Refugees on the Prime Material after their home plane was devoured by the dread Tzet-Askhari, the ch'taren are alien, hybrid spirit-beings that champion the ideologies of the Light.
Biology
When the ch'taren arrived on the Prime Material, they were alien spirit-beings with no corporeal body. In order to remain on the Prime Material and survive as a species after the War of Night they underwent a permanent transformation that diminished their spiritual powers in exchange for granting them partially-physical bodies.
Appearing as tall, slender humanoids with golden skin of every shade, the ch'taren are noted for their wildly mutable alien beauty; many possess unusual proportions, variable numbers of jewel-toned eyes, hair that seems to defy gravity, unusual numbers of fingers or joints, or any number of other minor aesthetic variations. Being slightly out of phase even now, all ch'taren are partially translucent and may pass through some physical barriers.
Ch'taren are born able to walk and speak. They mature rapidly, reaching young adulthood by the age of seven or eight, and grow old sooner than other lineages.
Culture
As a species, ch'taren are noted not only for their skill at wielding magic, but also their free-spirited nature and good intentions, though this does not make them easy to get along with. Unlike species native to the plane, ch'taren are wholly unable to comprehend temptation or lures to evil. While intellectually understanding that this occurs, they will never feel what drives a heart in such directions. This makes them the staunchest of allies when battling the forces of darkness, but ill-suited to persuade one who might yet be turned.
Owing to their unyieldingly good natures and broad rejection of authority, ch'taren have struggled to integrate into Avendaran society ever since they were summoned to this plane during the War of Night. Among their own kind, they tend to reject structures of law entirely, living instead as stateless anarchists. In their havens, they live without much concern for material goods, private property, or hierarchy, guided instead by their innate sense of benevolence towards others. On those rare occasions they do follow a leader, they do so of their own will, and only for as long as they find that leader personally compelling.
Though they are still hailed as saviours in many of Avendar's city-states, these traits make most ch'taren ill-suited to live among those who feel harmony comes from people’s actions and not the ills in their hearts. Likewise, one who might or might not care about the actions of their neighbour is often unsettled by the absolute judgement of the ch'taren, or the ch'taren's flippant attitude toward law and order.
Religion
The ch'taren revere Rystaia and Vaialos as the Twins who breathed life into their lineage, and most honour both. Their faith came with them from their lost home plane, and much of ch'taren identity took shape under the Twins' care.
Rystaia the Lightbringer is the living Twin and the centre of ch'taren worship. Her opposition to tyranny in every form, even tyranny meant for the greater good, runs through the ch'taren rejection of authority and their stateless life in the havens, and Her zeal shows in the absolute judgement they pass on others. Rystaians stay joyful even in conflict. Their faith is bound up with the Weave and the magics of Spirit, which Rystaia reveals to Her followers, and Her aid during the War of Night made Her an icon well beyond the ch'taren.
Vaialos gave His life holding back Tzet-Askhari so that Rystaia and the ch'taren could escape, and many ch'taren keep His faith out of respect for that sacrifice. With no living god to guide them, His devoted act as they believe He would have wished, seeking out the hopeless and giving of themselves for others, though never lightly. Their joy carries a poignancy that sets them apart from the usual ch'taren temperament. Few ch'taren worship Vaialos alone, and those who do are often ascetics.
The ch'taren also honour the saints who served the Twins on the Prime, among them Saint Calaera, who leads Rystaia's Convocation of the Nine, and Saint Chalane, who died defending a ch'taren haven as Vaialos died defending the ch'taren.
History
The Day of Two Dawns
During the depths of the War of Night, the shuddeni sought to weave a dreadful masterstroke against the peoples of Avendar. Instead, the ch’taren were summoned forth, fleeing their own plane’s destruction at the dread maw of the dragon Ashur.
When the ch'taren finally spilled out onto the surface, their ensuing entry into the war was known as the Day of Two Dawns, and was the beginning of the end for the shuddeni's attempts at world domination.
The Three Havens
While many tried to make their way in a world that was not made for them, most ch'taren found integration into the societies they had saved immensely difficult. Recognizing them as saviours, the city-state of Earendam bestowed upon the ch'taren three tracts of land, upon which they founded three havens for their people to settle amongst themselves: Jh'ten, on the Isle of Alensha, Ad'mastaesia, in the Broken Lands, and Avayn, far to the north.
The havens have not existed without struggle. Ad'mastaesia's construction required displacing srryn and alatharya natives, and was overrun by a combined force of shuddeni and srryn not long after its founding, and is home now to only ghosts and memories. Jh'ten has closed itself away after an attempt to disease its people, and Avayn has long been insular, with only rare traders and ambassadors emerging.