Ðōnulaeab

The arboreal race that was the first intelligent species on the planet. They have their own distinct psychology, physical traits, and history. They are no longer awake, and some consider them, because of this, to no longer exist. Once were one of the keepers of sorcery.
Their culture is entirely intellectual. They lived in the early years and were merely the tenders of the world. They helped the plants grow and the animals- when they arrived- thrive. They needed nothing and wanted nothing. Their history and traditions were oral and were passed down in this way.

Basic Information

Anatomy

They looked like trees of many different species. Sap ran in their veins and they were made of a somewhat spongier kind of wood. However, they could change their shapes at will, and often gave themselves different forms. Their roots became legs and their branches became arms. As animals evolved, the ðōnujulaeab liked many of their traits and mimicked them. Eyes, mouths, hands.
They also often grew to enormous heights in their old age, once they put down their roots. The younger ones kept to normal tree height so walking was not a chore. But once planted they could grow until they were the size of a mountain; those were the Cloud Crowns, tallest in the land.

Biological Traits

Varied, depended on the form they took. Tall and treelike, with many branches of leaves and roving roots.

Genetics and Reproduction

They still made seeds the way their current tree form did. This could be in the form of fruits, pine cones, catkins, etc. Their reproductive habits also mimicked that of their current form. Their seeds were highly fertile and a very high percentage of them would sprout. However, very few of them would grow into sentience and become ðōnujulaeab. It is unknown how or why this happened.

Growth Rate & Stages

Growth is primarily vertical for the first twenty to thirty years, depending on the genetics of the tree. They tended to grow slowly. Once they began to grow outward more than upward, they were prepared to leave the ground, if they so chose. Their growth followed patterns similar to those of regular trees. They usually put down roots after a few hundred years, or whenever walking became cumbersome. They lived exceedingly long and could grow to much, much higher heights than normal trees.

Ecology and Habitats

They could live anywhere the soil was strong and fertile enough to feed them. Especially in their older years when they were tougher, they could handle harsher climates.
Ðōnujulaeab lived in harmony with wherever they were. They understood intrinsically their connection to nature and saw themselves as keepers of life. They tended and helped and healed. They had no need for any kind of structures. They needed only themselves.

Dietary Needs and Habits

They lived off of sunlight and nutrients in the soil.

Biological Cycle

They followed the seasons, most letting fall their leaves when the other trees did in the colder months and regrowing them after the snow melted. Some were evergreens and kept their leaves or needles year round; some took the forms of deciduous trees but still kept their leaves. They typically followed the biological cycle of the tree they kept the form of.

Additional Information

Social Structure

They took turns wandering the world and looking after saplings, who could not yet walk. Those who stayed to look after the young did so in groups, affectionately calling themselves copses. They always deferred to the eldest trees. Typically, rooted ðōnujulaeab were sought out for advice, as they are much older and more mature. Cloud Crowns are considered to be the oldest and wisest of them, and in times of great distress, large groups may seek out one of them. They have no gender. They are trees.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Their senses functioned slightly differently from the animal races. Sight and sound were not nearly as important as touch and smell and temperature. Touch was incredibly heightened. So these developed first, and the rest came later. Their senses focused on what was helpful to them as those who tended plants. As they could change themselves, it is hard to point out what they all shared.
They were disarmingly aware of the world around them. Even when they were not visibly sensing anything- perhaps their eyes were closed, or they had no ears- they were still perceiving. They relied heavily on their roots and their sense of touch and connection to the ground. They could feel things in the ground, in the air, in the water that others could not. It was thought their extreme old age gave them an advantage.

---

Their sorcerous abilities made them extra sensitive to the elements and the world around them. They were better at sensing temperature and humidity changes. They had a sort of "gut instinct" that helped them find, usually water, whatever element they are looking for. They were wholly in tune with the world they lived in and revelled in being a part of it. They knew where things were and what was happening all across the world.
Their extra sense and unconscious link to the world around them extended to each other. What we would call auras they would be able to sense. Emotions are more visible psychically and can greatly impact the world around them. A strong enough emotional release can leave an imprint on a place for weeks, months, even years. They can feel the bonds that tie together everything in the world.

