Alaari

The Alaari are a small quarter elf ethnic group that populate the Southern Ummarnu desert. After the disappearance of the Talawan race from the region, the Alaari Tribes became a more prominent ethnic group in the former Talawan lands. Now, they take up nearly all of the Southern Ummarnu desert, mostly residing in the metropolis of Alaar.

The Alaari people throughout history have proven themselves to be resourceful and incredibly ambitious. Alaari were generally raised in a way that led them down a very specific path in life. Each Alaari was trained to be highly skilled at a trade since around the time of birth, but the trade skill was dependent on the Alaari Tribe the child was born into.

After the unification of the Alaari Tribes by the Alai Tribe, the city of Alaar was founded and this is where the majority of the Alaari now reside.

Apppearance/Physiology
Many scholars debate whether the Alaari still classify as human ethnic group or a whole separate race, but this much is known: to scholars studying corpses of fallen Alaari, they certainly stemmed from humans. However, unlike humans, much of there physiology have adapted to survive arid desert conditions. Most notably, their skin has evolved to deal with desert conditions. One of the characteristic of which is the pale skin commonly observed throughout many of the tribes. Instead of active sweat glands, their bodies have evolved to focus their cooling on the pale skin due to the reflection of the sun’s light so water can be preserved. As a result, they do not sense heat as well as other organisms, yet they do not shed as much water as other creatures, allowing for body heat to be maintained. However, this does not make them lizard like. In fact, they are warm blooded like people and share the exact same figure. Although, something else notable about the skin is how hard it is. It is almost callous-like to defend against the course sand from dust storms penetrating the skin.

Outside of skin tone, most travelers are able to pick out an Alaari from a crowd due to their eye color. Unlike a majority of cultures, the eye and hair color color of an Alaari vary based on their tribe (The Alai Tribe shown to the right). There are no common hair colors however brown, white, and black are among the more prominent tribes of Alaari. This does not mean they are restricted to those three. In fact, there are tribes with purple, red, and a variety of alterations. A strange concept, but it demonstrates how the tribal system effects each Alaari's personal genetics.

In addition to the distinguishable phenotypes, one of the most notable signs of an Alaari are their flower crowns. Each tribe, by tradition, have matching flower crowns. It doesn't always line up with their phenotypes, but it is worn by each member of the tribe to signify their loyalty to the tribe.

Being in a shared region with the Talawans, the Alaari had some carryover in the genes. The only notable one is that Alaari on average live up to 200 years old, around the age of a half elf. However the Tuaylaai tribe of Alaari are rumored to be immortal.

Classical-Age
Before the rise of the modern Rathnirian Era, the Alaari were fairly disorganized and spread around the Southern Ummarnu Desert and The Eye. Due to the scarity of resources in this scorching desert, the Alaari exsisted in nomadic tribes and had to preserve many resources and water. Each tribe was slightly different than the others. The tribal system was frequently matriarchal in nature due to women being seen as sacred for giving life the same way Sandstom did in the Alaari's religion Stomyrn. Along with the women being regarded as sacred, specific types of flowers were seen as a special gift among the tribes. With the desert being regarded as a harsh promised land, any sign of life was considered as divine intervention. As a result, this led to the flower being hallowed to the Alaari, and each tribe wears a specific flower as a symbol of loyalty to their tribe. It was common for a tribe's flower to match their phenotypes, but that wasn't always the case.

During the classical age, some cross breeding between the local Talawans and Alaari was observed. Although in such small quantities, that they could not compete with Alaari genes. Numerous Alaari babies were produced from Talawan-Alaari and Menaphite-Alaari relationships, which gave some of the Alaari Tribes a small amount of genetic diversity.

