Alatharya
Appearance
Alatharya are sapient giants descended from the ancient race bearing the same name. They appear as enormous humans, with heavy, bulky builds and thickly-muscled limbs. Their hair is long and flowing, ranging from white to grey in color. Their eyes are particularly keen, and may range from brown to black, or light to dark blue. Their skin always has a distinct silvery cast, although the precise shade may be lighter or darker depending on their region of origin. They average nine feet in height, making them larger than the similarly-sized chaja. Due to their lingering tribalism, it is common for alatharya to have one or more tattoos.
Culture
Alatharya concern themselves primarily with strength, endurance, and neutrality. An individual alatharya often takes pride in his physical strength, as it is one of the few areas in which he excels. It also gives him one of his few bargaining chips with others, as weaker races often respect raw alatharyan power. Many alatharya fear conspicuous glory, as the echo of divine punishment lingers in their collective memory. As a result, they often live servants' lives, and have in turn grown to appreciate the ability to endure. This may include completing difficult tasks, tolerating poor company, or surviving betrayals. The spectre of the fall prevents any alatharya from ever willfully entering the struggle between good and evil. This often makes permanent alliances difficult, and focuses the most adventuresome of their race on either balance or law.
Due to the limits placed upon their intellect by the Sundering, alatharya often have difficulty seeing the greater picture. They frequently fail to notice manipulation, which is only enhanced by their often overbearing gratitude at being treated kindly. Because the alatharya have little in Avendar to call their own, they are often outsiders wherever they go. They usually know well their limitations, and the difficulty of their lives; as a result, they frequently reject mainstream religions or creeds. The succor of Enirra seems to be one of their few blessings, leading nearly all alatharya to integrate at least some elements of Her worship into their lives.
Relationships
The alatharya respect strength, and thus find much in common with the chaja, the ethron, and the kankoran. As many alatharya are servile to other races, they have something of an affinity for the plight of chaja slavery. However, they are separated by the willingness of some chaja to take on the cruel beliefs of their masters. The goodly ethron have been tolerant of the alatharya who live in the wild, and have aided them during particularly troublesome times. Yet, the alatharya lack the strong ties of the ethron to nature, and often prefer to live in cities. The tribalistic kankoran share many traits with wild-born alatharya, with their focus on dominance and survival. Despite these similarities, the link between the two races is not particularly tight.
Intelligent races, such as the ch'taren, aelin, nefortu, and shuddeni are all viewed with suspicion by the alatharya. Their dedication to magic, and the inclination of those races to take advantage of alatharyan weaknesses, make them suspect immediately. Some srryn find common ground with the alatharya, but are notorious for their belief in racial superiority. Most alatharya have heard tales of enslavement to the Sept, and distrust srryn advances. Humans are lukewarm toward the alatharya, considering them little more than lumbering helpers; humans, in turn, are little more than small employers. The caladaran have the least in common with the alatharya, as their passive, ruminating natures make them easy targets for alatharya frustration.
