Avian Lore 2: The Polishing

Tah-dah. I'm proud to present the mostly complete version of our Avian lore. I'll apologize in advance: there is a lot of unchanged material in this, so sorry for making you read that again. Anyways, all that is needed at this stage is extra fluff/suggestions and whatever tweaks the community decides on. After this thread has run it's course and everyone is happy with the lore, we'll make a nice wiki page on it and call it official.

Original Avians/Early History:
Avians began as raptor-like, semi-primitive animals found on Avos. They were capable of using rudimentary tools to perform tasks, and using language to communicate with each other. The Avioscale is actually an ancient relative of modern day Avians. After some time, an unknown progenitor race finds a great deal of potential in these early avians, and decides to experiment/improve upon them. They introduce small genetic changes in a small group of the Avians before letting them mingle with the general population for some time. Through time and breeding, the traits are instilled in the whole races’ population. This would continue until the avians are in a similar state to the humanoid beings they are currently. Finally, the progenitors gift a choice group of avians with superior mental and physical capabilities, along with wings. This class of avian is intended to lead the race, with Kluex emerging as the most capable leader. Kluex, along with his numerous advisors and other governmental figures (all winged avians, of course.) lead the race into technological and societal advances.

Later History:
http://playstarbound.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/avianlore_pdf.pdf
(Simply used as guidelines/reference!)

Avian Physiology:

• Three finger-talons and one thumb-talon on each hand, four toe-talons on their feet.
• Weak to coffee and alcohol, will become drunk faster and coffee will have a much stronger effect.
• Average lifespan of about 125 years
• Born from eggs. Avians will typically only lay one egg at a time.
• Avians are often hard to judge in age, especially to a member of another species, as their feathers often do not change much with age.
• Avians are not mammals, and therefore do not possess any sort of mammaries.
• Diminished sense of smell
• Average of 20/10 vision
• Nictitating membranes, aka second eyelids
• Average height (To skull, not plumage): 5’10
• In general, Avians are more lean and fit than the other races, but without extensive and extreme training, they can't achieve the same muscle mass that other races can.
• Upon inhalation, 75% of the fresh air bypasses the lungs and flows directly into a posterior air sac which extends from the lungs and connects with air spaces in the bones and fills them with air. The other 25% of the air goes directly into the lungs. When the Avian exhales, the used air flows out of the lung and the stored fresh air from the posterior air sac is simultaneously forced into the lungs. Thus, Avians’ lungs receive a constant supply of fresh air during both inhalation and exhalation
• The avian circulatory system is driven by a four-chambered, myogenic heart contained in a fibrous pericardial sac.
• Avian legs are digitigrade, with much longer tarsal bones than most other races and “ankles” set much higher up on the leg than the other plantigrade races. This evolutionary trait results in faster, quieter movements.
• Male Avians remain fertile year-round while female Avians are infertile except for during their mating season. When entering their mating season, female Avians become fertile and begin releasing pheromones that attract members of the opposite sex. During this time, the female is able to use birth control.

Overview: Avians are the most agile, lightweight race with the highest endurance. What they lack in strength they make up in speed and endurance.

Fluff (Fun Facts):

• Avians have to use a specific shampoo product in order to clean their feathers.
• The proper term for Avians hailing from Avos is Avosian.
• Avians shed their feathers yearly as they enter their molting stages. This can last anywhere from one month to three; the old, damaged feathers are shed, being replaced by new, clean, healthy feathers. This is a regular occurrence for Avians and, while uncomfortable and can cause itchiness, is nothing alarming or out of the ordinary for an Avian.
• Avians, at one point, had to nurse eggs manually; coddling the eggs to keep them warm and caring for them entirely by hand. With advances in technology, avians have created artificial incubation devices which are much more efficient and convenient.
• Despite having beaks, Avians are capable of using cups like any other species. To do so, they simply must pour the liquid into their open beak. Avians are unable to use straws due to being unable to create any sort of seal with their beaks to create suction.
• All warriors are often required to make their own armor and weapons as a certain rite of passage. While they are not trained as metal workers, each warrior is capable of assembling their equipment and repairing it or sharpening it as needed.

