Vodi

The Vodi are an ethnic group originating from the world of Scrila. They are also known as the “People of the Forest.” After the collapse of the old world, the many who have survived the collapse have moved eastward into Rathnir in the New Creatan city of Newheim, where many reside today.

They are known to be resourceful and ambitious about constructing elaborate structures, often not wasting a single piece of stone. There are many different phenotypes of the Vodi race, often related to woodland creatures.

Appearance
The Vodi have a humanoid or elf-like appearance with animal parts, but their traits can radically vary. A distinct feature that every member of the Vodi have is long, elf-like ears, usually with a pair of appendages, like an extra set of ears or antlers, placed on the head. Height and body type of the Vodi race relates to the animal they descended from. An example of this would be a Vodian with moose-like features, being more taller and more muscular than say a Vodian with fox-like features, being more shorter and slimmer. The body of Vodian was more humanoid than animal.

The skin of a Vodian is similar to a human, as they keep cool during warm seasons by sweating. For keeping warmth during the winter months, the Vodi exponentially grows thick, but semi-transparent fur to stay warm and rapidly shed it off after the cool season has ended. Their skin tone is pale in coloration, likely caused by early Vodi settlements being in a woodlands area, before venturing out into the plains and other meadow-like biomes.

Vodi hair and fur color can vary wildly, but a noticeable pattern in the color is all Vodi children are born with a black hair or fur, then as they age, they gain coloration. As they become old with age, all coloration is removed, leaving the hair and fur white. This is a common pattern for Vodi who don’t have permanent black or white coloration, as black-haired Vodi keep the color unchanged since birth and white-haired Vodi stay with the color after the black hair is gone, even during their adult years. It is hypothesized that Vodi children are born with black hair to camouflage with their forest environment and hide from hostile creatures who may prey on them.

The eye color also varies wildly, but the color only ranges in a spectrum of bright colors. It is quite rare for a Vodian to have a dull eye color.

Many Vodi have abilities related to the animal they descended from, such as a rabbit Vodi being able to jump higher than a human and a moose Vodi having increased limb strength.

Ancient Era
Before the birth of the first monarchy of Creata in the world of Scrila, It is theorized that crossbreeding with elven species and beastpeople led to the births of the first of many Vodi in the heartland of Scrila. The Vodi then strayed off from their elven and animal relatives and created settlements in woodland areas. Ancient Vodi society was led by the individual who was the most able to harvest the most food from the woodlands or the one who was the most knowledgeable, so leadership was often changing and not strictly led by one sex. Eventerally, the population grew too large to support a nomadic lifestyle and so many moved elsewhere. One group of Vodi traveled high altitudes and settled there, creating an early civilization called Sugnne.

First Sugnnese Civilization
When it was created, the Vodi developed a radical ideology called Naturism due to the harsh environments of the mountains. This radical religion deemed that snow and other environmental catastrophes were a cause of the sin and suffering of the world and the environment. Using farming techniques lost to this day, they managed to create a society of the cultivation of crops in the high attitudes under the same system of governance like in the woodlands. Unfortunately, information regarding any of the first civilization of Sugnne is scarce, but it is known that it was short-lived as an event killed much of the population there. The survivors left the mountain regions and descended to the woodlands again, meeting up with the rest of the Vodi in other settlements. There, they developed a less radical version of Naturism and began to spread it.

First Kingdom of Creata
The rise of nomadic tribes to agricultural settlements influenced the Vodi to leave their more nomadic forest lives to settle in the more southwest plains of Scrila, creating Vodi city-states. The most dominant of them all was the city-state of Lasas, a city who expanded deep into the cultural sector, building elaborate structures and beautiful monuments. Through extensive trade, the city found themselves absorbing weaker cities through agreements. Once the Lasasan border reached the other coast, the government of Lasas swiftly pronounced the creation of the Kingdom of Creata with the city being the new capital. Soon the capital raised glorious walls that encircled the entire city, with only rural areas on the outskirts. Much history has happened since the birth of the Old Kingdom. World War Iceita, the innovation of the nether portal, and the Avalonian Conflict were all examples of that history. Even Blulik Einsheld, the brother of the third King, Skilov Einsheld, reestablished the Sugnnese civilization. Then as the new governor of the Albastion state of Albast-Zanian Republic Arcanwell was elected, he was then murdered by an assassin of the former Avalonian dictator who caused the Avalonian Conflict, Omanil. After this incident, the Albastion War began.

Albastion War
After the Albastion conquest of the north and the surrender of the east, Omanil marched his army westward, where the first kingdom resided. The Creatan Army resisted their march, but their defenses could not hold. Albastion conquered the north province of Redvale and then reached Lasas in the Creatan heartlands. For seven days, the walls held strong while a portion of Omanil’s army conquered and sacked other areas of the Old Kingdom. On the morning of the seventh day, news of King Mentilines and the rest of the Einsheld family being assassinated spread like wildfire. Hearing this news, the royal army fell and the wall crumbled. The last sovereign nation, the super-corporation of Everest, surrendered quickly upon the fall of the Old Kingdom. After this, the whole world of Scrila was under Albastion control. However the dictator of the Albastion Empire Omanil acted, he was unable to secure and stabilize a large portion of the land. After three months, Omanil was declared dead, assassinated in his quarters. Upon this news, many declared independence and sought control of the regime. This turned the Albastion mainland into a gaping crater.

Rathnir
However bad the situation was, this meant Creatans, along with the Vodi population, were free. The Reformed Royal Kingdom of New Creata declared independence, led by a young Vodian and the last remaining, but illegitimate, member of the Einsheld family, Sylvia Ottolai. The Creatan population of Vodi and non-Vodi moved eastward, and reached the New World of Rathnir. They made a man-made island in the Svalden Sea and called it Newheim, which roughly translates to “New Home.”

Present Day
Today, the Vodi reside in the city of Newheim, Creata and working on improving the land.