Rathor

Fast Facts

Height: 4' - 8'

Weight: 80-300 lbs

Life Span: Adult (18 Years), Elder (290 Years), Deathly (335 Years)

Notable Features: Regardless of their form they have at least some animalistic features. Heterochromia and vitiligo are both extremely common within the Rathari.

Player Restrictions: Animal related restrictions (diet, temperament, climate preference, etc.)

Racial Ability: Wild Walker - A Rathari will slowly pick up, for better and worse, traits associated with their animal form in their other forms be it advantageous or disadvantageous. While this can sometimes cause other animals to leave them alone and cause the Rathari to be more at home in wild areas, this isn't directly a part of their ability and not all Rathari will be treated this way.

Population: 10,000,000

History

So Aedrin Dreamed

During the Age of Dreams, there was a multitude of failures for each successful creation. Sometimes what looked to be a failure was in actuality a success, though a shaky one. The Rathari, also occasionally simply called the Rath, are one such example.

The Rathari upon the initial birth of their race were called the Rathtori. The Hytori were the first mortal beings, and from them, most other races were spawned. The Rathtori were one such example. They were the first splinter race to shoot off from the Hytori. They came into existence when a small group of Hytori took note of Aedrin and his values. They looked up to the Wild King, and so they dedicated themselves to following in his footsteps. Aedrin took note of this small group and decided to bestow them with his blessing. From then on they became the forest elves, the Rathtori.

The Rathtori were in a lot of ways Aedrin's dream race. As the progressed through time they lived in nomadic groups. These groups were almost always on the move and had a tendency to avoid other races. They preferred, for the most part, to stick to themselves. This is why the Rathtori have a history that's far less documented than any other race. They had a tendency to try and leave the nature around them better when they left than when they arrived. That combined with their tendency to avoid any other races which might have recorded their existence led to the race itself being almost completely undocumented. Even their appearance is something relatively forgotten to the times. This was fine with them though, and pleasing to Aedrin. For their nature which was so agreeable to the Wild King, he gave them gifts. The wilds which they called home were far more hospitable to the Rathtori than they were to any of the other races. This is still a trait displayed by modern Rathari who seem to get along with nature far better than any other race and tend to be treated as a threat far less frequently.

As the Dragon Gods built up a world, the Mist Lords grew curious. In particular, Myshala was very curious about the mortals. Mortal creatures were a total mystery to the Mist Lords in the early days of Atharen. They had no experience with mortalkind, and unlike the Dragon Gods they couldn't create mortals or races on their own. They weren't a part of Atharen. The most they could do was change something that already existed, twisting it and pulling it until it fit their fancy. And that's exactly what Myshala wanted to do. She decided she wanted to try and make something, or more so change something, to breathe life into a race that would give praise to the Mist Lords (in particular her) the same way the mortal races gave praise to the Dragon Gods.

Of course, such an errand was ill-fated from the start. The Dragon Gods tried and tried time and time again before they were able to create the first mortal race. Shaping and scrapping design after design to make something that could actually function. Before they even tried to create the Hytori they started with animals, and even after getting experience from the creation of plants and beasts the first couple tries were atrocious. Myshala had no experience, and yet she decided she wanted to try and reshape the entire Rathtori society, making them into something new and different. They would be her lab rats.

The decision to take the Rathtori wasn't a thing of the moment either. She spent a long time trying to decide who or what to take. Obviously, she didn't want to take any of the people or races that Dragon Gods fancied as important for her first attempt. She knew she was going to mess up. She knew she was going to be leaving some group for dead. Be it a group of Hytori or something else entirely. At the same time, she wouldn't be able to avoid pissing off at least one god. Changing their creations and possibly genociding an entire group was going to make somebody angry. She settled on the Rathtori because it gave her the most amount of time to get out of dodge and it wouldn't upset Eikaen as much as taking a group of Hytori might. Aedrin seemed to be the only one who deeply favored the Rathtori, almost going so far as to dote on them. Of course, that being said, he also believed in letting them develop on their own and leaving them be. Meaning his back was often turned. Giving Myshala plenty of time to play with her new toys before any of the Dragon Gods were even the wiser.

Some have argued that taking all of the Rathtori was cruel on her part. It did, after all, mean killing of an entire race. She didn't see the problem with it though. The Rathtori could be reborn as something else. She was relentless too, seeing the massive population of Rathari and deciding that she wanted all of them. The Rathari had grown quite large with time, the tribes had splintered into many different tribes. Yet she wanted all of them. In her eyes, she truly needed all of them to accurately do her testing. On top of that, using the Rathtori would allow her to make a race that was even better. She didn't see it as a cruel thing.

Like most first tries, things did not go well. A good many of her new subjects died. They were the lucky ones. She kept trying time and time again. She worked tirelessly, and by the time she was done the whole of the Rathtori society had been reshaped. Poorly at that. They were a first try of course. She thought nothing of it. Once she was done twisting up the Rathtori she gave them a new name. They were hardly tori after everything she'd done. So they were simply dubbed the Rathor. Husks of what they had once been. She left them in this state before moving on to create more of her memorable races.

The Rathor were deeply in pain. Those who lived were no longer comfortable in their bodies, causing a mental kind of pain in the form of dysphoria. They weren't as they had once started. Some had their bodies broken up into eternal pain. Other were a different gender than when they began. Some had pieces of flesh plastered to their forms which had once belonged to a friend or a lover that didn't make it. Some had new eyes pushed into their skulls. They showed all the roughness of a 'first attempt'. It was a miracle and a curse any of them had even survived at all. Sheer luck or perhaps a deep-rooted misfortune.

The Rathor mourned what they had once been. As '-ri' has become a term synonymous with elf and '-tori' synonymous with true elf, '-or' came to represent lost. To those who stumbled upon the disfigured Rathor that's truly what they seemed to be. The lost and broken elves, changed into monsters under the curious hands of Myshala. When she was finally gone, leaving them to their suffering, the Rathor wept. They mourned what they had once been as well as what they'd become. They mourned for the existence many of them would have to ensure. Feeling trapped in the world body, or having a body part that's someone else's. All of them felt pain, some sharper than others. Their bodies had been changed in strange ways. Not only was it difficult for their bodies to support themselves on an anatomical level, but the bodies of the Rathor also had difficulties containing mortal souls.

