Tellus: Sky-Folks, Zhulen Clans and Gigas

Why not continue with a nod to several series, including Breath of Fire and Fire Emblem? Yes I know that one is a tactical RPG but its still a form of RPG and it is Japanese so it does sort of count. There's also a few nods to The Legend of Dragoon in there as inspiration for good measure but generally speaking that's a game way less people remember these days.

Sky-Folks (Siren)

An Aegyl from FFXII:
Revenant Wings

Winged humanoids, enchanting and ethereal. Among those of the elder races, the dwindling Sky-Folks have myths which tell the tale of the arrival of the Ulm to the world of Tellus. Since then, the Sky-Folks (and other races) have slowly waned in influence. Then again, by nature, the Sky-Folks were a nomadic people safe for their distant aeries where they met for religious ceremonies and breeding, where young Sky-Folks would hatch and be taught how to fly without breaking their wings. The Ulm's spread over the world took centuries before it became a problem to the Sky-Folks.

Appearance

The Sky-Folks are physically similar to the Ulm but of a much slighter and elongated build. Their most distinct features is the large pair of wings which grow from their backs. With their slim build and delicate features they are quite alluring to member of other races. A Sky-Folk able to hide his or her wings can pass for a very beautiful, if exotic Ulm. This is particularly true of half breeds who have very human-like features. Each distinct clan of Sky-Folks has a unique set of wing and hair colors/pattern combinations, from pure shades of white, brown, red or black to mixed patterns of these plus other colors such as blue or yellow.

As a race of flyers, Sky-Folks are fairly light on clothing when found outside of the aeries, as they cannot carry heavy loads when flying, resulting in simple clothing decorated in extremely unique and colorful patterns. Weapons and armor too are quite light and sparse for ease of travel. When inside their aeries, however, they are fine with wearing more such as ceremonial robes and richly decorated clothes so long as their wings can deploy to glide up and down between levels. They lay eggs but are also inter-fertile with human: however only those born from eggs laid by a Sky-Folk mother are born as Sky-Folks. The mixed race children do look like their parents in other regards. Rumors persist of unlucky children born wingless from eggs and of seemingly-human children growing wings as they approach adulthood but these might only be myths.

Culture

Nina from Breath of Fire II

The Sky-Folks are a race of nomads, poets, philosophers explorers, travelers, seer and troubadour. Being not only attractive and gifted with an innate ability to enthrall others has helped the Sky-Folks to not completely go extinct as the Ulm covered the world. They travelled across the Ulm's new kingdoms and nations, bringing gifts from faraway lands and teaching the Ulma new sciences and magic. Others became courtesan or even lovers to great heroes and nobles. It is believed that much of Ulm magic and mythology is derived from their early mingling of the Sky-Folks and both races share some fairly common points when it come to their myths and beliefs.

However that was a long time ago.

The Sky-Folks are increasingly growing embittered by a world they find more and more alien. Many of their aeries have turned to isolationism and even xenophobia, fearing the earth-bound Ulm. Others found themselves trapped between warring nations and faced extinction. Others found themselves enslaved. This has hurt the collective pride of race which once flew from one end of the world to the next. There are young Sky-Folks who are being brought into the service of the Sheradil Empire as flying shock troops, allowed to fly with heavier armor and weapons through magic and technology. This is an interesting prospect to the more war-like Sky-Folks as it would completely negate the one weakness of their flight.

Zhulen Clans (Dragonborn)

Artist unknown but I absolutely love her design.

Said to have the blood of True Dragons in their veins, the Zhulen people have remained as unchanged as ever in the modern age. Equally gifted as sorcerers and warriors their culture has continued to thrive where the Sky-Folks have faltered. Perhaps it is because the Sky-Folks were evasive, and shifting like the wind and sea whereas the Zhulen were like a raging fire and unbreakable mountain and so have remained defiant in spite of the spread of the Ulma.

The Zhulen takes a few ideas from the previous Opherian description of the otherwise unrelated crossover of Godbound and the Opherian scrolls but with as much, much lighter tone.

Appearance

At a quick glance, the draconic ancestry of the Zhulen people is not quite obvious as they appear akin to tall and muscular Ulm. Their teeth are slightly sharper, as are their nails and even slightly their ears. The hair of the Zhulen people is notoriously wild and spiky, with vivid colors such as red, orange and the slightly rare blue being common. Like the Sky-Folks they are egg-layer and follow similar rules when it come to mating with the Ulm. It is unknown if they can breed with Sky-Folks but presumably the child would also be the race of the mother if they can.

Befitting of their fiery personality, the Zhulen are a notoriously bold people and favor particularly fancy clothes and armor: the flashier and/or more intimidating, the better. Gold and bronze are well-favored elements in their gear, as are feather and scale motifs. Many of their more baroque designs have been adopted by the Ulma over the years. When going on about their daily lives, they like skirts, short tunic and poncho. Being naturally-resistant to the elements give them much less of a reason to cover their bodies and as such, elaborate body art is not uncommon as a mean for a member of the Zhulen clan to establish their identity.