Avian Tech:
Avian Crystals:
Avian Crystals are a rare form of erchius crystals common only to the Avian home system. The Avian crystals take on a darker red shade as opposed to the light pink erchius crystals, and can emit mass amounts of power when harnessed using a catalyst provided by the progenitor race for only the Avians to use. These catalysts are extremely secret and exclusive to Avians, resulting in the crystals being unable to be utilized by other races.

Avian Weaponry:
Melee:

• Spear - The most common and symbolic weapon used by avian warriors. Most spears use wooden shafts that are specially treated and crafted to ensure their strength, although some may use composite materials as well. Spearheads are often forged of lightweight and strong alloys such as durasteel.
• Swords/Blades - Although less symbolic than the spear, swords and other blades are just as commonly found and used in avian society. Avian blades are often quite similar to human weapons, ranging from daggers and knives to rapiers and shortswords, even including larger greatswords. These are often crafted of wood and alloys, similar to spears, and they may also be found in synthetics and composites.
• Shields - Shields are a staple of defensive combat in avian society; nothing the avians have encountered so far has overcome their shield tactics. Spears vary greatly in size, shape and materials. They can be made of polycarbonates, alloys (such as durasteel), wood, wicker and leather. Many shields are designed to be used in tangent with a spear, forming a deadly defensive combination.
• Bludgeons and Blunt Weapons - Avians don’t commonly use blunt instruments in warfare, however, they are seen more commonly to combat armored foes. Ranging from simple wooden clubs to warhammers, there is a great deal of variance to be found in blunt weapons.
• Whips and other oddities - Whips do not see much practical combat use, however, they may be found more as a means of punishment. In certain parts of society, a whipping is an accepted punishment for certain crimes and misdemeanors. Other odds and ends of weaponry can be found for avians as well, ranging from the bizarre to impractical, which often find little use in any combat. (To be expanded upon. Give ideas!)

Ranged:

• Crystal Weapons - A system using an internal mechanism of a non-depleted avian crystal and a resonator. When loading a depleted crystal into the mechanism, the non-depleted crystal powers the resonation process which chips off a predetermined shard of the depleted crystal, propelling it through a smoothbore barrel at the enemy. Its accuracy and penetration value is comparable to that of a 5.56x45mm round (When fired using a rifle-sized crystal power source).
• Crystal Railguns - A system using a rail assisted variant of crystal blaster technology. By combining the crystal shard with a small ferromagnetic slug, the crystal projectile can travel much faster using a resonance and rail assisted combination. Its accuracy and penetration value can range from any variation of 7.62 up to a .50 BMG, all depending on the formulation of the internal mechanism.
• Plasma Lances - Plasma lances are shoulder-fired cone-like weapons firing concentrated plasma. The plasma, having the penetration value of about 7.62x39mm, would swiftly eat through thinner armors and rupture the skin membrane, singing the victim's internals. However, the plasma is not persistent and so if the armor is in the slightest too thick, it will dissipate before it can penetrate the armor. This also means that a hit into the chest cavity would cause damage but only as long as the plasma persists.
• Thrown Weapons - Spears, knives, etc. Pretty self explanatory.
• Energy Weapons (general) - Due to the gifts of the progenitor race, avians had little reason to experiment with propellent based ballistic weaponry. Instead, avians quickly harnessed the power of their crystals to form their first energy based weapons. In time, they adapted the energy based format into various other energy weapons. (Needs fleshing out.)

Ranks:

• Gods/Sunborn:

• Arbiter - Kluex
• Keeper of the Stars/Sunborn - Harspex
• God of Sacrifice - Kathex
• Aethers Curator/God of Knowledge - Rahe

​

• Military:
  • Aetherguard - Personal defenders of high ranking members of the priesthood.
  • Templar - Military leaders; Officers.
  • Moonguard - Gentleman. Military adviser, but holds no field position.
  • Guardian - Highly experienced Avian warriors; bridges the gap between officers and grunts.
  • Sunguard - Experienced Avian warriors. Leads Neophytes and Acolytes on the battlefield.
  • Acolyte - General footsoldiers. More experienced than Neophytes.
  • Neophyte - General footsoldiers. Cannon fodder.

