Aliyuk
The aliyuk are the largest race found in the Skies, native to the grassy plains of southern Union. Resembling giant anthropomorphized moose, the aliyuk stand at an impressive average of 2.8 meters to 3.1 meters tall.
The aliyuk are descendants of Greenborn Gentle Ones who left Plenty just 10 years after the first Sky Ships made landfall on the island. Driven apart by philosophical differences, they left their home and arrived on this island where they remained in isolation for more than a century. In that time, the aliyuk developed into the goliaths of fur and muscle that they are now, due to the strange influence of Union's three Source Crystals.
While small in number, based on their sheer size and muscle mass, a single aliyuk could easily trounce 6 or more non-aliyuk in simple combat. This doesn't take into account the years of combat experience the aliyuk possess. Since their ancestors first came to the island of Union, aliyuk have had to defend themselves from elemental horrors, terrible sky beasts, pirates, raids from the Vezulva tribe of northern union, and eventually, colonization efforts from Molten Heart in 300 AF. The aliyuk, despite their small numbers, have repelled all invaders, and as such, have developed a proud warrior culture built around hand to hand combat, grappling, headbutts, and, for males, the use of their horns.
Aliyuk society is divided into a number of families who each mind different aspects of survival, while also contributing to the general wellbeing of their people as a whole. The Nine Families, as they are called, are huge, and each is controlled by a family head. While the council does vote on issues and decides the direction the people will move on different issues, they are not elected, and the aliyuk system is not democratic. Instead, family heads are appointed by the previous family head, or else the position is won in ritual combat.
In the modern times, the aliyuk have entered into an alliance with the people of Paradise. The aliyuk provide a number of their brave warriors to the service of the The Crown of Paradise in exchange for greater supplies of food, tools, and help with building more stable fortifications.
Other aliyuk sell their services across the Skies as mercenaries and warriors for hire. As such, they've gained a reputation for being unparalleled fighters and shrewd negotiators.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Aliyuk are tall and wide beings, covered in short shaggy brown hair which shifts in colour with the season. Two large antlers sprout from the head of males of the species, which are covered in a layer of skin and fur. Their faces are long, resembling that of a horse or camel, but with a larger nose that droops slightly downward. Their legs are like tree trunks, having to support so much weight, and have developed into cloven hooves over the course of centuries. Their arms are muscular, but thin towards their wrists, and their hands, while huge in comparison to most other races, seem slightly too small when compared to the rest of their body. Their eyes are small, generally brown, and have odd oval shaped pupils.
Male and female aliyuk are easily distinguishable, as male bodied aliyuk have horns while female bodied aliyuk do not. Interestingly, female aliyuk actually have a slightly thicker plate of bone at the top of their heads, when compared to the males of the species, likely the result of natural selection favoring those who could more easily survive the headbutting centric marshal art of female aliyuk.
Genetics and Reproduction
Aliyuk give birth to live young, with the gestation period of just around 8 months. While willing and able to mate all year round, aliyuk traditionally tend to wait for the end of the month of twilight before engaging in sexual relations, particularly if they are trying to have a child.
Growth Rate & Stages
Aliyuk are born able to stand and walk, although it takes some months for them to completely master the skill. They can speak by age 1, and begin instruction in the ways of their people around the same time. Aliyuk reach maturity around the same time that Sapie do, roughly around the age of 17 to 18. However, they live slightly shorter lives, with their average life expectancy capping out around their 80th to 85th year.
Ecology and Habitats
Aliyuk developed on the southern half of the island of Union. Their side of the island is a hilly plane, dominated by a large sand-bottom lake which takes up much of its surface. There are few trees, most of the plant life being shrubbery or water based plants. The seasons shift dramatically as the seasons change, with it growing much colder in Terminus, and very warm in Youth.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Aliyuk are habitual herbivores who primarily survived on a diet mainly consisting of roots, shrubs, flowers, and aquatic vegetation such as water-lilies and lake-weed, all of which are in large supply on their side of Union. In the past, aliyuk had to practice strict population control in order to not outstrip their islands ability to support them. Despite this abundance, aliyuk need to eat multiple times a day to maintain their towering physique. With recent bargains for food with the island kingdom of Paradise, aliyuk have been able to gain access to more nourishing foods at a faster rate. Not only does this mean aliyuk no longer have to rely as heavily on their habitat to support them, but it also means that they have to eat fewer times per day over all. The sudden relative abundance of food has also led to a small population boom, as population restrictions are being slowly lifted.
Biological Cycle
Aliyuk have two seasonal cycles, one that effects both males and females, and one that effects only male bodied individuals.
The first is that the natural fur of the aliyuk changes colour with the seasons, transitioning between a lighter brown in the summer months, into a darker brown during the winter. This is likely to aid against the cold in the winter and mitigate heat in the summer, as darker colours absorb heat and lighter colours reflect it better.
The second cycle is a process known as "the shedding". Once a year, during the first period of the month of Rebirth, male aliyuk must shed their horns so that a new set may grow in for the coming year. To do so they must rub off the layer of skin which grows around their horns, often rubbing it off against one of the sacred trees which are an integral part of aliyuk spirit worship. It takes an astonishing 30 days for the horns to regrow, during this time male aliyuk adopt fighting styles similar to the headbutting focused females of their species.
Older aliyuk are prone to memory loss and dementia in their old age. While not all aliyuk suffer from this, those that do rarely make it past their 70th year.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Each aliyuk belongs to one of the following Nine Families and takes their family name as their second name. The familes are as follows:
- The Brodoaks
- The Stone-Antlers
- The Ferns
- The Bonecutters
- The Airwin
- The Trodden-Path
- The Cinderbirch
- The Coldbark
- The Rainwalkers
Common Etiquette Rules
Aliyuk culture stresses extreme deference to elders. The rational behind this is that those who came before were smart enough to survive the trails and tribulations of history, so their words should be acknowledged. While this general sentiment holds true, if a younger buck disagrees with an elders ruling, they are always free to challenge them in ritual combat to overturn their ruling. Elder aliyuk however, are the most skilled, deadly warriors of their kind, so rarely does a younger buck win their headstrong challenge.
Common Myths and Legends
The aliyuk do not have a formalized, polytheistic religion like most of the Skies. Instead, the aliyuk practice a combination of animism and spiritism, viewing the land, creatures, and plants as having souls or at least spiritual weight. Particularly powerful spirits, they believe, can be bound to specific objects or people, and can act in either a positive protective manner, or a negative harmful manner. Elder aliyuk are generally considered spiritual leaders, and while the young folk work to maintain the communities physical needs, the elders work to purge negative spirits from the island and encourage positive spirits to settle in their place.
Aliyuk spiritual life revolves around a number of sacred birch trees scattered across the island. These birch trees are used for a buck's first shedding, and are a part of the ritual processes for a boy ascending to manhood.
Related Ethnicities
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