Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Odekor - Day 7

The Aarakocra
The Talons of the Wind, some call them.  Others refer to them as the Lords of the High Peaks. Their detractors usually refer to them as ‘those damned birds.’
Aarakocra were not native to Odekor, but resided within the Elemental Plane of Air.  There, they served the Wind Dukes. Their contact with the folk of Odekor was extremely limited, and usually involved some sort of complicated interplanar diplomacy where their chief function was to safeguard one of their masters.
When the War happened, when the Elemental Planes collapsed into one another, many of the aarakocra were swept into Odekor.  Their masters, the Wind Dukes, did not accompany them and it is widely assumed that they died in the confusion of the planar collapse.
On Odekor, the aarakocra were scattered across the continent of Choan.  They took refuge in the Mountains of Desh, as the world burned and shook around them.  By the time a semblance of peace had settled upon Odekor, the aarokocra had discovered their own world was gone. The Elemental Plane of Air had been subsumed into the Elemental Plane of Fury. They were stuck in the Material Plane, on Odekor.
Unlike most of the other races, the aarakocra did not just survive following the War, they thrived. They are the most populous humanoid race on Odekor.  They have spread across the planet, establishing fortified citadels in the high peaks of many mountain ranges and other lonely places.
Aarakocra citadels have become beacons of hope for many of the survivors who throng to them for protection.
This has placed the aarokocra in a peculiar position. For thousands of years, they served the Wind Dukes faithfully and ably.  Now, they find themselves holding positions similar to that of their fallen masters, and the aarakocra are not sure how to proceed.  Although their society is highly structured - divided into familial nests, communal roosts and militant flights - they do not have much experience integrating outsiders into their communities.  Despite this, refugees who seek out the aarakocra for protection are seldom turned away.
Many aarakocra citadels have small refugee villages around them.  A sort of informal understanding has evolved between the aarokocra and these ‘protectorates.’  The aarakocra provide protection, while the communities govern themselves and provide resources to the aarakocra. So far the arrangement has worked fairly well.

No comments:

Post a Comment