• Priesthood:
  • Stargazer - Highest member of avian society. Communicates directly with Kluex.
  • High Priest - The highest ranking priest of a temple.
  • Priest - A male priest.
  • Priestess - A female priest.
  • Initiate - An Avian under training to become a member of the priesthood.
  • Healer - A member of the priesthood trained to heal injuries and illness through practices of faith and general medicine.
• Other:
  • Artificer - Crystal technologist/General technologist.
  • Aviators - Pilots. Possibly military.

Religion:

• Flightless avians are an overwhelming majority of all avians. It is uncommon for avians to lose their faith, however, it still happens. Those who abandon their religion are called Grounded, and they are exiled from society for their decision. Grounded are not often hunted by Flightless, excepting family matters, criminal justice or possibly religious extremists(Very rare). Grounded are able to rejoin avian society through some form of absolution, usually in the form of rigorous labor, holy work or simple physical punishments.
• The Aether is like Heaven for avians, but they have many differences. The Aether is commonly described by avians to be a plane of reality above the mortal realm, a place where avians are free to soar with the stars. It is believed that the Sunborn reside in the Aether. To pass into the Aether, one’s soul must pass Kluex’ judgement. If you have not lived a faithful and holy life serving the Sunborn, Kluex will block you from entering the Aether. Some avians, often the more traditional, believe that proper burial rites are also required in order for the soul to pass into the Aether, however, not all avians unanimously believe this. Those who are allowed in are believed to be granted wings, so they can soar through the stars for eternity. Those souls who are denied entry are forced to drift through the afterlife wingless, hopping around on the ground forever.
• Sacrifices are very important to avians. Sacrifices are performed for a multitude of reasons, but they are often observed for good fortune, good harvests and simply appeasement of the Sunborn. The subjects of sacrifice range from wild animals, to criminals, to willing volunteers. Those who volunteer for sacrifice are often respected, as it’s believed that they will ascend to the Aether.
• Towers are fully voluntary, meaning that no avians are forced through the process. In fact, it is seen as an honor to go through the ascension process. Avians train mentally, physically and spiritually for the chance to obtain godhood, all from a jump off the tower. If you fall and die, you simply ascend to the Aether. If you fall and survive, you are meant to stay in the mortal realm and serve the Sunborn further. The last possibility is that when you leap, you sprout wings and soar into godhood, becoming a Sunborn yourself.
• Tombs are not holy resting places of respected flightless. Instead, they’re the cold and final resting place of criminals and grounded alike. One of the greatest desires in an Avian’s life is to spread their wings and soar, in both a metaphorical and religious connotation. Sealing undesirables into tombs directly cuts off any association with the sky and the stars, as if condemning them to a fate with the ground.
• On the other hand, the more well respected members are laid to rest in large, elegant above-ground mausoleums . They’re often very open and covered in religious symbols, arguably some of the most beautiful constructions of the Avians. For those who cannot find a place in a mausoleum, cremation, followed by the spreading of ashes, is often the next best option.

The Commandments Of Kluex:

1. Thou shalt not fly, for fear of angering the celestial entities.
2. Thou shalt not eat seeds from the pussplum plant.
3. Thou shalt aspire to greatness; to become a Sunborn.
4. Thou shalt serve Kluex, in this life and the next.
5. Thou shalt keep thy feathers clean.
6. Thou shalt outcast any Avian such as would deny Kluex.
7. Thou shalt not worship false idols.
8. Thou shalt never take dinner with a Floran.
9. Thou shalt not steal.

Clipped Council:
The Council is the main governing body of Avian society. Originating from Avos, the Clipped Council originally took form to bridge the gap between regular Avians and the elite Stargazers. Over time, the system has developed into a much more powerful and important part of the avian government. The Clipped Council handles foreign policy as well as most internal affairs, leaving military matters up to the more capable Stargazers.