Pre-Alaar
Prior to the founding and construction of today's Alaar, the Alaari people were the native people of the Southern Ummarnu deserts. They lived in hundreds of different nomadic tribes throughout their 3,000+ years as nomadic tribes. Long before the unification of the Alaari Tribes, the Menaphites settled in the present day land of Menaphos. Sadly initial interactions between the Menaphites and Alaari were conducted by the Yuqra Tribe, these initial meetings resulted in over 40 years of conflict. Eventually the Yuqra Tribe would be approached by the Alai Tribe during their efforts to unify the Alaari. Once the Yuqra Tribe was unified under a single flag with many of the other Alaari Tribes, the war between the Yuqra Tribe and Menaphites would come to an end. Roughly 200-300 years before the founding of today's Alaar, the Alai Tribe began traveling around the other tribes discussing the idea of bringing everyone together. Many years later Gem Alai, one of the last to be raised by the nomadic tribes, succeeded in unifying all of the nomadic Alaari Tribes under the flag of Alaar.

Present Alaar
After being founded by Gem Alai more and more of the Alaari people began to accumulate in the city. With the arrival of the last Tuaylaai build progress sky rocketed and the city grew at a rapid rate. Sadly due to a combination of extremely difficult work, rapid growth and greed construction began to slow and the population began to collapse. The gargantuan size of the buildings in Alaar has made it exceptionally difficult to complete them. The rapid growth of the city landed the Alaari govt. (The Clahto) in the midst of a housing crisis that was continuing to grow by the  day, which led to many citizens leaving to look for a new home. Greedy people began to buy more properties than were available to the public and thus kept new citizens from receiving housing. These issues are still being resolved by the Alaari Clahto.

Life in the tribe
The Alaari tribe of Alai or House of Alai, is one of the most notable and longest standing tribes of the Alaari. The people of the Alai tribe never had a set place to live. They travelled in small groups or caravans known as Qigrals (3-8 Alaari per). Unlike the ruling parties of other Alaari tribes, the Alai made their decisions with a 2/3 majority vote, an odd change from the chieftain styles that often appeared in other Alaari tribes.

The Alai tribe were known as great leaders but had no specific career fields aside from governing. The majority of the Alai tribe had a large variety of different jobs, from engineers and builders to musicians and story tellers (Lore writers). Because of their travels around the Southern deserts  of Ummarnu, the Alai people were held to a high standard by the other tribes. With a grand reputation the Alai tribe was eventually able to unify the Alaari tribes together.

The Fall of Alai
Due to the rapid expansion of their political power that spanned North-Eastern Rathnir and was developed at a ridiculous rate, the Alai tribe's power fell. Gem Alai one of the last known Alai and the founder of Alaar formed close connections with those in the Huitcan government. Inevitably when tied into the Huitcan politics everything began to collapse. Internal struggles and arguments started with some of the neighboring states in Huitca, this all led to the full collapse of the nation once known as Huitca. The Alai legacy is carried on by Gem's adopted son Lynyk Alai as he attempts to rebuild Alaar to its former glory as his father had done before him.

The Alai People
The people of the Alai tribe had a distinctive wreath that adorns their head. Unlike the Tuaylaai's phayasum wreath (black flowers), the Alai had a wreath of Kalsuma or "purple flowers". The Alai tribe were known for being slightly taller than most (170-250cm) with pale skin and ice white or sometimes purple hair.

Life in the Tribe
The Alaari tribe of the Havanti was one of the last of the nomadic Alaari tribes to join Alaar. The Havanti tribe resided along the Eastern bank of the Ansami river. Scientific and technological advancements beyond their years made this tribe stand out from the others. The Havanti tribe were alarmingly dedicated to their research, often neglecting their own personal well beings in favor of scientific achievements. The children of the Havanti tribe were raised in a collective style in which they were given a career path at a very young age (Between 2 and 4). The children were then taught skills and how to do specific tasks relating to their future careers. At a relatively random age, the children of the Havanti tribe would be taken to essentially what could be called a large pit, but was referred to as the Wæqr during the night. Inside the wæqr was a "parental entity" that would teach the children to face their fears and how to overcome life's many challenges. Tribal lore states that the "Parental entity" was some form of a demon/god of technology or science. Each child of the Havanti tribe would appear out of the wæqr atop a raised wooden platform at a different age. Each child upon their return from the wæqr and was given a celebration known as Pamaac (Celebration of age). After the celebration the child would be tested and assigned to a specific area of research.