Aedrin returned to the Rathor and to his great horror discovered what had been done. His favored children, broken far beyond his repair. The Rathor begged and pleaded for Aedrin to fix them, but Aedrin didn't know how. Something had been so fundamentally changed about them, fundamentally broken, that it was outside the power of even a Dragon God to fix Myshala's mistakes. He went to the other Dragon Gods for aid as well. While the pitied Aedrin who had lost a race so dear to him, they knew there wasn't anything they could do either. Even Eikaen their king, their leader, the strongest among them, was rendered entirely powerless to fix the mistake.

It was decided by the Dragon Gods that the existence of the Rathor was suffering. These poor creatures were in so much pain, they should put them out of their misery. They would do what they could and hopefully, the souls would be able to be reborn. Feeling bad for the decision he informed the new leader of the Rathor, his only remaining priestess. She outright refused. The Rathor might have been broken, but they were still a strong people full of pride. Even if they'd lost their physical strength, they were emotional strong. If their life was to be suffering, they'd endure it. Aedrin told them, again and again, they couldn't be fixed, but they refused the easy way out, and he had no intention of forcing them to an early demise.

Something had to be done though. Eventually, Aedrin came to an agreement with the Rathor through one of his children who'd managed to survive the event. Aedrin's deal was that the Rathor could continue on living, but they would be turned into animals. These new bodies would feel less wrong and would be better able to handle their mortal souls. The children of these Rathor would, unfortunately, be common animals but the Rathor would keep the full extent of their lifespan regardless. While the Rathor and Rathtori as races would disappear forever, it prevented further suffering. The Rathor wasn't nessisarily happy about this deal, but they realized that there weren't going to be any other options for them and many were starting to lose that enduring spirit as it became harder and harder for some to complete even mundane tasks.

The thing about mortals is, nothing ever goes quite how you expected when dealing with them. Somewhere in the limitless possibility of Atharen and the swirling chaos that surrounds it, something unexpected happened. As Aedrin began the change from Rathor to beast something in the very souls of the Rathor disagreed with the change.

Their bodies shifted, but not in the way that Aedrin intended. The Rath became what is commonly referred to in the modern era as Beastfolk. The Rath became all manner of strange animal, but they all stood on two legs and possess opposable thumbs. They spoke like humans and they thought like humans and their children would take after them in form and thought. When limbs twisted and bodies shifted they remained humanoid while still become animals. These weren't Rathtori. They weren't Rathor either. They were something better. Anthropomorphic beastfolk.

Aedrin was overjoyed. He had been resolved to love the race he so treasured, but something gave them a second chance. They were different, but they were still at their core the Rath just as they'd always been the Rath and even through their many changes had remained the Rath. What Aedrin had loved about them was still there, and even more, now that they'd truly because creatures the Wild King could call his. He blessed them with a new name, a final name. The called them the Rathari, making sure they'd have the -ri so they'd always remember they'd once been elves.

The Rathari were satisfied with their new names and form. It was a transformation for the better, even if it wouldn't be the last. That didn't matter for right now though. The Rathari bred and grew, reintroducing themselves to the other races and created some kind of society among themselves. They still remained travelers though. When they transformed something inside them changed so that their entire purpose itself changed. Something called to them, and most were very keen to figure out what.

The Quest for Purpose

After their final transformation, the Rathari became aware of a curious tug. Some said this tug pulled on their souls, while others called it a pull on their very being. Either way, they quickly became curious about what this was and as such dubbed it "The Purpose". No one could pinpoint the source of the tug, nor could they articulate a reason for their new Purpose. It seemed as though each Purpose was custom-tailored to each Rathari. Special, unique, and hard to explain to other Rathari. Trying to explain a Purpose to someone belonging to another race was something that many ended up writing off as impossible. Those who did make the attempt found the sensation to be something very Rath-centric. It was something the other races had trouble so much as imagining, let alone understanding.

To a certain degree, the Rathari could understand each other, but the custom nature of each Purpose made it difficult to fully get the sensation across. Eventually, it slowly got built into the Rathari culture as a whole. Even if it was hard to explain, it was a very universal thing to the Rathari. Completing one's Purpose became a bigger and bigger deal to the Rathari. The Purpose itself was a curious concept. It wasn't an 'end goal'. It wasn't even a step by step plan for how to get to that end goal. It was little more than a direction and a general sense of what that 'ending' should look and feel like. It might have some kind of theme to it like smithing or protecting others, but how someone got there and what exactly that looked like to them was entirely different between Rath.

A Rathari with the general purpose of smithing might be drawn towards apprenticing under a powerful master, or instead, they might just start experimenting on their own. Similarly, their end goal might be to create the most powerful weapon in the world, or they might simply want to craft a weapon for a hero who can save lives. While most Rathari had a common trend of their end goal being something 'grand' that wasn't always the case either.

Some found that they didn't even have that much. They didn't have a general theme like smithing or thievery. Instead, they just felt something pulling them in certain directions, pushing certain answers out of their mouth, and traveling to certain locations. This wasn't some greater being controlling them either. This was them on some level. They speculated that these actions were their soul pushing them in certain directions because their conscious self wasn't quite sure. The soul could understand the Purpose fully, even if the brain couldn't. They came to trust instinct and travel.

The Purpose wasn't to be mixed up with fate either. This wasn't fate to the Rathari. In fact, to imply that the Purpose was an aspect of fate would be a grave insult to any Rathari. To place the Purpose under the control of Vicis was an insult of the highest degree, it was a fast way to make an enemy out of a Rath and to some those could be fighting words.

