Tomari

Summary

The Tomari are a primarily tribal race that is split into numerous tribes across the west, north and centre of Tor'Saarn. They are the last mortal race crafted by The Progenitor Pantheon, and the only 'progenitor race' created after the Astral Crusades. They are considered to be an 'Astarl Moulded' or 'Near Human' race, meaning that their general features are similar to those of mankind, however due to many of their overtly non-human physiological traits such as their pseudo wings, tails, crests and digitigrade legs they hold the title as the least physiologically human race within this catergory.
Most Tomari civilisations are highly superstitious by nature, a trait that most scholars attribute primarily to their intrinsic ties to magic and the undeveloped nature of their society. Whatever the reason for this superstition it has lead to many cultural developments that make their societies stand apart from those of races living in the same region. The laws they govern their life by at first glance would seem to be in line with other tribes, however the rituals they perform to determine their life path seem to have an effect that cannot be summarised as placebo, instead directing their actions in a very real sense.

Physical Description

The physical form of a Tomari is somewhat similar to that of humans, however there are a number of traits that make them easy to recognise, even from a sillouhette. These features include two digitigrade legs, a long tail ending in hook-like structures, four keratinous crests, keratin plates on the forearm and a number of others. Although generally similar the exact form these traits take vary between the sexes, and as they have more traits that differ between each gender than other near-humans they are considered to be the most sexually dimorphic of the group.

Pseudo Wings and tail

Tomari flight is achieved through vibration generated in structures on their back called pseudo wings. The organs are attached to limbs similar to the bones that form the edge of a birds wing, one of these limbs hangs beneath each shoulder. A mostly hollow cartilaginous structure shielded by keratin is attached to the outermost of the two primary bones, where air is pumped via a tract that connects to the Tomari's enlarged lungs.
The vibration is acoustic in nature, and as they vibrate an audible humming or whistlling can be detected. This sound increases in volume the higher they lift themselves. A Tomari's flight is governed by whether or not there is ground underneath for them to hover above, so they will slowly descend or ascend as the land elevation bellow them changes. Due to limitations on how much air a Tomari can pump through their Pseudo wings they can not fly farther than 25 metres above the ground. In addition to flight these wings can be used to slow the Tomari's fall.
To help them quickly change direction while airbourne they possess a tail that assists with steering in flight. The tail has a two-headed hook-like, blunt tip that seems to alter the direction of airflow for steering purposes, likely through magic. When actively steering grooves in the Keratin hooks glow one of many possible colors that seem to range the entire spectrum, however each individual can only possess a single color. The rest of the tail is coated in short hair that is almost identical in color to their hair and ear fur.

Crests

Tomari posses four crests, each made up of two Keratin plates that can be raised and lowered at will, or instinctively raised if they are alarmed. The lower pair of crests are located where the sides of the skull just begin to noticeably curve into the top of the skull, not far above their temples. When these crests sit against the cranium they pass just beyond the back of the skull and are noticably shorter than the higher pair of crests.
Above the temple crests is another pair, one crest-structure on either side of their head. These crests are noticibly longer than the other set. There is a slight gap between the top and side sets of crests, and the highest pair of crests are seperated by a wider the space, so that top of the head visible betwen them. Underneath the crests is hair that is identical in appearance to other near-humans, which is visible even when the crests are lowered as much of the scalp is visible even when they are lowered.
Each Crest is made up of two plates, a shorter fornt piece that forms a triangular tip and a longer second plate behind it. When fully errect the front plates of the crest lift almost straight up (but if viewed from the side an observer would note that they are slightly diagonal as opposed to entirely vertical) and the second plates hang roughly half way between them and the skull. When the crests lower the back crests sit flat against the skull, and the back half of the front plates lay over the top of them. When lowered their is no gap between the crest and the head. The back plate of the crests are thinner than the forward plates and curve upward rapidly at the back.
The color of these crests varies greatly between both ethnicities and individuals but can include browns, whites greys and even much brighter colors in tropical varieties. However regardless of ethnicity the horns color is far richer than other Keratin plates found across their body, likely as they serve such an important role in communication. They can be used to communicate joy, fear and suprise in addition to playing a major role in establishing a bond between partners, family and friends.