The Incident
In present day Alaar there are not many Havanti Tribal members left. According to local legend, several years before the founding of Alaar, a non-Havanti managed to make it into the wæqr, thus upsetting the parental entity which ended in the tribe being massacred overnight. Very few of the Havanti tribe survived the massacre and even less of their research and laboratories. The only remaining of the Havanti research documents and technologies were stolen from the tribe's land and taken to the now desolate lab in Seaso. Typhoon Havanki continues work on this project.

Havanti People
The Havanti people were average in build but had very distinctive purple-violet colored eyes and glossy grey hair. The Havanti people were known for wearing very loose clothes that had many openings to allow the wearer to feel cooler in the hot desert sun,

Life in the Tribe
The Alaari tribe of Tuaylaai was an ancient Alaari Tribe that resiided along the Northern bank of lake Illariqocha. The Tuaylaai people during their time were known for their grand architectural feats and peculiar way of raising their young. The Tuaylaaii young were raised in a collective  style, the children were grouped together in what was called  a "walluar"  and were looked after by 3 or 4 of the female tribe's members. Around the age of 13, Tuaylaai children would often leave the tribe in order to travel Rathnir to gain knowledge and experience in the architectural field. The vast majority of the Tuaylaai children would return to the tribe within a few short years (15-50 years). Upon their return, as adults, most Tuaylaai went directly to work building various grandiose structures (All of which  are now ruins buried deep in the desert's sand.)

Tuaylaai People
The Tuaylaai people are shrouded in mystery, very little is actually known about this exact type of Alaari. Ancient Tuaylaai records that were found in the ruins of the tribe's land have given a small amount of insight into what the tribe's people may have actually been like. The Tuaylaai were known to wear a phayasum wreath upon their heads. Elite Tuaylaai are suspected to have phayasum wreaths inlaid in gold. The Tuaylaai people are thought to have been tall (190-300cm) and thin (60-80kg) with white hair adorning the top of their heads. It is rumored that the Tuaylaai may be immortal but this is yet to be proven.

The Tuaylaai people are believed to have gone extinct or gone into hiding for unknown reasons well over a hundred years before the Alai Tribe started its unification of the Alaari Tribes. The only known blood-line Tuaylaai remaining is Atlas Tuaylaai.

Life in the Tribe
The Alaari tribe of Tukuniy are the oldest and most sought after Alaari in all of Rathnir. Believed to be hunted to extinction during the rise of the Talawan race, the sole remaining Tukuniy Alaari's identity is the greatest secret kept in all of Alaar. According to legend the Tukuniy Tribe was the only tribe ever trusted enough to be allowed into the heart of the Tuaylaai Tribe aside from those of the Tuaylaai. The reason for them being hunted to extinction by the Talawan has remained a mystery to this day. Before their extinction according to Alaari lore, the Tukuniy Tribe was known for their skills in the visual and performing arts. Alaari music and art today are believed to have been passed down from the Tukuniy Tribe to the other Alaari Tribes.

Tukuniy People
Nothing is known about the Tukuniy Alaari aside from what legend tells us. According to legend they were known to be exceptionally tall and fair skinned as well as being some of the most attractive beings in the region.

Life in the Tribe
The Alaari tribe of Yuqra was drastically different from the other Alaari tribes. Residing on the Western banks of the Khunaiyu river, this tribe was known for its combination of intelligence and violence. The Yuqra tribe like the Tuaylaai and Havanti tribes raised their children as a collective. The children would be raised in a single group until they reached the age of 6. Once children had reached their official "training age" they would be split into several smaller groups that would train them and turn them into Yuqra Awakai (Warriors). From archery and swordsman ship to grand strategists, the Yuqra were a detrimental part of security during the founding of Alaar, as they kept the Alaari safe during the initial build phases of the city.

