Aversum Races Part 1

Kiaru /kēäroo/

Nothing is quite as deceiving at a first glance as the farming communities of the kiaru. Scattered throughout Aversum’s deserts, these small villages appear to be dedicated to the care and maintenance of their crops and livestock. Kiaru, however, are not a simple-minded farming race, but a race obsessed with knowledge. They maintain their farms out of necessity so that they may spend as much time as possible in their subterranean stone hewn libraries. Kiaru value knowledge above all else, and have little time for the “petty emotions” that other races tend to place so much value upon.

Swaying sapras and bleating flouts The farms of the kiaru come in two very specific varieties, sapras orchards and flout pastures. Sapras is a hardy desert-dwelling tree which has a bark that can be peeled off and dried into paper, and a sticky sap which can be reduced into glue. These trees serve as the primary source for book binding and paper upon which the kiaru record information. The flouts are a strange goat-like animal that feed on minerals and secrete an oily substance to coat their fur. The kiaru comb this oil out and use it produce inks. The type of minerals that the flout is fed determine the color of oil that it will secrete, and as such the color of ink which it can be made into. Apart from these two species, the kiaru produce only informational texts, and use those books in their trades with other groups.

Desert biology Kiaru are an extremely tall & lanky race, with arms and legs that easily exceed 4 feet in length. This makes harvesting sapras trees rather easy work, and leads to the construction of bookshelves with heights that would make even a maj shudder. Their gangly appearance might seem like a disadvantage to an outsider, but their thin builds combined with their amber skin tones make them excellent desert dwellers; Their thin bodies cool quickly when sweating, and their dark skin prevents them from scorching in the constant sunlight. Kiaru grow no hair, although they occasionally have small rows of horns that grow symmetrically on their bodies. These are normally no longer than an inch and extend directly from their bones.

Factions for life As a child a kiaru makes a decision that will impact them for the rest of their lives, what to study. A kiaru’s chosen field of study is known as a faction, and determines where within in their village a kiaru will live and work. Factions cover many areas of study, and although sometimes they overlap slightly, their research is done almost exclusively separate from the other factions. Each faction is represented by a specific color, and their bodies are often covered in tattoos of information that they find important or fascinating.

Knowledge for the faction The allure of unresearched knowledge is one that many Kiaru simply cannot resist. Once a Kiaru has chosen a faction of study, it is very common for them to discover a particular subject area that they feel has not been studied enough. Driven by that desire to research and study, many a kiaru join up with a band of adventurers in the hopes of learning more about the world and gaining additional knowledge to return to their village.