Ears and Eyes

The Tomari possess two pairs of ears that emerge from either side of their skull, in each pair one ear sits nearly atop the head and one to the side. All four ears are large and somewhat animal like, the top two slowly curving upward into points while the two that sit either side of the skull point almost straight outward. They are covered in a light layer of short fur that usually closely matches the color of the individual Tomari's hair. All four of these ears can swivel and flex independantly, granting the Tomari the best directional hearing of all sentients.
In addition to these animalistic ears they have eyes that are somewhat different to those of the standard near-human in that their pupils are vertical slits. However these slits are not extreme, and while at rest in normal light conditions the eyes are mostly rounded, only slightly thinned at the centre and poitned at the top and bottom. In terms of coloration the Tomari's iris has a similar range to humans, if noticibly in favor of browns and blues. Unlike most other sentients they also possess an 'eye shine', a color that is revealed when light is reflected off of the back of their eyes, similar to most nocturnal animals. Their eyeshine ranges between shades of yellow, green and blue.

Digitigrade Legs

Above the knee the Tomari seem to posses completely human legs, however bellow the knee their legs posses several differences that are immediately noticeable. Not far above their ankle is a secondary, reversed knee that gives them a digitigrade stance (although one that is less extreme than that of the Ja'goroan). Each ankle leads to an extended paw that ends in four forwards facing toes and one shorter toe facing slightly inward. These toes each posses a long claw that varies in color, but are typically a pinkish white, dark grey or brown.
These feet can be covered in a thin coating of fur, however this varies from ethnicity to ethnicity. In sone instances the feet are hairless but this is rare as most individuals have hair that extends at least to, or more often above the ankle. In some cases the fur can reach as high as the knee, though it is abnormal for the hair to stretch farther than just above the knee.

Secondary Keratin Plates

Each Tomari posses a plate on the outside of their forearm that joins their body at the wrist and stretches between 3-5cm past their elbow. These can be wedged into crevices and help them climb or cling to trees and rock faces.
To further augment their defensive and climbing capabilities the Tomari's fingers end in long, pointed nails that can extend into claws that can be as long as 4cm. To facilitate these their fingers are noticeably longer than those of humans.
Aditionally they have a number of smaller 'diplay' Keratin protrusions which include one thin, rounded piece one each side of their collar bone and a number of pieces governed by gender (See in 'Sex Governed Traits').

Sex Governed Traits

The Tomari possess all the sexual dimorphic traits of humans as well as a handfull of aditional alterations between the genders. Immediatelly recogniseable are the differences in their crests. The Males have broader crest plates that do not extend far past their head, however females crests are both thinner and longer than those of males and come to a finer point.
Males are capable of growing facial hair much like humans but also posses slightly moveable Keratin spikes on their chins. One large one at the centre, two very small ones just to it's sides (one each side), and two at the back of the lower jaw (one on each side). Females do not posses these chin spikes, instead they have a diamond shaped spike of keratin at the top of their forehead that is twice as long on the upper side, with two smaller horizontal plates beneath them. The structures are identical in color to the crests. They are not exceedingly large, but are noticeable.
Aditionally both sexes have four small fang-like teeth, a lower and upper pair. The lower set is relatively small, and the upper set is longer by about 50%. Although similar across sexes the males have slightly more pronounced fangs, but they are easily spotted in either gender when they bare their teeth.

Psychological Description

The Tomari value the ability to persevere and overcome challenges above all other merits, whether it be through the abiltiy to perfectly examine and correct flaws in their strategy or a sheer ceaceless obssesion to complete each and every task they attempt. The typical Tomari exists somewhere between these two extremes. This attitude would seem to be a trait that is inherent to the race, as although these traits are strongest in those raised within their own societies they are still present amongst Tomari seperated from their people at birth.
The value they place on perseverance affects almost every element of their lives. If a Tomari offers their assistance in solving a problem they will likely also give advice on how the helpee could solve similar future situations themselves. For example take the hypothetical situation of a village under threat by a gang of bandits. Whereas a human knight might capture the bandits or a paid mercenary would slay them, a Tomari helper, even one hired as a mercenary would generally prefer to train the villagers, help build up their defences and fight by their side if the bandits attack before they're work is done.
Tomari also have strong inate ties to sorcery. These ties do not necessarily increase the power of their spells but make it easier to learn spells via sorcery. Although an individual does not have any more innate capability when it comes to utilising sorcery (other than accelerated learning) than any other race they are capable of casting far more powerful ritual spells than the rest of Tor'Saarn's denizens, a fact that is doubly true for group rituals.

