Silontaar
| Silontaar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Race | |
| Pronunciation | See-lon-taar |
| Common Nicknames | |
| Languages | Deshawi |
| Racial Traits | |
| Distinctions | Rarely seen Magic menders of the world, trying to restore the reputation of Magic. |
| Maximum Age | 500 |
| Height | Very short to tall |
| Eye Colors | Any color depending the glowing fur on their body, or blue or green. |
| Hair Colors | Any color, pattern, and stripe or spot design in any arrangement. |
The Silontaar are the rarest seen Race across all of Aloria. While the Dwarves are numerically fewer, Silontaar rarely venture beyond their homeland, the magical city-state equally named Silontaar, and prefer to draw very little attention to themselves in a world that still has very complicated feelings about Magic. Especially in Regalia, Silontaar have been absent for nearly a century, due to Regalia’s heavy Magic repression policies and hostile pro-slavery or subjugation against the furred Races of the world, a policy that has only reduced sharply in the last 10 years, and these two traits perfectly embody this most elusive of Races. The Silontaar are a distant cousin Race of the Asha, but unlike the Asha who developed with a heavy focus on technology, the Silontaar abandoned their technology for an extremely heavy focus on Magic to the point of dependency. The Silontaar even feed on Magic itself to stay alive more so than Kathar do to Void Essence, and as such, some have been drawn to Regalia, the epicenter of many magical events.
Core Identity
To be a Silontaar, is to be a magical anthro that both has a heavy focus and an almost addicted dependency on Magic. The Silontaar have abandoned nearly all earthly needs to sustain themselves purely on Magic, and have as such also become the most skilled Magic users, even surpassing the Teledden, but not being numerous enough to widely prove this. The Silontaar, much like the Asha, have cultural trauma from the destruction of the Dewamenet Empire, but unlike the Asha, they have turned Magic into their gift, and one they mean to right the wrongs of the world with.
Magic Healing
The Silontaar recognize all the deep theories and Dragon Worship ideas about damage of the world. They never dismiss the damage that Magic has done to the world, nor do they try to reason away the hurt that has been applied to others through the use of Magic, but they also believe strongly that Magic is the answer to mending many of the things that are wrong and broken in the world, because it provides exactly the means to solve that which is thought unsolvable, or fix that which is thought forever broken. Many of the Silontaar are natural magical healers, whether that means healing broken bodies or mending broken stone, their Magic is inherently as restorative as it can be destructive for those who try to use Magic to harm.
Magic Dependency
The Silontaar have long surrendered the need to drink, or eat, or sleep, instead sustaining their bodies with Magic itself, something that is unique to their Race, as only select individuals of other Races have mastered this skill after centuries of trying. In return however, the complete death of Magic would mean the Silontaar would also wither away and die. As such, some venture into the world to argue for a better compromise between Magic haters and Magic lovers, to create a world in which Magic is used to repair and make the lives of the average citizen better, and where Magic is used to heal and extend the lifespan of others instead of shortening it. Equally however, a Silontaar deprived their Magic through some kind of anti Magic device or mechanic, is sure to become quite desperate or feral in their attempts to have their hunger sated.
Dewamenet Guilt
Because the Silontaar were a distant colony of the Dewamenet Empire during it’s destruction at the hands of the Allorn Empire, the Silontaar have a collective racial guilt over not having done enough to try and stop this event, or done enough to save the Dewamenet slaves afterwards. Silontaar closed itself off from the outside world, and this collective shame continues to define the relations between the Silontaar and Asha, with the Asha having a grief-filled hate for the Silontaar, and the Silontaar a melancholic sorrow towards the Asha. The Silontaar haven’t quite figured out yet how to mend the anger with the Asha, and some venture into the world to try and find out. Yet, they recognize that as Silontaar, they have evolved so far from their common Dewamenet ancestor, that the two Races can likely never fully join together, only normalize relations.
