The RacesFrom the beginning, the Kuvrahks were divided into five races, each baring different traits.
CsyelusiansThe first, and most common kind of Kuvrahk. Industrious, flexible of mind, relatively diplomatic, the Csyelusians are the majority of the kuvrahk race and their bloodlines are intermingled with nearly everyone in modern times. Csyelusians are mostly peaceful, with the same tendency towards conflict as humans are capable of.
Scale Color: Greens, Olives, Browns
Eye Color: Green, Brown, Reddish brown, Blue
Hair Color: Brown, Blond, Red, Black
SkylordsThe aggressive and short-fused "Dwarven" Kuvrahks branched off from Csyelusians. They are usually taller and stronger, with a commanding presence, which gave then an air of superiority and eventual disdain of their fellow Kuvrahks. Their culture dates back to a time when waging war of the Unseen Enemy from the north was the prevailing purpose in life, so says the Dragon. Culturally, their beliefs are harsh, war-like, almost Spartan in nature. They are noble in their own causes, but to an outsider they are difficult to deal with. Pride is taken in large, strong families, and they believe in the strongest surviving and testing their peers with all sorts of challenges. Among their own they are close-knit, but distrusting of anyone beneath their status.
Skylord bloodlines are fairly diluted in modern days, but the traits are still very distinct in many individuals. Aside from being larger than average, those with any major amount of Skylord heritage will rarely show any signs of androgyny, even when born. When they mature, they tend to have very distinguished secondary sexual characteristics and clearly defined masculine (heavy build, more body hair) and feminine (bigger breasts, wider hips) qualities. (unlike the Csyelusians, who have a tendency towards slighter builds and androgyny running more common in their genes).
Scale Color: Red, Orange, Brown
Eye Color: Reddish brown, Brown, Dark green or red
Hair Color: Brown, Red, Black
Cliff Angels The graceful and divine Kuvrahks of the Sky. The Cliff Angels were an initial offshoot of the Skylords shortly after the Dragons Fall. Like the Skylords they believed themselves to be superior with a greater purpose, but found that fulfilling that purpose at the expense of their brethren (the less formidable Cyselusian) was for naught. Because this betrayed the severe xenophobia that the Skylord culture promoted, yhey were outcasts among their own. But the Cliff Angels power was not to be ignored. So over time they became the champions of peace and weren't afraid to exercise that power to Skylord or Csyelusian alike to maintain some semblance of peace.
They have all but vanished in bloodline, either gone or diluted into obscurity within the kuvrahk species. The only remnants of the Cliff Angel existence is in the form of brave souls that take up the banner of the Cliff Angels from other kuvrahk backgrounds to maintain the peace. In modern times 'Cliff Angel' is simply a title that can bring forth laughter from the absurdity of the claim, draw stares of concern for those that fear that a radical who has taken on a burden of insanity for a very extreme cause is in their presence, or gasps in awe at the endeavors and courage to show off the Cliff Angel stance.
Pure-blooded Cliff Angels, when they existed, had:
Scale Color: Gray, White
*, Gold
*, Light green, Light brown
Eye Color: Any blue, Light green, Grey, Gold
* or yellow, 10% chance of Shards
**Hair Color: Csyelusian Colors, Silver
*, Gold
*MysticsThe land-living lore-keepers of the Kuvrahks. Legends tell that the Mystics of old possessed strong magical abilities. It's accepted history among the kuvrahk scholars that the Mystic bloodline was separated from the Dragon from the very beginning and were never tainted with his evil. They developed a very different culture that is much older than all the others. It's said that Canas herself was found by Mystics when she was initially banished from the Dragon's presence, and they were the ones that helped her recuperate and return to free their people from the Dragon's influence.
Mystic culture relies heavily on communication, and much study of their nearly lost customs shows that the Mystic culture once possessed a much more acute body language and a sense for non-verbal communication. It's said that ancient Mystics could carry on conversations with but simple gestures and a nod. More on this will be revealed in the comic...
Mystics colors tend to be rather... odd in comparison to the other races.
Scale Color: Blues, Teal, Turquoise, Light greens, Other "out there" colors
Eye Color: Nearly any color (usually very bright), 1% change of Shards
**Hair Color: Csyelusian colors, Blue, Red, Purple, Turquoise, Teal, Red, Other sheens
Sa'Arthas The swamp-dwelling, evil Kuvrahks. Direct creations from the Dragon himself. They were the chosen ones of the Dragon's plan to destroy the Hromwathi and in turn destroy Tiama. They are long gone from the world of Cavris.. Or so the stories say.. More of this MAY be revealed in the comic.
