People of Antediluvian: Horthrushes
Well Met Travellers,
Welcome to Another of my worldbuilding sessions. Last week, I covered Orcs, the tribal culture that has been spread to the edges of the earth by their god.
This week, I shall delve into the Horthrushes, the highly religious, king-worshiping bird-people of this world that I have created.
Horthrushes, while named after the Thrush due to the fact that the Thrush Variety of humanoid was discovered in the Hor Foothills, they can appear as any type of bird in existence. Due to the diversified varieties of appearances of Horthrushes, it makes the task of describing them to someone who has never seen a Horthrush Difficult. The easiest description is a humanoid bird with or without wings, for while Horthrushes are birds, not all are born with wings. Unlike the Dracons, this presence or lack of wings does not affect their society.
Horthrushes have a very interesting clothing style, for they often live in places that are at higher altitudes, thus their clothing tends to be thick, but airy to keep the Horthrush warm while still allowing room for movement. Their clothes also tend to reflect the colors of the landscape and sky around them, leading to clothes often being dressed in orange, red, grey, blue, and black. To give an idea of how these creatures dress, look to the clothing of the Incans. Due to their love of the open sky and the ability of some of these creatures to fly, their armor tends to be lighter than most.
The culture of the Horthrushes is a culture of king-worship and spirituality. The Horthrushes are a deeply religious society, for they worship a number of Gods as their primary deities, but they depict these deities differently than other races. Evelune, the Goddess of light (and by their thoughts the sun), is depicted as a Falcon Headed goddess. Miraleen, the Mother of Ravens and the Mistress of Change, is worshiped as a great crow who ushers in each new age with a great change in the world. Jerrat, the lord of the Natural realm, is viewed as a muscular human with the head of a great horned owl. Nekros, the God of Death, is viewed as a vulture-headed god who carries souls into the afterlife. On top of the Gods, the Horthrushes also worship Voxis the Air-Weaver as the lord of the sky. While these are all of the gods that the Horthrushes worship, it is not an exhaustive list of deities, for the Horthrushes view their kings as Divine. They worship their kings as gods, imbuing them with a sliver of divinity and transforming them into demigods. The social classes of the Horthrushes are divided into how close of proximity that their career takes them to their God-King, for they believe this affects how much divinity they can absorb into themselves. This means that the priests are the highest class outside of the king, and those who spend much time away from the nest are of the lowest class.
Magic is very important to the Horthrushes, for they are obsessed with divinity. Divine Magic is seen as the greatest magic that can be obtained and arcane is considered profane, while druidic magic is happily accepted but not revered. Divine magic is beloved because the gods bestow it upon their worshipers. Natural magic is accepted because it is believed (wrongly) that Jerrat created natural magic as a way to combat the profane arcane magic. Arcane Magic is believed to be evil among the Horthrushes because it is usurping power from the gods; it is considered a necessary evil because it can do good in society, and it is realized that some of the old tabboos may be incorrect (though the priests will never admit that openly).
The structure of Horthrush government is that of a Theocratic Monarchy. The God-King reigns on his throne until his death when his divinity passes to his eldest male heir. This God-King is the supreme power of the Kingdom, for none would dare to question the authority of a god. Below him are the priests who can give minor orders, but they are required to inform the king of any decisions that they make.
The language of the Horthrushes is known as Illic. It is a language of chips and whistles, which is hard but not impossible for non-Horthrushes to learn.
Marriage and Funeral Customs
The Marriage customs of the Horthrushes was taught to them by the Eagle Emissaries of the Airweaver. In this process, the Horthrushes lock talons and leap off of a cliff, and they hold onto each other until just before impact with the land, at which point, they soar (those without wings having a flight spell cast upon them before jumping) into the air and return to the point from which they jumped off. This is considered a binding marriage in the eyes of the Avian Gods.
Horthrush funerary customs involve mummification, for they believe that because their Kings are gods Wrapped in mortal flesh, that when they die, they fall dormant, awaiting a day when the land will be purified, and the dead will return. The kings will return first as full-fledged gods, then the other Horthrushes will return according to how much divinity they absorbed from their kings. Because these dead will return, the Horthrushes feel that the bodies must be preserved until the soul can return.
