Lûxun (Loo-shun)

(Illustration by Joe Shawcross)

Hailing from the Sea Throne Islands, south of Southern Vandunêz, the Lûxuns are a blue-skinned folk with a seemingly avian heritage. Their “hair” is a cross between feather and fur, where the shaft is soft and pliable and the vanes more hair-like, creating a full head of hair (so to speak) from only a few hundred shafts. The coloration is wildly varied, much like exotic birds, but the most common is a base blue-black with reflective highlights of red and purple. This hair and their skin are both water repellant. Other than their hair and skin coloration they are much like humans in appearance.

The Lûxuns are considered one of the finest sailing peoples of any Age and are the first to explore the entire world after the Great Forgetting at the end of the Age of Warlords, and unlike so many cultures they didn’t have a bloody period in the early years of the First Era of Stability. Aiding this is an uncanny ability to predict weather upon the seas, a keen sense of direction including global location for navigation, and the ability to influence the waves and winds via the Elements. All of these factors lead to the Lûxuns becoming a dominant culture early in the F.E. and what many call the first Empire in the Age of Stability. The Lûxuns colonize deep Southern Vandunêz and the habitable coast of Molo in a matter of decades while establishing trade routes across the world. The Lûxuns are born with a tolerance to cold, making colonization of Molo far more pleasant than it would be for most other peoples.

The religion known as the Four Dancers pays homage to four gods who are depicted as ethereal creatures who appear as a cross between dragons and eagles (although they can shape-shift) and each is related to the four points of the compass, as well as the winds, and currents of the ocean. The Dance they perform is analogous to the waves on the ocean, hence they are often called Wave Dancers. Unlike many cultures, the Lûxuns never attempt to force those under their rule to worship the Four Dancers, but they will accept into their ranks any who wish to utter a prayer to the Wave Dancers.