The Purpose was something deep down within the soul. A brand in its confines that neither Dragon God nor Mistlord could change despite their hardest attempted. It was something that had always existed, but thanks to the multiple transformations of the Rathari it had become stronger. As they were pressed and changed under the hands of the gods these brands became apparent to the Rathari themselves. The Rathari believe that anyone with a soul has A Purpose, however, the draw is not as strong for other races due to the fact they have not been changed in the same ways as the Rathari. It is still the belief of the Rathari that others follow their Purpose subconsciously just as the Rathari themselves follow it actively. These are however the beliefs of the Rathari and it's uncertain to most if these claims are actually true since no other race has ever displayed something similar in their habits or actions.

Because some couldn't really place a name to their Purpose, it became something of an obsession to figure out some kind of theme. This was especially true for young children with little world experience. Rathari under the age of 10 rarely had a theme for their Purpose figured out. Most wouldn't figure out a general theme for their Purpose by their coming of age ceremony. For many it was even a big part of the ceremony itself, coming to them with a dramatic kind of flare to be announced to all their family present.

This didn't always happen though. Some could find themselves stuck for years trying to figure out a theme. Some would even get confused regarding the direction their Purpose was pulling them, trying to drag them 18 different places at once. The Rathari over time discovered a couple of ways to help provide clarity to their Purpose.

The biggest and the first apparent helper was, of course, travel. Even after slowly shedding their tribal heritage and nomadic roots a good majority of Rathari indulged travel. It became something of a cultural norm that most Rathari would travel, and they might end up settling in very distant areas. Travel proved to be a good way to figure out your Purpose, so it gained even more importance to the Rathari. Travel allowed a Rath to see the world as well as see people from all walks of life. Not all Purposes were objectively good. Some Rath found themselves drawn to thievery or even killing. While not nessisarily celebrated, if it was for the sake of a Purpose it wasn't always frowned upon by the Rathari. The Purpose was just that important that in some cases what needed to be done, needed to be done. While alternatives to more negative Purposes were always encouraged, the Purpose took precedent regardless of the chaos it caused. Again, travel helped young Rath see a world of opportunity and choice, which was seen as helpful for steering some away from toxic Purpose Paths.

Age was another factor. The Purpose grew more clear as the Rathari grew older.

Dream meditation was also helpful and encouraged from a very young age. Meditation and dreams both held great importance to the Rathari. Dreams could sometimes be messages to the Rathari. Either from the gods or messages from the very soul to the conscious mind. While sometimes they could be meaningless drivel they could also hold great secrets. Thiovan in this respect gained something of importance in Rathari culture. Alongside dreams meditation also helped. Meditation to the Rathari was a form of placing oneself between sleep and the waking world. It allowed one the openness of dreaming while still maintaining the presence of mind to process anything you might learn.

These traits earned the Rathari something of an interesting reputation. Travel is what reintroduced the other races to the changed Rathari. The relationship was a bit rocky at first, as most relationships would be if you suddenly met a 9-foot humanoid that looks like a bear. Most Rathari were peaceful travelers though. They took pages from the books of Velar, offering aid and advice to anyone else they met on the road. Many became wandering healers and warriors. The roads became a safer place with the Rathari wandering them, even if stumbling across one in the middle of the night could be a terrifying experience. It became apparent after enough children were had that the Rathari could be any beast of Atharen that wasn't classified as a 'monster'. The parents of the child weren't always even a good indicator of what animal the child might end up being.

The Rathari enjoyed the challenge of building up a positive reputation though, and a positive one did they ever build up quickly. This is perhaps what cemented Velar as one of their main 4 deities that most if not all Rathari follow. The Storyteller, as they called him, was something they looked up to and someone many would hope to cross paths with if only to hear the tales that someone like he could spin.

Sundered and Changed

The Bleeding was an interesting event for Rathari culture to say the very least. Whatever had caused them to become the Rathari in the first place seemed to react to the following chaos that came flooding into Atharen after the Bleeding. Or, at least it interacted strangely with a portion of the population. A small portion of the population went through a final change. Their bodies shifted and from the Bleeding there were born two subraces of Rathari.

The first became known as the Rathari-Beastalt. These were the Rathari who went unchanged by the effects of the Bleeding, at least for the most part. While they felt extremely weird and there were without a doubt some small changes, they remained relatively unchanged. At least compared to their ancestors and the other subrace of Rathari.

The second subrace became known as the Rathari-Neoalt. These Rathari changed. A lot. Something inside of them began to change and it seemed that the way both their bodies and souls interacted with aethetium abruptly shifted. The Neoalt became more and more humanoid, losing fur and scales and all manner of features until slowly they looked human. Almost. The Neoalts kept small features. Horns, tails, their eyes, their ears. Smaller traits compared to their Beastalt cousins, but it was still very apparent that they had some kind of beast nature. The Neoalts gained an interesting ability to make up for their changed bodies, as well as the lack of certain skills Beastalts might have (altered strength or speed for certain animals). The Neoalts gained the ability to transform. While they were limited in what they could do, it was still fairly amazing to those became Neoalts.

The form they first became was dubbed the true form. In addition, they had an animal form, where they could fully and truly turn into the animal they physically represented. The second and last form as a human form. Or in some cases humanoid. While most were humans, some Neoalts had very elven features in their humanoid forms. Not enough to comment on in the study of the race, but enough to make a quiet note about. In addition to that, traits that weren't as easily visible on the Beastalts became very apparent on the Neoalts. That being vitiligo and heterochromia, two traits extremely common to the race as a whole. Some has speculated this is the lasting effect of Myshala on the race making themselves known.

The Neoalts started as an extremely small portion of the population and have grown over time.

Physiology/Biology

Beastalts

A Rathari-Beastalt while traveling.

The Beastalts are the first subraces of the Rathari as they were the original product of Aedrin's attempts to change the Rathor into animals after being changed by Myshala. The Beastalts for all intents and purposes look like animals. Their height and weight usually vary greatly depending on just what kind of animal they are. Larger animals tend to make for very large Rathari, while smaller animals tend to create more petite Rathari. Generally, when it comes to the physiology of the Beastalts they tend to take greatly after their animal form.