Range of Habitation

The Tomari are native to Alvene, a land mass where the western, northern and central parts of the continent collide. This has allowed them to spread to numerous regions, and tribes can be found in north Seofare, southeast Hyeros, eastern Melnir, Agral-Emryh, Agral-Sorrofare, the far western and far northern wilderuns, and a small minority has taken up residence in Nor’Jangred during the early-mid second age, remaining there as a minority.

Cultural Basics

The Tomari's culture favors migratory tribes over stable settlements or cities, so much so that even in Alvene most Tomari still live in scattered nomadic clans. This has lead to them developing rich cultural ties to the land they travell, declaring many sights sacred in some sense. However this also held back their technological development and lead to many Tomari today utillising only wood and stone materials, or shapped copper on rare occasions. The primary exception to this rule is the growing Tomari hub cities in Alvene, where multiple tribes can set up at a time and work together to develop new resources, and has so far led to bronzewroking spreading throughout Alvene.
Many Alvene philosophers believe that these cities are the gateway to establishing a true Tomari nation, as it allows a stable culture and sense of common goals to be developed over time without denying them their tribal, migratory nature. But even the most optimistic pro-Tomari nationalist acknowledges that this will not happen any time soon as their are still many Tomari who live far beyond these cities, never encountering them or at least not often enough to have an impact. Their is also a concern among many tribes that this may lead to the imposition of non-migratory lives against their will.
Tribal life amongst them is largely peaceful in the second age, as most Tomari clans are focused on rebuilding their society after their millenia long enslavement rather than expansion or conquest. These tribes live in touch with the magic of the world around them and the driving force that lives inside each one of them as a gift from their god. As such their tribes activities are not governed by the strongest or fastest, but those who are most capable of persevering through struggles of all sorts. How this individual is found varies between tribes, but they typically have excelled in many elements of life.

Consecration

Alongside their clan leader each clan has two first consecrated, one to Sar'aan and the other to Gessar. The first consecrated each lead the later consecrated at the behest of The first Consecrated to Karanir, who leads the clan. Every adult in these tribes walks one of the 'ways', and is ceremonial consecrated before one of these gods.
At birth each member of the tribe is consecrated to the Tomari's primary god, Karanir. All Tomari living traditional lives have been consecrated to Karanir through a consecration ritual at their birth that they believe connects them to their god and consider this the natural state of being for their people. Alongside their primary god Karanir they worship the god of the individual, Sar'aan and the goddess of sorcery, Gessar. As a Tomari reaches adulthood they must choose a 'way' to walk during their adult life, either the path of Stories as a consecrated to Sar'aan or the path of Songs as a concecrated to Gessar.
To walk the way of either songs or stories one must complete a series of trials, the exact nature depends on both tribe and path as each tribe has a seperate trial for each path. Upon the completion of a trial they are then consecrated before the tribe in a ritual performed by those who walk the way of songs lead by the first consecrated of Gessar. Each path governs the life of the Tomari such as what skills they can favor, who they can marry and when they can seperate from their tribe.

The Way of Songs

Those consecrated to Gessar walk the way of songs and although allowed basic martial training are primarily taught to utillise sorcery and perform the tribes rituals. They stay close to their tribe, hunting game nearby and performing services for the tribe. They often perform rituals for the Way of stories hunters to increase their combat prowess or protect them from harm. Additionally they are in charge of managing the weather, taking care of clan animals and protecting the tribe form outside threats.
When leaving their tribe for an extended period of time such as offering magic support to another tribe or joining another tribe they must be escorted by members of The Way of Stories, who are better trained to travel through the long stretches of wilderness between tribal camping grounds. As per Tomari law Those who walk the way of songs cannot marry other members of the way of songs.