To the Sa'arthas, dying of old age was unacceptable.
Scale Color: Gray, Black and white, Dark hunter green, Dark olive
Eye Color: Typically no iris, Entire eye is red or yellow with black pupil
Hair Color: Black, Gray, White
Because the Sa'Arthas of old varied so much from the common Kuvrahk, it is necessary to put a little more focus on their racial traits.
The Sa'Arthas were equipped with sharp spines placed on strategic parts of their bodies, such as knees, elbows, etc. to further increase their superiority in battle. Also, they generally lay more eggs than the other races. However, their bloodline has long since diluted enough that no Kuvrahk is born with thorns or spines anymore, although the color still exists, Boo being a fine example, her sort being quite rare today.
As a culture, the Sa'Arthas resembled more the hive structure found among certain insects and unlike the rest of the Kuvrahks they were each born into a set social role that they lived throughout their whole life. These roles were:
The Kings Described to have been between 6.5 to 7 feet tall raptors walking upright, the kings of the Sa'Arthas were aggressive and unintelligent, capable only of primal thoughts and emotions. Fiercely strong and willful, they were most likely dreaded on the battlefield. One couldn't argue with a king, nor could you negotiate, and thus they were generally avoided.
The King's are used once to impregnate a Queen-to-be, and that is it. Without his seed, a Queen's true potential is never actually realized.
Kings are created through a ritual performed by the Sa'arthas Priests. If none are present, lesser Kings can develop on their own, but can never rival the power of a King blessed by the Dragon himself. When the development into a King occurs (from a Noble or Underling "volunteer") [he] falls into a comatose state during which the process where the body changes drastically takes place. Kings were also controlled by a single "trainer" that the King bonds with after coming out of his comatose state. The "trainers" are the only beings that can pacify a Sa'arthas King, even to the point of making them relatively docile. But heaven forbid if someone happens to kidnap that trainer...
The Queens Where the kings excelled in combat, the queens were the minds of the Sa'Arthas society. They ruled the Sa'Arthas and, like the queens of insects, were the only ones producing offspring. Apparently they were much smaller than even the general Kuvrahk. Not much else is known though.
It's unknown if the Queens and Kings were the only fertile Sa'Arthas. However, the Queen's ability to siphon life energy from their surroundings, including her own people, did cause infertility in the clan members who lived around her.
The Nobles These were the elite warriors of the Sa'Arthas and probably had enough intelligence to be able to craft and employ tactics in battle, something the kings weren't. It is unclear as of yet if the nobles carried any form of authority beyond the battlefield in the society of Sa'Arthas, whether it would be as advisers to the Queens or perhaps even in councils.
Nobles were allowed to serve as the Queens personal attendants. Unlike the general populace of Sa'arthas, left to fend for themselves in the outskirts of their clan homes, these individuals which were given a much higher level of education, to the point of being civil.
The Underlings The commoner role of the Sa'Arthas society, the underlings were clearly larger and more physically powerful than the general Kuvrahk, although they were quite lacking in mental ability, naturally due to their worker status. Their lives consisted of cannibalism, death, war and pure wickedness.
Society to the Sa'arthas Underling is nothing but chaos, held together under a mutual respect for the Queen and her personal priests/guards. They were always kept separate from the inner workings of their society, that being the Queen and her group of personal servants, guards and clergy. And when any of the sort came forth to announce anything to the Sa'arthas people, the Underling hordes waited and listened, struggling to discern any words they knew, any blessing that the Queen gave for them to go forth in the name of their god, the Dragon, and slaughter everything they encountered.
Additional Notes*Colors that no longer exist
**Shards, a very rare trait of the eyes that grants nothing extra. Basically the iris has a crystalline look to it because the muscles are reflective. The chances of an individual of any bloodline in modern Cavris to have Sharded eyes is about 1 in 5 million. Even then its not as pronounced as "legend would tell".
BehaviorRecreationFoot RacingFoot Racing is a common sport in the Kuvrahk society as their sleek bodies, large tails and clawed feet make them excellent runners, and races can sometimes be compared to the podracing in Star Wars, fast, intense and action-filled, not to mention full of obstacles.
Running KuvvieSwimmingLike many reptiles, the Kuvrahks are excellent swimmers and enjoy it very much.
SexTheir outlook on having sex is pretty much like human, although the desire to have offspring isn't always active. They are pretty lenient in their views of things like homosexuality and it does occur. They generally tend to stick with the same mate for their whole life, although changing mates is not entirely unheard of.
FamilyLike humans, in the very beginning, the Kuvrahks were few enough that there weren't that many groups to begin with. However, as the years passed and the races grew enough to make small communities with close relationships, semi-tribal as it were.
