Arkanai

Fast Facts

Height: 5'8"-6'2" Males, 5'4"-5'10" Females

Weight: 140-240(lbs) Males, 110-190(lbs) Females

Lifespan: Adult (18 years), Elder (150 years), Deathly (180 years)

Notable Features: Light-Deep Blue Skin, Long Ears, Purple Irises/Sclera, Raven Hair, Etheric Lines, Smooth Complexions

Player Restrictions: None

Racial Ability: Starborn: Originally from Muid, the Arkanai are deeply connected to the Adac. Their souls were built to bond with them, the smallest and simplest of spirits conjoining with them to form a symbiotic relationship for them both. As a result, most adult Arkanai are bonded with a small spirit called their Starling. While Starlings once helped make the Arkanai far more powerful as a people, their fall and disconnect from Muid has limited this benefit. Instead, Starlings help the Arkanai resist corruption, helping them to navigate dangerous environments like the Straits of Adena, or to be able to endure a fractional amount of Mageblight before truly succumbing to its drawbacks.

Population: 22,000,000

History

The Arkanai were created by Saryn, God of Time, originally for but one reason: to test the extent of his own power, though the list of reasons expanded shortly after they were born. Saryn wanted not only to create a race, but the perfect one; one that could serve his and Venadak's will unfalteringly, with only a spare notion of mortal freedoms, unlike the others. The original Arkanai were nearly pure, perfect beings as opposed to their common mortal peers. They were enduring, powerful, longer-lived than even the Hyr'Norai, and they were capable of traveling back and forth between Atharen and Muid without fail. The source of this strength existed within their souls: a small Adac that roamed within them, invigorating them, connecting them to Saryn and his might. While they were few in number, they were truly elite; an order that could serve his will well.

For thousands of years, seeing an Arkanai meant steering clear. They congregated among themselves, and most of their lives were spent fulfilling tasks for the Living Gods. Despite the decree of relative distance from their creations, some Gods - Saryn among them - were not content to let threats stew, or for danger to broil. He sent his followers across the continents to act as a cabal of killers, informants, and more. Most of this was done to protect Atharen while Venadak played his games, living among mortals and avoiding the responsibility or the blood of any mess, the necessary deaths or interventions that would keep the stability of the world order.

It was, in fact, the Arkanai who first began to report on and challenge the actions of Valen Dres during the waning days of the Empire, decades before the Sundering. They were armed and sent to cull him and his courtiers, his Draedan allies, though even they failed. This was the first sign of the Empire's true threat; that Saryn's justicars could not handle the dangers. It was their failure that ultimately led Venadak to act.

Before the Sundering, the Arkanai lived in Muid for most of their lives. They would traverse the planes to land in Atharen whenever they were called to do so, though for most of the year they would train within the fields of Senia, Muid's surface. Many lived in Saryn's old realm, though they were kept distant from the management of his domains, such as Time. Saryn was, to them, the overseer of Decay and they were meant to mend the cracks that time created in the stability of the world. From beyond the veil they would monitor the coming of these dangers, few in number.

The Sundering came as a shock to all of the Adac and their peers, but to the Arkanai the event held permanent and painful implications. The Sundering was their fall: Saryn was corrupted irreparably, the explosion of ether that emanated from Adena compromising his soul, twisting and rotting him. The Arkanai felt this through their connection to him -- in fact, they began to grow corrupted themselves. The Adac within their souls began to change into that of Dregs, and while Saryn's imprisonment cut off this process of degradation, the Arkanai were expelled from Muid. The spirits within them - twisting and gnawing, and growing in ferocity - were unwelcome, and as a result, so were they. They flooded out from the realm, banished, dumped into the Straits of Adena like filth. Many of them -- most of them -- died. The few that remained moved to Sil-Elaine's corrupted, eastern coast, and while some stayed the majority left to go north on a ship they'd built from the remains of the Elainian fleet. The nearer they stayed to Adena - Atharen's corrupted heart - the more vicious their inner-Dreg became. So, they went far away to attempt to preserve themselves, and eventually made landing on Ganeron's shores.

