The races of Hush Blossom
•O•D•A•N• & •O•I•A•
OVERVIEW
Vaguely draconic in appearance, the O Dân and O Iâ are the tallest humanoid race, averaging in at 7”0. With a wide range of body shapes, they are often quite muscular and strong, with broad shoulders and long, tapered legs.
Their most prominent feature is the solid, chitin-like mineral that encases their body, with horns growing from their heads in a various number and arrangement. The chitin is marked much like Baroque glass, with intricate swirls and grooves. Their skin is exposed on the front of their torsos, thighs, and faces, and is dotted with smaller chunks of chitin. Their hands are large claws, and thick, powerful tails grow from their lower spine, reaching over half their body length, covered in spikes and chunks of chitin.
Their horns, claws, legs, and various parts of their body are tipped with a faint glow – which can be any colour – trailing along their chitin in small fractures. They have slit pupils and black sclera, with glowing irises appearing in the same colour as their horn tips. Their teeth are pointed, with the insides of their mouths also glowing with the same coloured light.
Depending upon the environment they inhabit, other physical traits vary in colour:
Those that live in volcanic and hot climes call themselves the O Dân – they have black chitin, with skin colours ranging in red, brown, grey or purple, and hair colours often featuring black, white, or red.
Those that live in tundra and colder areas call themselves the O Iâ – their chitin is white, with skin colours appearing in varying shades of blue, brown, grey or purple, whilst hair colours often appear as black, white or blue.
HOMELAND & CULTURE
The O Dân live on the volcanic archipelago known as the Euraidd Islands. Here they thrive in the sulphuric heat and toxic ash, carving their homes into the sides of the ebony rock of the more dormant volcanoes. A series of thousands of tunnels weave deep within one of the largest mountains, where they join into a colossal chamber. Within the chamber resides their major city known as Xun-sang, where the buildings appear to be carved from a deep, blood-red rock with an architecture similar to Azeri style in design. The city arcs around a large lake of magma.
The O Dân like to iterate the legend that the chain of islands are the spine of an extinct, monolithic, dragon-like creature known as a Mil-rhi, slumbering on the ocean floor.
Climate opposites, the O Iâ inhabit the tundra and subarctic region north of Seren, known as Arian. A vast swathe of snowy plains besieged by blizzards and dangerous mountain ranges, the O Iâ prosper among the glaciers and icy temperatures. Their capital is Bolurin, a giant, Persian palace-like city carved from thick, impenetrable ice.
Both the O Dân and O Iâ live a matriarchal-monarchy society, and citizens are assigned careers after various tests and tasks – careers that they will follow for the rest of their lives. Their religion revolves around two dragon-like gods: one known as Zar to the O Dân, whom represents fire, life, and the sun, and the other known as Sim to the O Iâ, who is tied to the attributes of ice, death, and the moon. Both the Dân and the O Iâ believe that these two gods cannot exist without the other; a necessary balance. Their ruler – the Matriarch – is seen as a direct divine descendant of one of these deities.
Their chitin is naturally sculpted and carved to denote each O Dân’s or O Iâ’s societal worth, and the meaning behind each groove, whorl, and swirl is fathomless. Legend has it that all O Dân and O Iâ are the descendants of an ancient bonding between a Mil-rhi and a Serenian prince. The O Dân are also one half progenitor race to the Craidden.
The O Dân like to decorate their exposed skin with geometric golden tattoos, whilst the O Iâ like to use silver.
The O Dân and the O Iâ are currently in an era of tenuous truce with the Eitil after several wars spanning several decades, started over the supposed assassination of a royal. The races' hatred of one another has further prevented any attempts at creating potential peace or revealing evidence.
POWERS & ABILITIES
The O Dân and O Iâ are the strongest of all the races, able to carry extreme weight without any risk of overexertion. Many make formidable warriors, often wielding giant two-handed swords or axes with ease – many train to become slayers of great and powerful beasts.
Their tails are semi-prehensile, and can deliver powerful blows.
Their chitin enables them to be subjected to potent attacks and pressures without incurring any damage, along with being immune to extreme temperatures.
Despite their large, clawed hands, they are still adept at highly delicate tasks.
The royal lines seem to possess high aptitude with magic, capable of weaving spells that could almost rival the Décaille.
NAMES
The naming system of the O Dân and O Iâ take inspiration from multiple languages – the main focus is that the letter “z” is predominately featured. The Persian language is also often used, and etymology often revolves around adjectives describing physical traits. They do not use surnames.
Traditional Male Names: Neyze, Âzâd, Zakhar, Zephyr
Traditional Female Names: Ârezu, Firuze, Zoe, Yazhu
RACE SHEET