The Way of Stories

Those consecrated to Sar'aan walk the way of stories and although they are allowed to learn some magic they are taught to hone their martial skills and rely on physical weapons more than spells. They are the tribes main hunters, wayfinders and explorers. They are trained to survive for long periods in hostile or wild territory and live off of the land.
They are far more free than those who walk the way of songs to explore the world and can do so as long as they first recieve permission from the first consecrated to Sar'aan, which is generally easy enough to attain as long as the journey benefits the tribe in some way. As per the lore of the Tomari they cannot marry those who are also consecrated to Sar'aan.

The Way of The Lost

On rare occasions those who have been lost and returned despite facing impossible odds (such as being lost in hostile territory or harsh wilds) can walk the way of the lost and become consecrated to Ravenan. It is their mission to protect the tribes, and they can even receive visions from Karanir. They most eagerly await news on the missing god himself, Karanir's predessecor Ravenan, and will jump at the opportunity to follow up on even the rumor of a clue as to his fate. They are marked by a brand on top of their chest (on the upper pectoral region).
Consecrated of Ravenan have the same authority across all tribes and act independantly of their own tribe, their unofficial rank generally allowing them to direct any individual from any tribe with the exception of it's leadership or those acting on their behalf. This authority is not official, however most Tomari will jump at the opportunity to help those who seek Karanir's lost predecessor who holds a special status amongst the gods the Tomari worship.

Changing Ways

Individuals are able to change paths later in life under specific circumstances, such as in circumstances when the individual wishes to marry someone who walks the same way and needs to change path to do so, or someone has proven more proficient at another path. This is done through another ritual. This second ritual has two parts, the first where they are ‘disconnected’ from their primary path, and another that is similar to the first ritual to align them to their new god. Each god has a slightly different alignment ritual from the other gods. Most who walk the path of the lost have gone through this ritual as most Tomari who can walk this path are already adults who have walked another way.

Livestock, Agriculture and Food Gathering

Tomari keep little in the way of livestock, but those they do keep may be raised to provide some service or a resource such as milk, however they believe tamed animals are to provide companionship and services, and must be respected for it, and thus will not kill them. However this perspective does not extend to wild animals which are eagerly hunted to provide the tribe with a plentiful source of meat. It is considered an act of war to knowingly consume a tribes animal, and their main method of declaring war is to steal an important animal belonging to another tribe or faction, kill it and leave its skull where the owners of the animal can see it, embellished with the mark of the offending tribe.
If a Tomari accidentally slays a domesticated animal the slayer will attempt to approach it’s master (regardless of their allegiance) and offer their services as a way to achieve penance. The Tomari protect their own animals from misunderstanding by marking them with paints, however the exact design and color of these paints is highly variable. Tomari look down on those who mass-domesticate animals purely for the sake of consumption, and regard wild animals as the only acceptable source of meat.
The Tomari also consume plant life alongside meat, which is primarily gathered from the enviroment though some particularly large and advanced tribes have mastered a small degree of agriculture, cultivating any crops that can easily be moved with them as they migrate.

Songs of the Tomari

Songs play a crucial part in Tomari culture, and due to their advanced vocal capabilities (granted by a highly developed vocal organ) their songs are highly complex. They are used as the primary method of passing down history, communicating over large distances and performing complicated spells and rituals.
Tomari tribesmans magic is largely vocal by nature, and tunes are sung to cast most of their spells. The Tomari can even use their voice to cast multiple spells at a time. One series of tones can create one spell, while a second can create another. Some masters can combine up to three spells into one. It is difficult to combine spells this way, and they usually need to be tweaked to work together properly, and many spells cannot work with one another at all. Variants of spells that are designed to work in harmony with other spells may also not work alone, so one may need to learn two versions of a spell, the lone version and component version. These work similarly to one another both mechanically and magically, so it usually takes less time to learn the second of variant of a spell than the first.