The Arkanai tried to purify themselves. They used what they had learned, harnessing what magics they could; Necromancy, most of all. Their attempts were far less productive than merely waiting, it appeared, though in the midst of these enduring years they were forced to deal with the consequences of the Sundering. Their race had become far weaker, more fallible. The Dreg within them was a constant nuisance, and these agitated spirits seemed to constantly seek to create unrest and disorder among them, twisting and misleading their thoughts. Worst of all, they had no method of reproduction. The Arkanai were all born from one central pool of Divinity within Saryn's realm: a rich, divine basin of energy where their dead souls were placed, only to wash up along the edges of the pond in the form of a child. Saryn had constructed them this way to control them and their population; he had made them sterile so they could not grow beyond his supervision, and those who defied or failed him would not be reborn. He would claim their soul instead, harvesting them like the creations of any Living God.

With this imperfection inherent to their race, and disconnected from Muid, the Arkanai were adrift towards extinction. Years passed and they inched nearer and nearer, their numbers dwindling more and more. Once a hundred thousand, they were made ten by the Sundering, and five through the passage of time. It was then that Kyrikain laid his eyes upon them, and took pity. He created a new well of Divinity for them, one that functioned the same as the one they knew from Muid, and placed it at the core of Ganeron's central Isle. He would not mend their sterilization, as he believed the current generation too corrupted to spread their blood. Instead, as they passed on and were brought to the well, the waters would cleanse their Dreg and neutralize whatever corruption remained. The next generation that came was a new life of their race: they were imperfect and fallible like Atharen's other mortals, but they had far more free will than before, they could build their own families and follow their own path. Kyrikain enriched the Arkanai with emotion, and the plurality that was life. While the last generation of truly Starborn Arkanai died ill and corrupted, they could at least live relieved to see a healthy and purposeful youth coming after them, inheriting their stories.

Since the creation of the 'Lifebasin' - or the well - around four centuries ago, the Arkanai have found a new meaning. They constructed the Kingdom of Ganeron around the island they had made their home, with the Lifebasin terraforming the once-frigid isle into a lush home. They've since become a prolific, nautical race, sending out great ships to other lands to colonize and trade with local nations. Within the last few decades, a large number of Arkanai landed in Lukhan, eager to expand the breadth of their tropical home.

Physiology/Biology

Starlings

While the Arkanai could once fully commune with their Starling, the weakening of their connection to Muid has limited this interaction. During the years between their fall and their restoration, the Arkanai could not communicate with their Starling at all, but rather could be influenced by it - often to commit harm. Kyrikain, upon acting to shepherd the race, decided that he would restore their ability to communicate with their Starling, but to a limited effect. Arkanai can now only communicate with their Starlings during their dreams, at which time they can speak with them, share emotions, and travel through Reverie with these companions. Arkanai are said to have more benevolent dreams than other races, with their Starlings acting as guides to help stay them from nightmares.

The Starlings themselves tend to appear as small, sprite-like beings. They often take on the form of an animal, but glowing and with unnatural characteristics. Equally as many are simply incomparable to animals, having their own unique appearances and traits. For more information, please read the Spirits article.

Language

The Arkanai, interestingly enough, speak Common. They were largely meant to communicate perfectly among one another, and to be able to communicate with the local populations of whichever area of Atharen they were dispatched to. For this reason, they never constructed their own language, and picked up Common as the most effective universal tongue. While many Arkanai are multi-lingual, Common is their true lingua franca, and they are articulate and eloquent wielders of it. Notably, their accent tends to be very distinct from that of Atharen's users of Common. They are often said to sound almost too suave, as if they are perpetually seeking to charm others around them through humor and wit. This comes out in every aspect of their accent and usage of words, though it makes them an expert people at diplomacy and negotiations.

Arkanai names are highly varied. Mostly, their names are fairly human. They tend to have very posh-sounding names: men might be Liam, Theodore or Sebastian, while women might be Victoria, Aurelia or Camille.

An Arkanai's middle name is usually the name of their Starling, and so an Arkanai will not have any such name until they bond with one. Their last name is one they choose, often upon marrying. The Arkanai and their spouse will decide on a name together, often a word in Eldhan that they feel resonates with them. Their children will have this name until they marry themselves, at which point the cycle continues. For this reason, there are no common surnames for the Arkanai, and no common conventions for their surnames, either.