Family life greatly depends on what era in history you're looking at.
The Dragon's EraThe Dragon's Era is pretty self explanatory, it was when he existed and personally ran things. As a Skylord, "family" was simply the military, and only the strongest were allowed to remain as part of the family. Failures were sent "down" to the Csyelusians.
During this time, Kuvrahks were hermaphrodites through and through and so "it takes a village" was the main way to raise the young. Family was a loose term. While ties to a direct descendant were noted, such as parent to child, or sibling to sibling, families were also very open due to the need for survival and sticking together.
The most alien, however, were the Sa'Arthas who lived in groups like insect hives, with strict hierarchy and little tolerance for free thought.
The Reign of CanasThe Reign of Canas was after the Dragon's Fall and when she took over, inheriting the Dragon's power as a mortal-turned-god. During her rule, the Skylords were shoved off to the north and western lands of Csyelus and the Csyelusians took up residence in the central lands. This was when the actual title of Csyelus and Csyelusian came into being.
At this point the Skylords kept their militaristic way of raising the young, with an almost Spartan mentality. The Mystics and the Cliff Angels preferred a clan-like society. Csyelusians began to separate into smaller family groups as their culture spread and numbers increased, which eventually it became as we know as "normal" families in the Modern Times.
The Free TimeThe Free Time is just that. Its a large part of Cavris' history that's mostly undocumented. Much like how our own history on Earth has major gaps (took us forever to figure out the pyramids, right?), Csyelus has the same problem. This is also where readers, fans and the like can insert their own flavor into the world. AS LONG AS THE STATUS QUO is kept into modern times. This allows freedom, but doesn't affect the primary history, or the world as it has become. So family units during this time can be anything.
Modern EraTypical Kuvrahk family is in most ways identical to how human families exist. And like on Earth, there are different restrictions placed on families. In Central Csyelus, two kids is all you get before you get sterilized. Its pretty strict there. Outer Csyelus is more lenient. Large families aren't exactly encouraged, but its to each their own. The average ends up being the 2.4 kids you hear about. They have family lives depending on their region. Some are very family oriented, family proud, or completely ashamed. It depends on the individual and their background.
FoodAlthough equipped with sharp teeth, the Kuvrahk race is generally considered omnivorous, with some tendencies towards meat. Since they are a highly developed race both physically and mentally, there are the occasional vegetarians too, by choice naturally.
Regardless of the preference, kuvvies love food. Their heightened sense of taste and dragon-infused attitude towards pleasing the senses grants them a much more demanding variety in their food habits. Kuvvies can pick up the subtle hints of flavour far more easily than other species. To many outsiders their food could be described as bland, but varied. Raw, perhaps too much for a non-kuvrahks taste, red meat is a delicacy to them. But that doesn't rule out many kuvs can and do enjoy very spiced and extremely well done steak.
EnvironmentalismInitially, most Kuvrahks were quite close to nature and generally cared deeply for it. Forests and mountains were guarded fiercely from harm and the Kuvrahk guardians were often enraged if any of it was destroyed. However, as the years passed on, nature grew less and less interesting as the Kuvrahks found other things to busy themselves with, like culture and civilization. In the modern days, Kuvrahks, much like humans, really don't spend much time on the nature around them and although it's far from impossible that one might stop to admire the beautiful forest or a clear river, they have yet to realize just how much damage they can do.
Phobias/Fears Acrophobia Acrophobia would also be an individual thing. Their heightened sense of balance makes them a little less edgy when it comes to heights, so they would probably be more tolerant to heights.
Xenophobia Say a Human popped up from no where, what would the general reaction be? Well of course they would be xenophobic. Dragons are naturally loners. But civilization and a few historical events have made them a tad more tolerant to other critters. The Hromwathi that live in the northern regions have given them plenty of opportunity to exercise their diplomatic capabilities.
HistoryWith the help, and hindrance, of the Hromwathi, Kuvrahks began to develop in the many facets of science and culture, constantly watched by their wiser mentors who hindered them from learning things not... proper for their young race to know. The five subraces began to live closer to each other, often picking mates from other tribes than their own, and the heritage of them all got slowly mingled. After several generations this lead to the modern Kuvrahk who, with the exception of color and (often) temperament, has no real distinction from one another. There are very few who are even aware of the different races and even fewer who actually cares about it. These days, picking a mate has more to do with emotions and attraction than culture and color.
ReligionReligion is, like in our world, a subject of wide discussion. There are many different belief ranges, some adopted from the more sophisticated Hromwathi culture.