History

Unlike every other Progenitor Race the Tomari were not forged prior to or during the Astral Crusades, instead their creation began after the god Karanir took over as the High god of perseverance after the dissapearanc of his predecessor, Ravenan. As he was the only living High god within the Pantheon who had not crafted his own people it became difficult to legitimise his role even with the support of Gessar and Sar'aan's support. This problem was only deepened when the former god of perseverance had made one of the largest contributions during the crusade in leading a swathe of each gods forces in a single military formation.
Although their was no challenge to his position, indeed the currently active High gods were supportive Karanir took it upon himself to legitimise his role to ensure its safety in the future and forge a race that could easily be recognised as his creation. As with many other Progenitor gods he chose to use the form of the Astrals as his primary source of inspiration. However by this time Talirim was already well established and brimming with wildlife from which Karanir could draw further inspiration.
The resulting race was the Tomari, a race who's physiology pushed the boundary of what could be considered near-human. They possess many traits such as their eyes, legs and teeth that take cues from carnivorous mammals such as small dogs or predatory cats, Kerationous plates that can be compared to horns in structure or the armored plating on many defensive animals and functioning crests and psuedo wings that can loosely be compared to avian features.
The Tomari were released onto Tor'Saarn roughly 500 years prior to the first age, however the exact date is unknown as they did not maintain any form of physical record until reaching an iron age after encountering the Seltien settlers in far north Hyeros, approximately 125-130 years before the first age. It is believed that they first emerged in the tropical region of Alvene, however the exact area they emerged from is unknown as the only inhabitants in the region at that time were a race of proto-humans called the wild men who have long since disappeared, resulting in a situation where no surviving culture bore witness to their arrival.
It is known that they spent most of their early existence, about a century or so on Alvene before spreading to north Seofare and the western body of the true Wilderuns. This period in their history is called the first Tomari migration and was spurred by increasing tribal division as the number of individual tribes grew while they were stuck in Alvene. This would not have been an issue were it not for the highly migratory nature of their people. They found that the traditional camp sites they had established and willfully shared became difficult to claim for any period of time as moving tribes would have taken it already.
The Tomari tribes had a rigid set of standards as to where they could camp and only so many places in Alvene fit their criteria, so ultimately they found themselves leaving for other lands across the water, first to the northern Alvene chain of islands and then to Seofare and the Wilderuns. This expansion took place roughly 350 years prior to the first age according to documents written by early Seltien explorers. They would continue to grow into these regions before settling into their new homes.
The settlers in Seofare would continue to exapnd, albeit slowly as they developed more and more advance watercraft, even building basic row boats and small sailcraft. They would spur the second Tomari migration that would last until the first age as they slowly travelled to Hyeros, south Agral where they would begin trade with the free states and eventually encounter the Seltien settlers of northern Hyeros travelling south from Melnir. These early encounters quickly led to the two societies making regular contact and exchanging both resources and technology, something that would be unlikely in later history due to the first age's effect on jading society, but was quite common in the ancient west.
Neither the Tomari nor the Seltien had encountered the oppressive Felsaedan Empire growing in the far east, and thus had no reason not to trust outsiders. Many modern historians believed that the developing alliance could have resulted in the creation of a powerful Hyerosian and Seofare state as they were completely unchallenged in the region had the The Tiorathan Hierarchy not expanded eastward.
The Tomari's technological development would be halted when the Tiorathan hierarchy would begin systematically hunting down and destroying their tribes, killing or enslaving the Tomari as they marched eastward. These events lead to their third expansion where many Tomari, alongside many Seltien fled deep into the Wilderuns. Most Tomari still remained in their ancerstral homelands however, and soon the booming early iron age culture found in Alvene fell into ruin.
Alongside their allies the Seltien many Tomari were pressed into service by the Tiorathan empire. They were on occasion press ganged into military service alongside Herost Seltien, however due to their high mobility the risk of slaves escaping during a battle meant that they were seldom selected for this role. More often they were kept by private individuals or displayed to crowds as a kind of oddity, where they were treadted little better than animals. They would perform household tasks under the close watch of their masters, wait on their Tiorathan overlords or act as entertainment alongside exotic animals pulled from every corner of the conqured continent.
Ultimately they would endure a milennia as slaves before the Tiorathans would be forced to surrender their slaves. Like all freed slaves the majority of the Tomari abandoned Tiorath for the continent, opting to rebuild there decaying cultures. What set them apart from other slaves was the extreme difficulty Tiorath had in fully controlling them. It was in their nature to persevere, and once they set their sights on freedom it was exceedingly difficult to force them to give up on this goal. In the second age their survival through slavery is a point of pride and taken as proof that they cannot be conquered.

