Changes 1
Within the continent of Xyth, there is a race of bird people called Cirkur. They have wings based on varying bird species and had many settlements across Xyth, most of which were taken over during Gahenn’s expansion. They were known primarily for their hospitality and the aid they gave to other villages even if those villages were not their own.
Although sizes and builds are quite varied, they are typically 7-8 feet tall, with great, powerful wingspans. They also have sharp talon like nails.
This fantasy race is very loosely based on parts of Ainu culture. Primarily this is just through clothing, appearance, and some words, but I am avoiding using anything ceremonial or sacred. Cirkur is made up of the words for bird (Cir) and person (Kur), but is not a race tied to any real Ainu folklore.
Kerai, previously called Jamai, is now half Cirkur instead of being half Xiather. I chose to make this change because previously Kerai was just a whole mix of things I thought looked and sounded cool. His previous name wasn’t even a real name. His name now is a shortened version of his full given name.
I decided for the ancient forests — like the one Kerai now protects — to be based loosely on Ainu culture, and as a result I felt it was weird to have Kerai be so separate from it. Having a chinese/wasian character be portrayed as a kamuy and protecting the ancient forest felt wrong, so although his backstory is unchanged I made the Cirkur to fix that issue.
He now wears a wooden mask carved from walnut to look like a fox. This is to show his connection to the Kimotpe-kamuy. I also changed his horn shape because I just thought the silhouette looks better. His design has a lot of shapes like moreu, sik, and ayusi (as well as simple geometric shapes), both on his mask, his clothes, and as markings on his jaw. His wings are based on the blakiston’s fish owl.
Here is his new design:
The ancient forest of Gortoa is now called the ancient forest of Aurum, although this name was given by Gahenn and was not its original name. Keisho lake is now Lake Opes, also named by Gahenn. Aurum used to be part of Xyth, but became part of Gahenn during the expansion.
Ren and Koten have also been changed. Ren is now Ram (a shortened name), and Koten is Ekari (a shortened name). Ekari is a Kimotpe-kamuy, not a Kitsune. He is one of the last remaining Kamuy, and although fox spirits are not usually guardians, Ekari did take up that mantle after the bear spirits (Shiuk-kamuy), owl spirits (Cikap-kamuy), and wolf spirits (Horkew-kamuy) were wiped out from Aurum. These Kamuy still exist, but they exist within the remaining ancient forests in Xyth, since Aurum is the last ancient forest left in Gahenn.
Although there are Kamuy in this world-building, not everything is a kamuy like the Ainu belief. Everything is full of energy and arcana, and when enough magic is built up within an ancient forest a Nitay-kor-kamuy takes form. This is what Ram is.
It’s the same story as before with how Kerai came to be the guardian of Aurum. He was found dying by Ram and Ekari at the edge of the forest. Ram saw potential in him and so she enmeshed their souls together, making him into a Nitay-kor-kamuy. Since only one can exist at a time, she lost all of her abilities but she retained her form and acted as an older sister to Kerai. Ekari was against this idea because he didn’t like the idea of bringing in an outsider.
Kerai was reborn, dying before being created anew. Ekari had to look after him as he had reverted back to being a baby, and as he got older and began to learn how to control his powers more he was given the name Keraiwor-ni by Ram and Ekari. Kerai grew into a powerful guardian of the ancient forest.
I will be redesigning Ram too but her design will mostly be the same. She is still based on a fantasy flower, not a real one.
Suiren also had her name changed since she was the previous Nitay-kor-kamuy before Ram and Kerai. Her name is now Nisi (shortened).
