Anarach

Description

High in the mountains, the Anarach is a bird-like race that keeps pretty much to themselves. They build their communities in the cliffs overlooking the world and their powerful wings are extensions of their arms. Although they can reach great altitudes by flying, they prefer to glide on the thermals with massive outstretched wings.

The village of the Anarach is very similar to many avian communities where there is a central meeting aerie that all of them can congregate. Usually, it is a bowl near a mountain top with perches carved into the rocks. Once a month, they assemble to talk about the things that need to be done to help the community. Most of the topics include which parts of the village needs repair, who should do the repairs, if there are any outstanding problems between the members, and if anyone has seen any potential and long-term threats.

The interesting part of the Anarach village is that there are no leaders or main council heads. The village works on a democratic idea that everyone, young or old, has a voice and can speak their mind. This sometimes leads to trouble and disagreements but every member of the village agrees (whether or not they agree with the decision) to abide by the majority thought. Those who do not, eventually, get frustrated and leave the village to start their own community.

Interaction

When working with the Anarachs, people get the feeling that, mostly, they don’t make any major decisions without the voice of the community. The younger ones will tend to do this with all decisions and, as they get older, they’ll learn what should be brought before the village and what can be decided on their own. So, the younger ones tend to not be very confident and decisive.

Once a decision has been made, though, it is very difficult to change their mind; even when there is new information that may impact their current plan. This leads them into situations that they cannot back out of. However, their fixation on the path and decision that has been made and approved by the community will always force them to continue on.

Combat

The primary attack for the Anarach is a sweeping dive with a slashing weapon. Since the tips of their wings have hand-like appendages, they will carry small knives or other forms of slicing weapons. During combat, they will glide down towards an opponent with the sun behind their back and then, at the last moment, fly upwards and slice with the weapon. This provides for an extremely powerful strike as they gain significant power through the arcing motion of the flight.

If, for some reason, they are brought down to the ground, they can defend easily with the weapons but they are not really effective against strong or agile warriors. Most of the time, they will try to fly away or, if other Anarachs spot them, they can be carried off. However, this is extremely difficult and tiring so they would not be able to go very far (around 1 or 2 miles).