Advanced Physiology

Skeletal and Muscular Structures The bones of the Tomari people on average thinner than those of a human, contributing to their lighter frame. They are partially hollow and supported by a honecomb structure that makes them far lighter than an identical bone from a human. The lightweightedness of the Tomari is primarily because of their hollowed bones, however their muscles are also far less dense than other near-humans and they carry far less fat.
Their comparitive weakness when compared to similar races is due to the lowered muscle density of the Tomari, in addition to them having a lower muscle cap than humans. However their chest muscles are far more dense than those in the rest of the body as well as larger, and are close to those of humans.
An interesting trait possesed by the Tomari is the efficiency with which their muscle works. Although they are not strong their muscles can continue to operate for far longer than a humans without any form of rest, granting them the ability to walk for days on end. They also possess a form of muscle memory that allows them to travel familiar paths while partially asleep. This allows them to rest while travelling towards a familiar destination. They instinctively make quiet vocalisations while moving, creating a primitive form of echo-sense that causes them to wake if their path deviates from their muscle memories or if something that moves nearby draws too close. If a source of movement draws too close too quickly they may instinctively lift into the air.
Within their Pseudo-Wings they possess muscles that can go stiff to keep them erect with minimal effort or soreness while still capable of slight adjustments. This means they can function at full capacity without requiring extra muscle mass that would weigh the flyer down.
Diet Tomari are obligate omnivores, and require both meat and vegetables to survive. If they fail to ingest meat their keratin plates will begin to degrade, however even completely degraded plates can heal with time and a high meat diet. Traditionally the meat they consume is completely from hunted game as they have a cultural taboo against eating domesticated animals, however they may eat domesticated animals when raised outside of their primary culture.
Most of the fruits and vegetables they eat are similarly harvested from the wilds, however unlike domestic meat it is not taboo for them to eat domesticated plants. They most often consume tubers, berries and edible greenery and many particularly large tribes cultivate grains, fruits and vegetables. They may also trade for crops harvested by neighboring settlements, meaning they often eat a wider variety of plant based foods than they do meats.
They also consume dairy based products such as cheeses and milk, which they harvest from some of their domestic animals (as they can eat animal products from domestic stock as long as the animal is not harmed). Although not purely necessary dairy has formed an important part of their diets as it greatly benefits their bone development.
Miscellaneous The accoustic pseudo wings function by funnelling air directly from the lungs through accoustic vibration chambers that create vibrations at the right frequencies to create an air pocket that lifts them off of the ground and stay susspended in the air. The exact means they achieve this by is not fully understood.
One of the more noteworthy unseen Tomari features is an advanced Vocal set of chambers that combine features of a true larynx and true syrinx allowing for an immense range of vocalisations and tri-tonal sounds (humans can make one sound at a time through a larynx, while some birds can make two at a time through their syrinx. A Tomari can do both, giving them the ability to make complex tri-tonal sounds).
Their advanced vocal muscles can also replicate most speech without using lips purely through their syrinx allowing them to speak without moving their mouth, or to speak in two separate voices at one time (though the latter ability does require mouth movement). In a single voice they can utter words that hybridise voice and song, and naturally their language incorporates sounds that no human could make naturally.
This complex vocal setup also allows them to easilly mimic voices far better than most sentients races, and masters of this art can copy a conversation between two individuals. This talent has proven a promising trait in Tomari who pursue careers away from their tribes such as acting, singing and even seedier jobs.

Arrival in Tor'Saarn/Ravenna

Estimated at 500 BFE

Parental god

Karanir

Worshipped gods

Karanir, Sar'aan, Gessar

Native regions

Alvene

Lifespan

70-100

Height

Male:155-195cm Female:140-180cm

Weight

27-59kg