Various traits of the Rathari can be deeply affected by what kind of animal a Beastalt is. Strength, speed, endurance, all of these are very deeply affected for the Beastalts in both positive and negative ways. While the Neoalts do display inherited traits from their animal forms, it's never as powerful in their true form or their humanoid form as it is for their animal form. For the Beastalts who only have their singular for it's a constant thing, again, for better and for worse. The abilities of a Beastalt can be greatly affected by what kind of animal they are to the point that certain career options might be easier or cut off for them. Certain Purposes are without a doubt harder to work towards for a Beastalt of a certain nature. For example, while a bear Beastalt is going to be exceptionally stronger than a fox Beastalt, the fox is going to be much quicker and the bear might have difficulty getting around. Especially undetected.

The Beastalts make up about 60% of the Rathari population.

Neoalts

A Rathari-Neoalt in her true form carrying her banner.

The Neoalts are a bit more complicated than their Beastalt cousins due to the fact they have three forms they can transform between. These are called the faunis form, the humanoid form, and the true form.

Faunis Form

The faunis form of the Neoalt is essentially just an animal, at least to the eyes of most. The Neoalt takes on the form of whatever animal they represent with their various features. In this form, they share all the traits of their animal. As such, they might be greatly stronger or faster in this form than they might be in their other two forms.

While in this form things like vitiligo and heterochromia might not show up on the Rathari if those kinds of things aren't common to the animal they're taking the form of. For example, while heterochromia is extremely common in cats vitiligo is not. That being said, it does still have a chance to show up on the animal form, though it might not be as common in the animal form as it might be in the true forms or even the humanoid form of the Neoalts.

The faunis form is a wonderful disguise, it isn't perfect. When looking at the faunis form of a Neoalt it will always feel as though something may be off. Neoalts are the rabbits that stare at you a little too long and make you feel as though something is crawling up your spine. They're the bays of coyotes in the middle of the might that just don't sound quite right. While skills in acting can eventually cause this to be a less disruptive feeling or get rid of it altogether, this will always be a problem from Neoalts without any acting skills. This doesn't seem to bother other animals though, as the Rathari already feels like a part of nature. Since they didn't feel like trespassers in the first place, other animals of the same species as the Neoalt won't see anything wrong. In fact, quite the opposite. They'll treat the Neoalt like any other member of their race.

This is a racial quirk, not a facet of the Neoalt's faunis form, meaning that this applies not only to the faunis form but ever form. It also applies for the Beastalt. It is a lingering piece of Aedrin's initial blessing which was branded to the existence of the Rath.

Humanoid Form

The humanoid form gains no benefits of being part animal. In a sense, they are completely human in their physical capabilities. They might seem a bit odd at first since animals are a bit more prone to favoring them, but outside of a strange feeling, the humanoid form seems, well, human.

In regards to apperance, most will have a humanoid form that's extremely human in appearance. Much rarer but entirely possible is an elven appearance to their humanoid form. Never quite reminiscent of an actual tori race, but ever so slightly vaguely there that people are reminded that the -ri in Rathari isn't a misplaced suffix. This is extremely rare though.

An interesting fact about the humanoid form is the prevalence of vitiligo and heterochromia. A Neoalt almost has a 100% guarantee of displaying one of these traits in their humanoid form even if it doesn't display in their true form. While it's often still present in their true form if you look hard enough, it's subdued. Like only a slight hue change in the skin or a slight offishness to the pigmentation of one eye compared to the other. In the humanoid form, this is extremely striking. Again, it's theorized that this is because of Myshala's influence. She experimented on the Rath when they were still elven. The Rathari's animal traits were a product of Aedrin saving them. While there's no scientific proof many would claim it makes sense for the marking to show up more the less animal like the Rathari become.

True Form

The true form of the Neoalts is the form that the Neoalts first took when they become Neoalts. It is the form they are born in and the form that truly represents them the best. In this form, they carry various traits from their animal. Ears that can hear better than a human or fangs which can help them to inject lethal venom into their enemies. The benefits provided by these traits will never be as strong as when they are in their faunis form. Nor are these benefits quite as powerful as the benefits the Beastalts maintain. However, it does allow for a bit more flexibility in skills.

A bear Neoalt can still be a quick-footed person whereas a bear Beastalt would have to struggle for years to get anywhere near the same level. A rabbit Neoalt can put on muscle a lot faster and more naturally than a rabbit Beastalt might be able to. Either way, it's still a trade-off of some sort. Flexibility or potency.

They make up about 39.9% of the total Rathari population.

Rathari-Toris

The mythical .1% of Rathari that ever conspiracy theorist claims exists but no one actually has proof of. Multiple studies have even been conducted in order to prove the existence of this special subrace that has apparently become elven once more, but so far there's been no luck. Even with multiple cities chipping in and multiple universities polling not only the Rathari populations but various Tori races, everyone's come up empty-handed.

The Rathari-Tori have been chocked up to little more than bad eyesight and wishful thinking. Yearning for something that doesn't exist anymore and in the minds of many can never exist again. The exact process through which the Rathtori were created can't be replicated with Aedrin. Excluding the very specific circumstance of their birth and the fact the Hytori themselves aren't like the original Hytori from which the Rathtori spawned, Aedrin seems to have no intention of even making attempt. Some have even responded to the legends of the Rathtori with blanket statements along the lines of 'The past is better off staying dead'. Without any proof or even the slightest bit of scientific evidence for the claims, the Rathari-Tori have been rendered little more than an urban legend.

In spite of this, there are still many people who will claim slightings of the mythical Rathari-Tori and point at Rathari who suddenly go missing from their towns in under a day. While there are some compelling cases of Rathari very ingrained into the structure of a town suddenly vanishing in under a night, a lot of these can be explained by other circumstances such as murders and family emergencies that made them leave town. The only thing that really still keeps the scientific community so much as contemplating the validity of these claims is the fact the Rathari themselves have been extremely... quiet, regarding the topic.

