- What it Means to be Aiian -

What does it mean to be an Aiian? What is an Aiian? How do I become one, and what benefits lie within? Ah, how many of us have asked ourselves these self same questions.

The Aiians are a race of humanoid creatures native to the island Sural. They've existed here, much as we see them today, for a good few thousand cycles (a time roughly equal to a year in our lives) and flourish even as we speak. In fact, that flourishing has become quite the dilemma.

Aiians, above all else, revere life. This reverence is heavily rooted in their religious belief. Their day to day lives, as well as their governmental practices, hold such as their central and driving point. A model Aiian tithes to the church, helps his or her fellow him or her, and generally does everything in their power to ensure they protect and further the cause of life and creation.

Some Aiians find their purpose fulfilled by starting a family, having children, and providing for those children a rich and healthy life. Others find peace in protecting the lives of others; taking up the life of a skilled warrior and honing their body, should the horrors of violence ever be necessary. Still others might seek solace in the necessary and noble work of the sailor and fisherman, bringing in the daily harvest of the sea which is the lifeblood of the Aiian culture.

Whatever their way, a model Aiian seeks to protect and support life, as that is the example their goddess has set. Of course, not all Aiians revere the goddess Aiia. Others prefer to turn their back and walk a darker road, but them we shall speak of later as theirs is a grave story. First, let us briefly talk on Aiia.

Aiia, often called the child goddess, is generally agreed to be the creator and patron of the Aiian people. Though no direct and provable manifestations of Aiia have occured in hundreds of years, the majority of the people's faith stands unwavering and strong.

In the new colony, an Aiian's place raises some question. Life is sacred and necessary, yes, but when your own survival is difficult enough, how much can one busy oneself with protecting the lives of others? Necessity and stress breed questions in the new colony of Gray Harbor, and it is in this place which our game takes place.

So what does it mean to be an Aiian? It means what your pc makes it to mean. Certainly they might have been brought up with roots of gold and kindess, but life in Gray Harbor is nothing like life in the homeland Sural. Here will be the testing of a people faced with the unknown.