Questions relating to Aukari

[Aun]

Creating an Aukari character meant I had to read a lot of the fantastic lore availiable. I am well aware things are still in development but it would be good to iron out a few things. I hope answering these questions benefit others:

1. What is the extent of power of Faldrun over the Aukari. Is it like 1984 where he can read the hearts of the Aukari and know who is inherrently loyal or unloyal and send over blessings / punishments ? Reason I ask is that in any dictatorship, there will be dissent across the board but most of the time it is unspoken. Or am I reading into this wrong - is this all about the Aukari being dependent on Faldrun as their lives are at stake ?

2. Two Aukari languages. How would you communicate with another race. Is there a common tongue that everyone knows?

3. Aukari architecture - when we say Sirothille is all stone, we are talking volcanic rock which would make sense? Also, it was said that it burned down many times but as it was a wasteland, timber would not be easily availiable, really sorry if this seems I'm nitpicking just want establish this.

4. Aukari education - what is reasonable for a starting character? If they graduate from elite school they end up a list of skills. I guess I'm trying to work out where to draw the line.

5. Aukari control over fire - Aukari are tought to control themselves so they don't start igniting in flames, is this control a skill ? What if the Aukari can conjure a fireball, is that also a skill?

[Jade]

Hey there Aun! Great questions and I'm glad you asked.

The Aukari are controlled by Faldrun in a number of ways, one of which is their unfortunate genetics. The Aukari are basically born fire wrapped in flesh. So it's quite easy for them to erupt into flames and because of this, they cannot function like a normal human being. By this, I mean several things. Erupting is like heroin to an Aukari and it constantly calls to them, especially in times of physical and/or emotional stress. While they're in this state, it's hard for them to get out of it. Then you have to consider that every thing they touch catches fire as well because they're burning so hot. So grass, trees, wood, buildings, plants, basically anything that could catch fire. This is going to make life very difficult for an Aukari because one of the only ways for them to live a normal life is to gain favor for Faldrun and on top of that, he's one of the most ruthless Immortals in Idalos.

In present time, Aukarians living in Sirothelle don't really question the way things are because most of the time, they enjoy what they do. They've been brought up that being "walking turmoil" will gain them favor with the Immortal of Fire and if they gain favor with him, they can become stronger and have more control of their fire to do better, controlled damage to their enemies. But originally, when the race was created, they dreaded having to serve Faldrun because they wanted to go back to their regular way of life. So to answer your question simply, the Aukari are independent of Faldrun but through centuries of mental conditioning and manipulation, they are controlled by him. They think they need him but they don't. Does that make sense? Let me know.

I meant to be more definitive with the languages for the Aukari. The languages are counted as two separate languages. The first one, Vauni, is their spoken language. Anyone who lives in Sirothelle will have Vauni as their first language while Sau'ei is their runic language, their script. The reason why there is little information on these two languages is because I haven't had much time to think about them. Sau'ei is a language taught in the Aukari academies when the Aukari is in the middle of their education because this is the language they use to pass messages along and it can be quite intricate and complex. All Aukari are taught a basic understanding of Sau'ei before they graduate and can understand basic words for the most part. Sau'ei is used by the Aukari who are training to become "elitests". I use the loosely because Whisper is developing Sirothelle and she had more information on these "elitests". To answer your question, you are allowed 2 languages to start out with, and yes, Common can be one of them. Common is English. You can also be awarded a language when your character sheet is approved.

I never thought of actually specifying the rock type because we are currently developing custom materials, so there will be many kinds of rocks that can be resistant to heat. I would say that you're okay to assume that volcanic rock could be what was used. As for the buildings, the surrounding locations (villages, towns, cities) often trade with Sirothelle. They are always importing and exporting items. On top of that, Sirothelle has performed many "favors" for certain places and usually call upon them for their resources. So over the centuries, from when they were first made till now, they've had time to realize what materials burn and what materials don't. Whenever their place burns down, they have materials sent to them from different locations and build it back up again.

I would recommend starting before graduation for an Aukari, that way you can write memory threads if there is anything you want to cover from when your character was younger. You can choose to start at a younger age but just realize that it leaves you more restricted as far as where your character can go and what they can do. But hey, that'll be an interesting RP to read!

We've been meaning to add racial abilities to all of the races but have yet to do so because we are working out the marks currently. The Aukari will have a racial ability for control over fire specifically to their race. The racial ability is more of a "resistance" skill than anything as it does not actually help the Aukari manipulate their fire into actual forms. It is from Faldrun's blessing where an Aukari can manifest fireballs. You rarely see Aukarians without Faldrun's blessing attempt to manifest and create things like fireballs or spirals because the Aukari needs to burning to do this and usually, they will burn themselves out trying to do things of this nature. You'll see the rare occasion where someone will attempt to do things beyond their control out of instinct and trying to survive. Sometimes they survive, sometimes the don't. If they do survive, it takes a hell of a long time to recover. Think addiction withdrawal plus severely burned flesh.

Hope this helped!

[Whisper]

Hey Aun, welcome to Standing Trials!

If you don't mind, I would like to add my own tuppence to this...

1. I have spoken at length about religion in the Sirothelle Lore. The overwhelming majority of Aukari adore Faldrun. They have been taught to love him since they were children, as their parents were taught before them. Enough generations have passed now that it is natural that almost all have been mindlessly indoctrinated into their religion. Of those who have thought about it, they have established that worshiping and supporting Faldrun is beneficial to their survival. Only a few are indifferent towards/dislike Faldrun. Those people don't last very long.

I understand that you live in real world 21st Century.. as we all do, and as such we know what it is to chose our religion, or to chose to be agnostic or an atheist. For some, I think they say they are an atheist because they want to avoid some sort of stigma. But please, try to put yourself back.. to Medieval times.. or even to 200-100 years ago, when the vast majority of the world believed in something, and didn't really consider why they believed it. That is the era your PC lives in. The big difference is that no one in the real world Medieval times (to my knowledge) has seen a God(s)... but the people of Idalos often see the Immortals. They are real, tangible deities... this isn't faith we're talking about here. Faldrun is more like a King than a God, and he demands that respect and loyalty... or people pay the price. With Faldrun and the Aukari more than any other in Standing Trials, that dissent, as you call it, will most likely literally end in the spontaneous combustion of these dissenters.

2. I agree with.. I think all of what Jade says about education and languages.. and again I would have to defer upwards to her and the other Narrators to see what they think about whether or not a script language counts as one of your two languages, or whether you can have the script as one of your Lores, should you hold the verbal language.

3. Yeah, by the very nature of the Aukari race, lots of fires happen in lots of places, therefore almost everything in the city is either made of something inflammable (ie metal or stone) or is made of something that is easily replaceable (ie straw and some cheap cloth materials). Wood definitely not a common site within the city proper... but Sirothelle is directly next to an active volcano - for all the dangers around the volcano, there are many advantages, like the fertile land. Sirothelle has an abundance of produce grown, enough that they do not rely on other cities for necessities in terms of food, and only trade for luxuries. The area cannot now be described as a "wasteland", unless you are planning on living right on the edge of the volcano?

4. Education - not in your question, but a note about your history in your CS... the Locations for the three schooling institutions have not been made public yet, but I believe I have decided that, whilst it is possible to be elevated in schooling opportunities through effort and success, were someone to be actively sent down to the Reyula (the comprehensive), they would be stupidly unlikely ever be bumped back up. We're talking about a society built entirely on elitism... if you fail, there are very few second chances.