Siva Folk

The Sivani Nairidi, more commonly referred to by both themselves and outsiders as the Siva (Or Siva Folk), are a race of Elven-Avianid desert dwellers located in the southwestern most continent of Kylorne. Many legends of weary travelers coming across these elusive peoples in the scorching sands boast of the lush oasis of Kissara. The fabled Jewel of the Dunes. This is where the Siva make their home.

For many millenia, the Siva Folk remained uninvolved with the affairs of the outside world beyond the great Azure sea, instead thriving in the south west and developing a culture of colour and riches, undisturbed from outside influences. Despite the little contact with foreigners, the Siva have opened their gates to the rare traveling outsider who needed aid, with very few choosing to live the rest of their years in the oasis kingdom instead of leaving.

Appearance
The colourful Siva folk pride themselves on their beauty and appearance, arguably being the most conscious about their looks than any other race. This of course can be seen as quite prideful and arrogant to outsiders. A typical Siva sports Elven qualities, coupled with the addition of birdlike features. These features are small, soft feathers behind the short pointed ears. As well as tail feathers that sprout from their tailbone. Both the ear feathers and tail feathers can be long or short, especially depending on what type of species of bird that they look most similar to. Due to their heritage and race being of the desert, they typically sport dark or tanned skin, however lighter skinned Siva folk have been noted before. No two Siva feathers are truly the same, even if they take colours and shapes from the same species of bird. The Siva have sharp, birdlike eyes, with an elongated vertical pupil, and a variety of colours when it comes to the irises. They had long lashes, and a double lid, much like their unevolved avian counterparts, allowing for them to be unaffected by sandstorms and heightened winds. This gives the Siva a well documented advantage over less fortunate races who are more susceptible to the scorching sands.

Siva folk wear colourful silks and fabrics that drape around them enough to not overheat in the scorching sun, light enough as well to give them easy mobility when they walk/run. Jewellery, colourful makeups such as eye shadow is commonplace amongst the people - regardless of gender. The Siva are very non conforming to gendered fashion or appearances, and they celebrate the diverse beauty in individuality.

The only Siva that are different completely to the common folk are the Royal house of Ocelli, whose blood flow with divinity as descendants of their God, Ocellus. They are the only Siva to have Peacock feathers, showing their upper class and ethereal right to the Kissaren throne. Only Royal blooded Siva have white hair, and gold eyes.* A trait passed down from the father of their home, Ocellus.

Ethnicities
The Siva are seen to be a mostly homogenous ethnic group. With little deviation or breakaway races due to their mostly undisturbed nature over the course of the millenia. The only difference that can be noted is that some Siva, born from outsiders taking on Siva partners, are born with less feather like features and take on the features of the other race, except for the eyes, which retain its birdlike features.

Religion
The Siva follow their main accepted religion of Naiva'si, a polytheistic religion with their main worship being that of the head god, Ocellus. In their creation myth, the Siva were saved from a wasteland of monsters and demonic warlords who enslaved their people by Ocellus when he descended to the overworld.

Ocellus is depicted in his true form as a regal peacock, his large flowing feathers painting the Naiva River that flows through the desert and into the Azure sea and causing him to lose his colours to create the lush oasis that his people live in to this day. Ocellus took a mortal form, creating the house Ocelli and ruling with a fair and just hand until his departure from the overworld plane. Leaving behind the royal Ocelli line of peacock Siva.