Anvora
STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS! Check back later for more :)
Anvora are a birdlike people with an inclination for the arts and a culture that encourages peace and kindness above all else. They are one of the six Rendi races and believed to have been created by the sister Du Doria from small berries and feel a kinship with all other Rendi races, treating any from the Rendi as one of their own.
A nomadic culture, most anvora spend their time travelling the lands, only settling down temporarily to grow supplies or foster community when needed. Because of their nomadic tendencies and kind nature, anvora have become known as the “tourist” race, and many inns look forward to hosting these generous, well-tipping guests.
Physical Traits
Av. Height (Male): 4’2”
Av. Height (Female): 4’5”
The anvora are a flat-footed birdlike people with beaks, feathery crests, and long tails. Naturally petite, they are on-average the shortest Rendi race, and the second-shortest bipedal Sentients, with only the foxen people being on-average shorter. However, despite being the second-shortest bipedal Sentient, they are still a few inches longer than the average maren when laying side-by-side.
An anvora’s entire body, excluding their hands and feet, are covered in soft feathers of varying lengths. They have a manes atop their head which resemble hair and can be loosely styled to preference via either trimming, plucking, or tying back the feathers of different lengths. The natural lengths of these manes varies between anvora, though those with longer manes may cut them shorter and those with shorter manes may add extensions.
Their tails are long and thick, used for flight, and their flight feathers sprout from their arms, running from their wrists to the backs of their shoulders and combining their wings with their arms.
Unlike most of the other colourful Rendi races, anvora have very limited feather pigmentation, with the most extreme colour variations being a signal of the sexes. Anvora men tend to be very rich, dark colours, with their feathers being limited to near-black cool hues of blues, purples, and greens. Meanwhile anvora women are more likely to be warmer shades of brown, cream, or off-whites. It is not uncommon for anvora to have patterns in their feathers, though these patterns will usually be simple with very few colour variations.
As small children an anvora’s beak has a naturally a soft, rubbery texture to it. The majority of their beak will harden as they get older, except for the gape flange around the corners of their mouths where their upper and lower mandibles meet. The flange remaining soft into adulthood allows them to emote like other beakless Sentients.
Like most beaked animals, an anvora’s beak never stops growing and must be maintained as part of their daily grooming habits. Where one might brush their teeth to prevent rot, an anvora uses a gentle file to stop beak overgrowth. Because of this growth, some anvora attempt to style their beak growth into interesting shapes; this is not an easy thing to do or maintain, however, as a beak’s shape relies heavily on genetics and trying to force them to grow differently can cause lasting damage that will need to be corrected by a medical professional.
Sex and Gender
Anvora don’t have many naturally varying sex characteristics besides their feather colouration and their genitalia, which is internal for both males and females. Most other varying gender traits are non-biological forms of self-presentation and chosen by the individual, with things such as mane-styles and popular clothing items varying between the sexes; though what is considered masculine or feminine can vary on location and/or age.
The men have dark feather pigmentation, with hues so dark they often appear close to black, their feathers are usually cool colours such as blues, purples, and greens. This is a contrast to the women’s colouration; warm browns, creams, and whites.
Because of the dramatic difference in feather colours between the sexes some transgender individuals may dye or bleach their feathers to match their presentation more to their gender identity. Though because the process can be intensive, time consuming, and risk damaging their feathers, it is not commonplace and most will seek other methods of euphoric gender presentation.