. The Healer’s Dens was the most important building in the city. Height average is 4’10-5-4”, most Behndiga covet a bond with a himmel because it extends their lifespans by an additional 100-150 years.
Culture
Obsessed with himmels as himmels are with herbs. They seek approval from the great creatures in all aspects. They tend to not trust other humans/humanoids and respond best to those with a strong mental presence.
Environment
Meant for the thin air, yet they seek places to live underground to cultivate a mushroom that thrives in the dark, alongside blind cave fish, a himmel delicacy. Generally, the thin air and altitudes make their skin mid-tone to darker tones and their height shorter.
Religion
Elder: Luftimelhim
Behndiga follow himmels and their beliefs.
Lykodine Riders:
Lykodine Riders:
What we learn in Heaven’s Tempest:
Blood Wars 1,000 years ago, Lykodine Riders vs. the God Council
Riders are feared because they are elderless and have the power to control blood, meaning they can kill gods.
Proven descendants of Behndiga.
Riders go through a bloodrite at ten years old in order to discover their power limits. They leave the scar as a point of pride.
The Council fears Riders above all others and banishes any they can capture—using the bloodless, technological Ekai race—to the outer rims/planets where they can’t reach the rift.
Only the San Sirif clan requires a Rider to open their scars and die alongside their lykodine, to cease their existence without a bond. Or, they can choose constant agony, to suffer years of torture and die a disgrace, eaten by their own magic.
San Sehnti and San Saor think it’s taboo to still use their magic should the lykodine die, but they allow a Rider to maintain the power inside them to avoid the eventual death.
Leith gave his blood to Carrick in his final moments, which even though Carrick didn’t take it, it’s still highly against their clan’s honor laws.
Lykodine Riders become enraged—blood drunk—when they use their lykodine’s blood. Can absorb it or use the blood to make a golem/construct that must be constantly channeled to maintain. The practice was banned even if death is imminent. All three Rider clans forbid it and honor demands other Riders destroy them.
Never in their history has a Rider re-bonded after losing their lykodine.
Carrick’s eyes have begun to change to match Willow’s
Family
Three Lykodine Rider clans on planet San Syla:
San Sehnti - blood peace
Neutral. Most populated clan. Tend to farm and raise animals rather than be aggressive.
Bloodrite scar: hands, arms or legs
San Sirif - blood honor
Most strict. Tend to be more controlling, use volcanoes to blacksmith. Primarily hunters of lavakyn worms.
Bloodrite scar: face or neck
San Saor - blood free
Most elusive. Nomadic and trade with the other clans, live in rare water holes in the desert.
Bloodrite scar: torso
Magic
Blood magic. Can self-heal and heal others by controlling their blood. Thick scars starting up their wrist and going up to their collarbones, scars under their shoulder blades, though some Riders have scars along their calves, too. Mentally bond with lykodines at birth and their eyes become vertically slit to match their lykodine's eyes. Bloodrite scars are left as a point of pride. Their magic re-doubles after use until they reach a limit they discover at ten years old. Abilities work at 100% to about 20 feet, then 75% at 30 feet, etc.
Education
After children turn ten and are tested (bloodrite scar), they learn about different tasks until they have working knowledge of everything they need to survive and teach the next generation. Adults at twenty, pilgrimage to other planets as a second rite of passage. Since Lykodine’s can traverse the rifts, Riders tie themselves to the saddle.
Government
Clan leaders are a set of three Riders, each representing a generation (1 young, 1 middle aged, 1 old) with their lykodines for ten year increments. If individuals have issues, they bring it to the leaders themselves or stay silent. Strength of will is important. “Want something done, do it yourself.”
Absorbing lykodine blood and using it is punishable by the final bloodrite. The offender must self-immolate and push past their limits, giving themself completely to the magic as an offering to Lykeenid. If they die, that is their fate. A final bloodrite has not happened since before the Blood Wars.
Healthcare
n/a - Riders can heal most anything. Those that get sick from other means are taken care of by the rest of the clan, sharing blood power. Riders can die from losing the bond. Usually 120-150 year lifespan, but a lot of Riders die before thirty. Generally tall, average height is 6’4”-6’10”.
Culture
Prideful, violent, competitive. Except for the San Sehnti—usually—Riders have no issue with fighting each other, but they do not war or kill each other, fights end at first blood. Strength is portrayed through willingness to physically back it up. Softness is discouraged. While they tend to be self-sufficient and individualistic, they will join together if need be without hesitation. Since all Riders are trained for all tasks, they will help without asking. *Old laws used to require a Rider to let their magic devour them (by ceasing use) or open their scars to die alongside their lykodine, should the bonded lykodine pass.
*Only San Sirif follows that old law anymore.