Design
Physical Characteristics
The Silontaar cannot truly be defined as specific animal species like the Asha can, who themselves are a form of devolved Dewamenet that once existed 20,000 years prior. The Silontaar are never quite canine, but never quite feline either, lacking clear identifying features. Their faces are elongated like that of canines, but their nasal bridge and forehead is one continuous undented line. Their nose does not have rough skin, instead being fur covered, with only the implication of nostrils appearing as two slits between the fur layers. Their chin is sharp, with a sharp jawline also, but many Silontaar have very fluffy neck and jawline fur that obscures these sharp features and make them appear more rounded. Silontaar ears can be pointed and elongated, or rounded like that of a bear, or half round and half pointed like that of a cat. They always point backwards, unless they are in a state of alertness during which they point up. The most notable aspect about the Silontaar that absolutely sets them apart from the Asha, is that they frequently have magical glowing fur areas, and their fur patterns are very wild and have many frequently unnatural colors to them. Their eyes usually have the same color as the glowing magical fur, which can often cause confusion when this color is green or purple or red, despite Silontaar being immune to Afflictions and Affinities. It is important to examine the various distinguishing features of the Silontaar, because they should never be visually mistaken for a feline or canine or any other specific animal Race, as they are entirely their own, see reference image and bullet point list below.
- Black and white or darker and lighter fur patches are very common on top of the general dominant color in a Silontaar's fur that covers their entire body.
- Silontaar can both have a tail, and not have a tail. When they do have a tail, it is usually very fluffy, and slightly longer than their legs, and also prehensile.
- All Silontaar have digitgrade legs, with canine-like toes and general anatomical structure. While they can run on all fours, they really hate it unlike the Asha.
- Silontaar magical glowing fur should always denote accents, never be dominant. That is to say, an entire Siloontaar's fur cannot glow, only small parts of it.
- Silontaar nose bridges can be entirely straight (seen right) slight curved (seen middle) or strong curved (seen left) dependig on personal preferences.
- Silontaar can pull their lips far back from their gums and teeth, much like wild wolves, and have teeth arrangements similar to them, with canines sometimes sticking out of the mouth.
- Silontaar have a frictious rough tongues like cats do, but unlike cats, they also have barbs on their tongue that can shred meat to pieces, though they can fold these barbs flat.
- Silontaar don't have much gender dimorphism, that is to say, male and female Silontaar do not look much different from one another, and are not limited to size or build.
- Silontaar can either have short fur (seen left), long fur (seen middle) or a middle ground (see right). They can also gain a very fluffy winter pelt or very short summer pelt.
- Some Silontaar even change colors of their fur during the various seasons, with white being more dominant in winter and black being more dominant in summer.
- Most Silontaar are very colorful, but black and white monochromatic Silontaar are very common, with white also being a valid color for glowing fur.
Mental Characteristics
There is no true commonality between the Silontaar, though the majority of them do tend to lean into the direction of calm, well-spoken, disciplined, and deep-thinking. Silontaar society produces many excellent scholars, poets, diplomats, mages, and most importantly: philosophers and mentors. Silontaar Mage teachers are considered some of the kindest and most patient and effective teachers with very little in the way of personal ego and personal needs. Silontaar’s Magic schools are incredibly difficult to get into as outsiders, so Silontaar mentors outside of their homeland are high in demand and well paid, even if they immediately pay back half this money on alms for the poor. The Silontaar in general are an extremely empathetic peoplesthat takes on the plights of other people as their own, even if they weren’t asked to. This doesn’t mean that criminal and evil-intending Silontaar aren’t possible, there are still plenty of Silontaar who see their gifts as a means to seize power, but these are by far in the minority and actively self-policed by the other Silontaar.
Silontaar in Regalia
Silontaar are extremely rare in Regalia. They were added relatively late to MassiveCraft’s full history, and so they aren’t specifically a new discovery, but rather something most Characters have never seen growing up, and only ever vaguely heard of in distant rumors. Silontaar often come to Regalia to research the ongoing magical events there and gain a better understanding of non-Silontaar Magic users, but also because Regalia itself is just a hub of damage done by Magic, and they consider it their duty to mend or restore anything damaged by Magic. Many of them would also be reticent to admit that Regalia is incredibly alluring, as they directly feed off the ambient energies of Magic left behind after spells have been cast, and so Regalia is one large delicious banquet of Magic.
Racial Abilities & Specials
Racial Abilities are generally a set of unique powers and effects that all peoples of that Race all innately have, while Specials are more passive, aesthetic focused capabilities. Specials are defined per-page, while Abilities can be searched on the Ability List page to determine their generic function. Silontaar purely have Specials, though many of these Specials give them Abilities as free Point Buy Packs. There are no considerations for Half Silontaar, because the Silontaar cannot reproduce with any other Race, even their distant Asha cousins, as their biology has drifted too far from the physical norm of the other Races.