Species Limitations

For players creating Rathari characters or NPCs, the tier system determines which species can actually be chosen for them. It’s fairly simple: tiers 1 and 2 are allowed if the adaptation to Rathari standards is correct. Tier 3 is dependant on the species and its abilities; it will be marked on the necessary wiki page or a mod can be messaged if necessary beforehand for details to be worked out. All animals that exist on earth only rank up to tier 3, and all in all cases allowed for use as Rathari species. Tiers 4 and 5 will most likely not be allowed for a Rathari species.

Psychology

Universal Traits

Most Rathari by nature of very kind and helpful. They don't do it for some kind of 'honor' or glory. They don't help others because they feel obligated to. Most are just drawn to helping others because they can. All Rathari are drawn to travel, and while on the road they may be tempted to help out strangers. This isn't to call them idiots or blind. They aren't going to be tricked into an obvious bandit trap preying on their good and helpful nature. Instead, they'll usually try to pull a quick on the bandits.

Outside of any Rathari traits noted within the rest of this section, the Rathari act and function much like any other creature might.

Mind of the Beastalt

The Beastalts tend to act in a way that's noticeably more reminiscent of their animal than their Neoalt cousins. While not overpowering, certain actions of theirs will be greatly influenced by the instincts and nature of the animal they represent. More so than Neoalts anyway. Things like marriage, opinions on others, and various other aspects of daily life may be shifted in certain directions on thanks to their animal half. If this is found to be unagreeable to the Rathari, then these instincts can be fought against, it should be notable that this is an uphill battle though.

Mind of the Neoalt

The Neoalt are less influenced by their beastly traits than the Beastalts, however, whatever animal they are will still have a notable impact on their choices and actions. They have a much easier time combatting whatever instincts they were given.

Phantom Pains and Myshala

All Rathari know the Mist Lord who hurt them. Twisted them, changed them, broken them so badly that she burned herself into their genetic memory and made herself a part of their very code. Not every Rathari knows her name. Not every Rathari is even aware of what she is or why she did what she did. But all Rathari through one mean or another are aware of what she did and how she should never be trusted. It's something intrinsic to their very being. It goes so far that on some level they can even sense her presence, they can feel who or what she's touched and they avoid it like the plague. While they can be tricked into worshiping her or at least tolerating her for a time, the moment someone slips and mentions her name or what she's known for the Rathari just seem to know. And that's only the stupid Rathari. An intelligent Rathari will be able to pick up a tense of a taste or a sensation that will send them running at a moment's notice. It's inexplicable how but it's almost instant and the presence of even her worshipers seems to become painful to the Rathari. They'll try to distance themselves from her presence through whatever means necessary. While not all Mistlords are instantly despised by Rathari, Myshala is. A Rathari will never, ever, willingly follow her or do her bidding. She is a cursed presence and a cursed name. Those few Rathari who somehow get so broken in the head that they do follow her usually go down a very dark path. They're shunned by every other Rathari and they always go missing.

A secondary and even more unpleasant psychological impact of Myshala is random phantom pains. These pains are completely psychological and often have no impact on physical ability, but they can get annoying. There's no actual telling when triggers these pains as they seem to appear randomly. The Rathari believe that the nature of these pains usually reflects either of the sufferings of one's ancestors or the suffering of one's past life. Since some pains are more recurrent for some Rathari (such as pain specifically in one eye or a specific patch of skin) many Rathari believe these theories to have some merit.

Culture

Coming of Age Ceremony

The coming of age is an exceptionally important event in the life of a Rathari, both on a personal and cultural level. This ceremony is a 2 part event. One of which is very social and similar to how humans might celebrate a coming of age. It's a party for the family as a whole. Both blood related and related by emotion. While the Rathari no longer live in tribes, they still view tribes as somewhat existing within their society, a Tribe being a group of Rathari who are your family whether they share in your bloodline or not. The second part of the ceremony is a spiritual experience in many different ways, Purpose and transformation taking center stage as those are the two things which has most prominent affected the Rathari.

For Neoalts, the spiritual half of the coming of age ceremony is the first time they're actually able to take on their faunis or humanoid form. Prior to a coming of age ceremony, a Neoalt is stuck in their true form. Some in the scientific community have tried to say this is simply an age factor, but Rathari who for one reason or another never had a coming of age ceremony have been documented as having trouble transforming or even being unable to altogether. Even with demonstrations for other Neoalts. After a proper coming of age, the ceremony has been held the Neoalts seem to have no difficulty whatsoever, implying that it's some part of the ceremony that teaches the transformation or the ceremony itself is genuinely what allows for the transformation to properly occur.

Within Rathari society at large, those without a ceremony are often pitied. They are seen as never having left childhood behind properly. The typical reason for this is because they lost their family at an early age. Having the nature that they do, should a Rathari that doesn't have a family present themselves to a group of Rathari there's a strong likelihood they'll be adopted into the family group or that family group will find another willing to take them. In the very rare case that a Rathari is cut off from all other Rathari into their late life, this will still apply, and their new family will hold a late coming of age ceremony for them. Those who reject both a family group and the coming of age ceremony are seen as outcasts. They're either seen as refusing to grow up or as rejecting the fact they are Rathari. Both are which are insults to the Rathari on par with a Rathari refusing to follow their Purpose. All three of these can get a Rathari ostracized from Rathari society as a whole.

In addition to ostracization, that Rathari will be treated like a child by other Rathari for the rest of their life or until they right the wrongs of their actions. A Rathari's coming of age ceremony is on their 18th birthday. At which point they can get married, have children, join the military, and a variety of other things that were disallowed to them prior to adulthood. These things will still be disallowed to a Rathari who hasn't had a ceremony as the ceremony.

Family

Within the Rathari culture, there's a big emphasis on family, both by blood and by personal connections. Adopting in and caring for those without a family or with a poor family is a big thing for the Rathari, to the point they'll adopt in members of other races who want or need a family. Found families are common for the Rathari. Older Rathari, especially those who live to the full lifespan of the Rath, will have extensive social networks.

