Leyad

The Leyad are a sedentary and semi-nomadic group who occupy the fringes of the Myrrdin territory of Castallen Owtla. Leyads have a habit of settling land for only a few years, or even months, but picking up to follow the herds of wild buffalo that roam through the territory. Those that take to living sedentary lifestyles seem a little more cooped up and restless than other Myrrdins, but put these energies into the arcane objects they create, weaving the fabric of existence into small charms and baubles to keep themselves grounded amid a civilized world

Appearance

by Invictia - Artbreeder

Most Myrrdins are fairly tall, slender and graceful folk, though the Leyad tend to be the shortest amongst their kin, with refined and angular features, making them more acrobatically inclined and visibly cunning. The Leyad, and their Seren brothers and sisters seem to have undergone the least amount of change since the Cataclysm.
In High Kulnic, the name of the Leyad people refers to the moon god of the Myrrdin Pantheon, with the name meaning "Children of the Black Velvet Moon". Every inch of their appearance reflects this elegance with their ghostly pale to deep indigo skin tones, their brilliant sapphire or bone grey eyes, and their ivory hair.
Nothing about a Leyad's features are sharp with their expressions and mannerisms reflecting this. What the Haeel lack is cool reserve and strategy, the Leyad have in spades, give an additional sense of mystery to them.To this effect, a Leyad will hover away from the center of the room to a place they can readily observe others and gravitating toward those who share a more introverted disposition.

Regional Differences

Leyads come in all kinds of grayscaled shades--from a bright ivory white to a blackened blue hue. These shades tend to run in a given family, but also seem to vary based on the altitude at which they live and are born. As such, then exposed to the sun or higher altitudes, a Leyad will gain a darker blue color; a Leyad, then, that does not spend its time working in the sun, or lives in a climate with little sun, or even lived at a low altitude will have very pale skin. As such, a majority of Leyads are actually grey.
As a note, Leyads with dark indigo skin will usually have luminescent hair and will radiate a very small amount of light, giving them a very light (but usually unnoticable) aura in the dark.

Culture

A Leyad values an inclusive life cultivated by open-hearted patience, reason and radical acceptance of circumstances. Someone who displayed consideration toward others would be more valued than someone more individualistically inclined. As such, Leyads are prone to passivity and caution, willing to watch a storm approach to see if a reaction is needed.

Ideological Conflicts

Leyads are usually fairly laid back and very private about their inner dealings, and any that they do reveal they tend to not defend outright, which makes them unusual conversation partners for those who prefer to debate and take stances. The idea for the Leyad people is that discussion brings forth new insights, and therefore agreeing or disagreeing outright stifles any intelligent conversation and invention to be had.
This, naturally, angers the Haeel most of all, who prefer passionate displays of affinity one way or another, and loath the stoicism that their Leyad brethren excel at.

Racial Relations

Leyads actually make wonderful diplomats when it comes to their consideration of others.

Castallen Owtla

As the political situation currently stands, Myrrdins rule in majority over Castallen Owtla, while Tarans the serve as political advisors, representatives, and figureheads with little power. This arrangement is agreeable for both parties as the Myrrdin people can benefit from the political flexibility and approachability of the diplomatic Tarans, while the Tarans can enjoy the fruits of the Myrrdin's arcane labors (namely, magical wards against would-be conquerors).
The a Leyad participates in a majority of these arcane labors, and thus does not rule so much as they tend to more arcane than mundane matters.

Gender Roles

Gender roles are both a social and theological concept for the Myrrdin people. Ones gender is thought to be chosen by the gods, and is therefore a reflection of ones moral responsibilities in society; a Leyad, who represents the moon, is thought to need to uphold the ideals of vigilance, steadiness, and invention without undermining the other ethnicity's given duties.

She

A Leyad woman is expected to demonstrate passivity in matters of judgement. In this manner, a Leyad must be able to separate a person from their actions and not immediately render judgement. A woman then becomes the center of insight into another person's actions and can counsel patience or another course of action than one previously observed. Thus, Leyad women are considered a font of wisdom due to their consideration of another person. As such, when a Leyad woman calls for alarm on another's character, it is usually respected without doubt.

He

A Leyad man's is valued for his slowness in the face of haste. This is not to say a Leyad man cannot be rushed or that he will not make haste to protect what he values, but instead, what is called into question is the reaction we have to act may not be needed. Thus, while a Leyad woman maintains slowness to people around her, so too must a Leyad man with his surroundings. Thus, when a Leyad man acts, it is expected that others should follow his lead, or that his actions represent a need for the action itself.

Ae

Pronounced like the letter "A", ae is refers to anyone who is identifies as one, multiple, or other genders; as a side note, Aemale is the term used to describe one sexuality that falls outside of the binary. This gender is widely accepted and not discouraged as within Myrrdin culture, there is a belief in the duality of the sun and moon within the aspect of the star--represented by Seren (the deity in this case).
A Leyad maen's duty then is to counsel steadiness, as both her Leyad female and male counterparts are asked to wait and be patient--not only can this become infuriating to the Leyad binary, but it can become impossible to "bottle things up". A Leyad maen then is generally considered a rock among their people, one who must be vulnerable in their dealings with others, not as a means of just expressing oneself, but to give their people a voice. Many Leyad aemales thus become diplomats as a way of translating what is culterally expected of their binary counterparts to others.

Warfare

The Myrrdins are not a warfaring people by nature, as their first solution to resource competition is often diplomacy, realocation of other resources, and trade; if all else fails, most Myrrdins once could simply manifest resources with their arcane prowess; with much of this being limited bow, they favor the former three options.
With this in mind, the Myrrdin have still had bloody wars, with The Crown City, and with amongst their own people, with the Haeel having the highest participation in these conflicts when compared to the other two ethnicities.

Arcane Archers

Leyads make exceptional archers especially when this prowess is combined with their arcane ability. With the ability to manifest their bows and arrows from arcane energy, they are very light travelers and adept killers on the battlefield.

by Invictia -Artbreeder

by Invictia - Artbreeder