Abilities
| Ability Name | Ability Type | Ability Range | Ability Description | Modifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magic Technique | Skill Power | Self | Magic Technique | N/A |
Specials
- Ageless: The Silontaar are Ageless, when they become adults, they cease to visually age. Additionally, they can change their age-based appearance to any age equivalent they want (so long as it is 18+).
- Arcane Mastery: The Silontaar can use telekinesis to automate non-combat domestic functions like opening windows and doors and levitating cutlery or retrieving items from a distance and levitating them to their hands.
- Affinity Immunity: The Silontaar are immune to any type of Affinity, and cannot be infected with an Affinity or born with one. They are still affected by Special and Abilities used by others with an Affinity however.
- Affliction Immunity: The Silontaar are immune to any type of Affliction and cannot be infected with an Affliction or born with one. They are still affected by Special and Abilities used by others with an Affliction however.
- Dimension Singularity: The Silontaar are incapable of having Primal or Ordial Magic. They can only ever be Void or Exist Occult, and since every Silontaar is born with Magic, they are always Occult of one or the other.
- Branch Aversion: The Silontaar are incapable of using any Technician Point Buy Packs, or Theurgy Packs, due to a combination of cultural and historical aversion, as well as training to block certain parts of their mind off.
- Greatest Mages: The Silontaar are capable of ignoring the limitations imposed on Greater Mage for up to 4 Packs. This means they can Point Buy up to 4 Packs in Firearms, Ranged, or Melee Point Buy, and still quality for Greater Mage.
- School of Blessings: The Silontaar are taught the School of Blessings from birth, meaning they gain the Spell Point Buy Pack “Blessings” for free, without the 3 Specials. This counts towards Greater Mage, adding 1 Point to their Magic Stat that breaks cap.
- Blessed Specials: The Silontaar may choose an additional 9 Specials from the Spell Point Buy Page to add to their Character Sheet, without needing additional Spell Point Buy to justify their existence as an addition.
- Fur Shimmer: The Silontaar can change the color patterning on their fur at any time as well as their orientation, though it never counts as a disguise. Additionally, they can manifest summer or winter pelts with added volume if desired.
- Magical Dressage: The Silontaar can use Magic to change the quantity, layers, size, colors, patterns, materials and structures of any piece of clothing they are wearing, including taking it all off, or adding all of it back on instantaneously.
Magic Feeding
The Silontaar have become dependent on Magic, but it has also completely removed their need to sustain themselves. The Silontaar do not need water, food, sleep, or even oxygen, and are capable of simply surviving off of Magic. They feed from the ambient Magic in the air, when Magic is cast near them in Emote Range, or when they do it themselves. Furthermore, a Silontaar’s size can also be dictated by their Magic absorption. For example, a Silontaar’s minimum height is 5 feet and 3 inches, but a Silontaar can both increase in height and muscularity or body fat depending on how much Magic is used near them. Essentially, a Silontaar can optionally aesthetically represent their absorption of Magic by simply becoming bigger in every conceivable way. The reverse may also be true if they are deprived of Magic. This does not add Proficiency Points like Strength or Constitution, but does factor into the Silontaar’s out-of-combat endurance and physical power, their ability to lift heavy objects et cetera. Finally a Silontaar may also become more jittery, nervous, unpredictable, feral, or uncontrolled if they are deprived of Magic for longer periods of time.
History
Silontaar History begins with the collapse of the Dewamenet Empire, when the Silontaar outpost (called Silesha at the time) was cut off from the Empire. The Teledden were originally not aware of the Silesha outpost on the far continent of Carrhen, as they had at this time not yet developed cross ocean sailing ships, which the Dewamenet had. The Dewamenet were not a classical colonizing people, but had set up a mining base in Silesha, because the mountains had a rare mineral not available in what is now modern day Westwynd. When Silesha became cut off, the locals were suddenly deprived of their technological shipments, and much of their infrastructure broke down. How Magic exactly was imported into their society is unclear, though it is generally considered out of necessity, Ailor had not yet colonized the areas around Silontaar so there was nobody to trade with.