Worship takes place both at home and at churches, just like you see a human doing. And the level of respect between religions is just as recognizable, although far more cooperating since they have a more prominently overriding belief in Canas. There have yet to be any holy wars fought in Canas' name. But the Hromwathi beliefs in Tiama, Ninil and Micid are beginning to leak down, especially in modern times where enlightenment and open mindedness is the key to surviving.
Some very cultish ones worship the Dragon as well.
Hindu/WiccaThose who followed this faith had a free mindset and considered any gods or deities a part of their own faith, just like the Hindus do, but the major thing of focus was self-reliance and common sense.
Mystics of old mainly fell under this category, and they were said to possess strong magical abilities. Many today try to keep the older traditions alive.
CanasianIn the Canasian faith, as well as in the ancient Hromwathi religion, there are more than just one god. Each of these "gods" have several different facets, depending on what the situation requires and brings. The most important of these are:
CanasThe Legendary Warrior, Saviour of Kuvrahks, Mother of "Dragons", Change.
The DragonEvil, the Concept of Greed and Hatred, Secrecy and Doubt, the Great Predator of those who stray far from the Path.
NinilLife, Creation, the Mother of the Universe.
MicidDeath, the Taker, Father of All that Ends and Begins.
TiamaCreator of Cavris itself, Bringer of the Spark of Life, Great Warrior of the City Beyond.
Kuvrahks see Ninil, Micid and Tiama in different ways than the Hromwathi do. Though they are seen strictly as Hromwathian deities, it is not uncommon that the Kuvrahks worship them. Tiama is indeed the creator of the Hromwathi, no one questions that, but many of the Kuvrahk clergy and theologists, and in fact some members of the Hromwathi, are a bit doubtful about whether she did in fact make Cavris. Of course, even discussing this possibility will mark you as a heretic, so the whole matter is kept pretty quiet and only discussed among friends and others trusted.
Just as Tiama is seen as the Hromwathi creator, so is Canas viewed as the sole mother of the Kuvrahks. Technically, she's more of a savior than a mother, and is considered the one that saved the Kuvrahks from the influence of The Dragon. Greed, hatred and jealousy were his trademarks and it was only because of her defeat of these emotions, and The Dragon himself, that the Kuvrahks prospered. Even a large part of the Hromwathi include her in her prayers for this impressive deed. Her actions have survived the test of time.
The Kuvrahks have adopted a system of belief along the lines of science when it comes to the creation of Cavris, which is a source of great unrest with the more mythical Hromwathi. It has been the cause of some tension because theories of creation are pretty heated in general.
They do accept that Ninil and Micid are the Yin and Yang of the universe; the giver and taker of life and all things in balance on the planet. Primarily it's a disputed claim, that the forces of the universe are not some living beings such as gods that keep things going as they are. But ya know... some believers in who have spent their entire lives devoted to their ancient practices have been known to... bend reality one way or the other.
Time KeepingKuvrahks adopted their time keeping standard from the Hromwathi approximately 500 years ago. This standard has a 22.5 hour day with 430 days in a year. Hromwathi clocks (now the standard on all of Cavris) have 22 full hours and a half-hour 'void' at midnight. This gap of time on the clock is what the Hromwathi revere as the moment the world and everyone 'reboot' for the next day. This is a strong belief kept alive from legends of mages long ago.
According to Casey, the hours, minutes and seconds are the same on Earth as they are on Cavris. From this we can loosely compare Earth time and Cavris time.
Hours in a Cavrisian year: 22.5 * 430 =
9675Hours in an Earth year: 24 * 365.24 =
8765.76A Kuvrahk typically lives around 150 Cavrisian years, which is about 165 Earth Years, but there are occasions when they actually get as old as 200 (221 Earth Years)! However this is not an accurate comparison of lifespans as Humans and Kuvrahks develop at different rates. Kuvrahks develop slower than Humans, approximately proportionally to the lifespan, so the conversions between time and lifespan can be used to correct the developmental age.
One human lifespan = .54 of a Kuvrahk lifespan and one Kuvrahk lifespan = 1.84 human lifespans.
If humans generally reach puberty when they're 12, a Kuvrahk would thus reach the same level of maturity when they're 20 Cavrisian years. When puberty ends, 18, a Kuvrahk would thus be 30 Cavrisian years. Add or subtract a few years to let mother nature have her way and there you have it.
For all those of you who don't think you've got what it takes to calculate developmental ages for your Kuvrahks, the two forum users Octavio and Sparky Bluefang have devised a quick, (mostly)painless method to figure it all out.
You can find it all at the following link:
Age/Year Conversions LanguageComing Soon
