The Raptari are fierce, avian-humanoids bred for war by the Realmwalker. The Raptari deliver a powerful mix of cowboy bravado, exploration skill, and martial prowess, making them simultaneously feared and indispensable within the rough-and-tumble dynamics of Void society. See also [[(NL) By the Blood of Mountains]] / https://www.notion.so/Eheuian-Idioms-Language-9837b0b82ce1465995324666dd8c746b - **Warrior Ethos:** Embrace personal bravery, skill, and reputation above diplomacy or formal alliances. Respect is earned through daring exploits. - **Navigator Clans:** Organized into loosely affiliated clans known as "Fleets," each competing for dominance, territory, and fame. - **Expert Navigators:** Renowned for charting dangerous regions of the Void, discovering new skerries, trade routes, and hidden dungeons. - **Mercenary and Escort Services:** Willing to fight aggressively against Void predators, pirates, or enemy factions for the right price. - **Captured Technology:** Supply exotic or powerful cosmic tech salvaged from dangerous missions and battles. - **Combat Training and Protection Contracts:** Offer expertise and skilled fighters as mercenaries or bodyguards, their presence alone often enough to deter threats. ## idioms & language ### Cut the Air > She had reminded him of his wife’s death even as she, his daughter, failed to cut the air and set the formation as her mother had done. I wanted to reference this national geographic article about how [lead birds “cut the air”](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/birds-that-fly-in-a-v-formation-use-an-amazing-trick) when flying at the front of a v-formation, but am not quite sure I managed it. Basically, Kala is supposed to be the tip of the formation making it easier for other birds (aka being a leader) but is not. ### Eheuian Names Eheuian names are mostly based off [Pacific Island / Polynesian sources](https://momlovesbest.com/pacific-islander-baby-names), e.g.: Mahiai (Farmer) Kaman (Carpenter), Tusiata (poet), Kaipo (the sweetheart), Kamalani (Sky Child), Kiri (bark or fruit), Enoha (bird), Lono (god of agriculture aka farmer). ## homeworld ## Bluestone Bluestone is similar to calcified bone; basically, it is created when imported alien bacteria brought by the Realmwalker eats the dead flesh of an Eheuain. The process takes years, but their bodies were basically genetically engineered to condense aether in a manner significantly more efficient than mage-auras, particularly in the blood. Bluestone is essentially inert, and not terribly “pure,” but the material can be refined into aetherals. An Eheuian’s body, broken down into bluestone, has significantly more condensed magic than simply draining their blood. Although Eheuian blood _can_ be used for magic, there is no good way to store it, and although Eheuian blood can make aetherals appear to grow, the method is dangerous for the refiner and can cause the aetheral to become unstable, increasing its likelihood of rupturing upon use. ## Aetherals Aetherals are _usually_ magic crystals made out of a mage’s blood that can be used to passively pull power from the aether and refine it at a very slow rate. ### Eheu Isle Originated in Eheu Isle, the winged inhabitants were taught by a Realmwalker because they were meant to create a stockpile for him to use. On Eheu Isle, aetherals are created by mining bluestone, taking the flakes, heating and melting them in the cauldron. The heating a melting removes impurities, leaving the aetheral crystals. Adding the blood of a living Eheuian makes the crystal grow bigger by adding more core ingredients; it's pure compared to the bluestone which is probably contaminated by weather and nature as well as parts of the Eheu that cannot be used for aetheral. One of the reasons they bury the corpses in sacred spaces instead of making aetherals straight from the corpses is that the "blood makes the crystals grow faster" is only true of the blood; the decomposition process in the sacred spaces is aided by some magic decomposer beasties that basically help get "every last drop of latent power" out of the bodies (not just the blood) during the process of forming bluestone. The corpse blood is a catalyst for the decomposers, so long term bluestones are still a better choice than bleeding an entire body dry of blood. The decomposition process of corpse to harvestable bluesteone takes several years. This is one reason there's a taboo against bleeding priestesses; it's short-sighted because it weakens them. bleeding them is more effective short term but worse long term, sort of like killing the cow to sell the meat instead of keeping