Chapter IX - The Ch'taren

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The ch'taren are the most recent race to come to the attention of scholars, first appearing in the latter parts of the War of Night. The original home of the ch'taren is unknown, and the ch'taren themselves do not speak of it, other than to describe themselves as 'refugees'. What is known is that the ch'taren exploited what is perhaps the greatest Summoning in Avendar's history in order to enter this plane of existence. The shuddeni, seeking to bring an end to the War of Night, had attemped to create a long-term nexus to the Void. Instead of an army of demons from the Void, however, the shuddeni inadvertently conjured an army of the ch'taren, who had adapted the shuddeni's spell to bring them to the prime material. The ch'taren brought with them the magics of spirit, and the worship of the goddess Rystaia, and served as a galvanizing force in the final defeat of the shuddeni.

The ch'taren appear as semi-translucent beings, roughly humanoid in form, with some combination of gold skin and silver hair. Not quite of our plane, material objects will sometimes pass through a ch'taren, making them difficult to capture or slay with mundane weapons. Contrawise, some tie to the ethereal plane makes them susceptible to magical energies.

-2-

As a people, the ch'taren are a carefree and merry lot, seldom troubled by the affairs of the world at large. What societal structure they originally had is largely lost, as the ch'taren tend to be flexible enough to adapt to the government or culture of the people around them. Most ch'taren do not lead settled lives, taking up an adventurous mindset for at least some portion of their youth.