Culture/Mannerisms:
Avians are generally quite content with a simple life. Having been raised in a more spiritual setting, Avians have learned to value kinship and family over material possessions. As such, they’re often more than happy with living a selfless and peaceful sort of life, opposite of many of the other races who value material goods. An Avian would often prefer a simple, peaceful life over a life of peril and chaos for the sake of owning many valuable, high tech possessions.

• Feathers generally hold an extremely important place in Avian society, both symbolically and physically. Being without your feathers in Avian society can be likened to being without your clothes in Human society. Feather care and personal hygiene is extremely important to avians, so much so that being unkempt is seen as shameful and embarrassing.
• Avians tend to prefer looser, unrestricting clothing that allows their feathers space to breathe, such as robes, loincloths, and tunics. However, when compared to Humans, Avians are considerably more comfortable being completely bare in more informal situations.
• To an Avian, gifting another Avian one of your feathers is an intimate gesture in the form of an offer of deeper commitment to the recipient; however, the significance of this gesture can be somewhat lost amongst the Grounded.
• Avians do not have an official ceremony when adopting a nestmate; instead, it is a mere commitment to a lifelong partner, not bound by government record, but by dedication to one another.

Common fears:
Fears that many Avians may share and that their culture may enforce, but that not all Avians are necessarily subject to. These fears may range from simple discomforts to phobias depending on the individual.

• Fear of being featherless
• Fear of enclosed spaces
• Fear of imprisonment

Courting Rituals: For Flightless, finding a mate is not as simple as asking someone on a date. Certain courting rituals are expected to be followed before any advances can be acknowledged. However, the significance of these rituals may be lost to Grounded, who often prefer more casual and open relationships. That does not mean Grounded are incapable of remaining faithful to a single mate, but it is not uncommon for Grounded to go through many mates throughout their life. It is extremely uncommon for Flightless to part from their mates; oftentimes, mating with one is a lifelong commitment.

• Showing off your feathers in an initial display is the first step an Avian takes to show interest in another. This display is used to show one’s maintenance and dedication to their plumage, that they are capable of caring for themselves as much as another. If the target Avian happens to respond in kind, it’s taken as a sign that they’re interested and available.
• If he makes it past the first step, the male partner must do his best to catch the female’s extended interest. The females carefully judge the male to see if they are a worthy mate, usually judging physical ability, intelligence, and their traits, both genetic and personality. The male might strive to better himself during this time and give his best efforts to show his admiration and respect towards his interest. Gifts are sometimes offered, but material possessions are not usually given. If the female is sufficiently pleased with the male, she will let him get closer.
• As an additional show of respect for members of the priesthood, the male is expected to address the priestess he is courting in an admittance of his intentions. Depending on how he presents himself, the priestess will judge his formality and his confidence. If she approves, she gives her response and the male may continue to attempt to attract her. This step is often only taken for courting female members of the priesthood.
• As their relationship progresses and the Avians become more comfortable with each other, one might allow the other to preen them. This is an intimate display of affection, and shows that the partners share a mutual trust. It’s frowned upon for any acts of intimacy to be performed before this point.
• Proceeding the ritual, an Avian will offer their feather to the other. This is the equivalent of a Human proposing to their partner; if accepted, the two Avians are now exclusive mates to each other. If refused, a determined Avian may or may not try again later on. As long as both remain untaken, an Avian can keep at it as long as they desire.

Food:
Avians are omnivores and consume a large variety of foods, ranging from vegetables to fruits to meat to even insects. As long as it’s edible and a reasonable source of nutrition, Avians are not very picky about their foods, and can even be described as having a natural talent for farming and cooking. Listed below are some of the foods native to Avos that remain popular even in the modern day.