There are two types of family within Rathari culture. The first is the immediate family or the tribe. Be they related by blood or brought into the family due to the connections between Rath, this is the type of family that is personally close to the Rath. These are the people who might attend a coming of age ceremony or other important events in one's life. They're also the first people a Rath will go to with an issue or a problem they might be personally facing.

The second type of family is referred to as the Grand Family. This is based on the understanding that to some degree all members of the Rathari are a part of a singular family. Bound in experience, bound by merit of their race, bound by the connections between their souls and the Purposes they all share. Most if not all Rathari believe in the Grand Family and its part of why information spreads insanely easily between Rathari as a whole. Rathari who are complete strangers to one another might greet each other like long lost siblings or friends. Even typically bad-natured Rath might be more willing to work with other Rath. It's rare that a Rathari won't consider themselves part of the Grand Family, and even then most other Rath will consider them to be such unless the Rath in question does something to have that right removed. This is why it's so easy for Rathari to adopt other Rathari into their family without a second question. Even Rathari with traditionally malignant personalities or Purposes might find a small soft spot for other Rath, though this isn't a guarantee by any means.

Rathari players should keep this in mind when encountering other Rathari, be they PCs or NPCs.

Education

A family is always in charge of educating a child, something which is encouraged in Rath society as a whole. It's a belief of the Rathari that a child should be as prepared as possible so that when they eventually realize their Purpose they aren't making up for lost time. Given possible Purposes can have to do with being intelligent, at the very least all Rathari are encouraged to have a basic education and families are encouraged to educate their children as much as possible within circumstances.

All children are given basic education until the age of 12, at which point they are given a couple of choices. For those who already know their Purpose, they can start pursuing it. For those that are uncertain about their Purpose, they have two options. The first is to continue with more advanced education. The second is to start helping out their family, be it helping with a business or apprenticing under a parent's craft. The child is given the choice at this age as it's believed the soul will start to subconsciously direct the Rath towards their Purpose at this age even if the Rath doesn't quite understand their purpose yet.

Universal Knowledge

The Rathari are a traveling race. Most if not every Rathari spends time traveling. This combined with the sense of a Grand Family existing has led to a very interesting effect on the collective knowledge of the culture. These two factors seem to allow for a lot of collective general knowledge between Rathari as a group at large. Two Rathari on different halves of Atharen are almost 80% more likely to have similar or identical religious, cultural, or linguist beliefs than any other race. While there are still those who will be more influenced by the culture they grow up in and those who live in areas that are harder for other Rath to reach, generally the Rathari are the most uniform racial collective on the fact of Atharen. That isn't to say they all agree on political views... Being a Rathari won't save someone if they're standing on the opposite end of a battlefield against another Rathari.

Clothing and Grooming

Common Fashion

Baggy and comfortable clothes are exceptionally common among Neoalt. This is done with the intention of making transformations easier. Those who prefer baggier and more comfortable clothing often don't like to wear anything flashy or attention-grabbing either. While this is common among the Neoalt, it isn't the only type of fashion and it's rare among the Beastalts who don't have to transform.

Another common type of fashion for Neoalts and the most common apparel for the Beastalts are very light and revealing clothing. This tends to apply in almost all climates, especially to the Beastalts who more often than not have fur which is suitable for the environment. Clothing means less to the Beastalts due to their physical nature. Most can't show skin that's under fur or scales anyway, making covering up their fur both pointless and uncomfortable. This is less common with Neoalts due to not having fur but it's still common enough because of the aesthetic and the ease of transformation such a type of clothing can provide. What things a Beastalt does wear tend to be flashy accessory items.

The exception to both of these is armor which is often very covering and often tight fit to the body of any particular Rath. This is true for both Neoalts and Beastalts.

Common Grooming

Grooming is often different for each Rathari in order to best fit the particular animal they represent. Some might spend more time on ear care. Others can spend hours ensuring that their fur is clean. The general theme for most Rathari is that they prefer to be as clean as possible. Rathari have the ability to often stay cleaner than most other races while on the road, but they also need to put in more care for specific things like polishing and moisturizing their scales to prevent chafing or cracks.

Rathari cannot stand irritations though. They are the race that has become the most effective at pest control because of this. Lice, fleas, and various other parasites like creatures are a great annoyance and so the Rathari are merciless when getting rid of them. When two Rathari meet on the roads after greetings it's usually polite practice to offer some kind of traveling tip. A pearl of wisdom they've learned. Not only in honor of the Storyteller, but as a kindness to their fellow Rath. Easy pest prevention home remedies tend to be exceedingly common in this practice.

Technology and Intellectual Pursuits

The Point of Technology

For the Rathari, all things go back to the Purpose. If technological pursuits are your Purpose then they're important to you, which makes them important as a whole. If it's productive in some way and doesn't cause harm to other people, the Rathari will support one another's Purposes without question. If it does have harm involved there are some reservations, but generally, when it comes to technology there are fewer malignant Purposes than with some other themes.

Because of this, a lot of scientific and technological fields are lacking Rathari but what Rathari are there have made some stunning discoveries which helped to move societies forward. It's a rarer Purpose for most Rathari, but those who do follow in these footsteps are just as respect as any other Rathari as long as they don't act in ways that are disrespectful.

Perhaps the biggest advance of the Rathari that isn't related to Purposes has to do with smithing. Thanks to the physical features of the Beastalts it became important for the Rathari to become good at smithing early on in order to adjust for the sheer amount of custom-built armor sets their own race would require. The appearance of the Neoalts only furthered this idea since it suddenly became extremely important to be making armor for animals as well as giant animal looking people. The Rathari are fairly well known for making exceptional mount armor as a byproduct of this need.

Place of Intellectuals

Those who follow their Purpose are almost always admired in Rathari society. Some are seen through mournful eyes as their Purposes tell them to do some awful things, but almost always the Rathari admire one another. Technology and intelligence are no exception to this rule.

