Editing Doom of Daruma (section)

===The Aerii===
''Doesn't Miss a Thing''<br>
'''Typical Lead Approach:''' Quick

The ancient ancestors of the Aerii were a graceful humanoid people who dwelt in high forested valleys of the mightiest mountain ranges of Daruma. These Ancestors were a sublime and erudite people who knew the Gods well, and were favored by them. When the Demiurges came, the Ancestors faithfully aided the Gods in their war, and lost. The Demiurges drove the Gods away from their mountain lands, and subjugated the Ancestors, twisting and punishing them to spite the Gods they once served so well. Using their sorcery, the Demiurges mutated the Ancestors with raptors, and made them serve as scouts, spies, and assassins. They became the Aerii.

But the Aerii were not willing slaves. Rebellions were quickly put down, but the Aerii learned subtlety. Over the centuries, they kept what they could of their lost culture and knowledge through oral traditions, secret songs encoded with hidden meaning, but overlooked by the Demiurges as mundane or innocuous sing-song speech. Much of their ancient knowledge was still lost over time, or changed, but within their limericks and hymns are nuggets of lost truths nestled within shrouds of mystery, innuendo, and oblique references. Not even the most sagely Aerii can all agree what the 'real' truths are in the corpus anymore.

There were many wars when the Demiurges left, and most Aerii withdrew to remote tall mountains and forested valleys. But the wars did not spare them. Their many centuries of service to the Demiurges, however reluctant, caused many of the other subjected peoples to fear or mistrust them. Their numbers have dwindled and their children are few. There are now some people who no longer even have tales about them, or only old stories that have drifted over time.

The Aerii people are humanoid-looking, slim and lithe, but their eyes are those of raptors and their bodies have feathers instead of hair. Long feathers crest their heads, shoulders, forearms, and lower legs. The Aerii can flex these feathers to lay flat against their skin or flare out when alarmed, provoked, emotional, or just too warm. The rest of their bodies are densely covered with feathers almost as fine as the hair on human arms and legs. But what is most striking about Aerii feathers are their properties of color changing and camouflage, and how quickly they heal and regrow. Aerii people seem to melt into woodlands, rocky terrain, stone walls, even tapestries. They are a reserved and studious people, observing everything around them. All qualities fostered by the mutations of the Demiurges. The perfect scouts. '''Contributor:''' [https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?830056-Closed-Recruitment-Meta-Masters-of-Umdaar-(sorta)&p=21959420#post21959420 spaceranger]