The Silontaar remained extremely isolated from the rest of the world as a stagnant micro nation, largely because the mining outpost once only had a few hundred inhabitants, and because they still feared genocide by the Teledden. They reasoned that by not expanding, the Teledden would be less likely to notice them, and so they could live in peace, ignorant of the world that didn’t even know they were there. Early encounters with Ailor millennia later were far from peaceful, with Ailor being quickly seen as an invasive species that sought to deprive the Silontaar who had meanwhile established a somewhat thriving city-state in the region. The Silontaar choose not to seek out open conflict however, and instead erected a massive magical dome around their city to keep out outsiders. The Silontaar region was thus declared dead space by the Ailor colonists who created the Carrhen kingdoms around them, ignorant of the magic learning and expansion that happened exponentially under that dome.
When the Silontaar came out of hiding some 3000 BC, they found the world in a pretty deplorable state. Their precursory magical scrying revealed the sad and abused state of their Asha cousins, who they thought had devolved into separate species from their once unified Dewamenet bond (though they themselves had also changed). The slow decline of the Allorn Empire was anticipated, but because the Silontaar had meanwhile developed longevity by feeding on Magic, they chose not to act and simply wait out the storm. Peaceful relations were established with their Ailor neighbors who nonetheless still kept their borders closed to the Silontaar.
Much of Silontaar history remained exactly that: waiting for something important to happen, until the Cataclysm happened. The Silontaar were shocked by this event and motivated to finally come out of hiding, cautiously venturing into the world to try and mend the damage done to both people and the land. Silontaar adventures outside of their homeland have risen and ceased with the global acceptance of Magic, usually anchored to how Regalia viewed Magic. There was some success early on, but Silontaar once again closed their magical shield when Regalia’s Azure Order started actively hunting and killing Mages. In recent years, with the more pro-Magic policies of both Dragon Worship Regulus and Emperor Alexander I of Regalia, the Silontaar have once more come forward, trying to help people learn Magic the proper way without hurting anyone or themselves, while also undergoing magical prestige projects to try and heal the land. For example, there is currently a notable effort made in the Sundered Lands to raise all the sunken cities back to the surface.
Culture
Language
The Silontaar language is a very distant cousin of Dewamenet and Asha, in that it is based on real-world Tuareg, though the language is called Deshawi, or Desh for short. Deshawi is much closer to old Dewamenet than Ibeth, which is mostly re-constructed based on modern scholarly interpretations of old Dewamenet, instead of naturally developed vernacular. This means that while the Silontaar cannot speak Dewamenet, they can read it perfectly fine, albeit at the risk of some accidental mistranslations due to missing context. The Silontaar language does not support any construct for gender non-binary, as the language follows the old binary gender model of the Dewamenet language. Middle-names are dictated by the perceived gender of the Silontaar, with “Ag” for men, and “Ult” for women. Silontaar surnames denote their clan membership, but this clan name usually also has a much longer metaphoric translation that is not necessarily translated from the actual word.
- Example list of male names: Bekkai, Mellou, Khebbi, Khyar, Salah, Bouhen, Khemidou, Aziouzel, Ansar, Baba, Brahim, Ourzig.
- Example list of female names: Kodda, Tahit, Dasha, Regida, Tanelhir, Aisha, Mimi, Hadada, Takama, Tekawilt, Tamar, Feduda, Sidi.
As such, if a male has the surname Louki, their full name would be Hama Ag Louki, and if a woman of the same clan had the name Kodda, her full name would be Kodda Ult Louki. Clan names are formally short like Aqqasen, Aboura, Menir, Ilklan, Ibak and so forth, but these words can have an extrapolated meaning not directly taken from the word. For example, a clan who particularly specializes in healing Magic of nature, would have the clan name “Menders of the Verdant Green”. This long metaphorical surname is often translated in Common and used instead of the (Tuareg based) surname when introducing one’s self, even if the formal surname is their actual legal name.
Religion
The Silontaar are the only Race who are truly atheist like the Qadir, but unlike the Qadir, have not replaced their lack of spirituality with some pseudo deity. While religious Silontaar do exist and they have some natural curiosity and inclination to join a spiritual fold out in the world, they are never taught religion from birth out of the belief that “Gods Betray”. This is part of watching the Dewamenet collapse and get pulverized by the Allorn Empire, while the Baskarr gods supposedly stood by and did nothing. Note, this Gods Betray ideology does not mean that the Silontaar are hateful towards the gods like the Qadir can be, they are just disappointed and disillusioned by the idea of religion, but collectively do suffer from the social need of spirituality, and as such may best be considered agnostic and in search for a religion that works for them and that they feel actually rewards their worship with acknowledgement of benediction.