On top of that though, Rathari culture believes that outside of the Purpose they should be attempting to forever keep moving forward. The act of bettering one's self is always encouraged. Because of that, continued learning past what one already knows is always encouraged.

Arts and Crafts

Music and Dance

With their tribal shamanic kind of roots music and dance always have been and always will be important to the Rathari people. There are a number of dances and songs with deeply spiritual roots, most of which are used to give praise to various Adac, the Living Gods. Many songs and dances also have ceremonial roots. There are a number of dances to be performed at the coming of age ceremony for example, and they can vary wildly depending on the exact origins of a group of Rathari. Multiple tribes of Rathari splintering off throughout the ages has led to a wide variety of cultural ceremony and dance or song to go with them. Most Rathari can dance and sing even if it has nothing to do with their Purpose. Doing it well is a different question entirely, but that's not important for those without a Purpose related to it.

Crafting

The most notable crafted good of the Rathari are smithed items and clothing. Mostly because Rathari whose Purpose had nothing to do with these still had to learn in order to support themselves and clothe their kin. While not quite the luxury items of the Siltori, the clothing and armor made by the Rathari is of exceptionally high quality from years of refining their methods. Other crafts are mostly ignored by the Rathari unless important to the Purpose.

Fine Arts

Usually, only those with a Purpose related to a specific art will attempt the fine arts. This isn't for any specific distaste of the arts, in fact, Rathari admires those who find the arts to be easy. Races know for making beautiful arts and crafts are often a marvel to the Rath. The problem is, some Rath are just built in ways that make certain arts too difficult to bother learning if it has nothing to do with their Purpose. Color blindness, a different hearing spectrum, a lacking of acting skills, or big clunky paws can all get in the way while trying to make art. The Rathari are the Beastfolk, and some end up picking up the negative traits associated with their animal alongside the positive ones, making certain tasks just out of feasibility without dedicated practice that can go to something else.

Religion and Worship

The Purpose

All Rathari believe in the Purpose. All of them. In a way, they have to. It's present in everyday life for any Rathari. It's a brand on the soul, a constant tug that leads them in a direction but never really lays out the steps or tells them flat out what their destination is supposed to be. Even if some have a general idea, it's as mysterious and chaotic as the world outside the material plane. It's an unclear map without any of the landmarks notated and someone ripped off the piece with the destination on it.

While Rathari completely cut off from other Rathari don't quite have a name for it, it's always there. They understand it's presence and what it means for them. All Rathari believe in the Purpose. Many believe that other races have a Purpose as well, but it's not as clear. Something happened to them while they were twisted so many times under the hands of the gods. It made their Purposes all the more apparent to them. Allowed them to feel it so deeply. Even if they're wrong about other races, for the Rathari, the Purpose is very much a real occurrence that can't be denied.

The Purpose is, of course, a very strange thing. The Purpose itself is as unpredictable as the path the Rathari decides to take following it. While rare there have been occurrences of a Rathari reporting their Purpose completely changing after completing some kind of benchmark goal. Even more exceptional are the Rathari who report having two Purposes at once. The Purpose is a chaotic thing which is why while it was a bit shocking, no Rath is deeply surprised to know that's a thing that can happen. Just annoyed. Especially if one of these two things happens to them.

The Secret

No one is quite sure what exactly The Secret is. It started to appear around the same time as the Neoalts and the legends of the Rathari-Tori. All three of these occurred during the Bleeding. While the Beastalts believed themselves to be unchanged unlike the Neoalts, the Secret is proof of the fact they weren't. Unlike the Purpose which Rathari can at least vaguely explain to one another, the only words to describe the Secret are in its name.

Some believe it's the reason for the Purpose. The Purpose is an answer that all Rath hunt for. The Secret is the question. In their journey, they learn their question and at the end, they finally learn their answer. Other Rath believe that it could be the secret of life or even something personal. Either way, there is no answer as to what exactly the Secret is, only a vague understanding that the understanding there even is a Secret came to the Rath is something of a universal wave after the Bleeding and was generally accepted into the culture. Usually associated to the Purpose in some form or another.

The Dragon Gods

Many Rathari pay respects to the dragon gods. Almost all Rathari give some amount of respect to Aedrin, Velar, Thiovan, and Naori. Some Rathari also place Raella, Wraedan, and Eikaen onto the same level.

The Wild Father

To the Rathari there is no Dragon God of more importance than Aedrin. Most Rathari considering him to be the true father of the race despite the issues caused by Myshala. He led them to becoming the Rathtori originally and he then helped to fix their form after Myshala hurt them so deeply. Many strive to live in his image, still causing as little damage to nature as possible. Getting to meet a Green Dragon is an honor to a Rathari. All Rathari strive to one day catch Aedrin's attention in some form.

The Storyteller

For nomads it would be natural to grow fond of Velar. While Velar's domain has always presided over time, many Rathari are of the belief that he also acts as a patron and protector for travelers on the road. As such, the Rathari often follow his lead in the hope they won't lose his favor. It's a tradition for the Rathari when they meet another traveler to first start with a friendly greeting. The nature of the greeting usually differs depending on if they're greeting another Rathari or not. The second step is to offer up wisdom or some advice that might help another traveler. This can be tricks on avoiding certain beasts or getting rid of pests. The final step is on preformed in the latter hours, this is the offer to step up camp together. A Rathari that offers to set up camp with another person can generally be trusted as causing hard to a fellow traveler would be viewed negatively by Velar. If the other person agrees then there's one extra step where the two parties must trade stories.

The Guide

Thiovan earned the title of the guide do to the importance of dreams and meditation within Rathari culture. They believe the mystery of dreams often hold secrets, both wonderful and terrible, which can be used to better complete their Purpose. As such, the patron of dreams overtime earned the title of The Guide.

