Aarakocra

Aarakocra are natives of the material plane that appear as avian humanoids. They live in tribal societies, but make and utilize bronze and iron tools, especially spears. In general, they do not socialize with other humanoids, and can often view them with distain, but some Aarakocra instead trade with their neighbors.

Each tribe has thirty to one hundred members of a particular subspecies composing it. They are led by shamans known as Windreaders, who are chosen as the most intelligent and wise members of the tribe, regardless of age or sex. In other ways, however, society greatly varies between the type of subspecies present.

Mannerisms also depend greatly on the subspecies, with some being highly territorial, and others willingly integrating into other societies. Some have strict gender roles or class based limitations, whereas others have equality regardless of birth. Some are hunters, some are farmers, and some are gatherers.

In order to fly, Aarakocra must be lighter than other humanoids. They primarily compensate for this by having brittle bones. These bones, however, can cause an issue for them, as they are easily broken via blunt trauma.

The majority of Aarakocra are slightly less inteligent than the average individual of other humanoid species, and also are far less likely to erect significant structures, but certainly are not stupid.

Major Subspecies

There are seven major extant subspecies of Aarakocra, each of which is native to different environments and posses different features.

Accipitrid Aarakocra are dangerous scavengers, who feed on the corpses of the recently or near deceased, and are not above cannibalism. They are quite savage, and thus do not integrate into other societies well, nor, frankly, do they interact well with other Aarakocra outside their tribe.

Menuran Aarakocra are renowned for their ability to mimic any sound they have heard, similar to the Kenku. Unlike the Kenku, however, they can speak languages independently of these duplications, and often speak in a very sing-song voice. They also do not share the Kenku's habbits of thievery and trickery, but many who do not know about them, assume they are like their wingless cousins in this regard as well.

Peregrine Aarakocra are often the apex predators of areas in which they live. They hunt large game by rapidly diving into them before finishing them with a spear strike. They are known as the fastest subspecies of Aarakocra, and use dangerous dive attacks to their advantage. They are quite haughty, and consider themselves (quite literally) above any creature that is unable to fly.

Pitohuine Aarakocra ingest toxic creatures and then secrete them again out through their feathers. This creates a toxin which effects all other creatures that attempt to handle these feathers as long as the Aarakocra is alive, nauseating the foe. Due to this, they generally avoid other species, as they know that any physical contact will be percieved as an attempt to poison the outsider.

Psittacine Aarakocra are the most social of the Aarakocra tribes. The average Psittacine is just as intelligent as the average member of other humanoid races, and bi or trilingualism are the norms within their culture. They can often be found in cosmopolitan societies of other races, and are excellent merchants, due to their aerial movement.

Rynchop Aarakocra have adapted to aquatic life, with an enhanced ability to swim. They hunt in groups, with each individual skimming the surface of the water to find prey, and then diving down and spearing them either on a javelin or on one of their sharp and pointed beaks.

Strixan Aarakocra are predators of the night, who glide above their prey on silent wings will viewing them with their excellent night vision as well as amazing hearing abilities. They also excel as trackers, and will hire themselves out to other peoples to serve in this role. They are more accepting of other peoples, though do often isolate themselves.

The Vaati

When the Vaati descended to the material plane, they searched for servants. Their most accomplished candidate were the eight species of Aarakocra that roamed the skies.

The greatest amongst the eight species was the Aquillan Aarakocra, who were noble at heart, and bore their golden plumage into battle with pride, in a crusade to wipe out evil.

They brought all of the Aquillae in the whole world to the Elemental Planes of Air, and took them to the Howling Gyre. Their, the Aquillae grew into a servant role of their Wind Duke masters, and created a whole new society, all the while being warped by the essence of elemental air.

They finally emerged a new species, just as much elementals as they were humanoids, and ready to serve their leaders in any capacity. They became the citizens, servants, and soldiers of the Vaati empire, and their masters grew to love and care for them, as a parent would an obedient child.

When the Queen of Chaos waged war against the Vaati, the Aarakocra worked as the generals and knights of the empire, leading forces of elementals into battles with her horde.

Eventually, the war turned for the worst. The seven greatest Vaati heroes, mages, and artificers combined their powers to create the Rod of Law. In the war's decisive battle, the Lord of the Vaati killed Mishka the Wolf Spider, who was the Queen's general, by stabbing him through the heart with the Rod. Before he could celebrate his victory, Mishka exploded. The Queen of Chaos retreated back to the abyss to regain strength, and the Vaati Empire fell.

The rod, however, was split into seven pieces as it was thrust into Mishka. The explosion was enough to scatter the pieces throughout the planes. Now, Aquillae adventurers search for the parts, believing the Rod is the key to the Vaati rising again, and the permanent destruction of the Queen of Chaos.

Aquillae still dwell primarily in the elemental planes, defending the homeland of their masters from the creatures of stone, and battling gargoyle invaders throughout the skies. Some, however, journey to the Material Plane in order to fulfill their sacred duty, aiding bands of adventurers against all the powers of Elemental Earth.