Yuqra People
The Yuqra people themselves did not appear to be the most threatening people in Southern Ummarnu as they were known for being rather short (120-150cm). The Yuqra people started the Alaari tradition of removing your helmet inside the city to demonstrate peacefulness and as a sign of respect to the other Alaari, who were not as fond of combat. Telling a Yuqra Alaari apart from the other Alaari tribal peoples was rather easy in comparison to the others. Yuqra Alaari have long jet black hair, striking green eyes and a more tan skin complexion than the other more pale skinned Alaari.

Language
The Alaari language was thought to have been lost to the world until the last remaining Tuaylaai arrived in Alaar and began working on translating words from the Alaari language to Traveler's Tongue[TT] (English).

A translator for the Alaari language is available here.

Building
The buildings that you see in Alaar are the combination of several of the Alaari tribes' architectural styles. One of the key elements to Alaar's uniqueness is the vast terraforming projects undertaken by the builders. But there is still much to be done, Alaar is still very early in its production. You will be able to learn more about the Alaari architectural style when the Alaari University is ready to begin classes.

A little insight into how we build. (Please keep in mind the time frames are based off of large scale builds.)

Step 0 (Terraforming): Before construction on any building in Alaar can even start the surrounding area needs to be terraformed at a basic level. (Empty plateaus, little to no detail) (Time frame: 1-6+ hours)

Step 1 (Planning): Outlines of the building(s) are created in various colors of wool. These outlines are generally structural support elements to the build (ex: wooden beams, roof edges, general floor plan), lines for creating pathways and room division inside of buildings. (Time frame: 4-12+ hours)

Step 2 (Flat Design): The outlines of the building(s) are filled in with minimal detail. This step is where the basic look of the building(s) comes from. (1-4 block types: Sandstone, Sand, Birch, Spruce) (Time frame: 30 min - 2 hours)

Step 3 (Initial Detail): The simple builds from Step 2 are gone over in a higher level of detail. This step takes the longest by far as it is mostly tinkering with the placement of detail on the outer and interior of the builds. (10-20+ block types for variation) (Time frame: 8-24+ hours)

Step 4 (Final Terraforming): After the building(s) are detailed to near completion the bare terraforming from before no longer looks adequate. The basic terraforming from before is naturalized and given more block variation. Greenery is also added as well as other customized natural elements to give it a less man-made feel. (Change from sand/sandstone to 10+ block combination based off of a sand like color palete) (Time Frame: 1-6+ hours)

Step 5 (Finalization): With the building(s) detailed, terraforming complete the only thing left to do is add in the decor. This stage is also generally where lighting, furniture and various other decor are placed around the area. Once everything is done the build is given a look over a few more times and then will be completed. (Time Frame: 1-4+ hours)

Religious Cultures/Alaari Racial Conversion
Alaar's religion Stomryn has many long standing traditions.

Through a process called Ikainq (Through Stomyrn's Fire - Rough Translation) non-Alaari citizens of Alaar can become Alaari via Stomyrn's fire. As non-Alaari walk through Stomyrn's fire, their blood begins to boil and evaporate out of their bodies at an alarming rate. Often causing what may seem like severe seizures, the new found Alaari's muscles, nervous system and bones begin to desintigrate. As they step into the Ikawsu (Stomyrn's life well - Rough Translation), their bodies are refilled with Alaari blood, bones, muscles and nerves. The new Alaari's mind is crammed with information about their "new" ancestral tribe and they become a native speaker of the Alaari language. As their ritual comes to an end the memories of their past life slowly begin to fade away. Overtime the new Alaari will only be able to recall themselves as being an Alaari. While the new Alaari are technically fully Alaari there are some sub-species of the Alaair such as the Yuqra, Alai and Tuaylaai tribes which each have a distinct characteristic outside of the regular Alaari tribes, to be among these tribes you must be born into them.

Stomyrn requires all Alaari people to retain a peaceful atmosphere unless they have been threatened or attacked. To show that they are peaceful the Alaari people remove the helmets of their armor while inside the city of Alaar.