Description
FioAos are a species native to the Great Forest of Iath (EAth). The appearance of the FioAos reflects the diverse trees in their forest; specificly, whichever tree that the FioAos emerges from is the source of the major characteristics of how that FioAos will look. Their skin is made from bark, arms have the appearance of tree limbs, which taper down to a knotted hand with twig fingers, and their legs which are typically larger and thicker like the bottom of a tree trunk. In place of feet, the FioAos have gnarled stumps which are covered in small roots that, if given enough time, will start to root into the ground where the FioAos stands. Their heads can either be bare, topped with sparce branches poking out at all angles, or thick coverage. The hair can be like twigs that stand up straight off their heads or like willow branches flowing down their body. The eyes of the FioAos emit a glow of light which varies in color and vibrancy between FioAos and can change based upon their mood. Their mouths have the appearance of a humanoid mouth except for the notable absence of teeth. When they talk the sounds can range from higher pitch whistling with an airiness like rustling leaves, to a deeper groan and creaking. A few FioAos even have a musical quality to their singing almost like a string instrument being played. Male and female FioAos bodies do look different from each other because they were originally created to mimic the male and female bodies of the creatures invading the Great Forest of Iath.
Life Cycle
Reproduction among the FioAos is achieved through a process where large insectoids carry pollen between multiple FioAos while they are in “flower” which happens once every few years when their foliage will change from subdued green leaves to bright colored flowers. During the pollination season, the FioAos will normally hold large festivals in celebration of their flowering. In addition to dancing and music they will wear strong scents to attract as many of the insects to their flowers as they can. The FioAos rarely know who they have pollenated with since they don’t know who the pollen has come from or where it went. There have been some rare cases where a couple would artificially pollenate with each other. After pollination, females that have produced fruit will cut off her branch that is bearing fruit and then graft it onto a tree in the forest. The grafted limb and fruit will then be absorbed into the tree and inside of the tree a new FioAos will incubate as it grows. After a few years of incubation, the FioAos will emerge from the tree and ,when found, will be brought into the FioAos collective that finds them. At around ten years old, they will flower for the first time, not always during the flowering season, and this will signal their entrance into adulthood. They will live for up to 200 years and in their final years they will stop flowering. When they can feel their time has come to an end, they will graft their entire bodies into a tree and enter their final slumber.
Abilities
The Forest of Iath was already diverse with fast moving insects, strong hardy bark on towering trees, and muscular creatures that stalk the forest. The FioAos were created to fill a gap as the adaptive brains of the forest. As the leaders of different parts of the ecosystem, the FioAos plan and strategize how to handle different invaders. They cultivate specific plants in strategic locations and encourage strong creatures to live in areas of the forest to make it most difficult for invaders to survive. Their keen eyes, forward thinking, and perceptive skills help them to be constantly thinking and planning on how to care for and protect the forest. They direct the forest through spells, both arcane and natural, as well as through empowered songs and sounds that make the forest move to their will.
The FioAos don’t sleep a full night like many other species, instead entering a trance like state where they don’t move for a few hours. They use this time to also pull the nutrients that they need from the soil to be stored and metabolized by their body. Through-out the day they complete photosynthesis, but a large amount of energy is gathered at this time.
Adventures
FioAos adventurers are mostly out to gather knowledge and items of power to bring back to the forest. They are trying to learn magics that are unknown in the forest, skill that can be used, gather info of the going on of the wider world, and to increase their own power to better be able to defend the forest themselves. They will join parties with other adventurers in pursuit of those goals. They prefer to take missions and explorer areas that have clear rewards for doing the activities as for the most part they are not after helping those in need with out a reward or exploring for the sake of discovery. They are a purposeful adventure.
Equipment and clothing
The FioAos who reside in the forest of Iath do not often wear clothing for coverage or decoration purposes. They see value in the natural camouflage they have and in the beauty that can be found in growing the plants that are a part of their body. When they travel FioAos are known to wear clothing to fit in better with those they interact with.
For equipment within the forest the FioAos will find items from the forest to wear to augment their strengths in weakness if they expect combat or to use as tools. Either armor made from the bark of the hardest trees, from sown together bug shells of chitin, and tools made from the plants or claws from creatures. What they lack in natural metal reserves they make up for in using creatures provided to them by Ethelreda being able to leverage to the fullest what those creatures do.
Names
A FioAos name is typically just a physical description of the FioAos or a major story about that in a shorted form. As they don’t have typical families where they always known their parents there is no family name attached and if there was a need to differentiate a village name would be used to specify who they were referring to in the rare case two FioAos had the same name.
- Floats in Water
- Willow Hair
- Tall Red Oak
Gallery
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