Fashion
Silontaar fashion is far more deferential to foreign cultures than the Asha would be. Because Silontaar can control the designs of their clothing on the fly with Magic, they often opt to fit in with any particular society they are in. Furthermore, they do not suffer fur overheating like the Asha do during the warm months in Regalia, and as such dress far more modestly, usually recreation gold-threaded noble brocades and set pieces or dresses. That being said, there are plenty of Silontaar who also try to fit in with the common and impoverished, wearing normal work shirts and sometimes even the outfits of traditional doctors and medical personnel to be recognizable as healers.
World View
World View is optional content that helps give Silontaar flavor and depth.
- Silontaar do not have any hold-over anger or rage against the Allorn Empire for the genocide against their distant kin. The Silontaar are remarkably capable of letting go of anger and hatred in that regard, and are rather just left with pity and empathy for the past.
- The Silontaar generally consider Regalia to be a force of good, but consider a lot of evil that exists in its governmental structure, and how it is very susceptible to quickly tilting in the wrong direction just because of a few bad actors. They always stand against genocide of innocents, and are very politically engaged to make sure that the likes of Dictats and Magic Haters can never re-take government, but also wouldn’t go so far as to use terrorism to achieve that goal.
- Silontaar always lack an easy and comfortable solution for how to deal with the Asha. Some flee away from the close proximity of the Asha, some stand their ground and try to argue their validity of existing, while others try to be apologetic and avoid the topic altogether. There is no common trend except for a collective understanding of some kind of wrongdoing on their part to subject themselves to the very force that killed their common ancestors.
- To many Silontaar, the idea of Primal Magic, having it and being able to use it, or having their Magic converted to Primal would be a great ambition and dream to one day realize, because when their Magic is primal it can no longer harm the world and only ever be used to heal it, but they also recognize that for the vast majority of them this is merely a pipe dream that they can never realize.
- The Silontaar are incredibly ambivalent about the Ordial plane and Ordial Mages and Undead in general. They hold no overt religious or historical distaste for their kind, and have personally largely abandoned the Mortuary Cults of the Asha in their common Dewamenet ancestry, because of their relative longevity and because their burial rituals involve magically dissipating the bodies of the dead now to return the burden of their magic casting back to the world.
- The Silontaar are incredibly environmentally aware, being generally against coke and coal fuming factories and strip-mining of terrain, believing more in harmonious and sustainable lifestyles, albeit with magic. They believe that replacing all slavery with Machines was a good thing in Regalia, but not the best solution, and that machines should eventually be replaced with something else so the strip mines for metal resources can be closed.
- Silontaar and Suvial are often best of friends, particularly because the Silontaar are fascinated by the Suvial ability to control both dimensions, and because the Suvial are fascinated by the extreme control of natural affinity to Magic among the Silontaar.
- The Silontaar are terrified of the Maraya. Ever since they can remember, there are horror stories of the “Fae-Horned Masters” who controlled the world with their technology and enslaved all the lesser races as pets and servants, including the Dewamenet. They claim that while the Maraya may look harmless, pretty and cute now, there is a dark savagery to their history that is left untold.
Trivia
- Why at some point the Silontaar chose to name themselves or their city state to what is essentially an Altalar phrase, is unclear. It is likely that they did not want rumor of their existence to spread on the Ailor trade winds, and reach the ears of the Elves. By hiding as an independent Teledden outpost, they hoped to avoid issue.
- The Silontaar magical barrier around their city state is not permanent, but can be called up whenever they need it. This magical technology is incredibly rare is non-existent outside of ancient Dragon Tech, and thus many Teledden Princes desperately try to acquire the magical scrolls needed for the incantations.
- Silontaar are difficult to interpret for the Teledden. Many of them would be hard pressed to admit that some Silontaar are much better Mages than most of the Teledden population. Luckily for the Teledden ego, there are so few Silontaar that it barely ever comes up and they can just dismiss them as freak-case Asha Mages.
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