Post by Valalerin on Dec 9, 2007 15:36:59 GMT
Description:
The Anja are a race of humanoid cat-like creatures that have evolved and adapted to an incredible host of environments. The only place that an Anja is not capable of surviving in is a desert.
All Anja have black fur, it is their one characteristic that never changes throughout the entire race. Their face have a different colour fur, mostly white but some have brown fur on their face, but this is much rarer. They are approximately three and a half feet tall, with sizes varying by no more than a foot between adults, but it is often mistaken that Anja have no young as they grow extremely fast and reach adult size in under six years.
They have very short lives in comparison to humans, living for little more than forty years each, but reaching adulthood in roughly twelve years.
They are intelligent creatures, and their clothing consists entirely of a special kind of linen fibre made from vines in the forests they live in. They are also herbivores, and the nature of their flat teeth makes it virtually impossible for them to chew meat properly enough to be capable of eating it.
In contrast to their vegetarian nature, the Anja that live in areas that have no vines or grass as such have been known to hunt animals for clothing - But there are only a few tribes that live in conditions like this, as it is considered foolish to live in a place where survival requires such a radical change of life.
Anja are usually peaceful, although they are highly territorial and some tribes are so xenophobic that any attempts to enter their camps will result in an attack. Tribes are told apart by their eye colour and facial fur colour. The colour of their eyes depicts the tribe they belong to, it is thought that this occurred when during their initial split into tribes they chose only to go with those of the same colours.
History:
The Anja are so varied in their nature that it is near impossible to compile their way of life into a history. What is known is that they are allied to those most honest with them, and under no conditions attack members of the same race. Hostility is kept with other races, and even the most friendly Anja are hard to connect to.
However, once a friendship has been settled with one they are loyal to the death as friends.
It is known that even the Anja that live under King Shrenk’s rule are still friendly, if not legally bound not to speak with them, with the Anja that coincide with Stronghelm’s rule.
Therefore, a history of the Anja can only be summed up as that they were once universally neutral to one another, but the war has forced several tribes into a closer alliance and other tribes to turn hostile, splitting the Anja into two sections. However, this split still has relatively little effect on them, as Anja will only go to war if the wind tells them to.
Way of Life:
Anja life consists of training for combat and exploring the woods. They are highly curious creatures and will tinker with anything they find foreign until they figure out how it works. They spend most of their time in the woodlands or surrounding lands exploring places, they do not record what they find or see, they remember it instead. Navigating through terrain owned by Anja is notoriously difficult due to a complete lack of maps or signs.
They are also highly religious, bound by the will of the wind and spend almost a fifth of their day in their temple, going there for two hours in the morning, and then going for two hours before sleeping. This kind of religious dedication is unfound in the other races.
The majority of Anja trade lies in construction or food for food. They have no currency as gold is seen as useless for anything other than decoration, and instead their trade consists of trading berries for bread, or building a windmill in exchange for building a bridge.
Anja are highly skilled builders, constructing with profound accuracy a variety of structures from water-wheels to windmills in half the time it takes humans. However, this architectural skill does not translate into weaponology, and their skill for making anything other than a sword or staff is non-existent, they are incapable of making even chain-mail armour or shields.
Faith:
The Anja faith lies in the wind. They follow the ‘words’ of the wind deftly, doing exactly as they believe they are instructed. It is completely unknown how they extract logic and reason from what others hear as simply whistles and whooshes produced by an elaborate system of piping and tubing, but they appear to have far more advanced hearing than the typical human, or even Elf.
There is, in every village, a ‘Listener’ appointed, whose job it is to listen to the wind throughout the entire day and, if it calls for such, even at night. There is then a kind of Holy Warrior appointed who handles foreign affairs. It is this Paladin’s job to trade with other towns, settle disputes or even declare war.
However, the direct act of declaring war is something that has only happened once in Anja history, and the act cannot be done without consent from the wind. This war also lasted a mere three months, with the declaring force overwhelming the other very quickly.
Places of Importance:
Windbreaker Village
This is the largest and most impressive of the Anja settlements. The settlement boasts a windmill and a large bridge. It is far more advanced than any other Anja settlement recorded.