The Unpredictable

Naori's suddenly becoming an important figure for the Rathari was about as sudden an unexpected as she herself was. For the Rathari the Purpose is a thing of true chaos. To imply it under the machinations of fate was always an insult to the Rathari. So perhaps Naori slowly becoming important to the Rathari was a natural progression of events. Her dominion over chaos makes her important to the Rathari whose lives are governed by the chaos that is the Purpose. Most ceremonies conducted in her honor are usually pleas against suffering born from chaos. The Rathari don't reject chaos since it's, in a sense, an important part of the Purpose. The Purpose not being fate, not being some kind of road map, is something the Rathari would never wish to trade. But they know all too well that while chaos can bring with it interesting things and fun things, it can also bring on its tides great horrors. Ironically enough, a lot of Rathari believe Naori as the patron of chaos to be their protector against Malgar.

The First Father

Eikaen has gained a place in Rathari culture as an important figure due to many of the aspects he represents along with just generally being the king of the Dragon Gods. He was the first father, the one who led the Dragon Gods in the creation of the material plane. As such a good number of Rathari believe he deserves respect even if they don't adore him quite as much as those gods who've had a direct impact on their culture. Intentional or not.

The Duo of Life and Death

Just as Raella and Wraedan are paired together in love, the Rathari pair the two together in the same breath when giving them praise. Reincarnation is a big thing to the Rathari because they believe it impossible to complete their Purpose in a single lifetime. Because of this, reincarnation, death, and birth are all vital aspects of Rathari life. Part of the Rathari's death ceremonies involves prayers to Wraedan and Raella that the deceased shall once again be born a Rathari so as to have an easier time completing their Purpose and that they will be born to a happy family that will care for them properly and their future birth happens without issue.

Exceptions

All Rathari believe in the Purpose, even if they can't put a name to it. Mist Lords are generally a case by case basis for most Rathari, but no Rathari would ever put up with Myshala. Even her presence makes them turn tail. It's a deep-rooted hatred and fear in the collective racial memory of the Rathari as a whole.

Rathari can be affected by the cultural beliefs in an area when it comes to the Dragon Gods. However, it's rare for a Rathari to outright disregard the Dragon Gods. Especially Aedrin. This is because even though cultural standards for where a Rathari lives might place the Dragon Gods on a lower or even nonexistent standard, the Rathari still have access to the Grand Family. Thanks to the constant traveling of other Rathari and the tendency to greet one another fondly, Rathari raised in these kinds of environments will still be reminded time and time again by other traveling Rath that the Dragon Gods are important. Especially the big four. This is doubly true when that Rathari begins to travel, meeting even more Rathari who share the same beliefs.

Reproduction, Aging, and Death

Marriage, Mates and Find a Partner

The Rathari are able to officially marry and mate at the age of 18 after their coming of age ceremony. What kinds of relationships different Rath have can vary wildly depending on the norms of whatever animal they are. Some Rathari might find it normal to get married and stay mates for life. Other might partner once and then go their separate ways after the child is raised properly, only ever crossing paths again for events and ceremonies where the family should be present. For some Rathari polygamy is normal and acceptable because it is for whatever animal they represent. The nature of the partnership between two Rathari can vary wildly, and it's encouraged that two consenting adults really discuss that ahead of time.

Interestingly when the child is born is can be any animal on Atharen. The child has a higher chance of reflecting one of its parents, but it's not always a guarantee. This is the same for the child being a Beastalt or Neoalt. While the child has a higher chance of taking after their parent it is not a perfect guarantee. In addition, the parents don't need to be the same animal in order to produce children, though sometimes this means the bodily parts of two parents won't always match which can lead to complications. In some cases, two Rathari might be incompatible simple based on the genetics of what animals they are.

Birth and Childcare

Gestation can barry between 7 and 12 months, though the typical is 9 months much like with your average humanoid species. Once again, childcare depends a lot on the nature of the animal the parents are. But also, it depends on the nature of the animal the child is. Regardless of animals, the Rathari expect one another to be good parents. Part of that is taking into account the animal their child is and adjusting parenting style to reflect the individual needs associated with some animals.

Development

Development is very much similar to a normal human.

Death

When the Rathari agreed to be turned into animals Aedrin promised them that they would keep the life span of the Rathtori. Intentional or not, this is a promise he's kept. This means that the Rathari can live an exceptionally long time. However, much like in all things, the animal of the Rathari can sometimes cause changes to life span. A Rathari might live a shorter amount of time due to the animal they are. Most of the time though, a Rathari that actually takes care of themselves properly will live to the full lifespan of the race. In some exceptional cases, the kind of animal can actually go as far as to extend the lifespan of the Rathari past the normal.

Funerals much like coming of age are grand family events. They are celebrated as much as they're mourned, especially for Rath who lived a full life. Again, prayers are sent that the Rath once again be born a Rathari in a good home and with an easy birth. Sometimes random Rathari outside the general family might show up if they hear of a funeral in the area. This is because of the Grand Family philosophy. These Rathari are usually welcomed in immediately and mourn right alongside the family. In some cases, these Rathari can be a great support and later become a part of the family group.

Language

Common

While not ever Rathari learns it, most Rathari learn common as a second language since it can be used just about anywhere.

Vithmi

All Rathari learn how to speak in Vithmi, often called the original tongue. It's a vital part of the Rathari culture as all of the important cultural ceremonies are spoken in Vithmi, families in Vithmi, and it's the first language most are expected to teach their children. Rathari who don't know Vithmi are often pitied or looked down upon by other Rathari. Those that are willing to learn it are quickly taught, but those who are unwilling often got spoken of harshly in Rathari circles. To shun the language is to shun a part of Rathari culture, and while not nearly as bad as attempting to shun one's Purpose it's still thought of in an extremely negative light.

Vithmi is thought to be the language that was originally used by the Rathtori when they were first created, though obviously it's been subject to change over the years. The language itself has very few cultural differences in spite of the vast distances between some groups of Rathari. While there are certain changes in dialect and the way words are said, their meanings and how those means have changed seems to be understood universally. This is due in large part to the Rathari being such travelers. What changes do happen are quickly dispersed and understood by the group as a whole.