Environment
San Syla: Hollow planet. Shifting tectonics. Black desert dunes and mesas with cracked valleys where some crops can be grown and underground rivers. Volcanoes and obsidian sand, rocky. Dry lightning storms. Brief spring rains bring a bright bloom of flowers and flooding for a few weeks before the heat returns.
Primary crop is called Veremplax (aloe vera/flax-adjacent), fruits all year round and the leaves can be eaten raw or processed many different ways. Rider clothing and gear is made from the dried fibers. Riders sometimes trade the fabric with humans on other planets, but the plant can only be grown on San Syla. Fruit is yellow and tastes like strawberries, leaves are black with red speckles, clear juices that oxidize into a purple hue. Used to tint metal and dye fabric.
Religion
Elder: Lykeenid - enduring, sneaky, duplicitous, strong
Riders are aware that lykodine’s have an Elder, but lykodine’s cannot speak in the traditional sense, so they don’t know what Lykeenid says to his children, or if he speaks to them at all. No known lykodine gods either. They are not religious otherwise, but respect their hollow planet and use its features as curses: Gods be denied/cursed/damned, depths, burning depths, voids below us
History
Their history claims the Council sent them to the lykodine planet but it was really Lykeenid guiding them through the rift. 1,000 years ago (Blood Wars) Lykodine Riders attempted to take over the Council, tired of being discriminated against. At one point during the Blood Wars, 10 warriors from each clan took their lykodine’s blood (killing them) to be blood-drunk with power to destroy the Council. After that failed sacrifice, the clans all agreed to forbid the practice, even if death was nigh.
The Ekai or Ek AI woke up and turned the tide after pledging to help the Council. The God Council only let the Rider captives go because they promised to stay on San Syla. Other generations of Riders sneak out because San Syla has countless rifts the Council doesn't know about. It’s considered a secondary rite of passage at 20 years old. Other Riders still explore/trade on other planets at the risk of getting caught.
Himmels:
Himmels:
What we learn in Heaven’s Tempest:
Himmels have gardens where they grow different herbs throughout the season.
Luftimelhim created the planet Kahzia, but gave the Heaven’s Eye Mountains to her children to guard it.
Himmels disappeared from the mountains 100 years ago, along with Behndiga.
Monsters ate at the roots of the mountains and caused earthquakes, and with it nearly eradicated himmels and their Behndiga when they repelled a final force of the monsters.
Ginseng acts as an aphrodisiac for himmels
30 himmel adults survived the massacre/battle
Family
Himmels tend to live 250-300 years. Himmel relationships are fluid and don't always result in permanent bonds. Family groups—led by matriarchs—take several himmels as mates. Once they reach the age of twenty, they seek a Behndiga bond, usually of around the same age. As they grow older, they may lose the bond and seek out another. At 50 years old, they begin their himmel families, consisting of 1-3 eggs every 15 years
Magic
Wind elementals, with a subset of water magic. They are able to teleport short distances through air or water by dissipating. Generational memory passes down memories from parents to their children. Himmels can also gather the wind to both strengthen and provide armor for their bodies, called the phase form. Every himmel has an empathy organ along their snout in the form of four lines on either side that arc up over their eyes. Their outer ears tend to be the same color as their empathy organs.
Can
Education
Himmels do not need education, as the generational memory is all they require. There is some guidance from himmels in regards to the handling of their abilities.
Government
The strongest matriarch leads the pride, until a challenger rises. Size and power is the most important for the Grand Matriarch, second only to the Great Mother.
Healthcare
Himmels are cared for by the Behndiga, without limit. Himmels have no care of their health otherwise.
Culture
Obsessed with herbs, they adorn their nests with them as well as use them in courtship, ceremonies, and celebrations. They seek balance above all else, in their relationships, in their societies, in their habits. Himmels tend to naturally smell of yeniel (like vanilla), though some have unique scents such as lavender, thyme, and mint.
Environment
Himmels lived in dens along the cliffsides of the Heaven’s Eye Mountains. Their primary food are the goats of the Kahzia range, but they fish as well as forage.
Religion
Elder: Luftimelhim
They know of Luftimelhim as the Great Mother, skydancing during eclipses in her honor. Himmels greet the moon every night it rises and treat it as their distant sibling. Luftimelhim trusted her children to guard the other rift on Kahzia, underneath Bellefeld. The same rift that a group of Behndiga found and traversed thousands of years ago and became Lykodine Riders, the same rift that the Zygova escaped through to avoid death at the hands of the God’s Council.
Ekai:
Ekai:
What we learn in Heaven’s Tempest:
The Ekai are the only race that do not have blood, therefore are the only race that can deal with Lykodine Riders.
They pledged their loyalty to the Council after the Blood Wars
Rumored that they refuse to kill
Carrick mentions that they have no free will and no choice to refuse the Council’s orders
Ekai are one of the few races that can navigate the rifts outside of gods
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