Caladaran

Overview
STR	17
INT	25
WIS	23
DEX	17
CON	23
CHR	17
Resists	Illusion
Vulnerable	Fire
Bonus	+2 mana per level
Special	Increased mana regen, decreased health regen
Classes	Bard, Fire Scholar, Void Scholar, Water Scholar, Druid, Psionicist

Austere and erudite, the caladaran are renowned throughout Avendar for their wisdom. Tall, gentle creatures that are plant rather than animal, they tend to live either in forests or among the mountains, where they are known for their simple and contemplative lifestyles.

Biology

Caladaran are sapient humanoid plants with tall, thin bodies and bark-like skin. It is not unusual for caladaran to resemble specific species of tree; their hair often has a mossy or grass-like texture in any vegetal colour found in nature, and their skin is likewise rough but supple with deep ridges, following the general texture and colour range of tree bark. Their colouring may also change multiple times in their lifetime in response to stress or significant changes in climate, though this effect is unpredictable and not under the caladaran's control. Caladaran have three sexes, but little to no visible dimorphism between them. Although they have the longest lifespans of any sapient species, they do not appear to visibly age once reaching maturity.

The caladaran skeletal system is composed of a robust system of cellulose and fibrous tissue similar to cartilage, granting them both strength and flexibility. Their blood is thick, sap-like, dark red, and somewhat poisonous. Their skin is bark-like while retaining the suppleness of flesh, bearing a uniformly rough texture atop its signature ridges and furrows. Small bladders containing photosensitive fluids fill these ridges which both provide structure and drastically reduce the need to ingest food. Caladaran are carnivores, but being plants, they do not have the traditional features of an animalian digestive system such as teeth or an intestine; instead, a hard ridge of material in their mouth allows them to grip and tear large pieces of food, which is then swallowed whole. Digestion is a slow but efficient process as befits their sluggish metabolisms, and a single meal often takes several days to digest. Waste is excreted through the skin like sweat.

While they are related to trees, they do not possess true leaves or branches. They do fruit, however, which is related to their reproduction.

Culture

For the caladaran, philosophy and debate are the highest forms of art. They prefer peaceful settings where conversations can go on uninterrupted, and surroundings which provoke insight and introspection. Caladaran rarely lie, seeing little point in deception, including self-deception. Masters of introspection, they are well aware of their own feelings. They are generally open with their opinions and will offer them freely. If anything, caladaran are prone to both oversharing and asking prying or personal questions, much to the consternation of more taciturn cultures. The caladaran do not hide their feelings, even when those feelings are uncomfortable. A brutal truth is still a truth.

The caladaran reject most notions of class and do not possess an innate sense of gender, though long contact with the relatively gender-obsessed aelin and humanity has lead to many caladaran simply picking the gender they like better for use in mixed company.

Towns and Monasteries

The town of Jandiska is a place for open debate. Radical discussion is tolerated and even encouraged; however, disruptive action is not. Two monasteries were founded by caladaran: Chanisal, a place of worship dedicated to Alajial and built in the Nendor Forest south of Var Bandor; and Hakurah, dedicated to Jalassa and built in the northern mountains before the Ryarl Plains.