Haliaetan

The Haliaetan are a proud warrior race native to the Plane of Wind, or the Wind Demesne⁣.
The race came to Omiralon recently while fleeing the Great Sky War⁣, falling through a rift between the Elemental Demesnes and The Material Prime. Legends told by chieftains and oracles within the following generations debate whether the rift was an Aarokocra leader's doing, or if Faethorn himself opened the rift to allow them to escape.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Humanoid in shape, Haliaetans resemble a smaller human that has wings. Rather than hands and feet, they have 3-digit claws with razor-sharp talons on each limb. Their heads are akin to their beast counterparts, featuring large eyes and a beak while lacking external ears and noses.

Growth Rate & Stages

Haliaetans grow quickly, achieving adulthood by 4 years old at the latest. Within the first year, fledglings are expected to learn to fly and know their place within the tribe's hierarchy. By their third year, they are expected to have chosen and begun practicing their chosen field of study (Warrior, Scribe, or Minstrel), and train under a mentor before their Great Wind Trial on their 4th birthday and their passage into adulthood.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

Haliaetans tend to have a high intelligence for what the less socially adept humans of Omiralon might call the "beast races", putting them roughly on par with humans themselves. Where their intelligence differs, however, comes from the Haliaetan's natural aptitude for spacial and proprioceptive awareness - This awareness makes them better than average warriors by human standards.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

With large eyes, Haliaetans have excellent vision, even in dim light, making them efficient hunters. Their lack of dextrous digits and lips make magic difficult for the race, but not impossible. Though the likelihood of a Haliaetan being accepted into the Academy is slim at best, there is still possibility that a Haliaetan might excel as a Warlock or Sorcerer.

Civilization and Culture

History

The Haliaetans stumbled on a rift leading to the Material while in the midst of a war with the gargoyles that serve Ogremoch, the Prince of Earth. The Haliaetans were losing badly and nearing total defeat.  While others fled, the elite Kra Wing were among the last holdouts on their perches. The wing flew down from their hiding place among the rocks toward imminent death, while their battle cries pierced the air.  While preparing a final attack with their javelins, a beam of light flashed from the javelin of Aur Ika⁣ and a rift appeared, swallowing them up before they could react. They found themselves in dense woodland on what later came to be called the Skylands of Thaeron⁣ in the northwest of Omiralon where, for the first time in their race's history, they safe were safe from Ogremoch and his gargoyle troops.
Aur was immediately made Chief Elderess, as it was through her javelin salvation came. The tribe began to settle down into a military-like establishment. Scouts were sent out in every direction, but it seemed there were no other Haliaetans, or at least none within a weeks' flight of the Skylands.
In time, Aur mothered a son, Oorr Ikara⁣,  with her long-time lover Ouss Ikara⁣, who was also part of the wing flung to the Material. Other warriors also settled down to have families, but murmurs of some of the scouts continued to spread, seeding fear and suspicion that the followers of Ogremoch would someday follow them to their new home. A new wing was formed from the scouts, who pledged their lives to scout and defend their new colony, Torisar⁣, in the name of Aur and Faethorn.
The javelin took on symbolic meaning in the tribe, having been their instrument of salvation, and Aur began to structure her training for all the Haliaetan children, decreeing that anyone not able to handle the javelin could not be part of the tribe. Ouss began taking down the tribe's history following the entrance to the rift in an effort to memorialize the tribe's past. His second child, a vibrant, intelligent daughter named Aial took to scribehood, writing the history with a long pen as a mirror to her javelin training. Her calligraphy was sought after throughout the tribe for it's beauty.  One day, small lights began to emanate from her pen, and over time, she developed the ability to channel these "Breaths of Faethorn". Aial became a powerful warlock, imbued with the knowledge of the past, and the power of Faethorn herself.
Aur's third child, Salleek⁣, took to javelin training as naturally as the others but preferred to spend his days entertaining the tribe with daring feats of acrobatic skill. The tribe looked down his practice as an unnecessary waste of talent and as poor technique,  For a few years Salleek, now regarded as the "eccentric" child, was left to his own devices. One day, weary of Salleek's apparent lack of contribution to the tribe,  Oorr challenged his son to a fight, desperate to show his son the proper path of a warrior. Salleek unexpectedly defeated his father, a well-regarded fighter trained in generations of Haliaetan fighting tradition, through sheer sleight of hand and unorthodox skill. Salleek was given grudging respect by the families of Torisar from then on, but the warriors of the tribe, either steeped in tradition or being taught the new path, barely tolerated him. Thus, a small splinter began to fracture the culture of the tribe. Salleek continued to be left alone, but was unable to gain any of the prominence his siblings enjoyed in the colony. He eventually settled onto a nearby island with the love of his life, Kazra; close enough to be remembered, but far enough away to be left alone.
As Aur aged, the tribe agreed that Aial would be next in line to rule after Aur passed, which she did in 886 AO.

Lifespan

35

Average Height

5 ft.

Average Weight

60 - 100 lbs

Average Length

5 - 8 ft wingspan