Lilithan

They are a people accustomed to the looming threat of death. Can we ever hope to understand that? We wander through our lives, always fighting the awareness that we are mortal; that we will die. But to the lilithan this cannot be ignored. Their prey instincts, the slithering of the vines below their feet, the calling of the Tikarra Raptor deep in the canopy; every detail of their environment and biology seems designed to leave them in a state of perpetual existential fear. Small wonder, then, that Tremble and Await the Crimson Harvest holds such sway among them. -Excerpt from Heart of Tikarra, memoir of human explorer Nathanial Burton

The Lilithan are a species of small furry humanoids with bat-like features native to the Tikarra Jungle. They are known for being hyperactive and distractable, but generally friendly. They were created by the nature goddess Karra, and most lilithan revere her despite the fact that, according to lilithan legend, she has been dead for thousands of years.

Lilithan who wander east of the Hana Barr mountains are rare. Those who do live among the human and ikryn communities on the eastern half of Rideen are tolerated, but their bizarre appearances ensure they are always kept at arm's length.Some lilithan will trim their gliding membranes and tails in order to fit in better with human society.

Origins
The lilithan were originally a species of creatures called "jalth," who resembled flying squirrels. The jalth lived a perilous existence gliding from treetop to treetop, constantly hunted by jungle raptors or consumed by the Churning Floor, a sea of carnivorous vines on the jungle floor that devours almost anything that falls from the canopy.

For reasons that are unclear, Karra decided to intervene on behalf of the jalth. According to legend, she imbued the jalth with sapience, uplifting them from their animal state. Some have speculated her motives were out of pity or mercy, others believe it was some form of creative expression, or merely curiosity - to see if she could. Still others believe that she had some unknown, self-serving motive.

Whatever the case may be, the act of uplifting the jalth was an incredible exercise of power. Supposedly, after creating the lilithan people, the goddess herself was so drained of power that she died, her body falling to the jungle floor where it was devoured by the vines. Exactly where the history stops and the mythology begins is unclear, as gods in the world of Rideen are not physical beings, and they die not from actual harm, but by being forgotten by mortals.

Whatever actually happened to Karra after the creation of the lilithan people is unclear, but she has not been heard from since. Some lilithan believe that she will return from the dead one day, although exactly what this implies varies greatly depending on who you ask. Some believe her return will be a jubilant celebration, and she will lead her people to a new golden age. Others believe that she will regain her power by reclaiming her gift, stripping all lilithan people of their souls and reducing them to mere animals once again. This is the subject of some... tension between the religious groups of Tikarra.

In the meantime, the lilithan remain in the Tikarra jungle, dwelling in the canopy out of reach of the Churning Floor.

Anatomy
Though their large ears and wrinkled faces resemble bats, the lilithan people are actually more closely related to flying squirrels. They are considerable smaller than humans, and have long, gangly limbs and a prehensile tail. Stretched between their arms and tail is a thin membrane of skin, similar to a wingsuit, that they can extend to glide for considerable distances. This, combined with their long limbs and tail, allow them to effortlessly traverse the canopy of the Tikarra jungle.

Lilithan are considerably smaller than the other Peoples of Rideen, averaging barely over four feet in height. Their fur comes in many different colors, primarily brown, red, white, and black. Some are entirely bald. As their bat-like features would suggest, the lilithan have excellent hearing and limited echolocation.

Ethnicities
Lilithan come in many colors, but they do not generally recognize these differences as races or ethnicities, and most lilithan societies contain a mix of all fur colors.

Culture
The lilithan have a reputation for being somewhat hyperactive and high-strung, perhaps due to their origins as prey animals. Nevertheless, they are regarded as a genuine and friendly people, accepting towards those few outsiders willing to brave the hazards of the jungle. They have built almost their entire civilization in the canopy formed by the massive trees of the jungle, far out of reach of the Churning Floor. Cities wrap around trees or span massive gaps, split into multiple levels with complex crane and elevator systems ferrying people and goods between levels and across gaps.

Government
Tikarra is described as a confederacy of city-states. Each major city-state governs themselves and the smaller towns nearby. Maintaining the peace between city-states is the Oakwall Council, a panel of druids who act as the cultural and spiritual heads of Tikarra. Although they have no legislative power, city-states general refer to them to mediate conflicts and make large-scale decisions for the country. The decisions are enforced by the collective agreement of all city-states. To go against the council would be to invite punishment or even violence from other states. In recent years, states near the Grellain-Tikarra border have started to lose favor with the council, leading some to fear that they may secede to become their own country or to become a territory of Grellain.