Sorcery

Their sorcery was that of Metamorphosis, or of self-change. It is suspected that this is how they Awoke, through latent power manifesting. They could reshape their bodies at will. They changed forms regularly, growing and shrinking, adding and removing things they liked or did not like. It is rumoured they were the first to summon a shadow semblance. For after all, shaping and molding themselves is their gift.

Civilization and Culture

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

They would wander from place to place, tending to life where it was needed or where they saw fit.
If they came across a sapling, or a copse in need of more members, they felt obligated and happy to stay and help until the saplings were grown and uprooted themselves. Then they returned to walking the world. They spent their lives almost in passing.

History

The ðōnujulaeab were the first intelligent species, the first to Awaken. They lived their lives as they saw fit in connection with nature. They would speak very little of their earliest days, save for that is was quiet. There were no animals yet and plants were smaller at the time; even the trees. Eventually things grew taller and they grew taller to match them. They 'developed' as a species very little; they simply had no need to. Their language was simple, their songs happy, and their lifestyle suited to the quiet but wide world around them.
When animals evolved, they helped them along, encouraging them to grow and change as they did with the plants. They saw the rapid evolution of the megafauna, and most likely were a driving force behind it. A land with great vegetation needs great beasts to live in it. They saw the promise of the soon-to-be zerɮudōju and shared with them the great gift they had also received.
The ðōnujulaeab essentially raised the zerɮudōju. They taught them to speak, though the zerɮudō language quickly became very different. They taught them how to use their sorcerous gifts. They taught them how to respect the land they were now more keenly aware of.
A hundred thousand years passed in a louder world. The ðōnujulaeab watched as their children brought changes to the world, but not terrible ones. They enjoyed exploring new and changed lands and learning what there was to be taught of the elemental sorcery. Soon new animals began to evolve; smaller, but in ways more complex. Then the ɮudōju were Awakened by the zerɮudōju.
All lived together in harmony for thousands of years. The ðōnujulaeab were more than happy to teach either of the younger races how to coexist with the world around them, how to grow and heal, how to adapt. The Great Council was held between the Eldest of the Cloud Crowns, the zerɮudōju, and the ɮudōju. All their sorcerous gifts were taught and exchanged and for a time there was great peace.
They watched as the ɮudōju brought changes to the world, but not all were good. The ðōnujulaeab grew at times fearful of what the youngest race might do or make, for their temperament was not always as gentle.
War broke out among the ɮudōju. It was as had been feared. But the results of the Elemental Wars were far, far deadlier than any had imagined; forests burned, mountains thrown down to crush whole ecosystems, the ocean brought crashing against the shores to ruin them. So much was destroyed. The ðōnujulaeab then came to agreement- they wanted no part in this violent world anymore.
The Eldest of the Cloud Crowns, that which had been a part of the Great Council, sent a message through its roots to all the world for all to understand. Words were not heard but instead felt.
The ðōnujulaeab were returning to Sleep.
All the trees in the world fell silent. They put down their roots, they closed their eyes, and they returned to whatever unknowing place they came from. The Trees-That-Talk spoke no more.

Common Myths and Legends

This is not said by them, but of them.
It is said when the ɮudōju return to their ways before the Elemental Wars, when light is extinguished in the land, when nature is respected, they will Awaken again. They themselves are considered legends; trees that talked? That walked? It seems a child's story to many. But that was not once the case.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

They greatly respected all life. Though they knew themselves for a long time to be the only aware or intelligent species in the world, they did not see themselves as superior to any other in any way. They sought to help grow different species, plants in particular. They Awoke the zerɮudōju, and saw them in a similar way to very young children. They did the same when the ɮudōju Awoke.

Genetic Descendants

• Cloud Crowns

Scientific Name

Ðōnulaeab

Lifespan

10,000-100,000 years

Average Height

100m (328ft) - 400m (1,312ft 4in)

Average Weight

10 tonnes (11 tons) - 100 tonnes (110 tons)

Related Myths

• The Metamorphosis of a ɮudō