• Avosian Grubworm: About the size of an Avian’s hand, the Avosian Grubworm is the large larvae form of the Avosian Beetle, an insect native to the planet of Avos. The Grubworm is naturally preserved upon death, secreting a fluid that repels decomposers, and is highly nutritious, resulting in a long-lasting food source. However, the Grubworm is particularly bland and flavorless, with a less than appealing texture for many, which leaves it primarily as a choice for emergency rations. Avians commonly store a supply of Grubworms aboard their expeditionary vessels due to their long storage life of up to an incredible hundred years when treated with the proper additional preservation techniques.
• Beakseed Root: Commonly referred to as just Beakseed, the Beakseed root is actually the root of the Beakseed Stalk. While the root is quite edible, the stalk is toxic to Avians, while the leaves have medicinal uses which Avians still use to treat injuries. The root itself is often short and stubby, resembling an Avian’s beak. The outer “shell” of the root is extremely tough and flavorless, but the interior of the root can be described as quite delicious. Beakseed Root is commonly used to enhance a meal’s flavor and add additional substance, whereas the Stalk is often used only for the seeds it produces to grow more Beakseed. Since Avians’ spread through the stars, Beakseed has begun to spread with them, being used by other species as well.
• Feathercrown: Feathercrown is a leafy plant often used for salads, and named for its colorful appearance, similar to an Avian’s feathers. Similar to lettuce, Feathercrown is extremely low in calories, but provides a large percentage of an Avian’s daily vitamin K and vitamin A intake. It has no noticeable flavor, but is commonly used to provide more bulk to a meal without increasing the number of calories being consumed. Like with Beakseed, Feathercrown has begun to spread along with Avians, being used by many of the other species.
• Butterbug: A non-native species to Avos, the Butterbug’s origins are somewhat of a mystery. The fat, slow flying bugs are a favorite snack of many avians due to their smooth, creamy taste. They are usually eaten without preparation, preferably while the bugs are still alive.

Species Relations:

• Apex: Avians view the Apex as a respectable presence on the galactic scene. Their technological advances give Avians a good trading avenue and friendly sense of competition in their own progress. However, the society of the apes might be offputting to Avians, due to their strong devotion to a living, un-godly figure. The thought of devoting one’s self to a living being is often strange to many Avians. However, the Apex are widely regarded as trustworthy and respectable, despite their seemingly odd culture.
• Florans: Flightless commonly hold disdain for Florans, at best seeing them as savages that should be avoided, but at worst, seeing them as threats that need to be eliminated. It is an extremely uncommon occurrence for a Flightless to tolerate the presence of a Floran. The Flightless’ strong feelings towards Florans are enforced from an early age and only solidified as they move through life by their religion. Grounded may or may not share the same strong feelings that the Flightless have towards Flightless, but they will often harbor some amount of distrust for them.
• Glitch: Avians, both Flightless and Grounded, have no particular issue with Glitch, remaining mostly neutral towards the mechanical race. They may see Glitch as unnatural, but will keep such comments to themselves.
• Humans: Neither Flightless nor Grounded have any issue with Humans, though they may distrust Humans to an extent. Humans’ adaptable nature and refusal to falter is reminiscent of Florans, leaving some Avians wary around Humans at first. However, this initial distrust may quickly subside. Certain Avians may look down upon Humans for their perceived lack of cultural identity, believing them all to be undeveloped, war-loving troglodytes.
• Hylotl: The majority of Avians hold a cautious respect for Hylotl, viewing their architecture and society as admirable and interesting. However, the pretentious attitude of some Hylotl often can shatter the already fragile belief that they are well-mannered and courteous individuals. Therefore, Avian-Hylotl relations are often delicate matters, with both sides attempting to withhold their feelings of cultural superiority or differences so as to maintain their polite and friendly formalities.
• Novakids: Avians are not overly fond of Novakids. Their laid back demeanor and inability to focus strikes many Avians as uncaring and disrespectful. The ‘western’ stylings of many Novakid are seen as rather primal and barbaric, as though they are nothing more than a bunch of simpletons who have acquired technology beyond their own capabilities.

 

Whoops. Error due to pasting from Docs into the forum. Been fix'd.