Society
On the ground level, Tikarran society is based on anarcho-communist principles. Money holds some sway for trading commodities, but necessary goods such as food and medical care are very taboo to sell. Members of the community are strongly encouraged to volunteer a certain amount of their labor for the public good in addition to plying their trade, and those who don't are often the subject of resentment. (The general breakdown is a 20 hour volunteer week and a 20 hour work week.) Those with disabilities are usually granted some exception. The result is an odd mix of anarchism and market socialism.

Each city-state forms its government and law enforcement differently, but policing and low-level government positions are usually sortition based, with members of the community chosen on a rotating, opt-out basis to serve.

Clothing
Due to their gliding membranes, lilithan can't wear most human clothing, instead opting for baggy clothes, ponchos, cloaks, and wingsuits. In lilithan culture, heavier clothes are a sign of wealth - a holdover from the old days before their cities became safer to traverse, as it indicated that the wearer didn't need to fly between the platforms of the jungle canopy over the course of their work day, implying that they had an easier, less physically demanding job

Religion
Most lilithan worship Karra in some capacity, although the different sects of worship have *very* different views


 * More secular lilithan believe that Karra is well and truly dead, but honor her sacrifice, even if they don't pray to her for guidance.
 * "Flowers Upon The Heart" is a group of Karra worshipers who believe that Karra's corpse is or at some point was buried deep below the Churning Floor. They believe that when a lilithan dies, their body is to be cast into the Floor to return to that same cycle. Members of "Flowers Upon" will sometimes make offerings to Karra by dropping gifts into the Churning Floor. However, they oppose efforts to study or explore the Churning Floor itself, believing it to be heresy to search for Karra's remains.
 * "Tremble and Await the Crimson Harvest" is a small but vocal sect of Karra worship that believes that Karra's death in creating their species was part of a larger plan to grow the lilithan people like crops. Members of "Tremble and Await" believe that once the lilithan population has grown large enough, Karra will return from the dead and reclaim the souls of all lilithan people, stripping them of their sapience and reducing them to mere animals once again in order to gain an incredible amount of power. For this reason, they fear and generally oppose any efforts to expand lilithan civilization, as doing so could incur Karra's attention.
 * "Hair of Golden Vines" is a sect that believes Karra created the lilithan people to inspire them to greatness, and when their society has grown prosperous and worthy, she will return to either lead them to a new golden age, or uplift them to a heaven-like state. For this reason, they generally don't get along well with Tremble and Await.

Death
Tikarra holds a number of beliefs and practices about death. With no land in which to bury bodies, most corpses are composted into fertilizer for the hydroponic farms suspended above the trees, or else lowered into the Churning Floor. In place of cemeteries, Tikarra often uses memorial gardens, where family members of the deceased will sponsor a plot in their name and choose any number of plants to grow there. These memorial gardens are often open for the public to freely take the crops that grow there. In this way, the gardens represent a symbolic sharing of the deceased's memory and a way to give back to the community even in death.

Within Tikarra
Lilithan society exists entirely suspended within the canopies of the Tikarra jungle. There, entire cities hang from the treetops, connected by bridges, cranes, and elevators. Further from civilization, where it becomes more difficult to safely traverse the canopy, many lilithan travel with grappling hooks and other tools.

Due to the hostility of an environment engineered around people who can glide, even lilithan cities can be a dangerous place for outsiders. Nevertheless, small populations of other species are beginning to migrate west of the Hana Barr mountains, bringing their technology and culture with them. Amidst this artificially induced industrial revolution, lilithan society is fragmented over the question of how to treat these outsiders. In some cities, non-lilithan are welcomed, as are the machines they bring with them. Others fear that these outsiders represent a threat to lilithan culture and values, and have even banned outsiders from their communities.

Outside of Tikarra
Due to their strange bodies and wrinkled faces, the lilithan are sometimes considered ugly by the other Peoples of Rideen, especially humans and ikryn. In addition, their large ears, long tail, and the membranes between their limbs makes it difficult to wear ordinary clothing. To fit in, lilithan will sometimes elect to have their membranes clipped, their ears shortened, or even have their tails removed.

When they do live among other species, the lilithan generally assimilate, retaining little of their original culture.