her for milk. The other reasons have to do with attempts to limit inter-group violence thru cultural norms. The Realmwalker really doesn't want his backup battery being rendered useless by civil war. ### Elsewhere Later (chronogically), they're often bought in the Arais Delta and used to fuel the enchantment magic common in Arais. The Voldshee mages didn’t do much with bluestone except trade it; the Arais mages actually figured it out and kept the secret for many generations. It's also what was used to build the tower in Temple Mage. The color varies depending on the power of the inputs; all the Eheuian ones are blue (they have no strength variance because they were basically genetically engineered). Aetherals are useful as currency at various points and times, along with other things that are useful as currency. In the early days there aren't really enough mages / knowledge of how they work for that to be useful but later on in the series, absolutely. As a currency, it would function s similar to the "scales" in the Cradle series. ## Aetherrock Based on aerogels (but less absorbent), aetherrock is a product of transmutation that was discovered by the early Temple of The Gardener, which uses thin aetherrock bubbles to preserve food by creating a vacuum inside the bubble. These brittle bubbles are easily shattered/broken open and are non-toxic, so they're good for food storage. They are incredibly light, excellent insulators, conductive, and function essentially by using magic to remove the air from "inside" the material, creating tiny vacuum pockets. Aetherrock is typically a translucent blue hue. The Temple of The Architect pioneered a method to make them less brittle by including elastic "fibers" in the micro-structure, which makes it suitable for large building that would, if build out of contemporary materials, otherwise collapse under their own weight. The winds near Eheu Isle typically blow from south to north. This shifts every 2-7 years in a pattern similar to the [El Niño and La Niña effects](https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/el-ni%C3%B1o-and-la-ni%C3%B1a-frequently-asked-questions). This has important effects on [🎉Eheuian festivals](https://www.notion.so/Eheuian-festivals-5d0f0fe3cec7442da3090a8c0cac10ab?pvs=24) Eheu Isle basically has two seasons, “sunny” and “dark.” The pines produce a lot of pollen during the sunny season, so that’s when the tulpi are most active in the skies. During the “dark” season, the Eheuians spend more time grounded, because the tulpi root through the snow in the lower regions, eating and drinking and getting the trapped pollen from the snow pockets. Under normal circumstances, there’s a “going dark” and a “going bright” festival. The “going dark” festival is normally when people swap into new clans. The “going bright” festival is _normally_ when people formally marry and join the priesthood. However, when the trade winds shift, that’s basically an “all hands on deck!” situation, the festival gets moved up, and everything happens really fast because it triggers a moment when a bunch of priests have to fly south, are gone for awhile, and then come back when the winds shift back to normal. It’s a limited opportunity, and everybody needs to gather to make sure the maximum amount of trade goods are available and all the formal religious things are taken care of and wrapped up, since there will be fewer priests available for awhile. See also: [weather patterns](https://www.notion.so/weather-patterns-205b8f1103534d48891a786b2bde4c85?pvs=21) Eheuains mostly eat insects and birds, but also byproducts like eggs and cheese. They do slaughter tulpi during [Eheuian festivals](https://www.notion.so/Eheuian-festivals-5d0f0fe3cec7442da3090a8c0cac10ab?pvs=21) (similar to how we slaughter lamb and sheep at certain times of year). They do not have chickens, the tulpi are the only animals they explicitly herd. Tulpi are basically flying whales / mammalian enough to lactate. The eheuians mostly eat insects for the same reasons birds do; they're fliers, and they're extremely opportunistic omnivores. They spend most of their time flying while the tulpi "graze" on pollen, keeping the tulpi where they ought to be and making sure they stay together and don't fight too much, so the eheuians will sort of also opportunistically graze on "tulpi parasites" that are kinda like barnacles and other parasitic mites and fish that would bother whales. If they're landed they might eat stuff from the food stores, hunt marmots, or whatever See also: [Organisms at high altitude - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisms_at_high_altitude)