 

Indeed, it does directly contradict Chucklefish lore. This is intentional, as we're looking to create lore fit for our server, not just collecting Chucklecuck lore into a page here or something. So we thought it would be logical that, because Avians strive to 'soar into the stars' or something similar, being buried underground is very much against that idea.

Literally copied from the wiki. Blame Chucklecuck! Fix'd, though.

 

The Avians in their temples shoot on sight because it's a videogame and gameplay. We've been over this before. While there certainly are corrupt Flightless that would use crooked methods to capture people for sacrifice, the majority of Avians don't have this intent in mind. The temples are well guarded, as they're precious places, not with the sole purpose of capturing people. However, if someone comes to a charnel house and starts being a little shit, they might get sacrificed as a criminal or something.

 

It doesn't invalidate any lore, actually. The tombs can still be guarded. The charnel houses will be guarded. 'Sunborn' will simply be interred in the charnel houses. It just makes more sense to me and those I discussed it with to do it this way. It's not an attempt to fly, but more so that they're not literally trapped under the earth. You would think that if your soul has to ascend into the heavens, you would want to block it's path with as little junk as possible, right? And being in a tomb cuts off all view of the sky and stars, almost as if cutting off all contact with the aether and the sunborn. The idea of a tomb just doesn't sound appealing. The charnel houses serve the same purpose but without the almost contradictory tomb idea.

 

I think 'thou shalt not fly' is harkening back to the days when avians still had wings. Those who didn't have wings shouldn't try to fly (without space/aircraft, I think those are not valid in this). It's kinda lost it's meaning in the modern day of flightless, but that's okay, isn't it? A lot of what the bible says can be regarded as invalid or dated due to time's passage. Why wouldn't Avians have old, perhaps dated scripture as well?

 

Yeah. It was an elite class of avians only which received wings. That led to the belief that winged avians were gods, seeing as they were superior in every way to their non-winged friends. Due to their minimal numbers, however, the trait was bred out, leaving winged avians to become somewhat of a myth. Then a following. Then a religion.

 

This is an old post and the lore has been revised a few times since this, but i'll give ya' my best response anyways.

Time has a way of turning fact into myth would be my reply. The progenitors had altered the early avians to have wings, and after many years of breeding with the non-enhanced avians, the trait was bred out. Avians lost the factual details to these events (or never recorded them in the first place, more likely), and they became religious beliefs/legends. It's just a way of giving some objective history (which no character should have knowledge of, really) that gives some background to the current religious beliefs of the avians. Hope that covers what you mean.

I'll be honest, i'm not sure how those who fail the jump are portrayed in this write up and i'm too lazy to re-read it. It's meant that those who undertake the training and subsequent jump are treated with respect and admiration, mainly for their dedication and perseverance. The result of the jump doesn't change this outlook on them, as all outcomes are pretty much positive. Those who 'fail' the jump and survive are still looked upon positively for going through the process and surviving, as those who survive are said to have been chosen by Kluex to serve longer in the mortal realm. Those who die pass into the Aether; respectable enough. Those who 'succeed' sprout wings and become gods. This result obviously would have an overwhelmingly positive response. So all in all, any result from a tower jumper is viewed as positive in avian culture.

As for the 'all good birds go to the aether' bit, that's fine in my opinion. The Avian religion, whether actually believed by all Avians or simply as a method used by the elite to control the masses, should sound nice to the general populace. If you were told that failing on the jump meant hopping around in purgatory for eternity, that doesn't sound good, does it? I think where the grounded ideology is spawned from would be corruption in religious officials and zealots instead of the religion simply sounding unappealing. If you catch my drift, there. It is a good point, however, that I do need to include some content for grounded players to use in lore instead of simply writing about the flightless majority.

And of course, lore will be written out as cold hard facts. We're trying to inform the player of things as accurately as possible. It's up to the players to take these facts and create characters out of them who can ride either side of the metaphorical line you've described.

This little blab feels difficult to understand, even to me, so sorry in advance for that. Your input was actually pretty valuable, though, so thanks.