Races of Avendar, Chapter V: The Caladaran

An excerpt from the Races of Avendar, an in-game text found in the school of heroes, this chapter covers the caladaran.

Caladaran: Section 1

In the age following the Sundering, the caladaran race rose under the
tutelage of two planar travelers: Chadraln the Seer, and Jalassa the
Disciplined.  The pair of them nurtured the young caladaran in the far-flung
glades of the Rirro Jagka, to the south and east of the Dantaron river
valley.  It was here that the race developed its immense capacity for study
and reason.  

Eventually, the Seer would instruct the caladaran to embrace the magics of
Earth, and granted them knowledge of Iandir, one of Avendar's three
creators.  Their great capacity for magic made them natural adepts, and
their desire for order led many to embrace His law.  This knowledge drove a
wedge between Chadraln and Jalassa.  Unbeknownst to the caladaran, the War
of Fire's end was nigh by the time the first of them left their racial
glades.  

With their arrival in the human Republic of Earendam, the caladaran gifted
the new civilization with knowledge of Iandir, as well as His magic.  They
quickly took to the art of healing, and gifted to humanity the first
codified laws and the script which would form the basis of the common tongue
of the present.  

Caladaran: Section 2

A second wave of caladaran would follow in the coming years, driven from
their home by warlike kankoran and alatharya.  These caladaran brought with
them their monastic tradition in earnest, as well as the precepts of
psionics.  They introduced to humanity the worship of Jalassa, who appealed
strongly to the human and aelin aristocracy.  It was during this time that a
leading acolyte of Jalassa, Adrajisk, would begin the fusion of mental
techniques that would become known as ginta'cham'akan.  

Those caladaran who did not acclimate to multi-racial fusion sought refuge
outside of Republican circles.  Many of them left human civilization for the
wild, in which they might settle in new monasteries or live as hermitic
lives.  The worship of Alajial originated with them; as the War of Night
took hold, this would be the primary face of the caladaran people.  Those
who participated in the conflict often served as healers, leaving the
majority of the fighting to the great heroes and heroines of other races.  

With the close of the War, the Alajian caladaran would help the ch'taren
develop the new sphere of Spirit.  Their contributions were profound,
directing significant study in the application of magic to mental
tranquility.  The race itself, which had long grown apart in the development
of its three major creeds, began to again cross-pollinate.  This helped to
cement the general direction of the caladaran through the collapse of the
Republic.

 caladaran: Section 3

In the modern era, caladaran are often teachers, sages, or healers.  They
seldom act as warriors or men of the sword, instead focusing on their innate
wisdom to resolve conflicts.  They often prefer a solitary lifestyle, which
can lead to the classical representation of the caladaran hermit as well,
they can be found in monasteries devoted to Alajial or Jalassa.  Reason is
the most powerful tool a caladaran possesses, and the one with which he is
most adept.  

 caladaran are often known by their appearance and contemplative nature. 
Usually, they are tall and thin, with rough, bark-like skin.  This often
leads to a comparison with trees, which the caladaran often appreciate, due
to their long lifespans and attunement with the natural world.  Their faces
are humanoid, but rarely show the signs of age until they have advanced a
great many decades.