Had a desire to dip into the lore of my tallbird race, the Rokas
Standing approx 3m (9' 10"), these distant relatives of the Kobolds and Vobolds live primarily in the high mountains and valleys of the Dragon's Jaw mountain range. Juveniles have thick coats of brown feathers, molting into stark white plumage in adulthood. Males have a distinctive beard just behind their beak, while females tend to be physically larger.
Rokas Priests ritualistically bath themselves in a dust bath of fine ruddy soil, and are often called upon to perform rituals or recount legends. The Rokas view the great river that cuts through their mountains as a spiritual representation of life itself. More traditionalist individuals view these tales as literal rather than metaphorical, and believe the lowlands downstream of their mountains to be the lands of the dead.
Warriors bath themselves in charcoal, and are usually found guarding temples or hunting in the valleys. Some enterprising warriors make their way out west to the coastal lowlands to sell their services as mercenaries to the local human kings, they are often referred to by humans as the Bone Eaters
While generally isolationist, they do have a thriving trade with their Kobold neighbors, exchanging coffee beans and other high mountain crops for precious gems, metals, and for colorful cloth woven in the human lands