An Example of an Anja Village:
The Anja are a race of humanoid cat-like creatures that have evolved and adapted to an incredible host of environments. The only place that an Anja is not capable of surviving in is a desert.
All Anja have black fur, it is their one characteristic that never changes throughout the entire race. Their face have a different colour fur, mostly white but some have brown fur on their face, but this is much rarer. They are approximately three and a half feet tall, with sizes varying by no more than a foot between adults, but it is often mistaken that Anja have no young as they grow extremely fast and reach adult size in under six years.
They have very short lives in comparison to humans, living for little more than forty years each, but reaching adulthood in roughly twelve years.
They are intelligent creatures, and their clothing consists entirely of a special kind of linen fibre made from vines in the forests they live in. They are also herbivores, and the nature of their flat teeth makes it virtually impossible for them to chew meat properly enough to be capable of eating it.
In contrast to their vegetarian nature, the Anja that live in areas that have no vines or grass as such have been known to hunt animals for clothing - But there are only a few tribes that live in conditions like this, as it is considered foolish to live in a place where survival requires such a radical change of life.
Anja are usually peaceful, although they are highly territorial and some tribes are so xenophobic that any attempts to enter their camps will result in an attack. Tribes are told apart by their eye colour and facial fur colour. The colour of their eyes depicts the tribe they belong to, it is thought that this occurred when during their initial split into tribes they chose only to go with those of the same colours.
History:
The Anja are so varied in their nature that it is near impossible to compile their way of life into a history. What is known is that they are allied to those most honest with them, and under no conditions attack members of the same race. Hostility is kept with other races, and even the most friendly Anja are hard to connect to.
However, once a friendship has been settled with one they are loyal to the death as friends.
It is known that even the Anja that live under King Shrenk’s rule are still friendly, if not legally bound not to speak with them, with the Anja that coincide with Stronghelm’s rule.
Therefore, a history of the Anja can only be summed up as that they were once universally neutral to one another, but the war has forced several tribes into a closer alliance and other tribes to turn hostile, splitting the Anja into two sections. However, this split still has relatively little effect on them, as Anja will only go to war if the wind tells them to.
Way of Life:
Anja life consists of training for combat and exploring the woods. They are highly curious creatures and will tinker with anything they find foreign until they figure out how it works. They spend most of their time in the woodlands or surrounding lands exploring places, they do not record what they find or see, they remember it instead. Navigating through terrain owned by Anja is notoriously difficult due to a complete lack of maps or signs.
They are also highly religious, bound by the will of the wind and spend almost a fifth of their day in their temple, going there for two hours in the morning, and then going for two hours before sleeping. This kind of religious dedication is unfound in the other races.
The majority of Anja trade lies in construction or food for food. They have no currency as gold is seen as useless for anything other than decoration, and instead their trade consists of trading berries for bread, or building a windmill in exchange for building a bridge.
Anja are highly skilled builders, constructing with profound accuracy a variety of structures from water-wheels to windmills in half the time it takes humans. However, this architectural skill does not translate into weaponology, and their skill for making anything other than a sword or staff is non-existent, they are incapable of making even chain-mail armour or shields.
Faith:
The Anja faith lies in the wind. They follow the ‘words’ of the wind deftly, doing exactly as they believe they are instructed. It is completely unknown how they extract logic and reason from what others hear as simply whistles and whooshes produced by an elaborate system of piping and tubing, but they appear to have far more advanced hearing than the typical human, or even Elf.
There is, in every village, a ‘Listener’ appointed, whose job it is to listen to the wind throughout the entire day and, if it calls for such, even at night. There is then a kind of Holy Warrior appointed who handles foreign affairs. It is this Paladin’s job to trade with other towns, settle disputes or even declare war.
However, the direct act of declaring war is something that has only happened once in Anja history, and the act cannot be done without consent from the wind. This war also lasted a mere three months, with the declaring force overwhelming the other very quickly.
Places of Importance:
Windbreaker Village
This is the largest and most impressive of the Anja settlements. The settlement boasts a windmill and a large bridge. It is far more advanced than any other Anja settlement recorded.
An Example of an Anja Village:
