20.11.2 Aerie

In an Epoch long past, the Atav people, who had settled in the mountains of the Vashnars, were faced with slowly dwindling numbers. The young of the Atav approached their elders about mingling with the other races, but were denied. These young ones decided to leave anyway, and for many years, intermarried with other races.

However, they still yearned for the cliff-top homes and passed these stories to their children. As many of the descendants of the true Atav grew into the race we now know as the Atavian, they became concerned that their culture and heritage would be lost amongst so many others, and they departed for the clifftops they descended from.

There, they rebuilt their long abandoned homes, and resettled, keeping their unique culture intact whilst using the mental abilities of their forebears to keep their home hidden from detection. These abilities grew weaker and weaker, eventually allowing the Aerie to be accessible once more, save for the winter months where the snows seal the passage to Aerie shut.

After centuries of relative peace ensconced in their refuge, their quiet was finally broken when they found themselves wedged between two dangers - enslavement by the Empire of Bloodloch, or sacrificed to the Duiran Council's Green Mother. Aamiran, their Satrap at the time, unwilling to capitulate to either cities sought to militarise themselves and join the collective defense pact of SWEEP. This attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, as their petition was rejected and the Aerie found their fledgling armies destroyed by the veterans of Bloodloch.

Ultimately, after driven mad after enacting a failed ritual to channel the divinity of their God, the Satrap was slain - and the Aerie found itself fractured into two, with some fleeing their home and others opting to remain to face their fate.