Culture

Kain from FFIV

The Zhulen Clans cannot be completely reduced to a simple shtick as warrior, mages or merchants: these three however are very common sight in other lands, as Zhulen adventurers are decently common with traders and mercenaries being just as if not more common. Pride, self-expression and passion are very important to their culture and finding a meek Zhulen is about as likely as finding ice in the desert. They fight harder, they love deeper and they drink even deeper still: few people can out fight or out drink a Zhulen. In spite of all this they are neither brutes nor stupid or reckless, they simply have higher self-confidence than the average Ulm and are far more open than the more silent, aloof and private Sky-Folks. Bards sing many tale of Ulm-Zhulen romance and most of them usually involve a passage about being tsundere difficult.

The Zhulen Clans are notoriously a bit more inclined toward what Ulm would classify as 'Black Magic', which is to say destructive and/or alteration magic. The Zhulen have a fairly casual attitude toward magic, seeing it as something as innate to them as any other part of their bodies and culture. It is their innate gift and birthright. They worship their gods and ancestors more through deeds than complex rituals but that doesn't mean temples don't exist in their lands.

Being so much more lively has downside and they clash far more commonly with other races. With a strong body and equally strong temper, the Zhulen Clans have been known to march to war and revel in the warrior elements of their culture fairly eagerly. Even in the current age there are stories of Zhulen mercenaries and pirates who eagerly jump to action, if not violence. As previously established, they have not taken to isolation like the Sky-Folks and have openly embraced the challenges faced when the Ulm spread over Tellus. Even today there are a few Zhulen Clan stronghold which remain trading ports with the other races.

Connection to Sky-Folks?

Both are human-like races who lay eggs. One is an avian race and one is a reptilian (or rather, draconic) race. In real-life, birds are descendant of a type of dinosaurs. They both have an innate bonus to the Charisma stat. They are both very colorful too. In addition, both races existed on Tellus before the Ulm (apparently) arrived. Are these two races related? Are they connected through some ancient link? Who knows.

Gigas (Firbolg and Goliath)

The D&D 4e Firbolg art is good enough for these.

In the wild places where not even the Sky-Folks and Zhulen did not dare to thread in ancient times lay ancient site of primordial power. This primordial power connects the planet to all living beings, all plants and even the abstract realms of Spirits and Gods. It is a living web of life and death, matter and spirit, past and future. All myths of the different races, be they the Ulma, the Sky-Folks and the Zhulen acknowledge these universal, all encompassing forces of life and nature. What few people realize is that the feared giants of myth have a deep connection to these forces. These are the Gigas.

They are not a well-known race, since they have shunned all others since the beginning of time it seems. Indeed, the race is so isolated even among themselves that much of their own history and very nature is open to speculation equally from outsiders as it would be from a young Gigas asking their elders what is their meaning and purpose in life.

Appearance

The Gigas are not a naturally-born race: they are more of a loose category of similar beings, fashioned in primeval times from raw elemental forces. Taller than any of the other races, standing almost (or over) seven feet tall they have harsh and intimidating features and glowing eyes. Their bodies are larger, either muscular or corpulent (not that it matters, as even obese Gigas are incredibly strong). Their skin is hard and coarse, like hard leather or sometimes almost like stone or bark. Many of them, especially the forest-dwelling ones, have moss growing on it. Most of them have broad, squat heads with thick brows and jaws as well as long ears, some of them drooping. Others display animalistic traits such as tusks, horns or scales. No two Gigas is ever the same, safe for their sheer size and bulk.

Unlike the other races who reproduce sexually, Gigas are 'born' from raw elemental and natural forces in wild places usually tended by others of their kind, growing from cocoons of crystal and/or plant matter (or, if born in the deserted lands either ice or sand turned to glass). Of all the races they have the strongest belief in reincarnation and in their case it might be completely true.

Culture

It is hard to truly describe Gigas culture for it doesn't really exist, not truly. They live in isolated enclaves in the wild, living off hunting and scavenging for food. While a truly ancient race, they lack any extensive written or oral history beyond their creation myth and the core rules of their tribe, such as it is. These tend to be fairly simple rules meant to enforce social cohesion. Beyond that it is hard to know for sure if more complex rules and rites exist because outsiders aren't permitted to know of them and even Sky-Folks archive are somewhat inconclusive about the depths and intricacies of the Gigas and their culture such as it is.

Variations

Being more of a collection of races than a completely homogeneous one, there are many variations to the Gigas:

• Forest-dwelling Gigas use the stats for Firbolg. They are generally the kindest type.
• Mountain-dwelling Gigas are a harsher lot and use the stats for regular Goliath.
• There are elemental Gigas and these would use the Goliath Variants found in a homebrew PDF called the Subrace Handbook.