Scepter of the God-King
Legendary
This golden, Phoenix-headed Scepter is they symbol of Royal Power, and the origin of the concept of the God-King. This staff passes from one king to the next, and provides the power that gave birth to the God-King Myth, but now just amplifies the power these demi-gods already have.
Properties: Presence +3, Creation 5, Aura 8 (Demoralized), Potent, Charmed 6
I think that is all for this week. If you enjoyed this post, click the follow button in the sidebar.
Until Next Time,
Farewell and Safe Journeys, Travellers
Welcome to Another of my worldbuilding sessions. Last week, I covered Orcs, the tribal culture that has been spread to the edges of the earth by their god.
This week, I shall delve into the Horthrushes, the highly religious, king-worshiping bird-people of this world that I have created.
 |
| https://www.deviantart.com/art/Sketch-161-Aarakocra-Druid-600882902 |
Horthrushes have a very interesting clothing style, for they often live in places that are at higher altitudes, thus their clothing tends to be thick, but airy to keep the Horthrush warm while still allowing room for movement. Their clothes also tend to reflect the colors of the landscape and sky around them, leading to clothes often being dressed in orange, red, grey, blue, and black. To give an idea of how these creatures dress, look to the clothing of the Incans. Due to their love of the open sky and the ability of some of these creatures to fly, their armor tends to be lighter than most.
 |
| https://kimberlyesc.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/177032_388994487817131_1847613911_o.jpg?w=584&h=310 |
Magic is very important to the Horthrushes, for they are obsessed with divinity. Divine Magic is seen as the greatest magic that can be obtained and arcane is considered profane, while druidic magic is happily accepted but not revered. Divine magic is beloved because the gods bestow it upon their worshipers. Natural magic is accepted because it is believed (wrongly) that Jerrat created natural magic as a way to combat the profane arcane magic. Arcane Magic is believed to be evil among the Horthrushes because it is usurping power from the gods; it is considered a necessary evil because it can do good in society, and it is realized that some of the old tabboos may be incorrect (though the priests will never admit that openly).
 |
| https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4vgO6lm3tGcw0LgSfnjkUYz-BO4ouGqYIxSElRov9e_wjJgBPr8fqWELPOKBWGdqq0k7kHE0S2lQYY6m6HASFOfFee-e1dLPq__M2_OZ0Ui2t2bCZYVtGIljdNIbj0LdKy_ZvVjk_Yg/s1600/peacock_lord_by_windmaker-d5gxmn1.jpg |
The structure of Horthrush government is that of a Theocratic Monarchy. The God-King reigns on his throne until his death when his divinity passes to his eldest male heir. This God-King is the supreme power of the Kingdom, for none would dare to question the authority of a god. Below him are the priests who can give minor orders, but they are required to inform the king of any decisions that they make.
The language of the Horthrushes is known as Illic. It is a language of chips and whistles, which is hard but not impossible for non-Horthrushes to learn.
 |
| https://orig00.deviantart.net/14ea/f/2017/145/c/8/aarakocra_by_deskleaves-dbagc13.png |
Marriage and Funeral Customs
The Marriage customs of the Horthrushes was taught to them by the Eagle Emissaries of the Airweaver. In this process, the Horthrushes lock talons and leap off of a cliff, and they hold onto each other until just before impact with the land, at which point, they soar (those without wings having a flight spell cast upon them before jumping) into the air and return to the point from which they jumped off. This is considered a binding marriage in the eyes of the Avian Gods.
 |
| https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DBHDlUYUAAAoI5k.jpg |
Horthrush funerary customs involve mummification, for they believe that because their Kings are gods Wrapped in mortal flesh, that when they die, they fall dormant, awaiting a day when the land will be purified, and the dead will return. The kings will return first as full-fledged gods, then the other Horthrushes will return according to how much divinity they absorbed from their kings. Because these dead will return, the Horthrushes feel that the bodies must be preserved until the soul can return.
Scepter of the God-King
Legendary
This golden, Phoenix-headed Scepter is they symbol of Royal Power, and the origin of the concept of the God-King. This staff passes from one king to the next, and provides the power that gave birth to the God-King Myth, but now just amplifies the power these demi-gods already have.
Properties: Presence +3, Creation 5, Aura 8 (Demoralized), Potent, Charmed 6
I think that is all for this week. If you enjoyed this post, click the follow button in the sidebar.
Until Next Time,
Farewell and Safe Journeys, Travellers
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