Tieflings

The Tieflings
Pronunciation
Classification
Nicknames	Devenir, Tieflinere
Languages	Notre Voix, Common
Average Height
Average Weight
Maximum Age
Stat Bonuses	+0 Strength +0 Defense +0 Agility +3 Intelligence

Appearance

The Devenir is a pale race that loves to adorn themselves with bright colors, paints, and jewelry, even going as far as to embed patterns of metals into their skin. Many of them dye their hair and paint their skin with colored mud and glittery makeup to cover up their ashen white or light gray skin. Tieflings are a unique bestial race. They have ivory or black horns that can be grown in the style of short deer antlers, ram horns, or even the back-bent horns similar to the common eland antelope. They have deer-like legs and hooves, though they have forward-facing knees like humans. Tieflings even have a small cervine tail to match. They also tend to have longer canines and pointed ears similar to the Elves, though not nearly as long.

Hair and eyes vary between bloodlines since such fixed things are often bred into children when one can't get them themselves. Bloodlines are often known for these "bred-in" traits, such as natural stark red hair or bright blue eyes. Their natural eye colors are very similar to humans, though the colors are often deeper. It is common to have bright emerald greens, deep chocolate browns, or stormy blue-gray hazels. They also tend to have blond/cream to brown hair, though their blonds aren't nearly as stark as the High Elves. Tieflings also share Elven's difficulty growing facial hair, and curly hair is rather uncommon. Most Tieflings are also covered in short fur-like hair near their tails, which matches the color of their head hair.

Most Tieflings fall in love with appearance and one's colors rather than personality. They are very look-oriented people and often try to palette-match their partners. "Do your blues look good with my greens? How long can I stand to look at that obnoxious yellow you love?" It is often said that the self is a blank slate, and it is up to the individual to paint it. Some Tieflings even worship this idea of the "blank slate" and wish to remain colorless. Beauty and class standards are often synonymous with how many colors one has or how many ones can show. The rich hoard colorful things, clothes, and jewelry but often display what they can't wear in their homes. For most people, to be beautiful is to have and show off many beautiful things. A lot of pressure is put on the Tieflings to have bright, colorful clothes. They must paint themselves well instead of elaborating and covering themselves with precious metals and stones.

Culture and Society

Celebrations and Holidays

Since the fall of Nous, many of the tieflings no longer practice their predominant culture that was once part of Nous. Instead, they practice the culture of the nation they reside in

Some of the holidays they previously practiced were:

• Fire Festival

Typically, at the start of Summer, the Fire Festival celebrates the coming hot season through bonfires, burning wishes (and therefore granting them), smoking fortunes (to see how the season will go), gambling tournaments, and fire dances.

• Color Festival/Turning of the Leaves

This festival is at the start of the First Autumn, and it is to celebrate and show appreciation towards the colors of Autumn. This day holds painting competitions, art booths, paint and dye-making workshops, fashion and design shows, as well as, of course, song and food. When the Color Festival ends, the first trading season is to begin.

• The Giving of Belle

This is a day to gather all the trinkets picked up on the road, organize them, sell unwanted things, and give gifts to your loved ones. It, too, is celebrated with a feast and a "raising of spirits," which is a toast to life and love. Each person celebrating is to raise their glass and gives a toast based on what they are thankful for and something they have learned this year.

• Flower Festival

The Flower Festival is exactly what it sounds like! Flowers are collected from gardens and the surrounding area and displayed in extravagant displays. A flower parade through town shows off these displays, baking competitions, community gardening, and, of course, another feast. When the day is done, people can take the leftover flowers for use in dye and paint making or to dry and reuse next season. It is also to celebrate the last season of the year.

Expression and Art

Common artworks are paintings, large-scale murals, pottery, and small sculptures. Paintings are often abstract, focusing on certain colors to convey the actual subject of the picture (such as having an abstract painting with many blues and greens to convey the sea and land or wisdom and greed.) Pots are made from colored clays and are often used in worship and ceremonies rather than simple decoration. Small sculptures are made of cheap, soft materials that most people have access to, such as soapstone, wood, and clay. It is rare to find metal or glass sculptures simply because most Tieflings don't have the tools to do such, and sculptures are rarely large since they have to be easy to move.

Dance and song are other common forms of self-expression and are often incorporated into plays and stories to give them more depth and complexity. Using song and music to paint scenes is common, with dance used to portray characters and the internal self.

Tieflings are rather fond of string instruments such as lutes and harps.

Food and Table manners

The Devenir isn't so complicated when it comes to food. They love spices of any kind and prefer dishes with many parts. Simple chicken on rice can be turned into a Deveniresque dish by marinating the chicken, baking it in a blend of five spices, serving it with white rice, and covered in some sweet sauce. There aren't many set preferences for taste— the Devenir not only love to explore the world, but they also love to explore food. Anything from salty to sour to savory, just as long as it's never bland.

In table manners, they don't have many standards, though some would say their standards are opposed to the norm. The Tieflings are a very social race and represent that in their dinner etiquette. If you're dining at a bar or at home, part of the standard is to be loud. Slurping up your noodles and burping after a beer might be considered distasteful, but to a Tiefling chef, it is the highest praise. If you're eating around others, it's customary to talk to them, especially about the dish. What's good about it? What's bad about it? A Tiefling restaurant is a loud place. Telling one of your guests to "mind their manners" or "quiet down" is extremely rude. Let the people enjoy their dinner and their company.

One of the few "no-nos" of dining is not using a napkin. Clean dining is supreme dining, as it's said. While they might be boisterous, spilling a drink is always a sin, especially on oneself or another person. Ruining someone's clothes is such an offense that it can get a patron banned from a bar or household. Even accidentally dipping a sleeve in one's meal is a reason for embarrassment. It's a waste of wonderful food and a stain on a perfectly beautiful outfit.

Something that isn't necessarily held up at home but is expected within courts or restaurants is that one must finish their entire meal or risk deeply upsetting the chef. Yes, even if it's bad.

Religion

From the beginning, the Tieflings have believed in the Nature, spirits, and grounds that surrounded their home or settlement that they reside in. Tieflings are strongly aware of the natural world and see the power of the spirits in the ongoing cycle of life and death.

They believe that the cycles of life and death are the center of everything in the world.

This was the case before the fall of Nous, During the current times, Tieflings are either very dedicated to what their Ancestors believed, or They adopt the predominant religion of the nation they reside in

Romance and Marriage

Courting

Courting for a Tiefling is similar to that of a bird. They dance, sing, and bring shiny or colorful gifts to the ones they wish to woo. Some might even change their entire color scheme or wardrobe to match a potential partner better. Most Tieflings are not drawn to wealth but to how unique something may be. Piles of gold jewelry are nothing compared to one opal necklace.

Courtship dances often include using ribbon or many layers of light, flowy cloth to adorn the dancer to enhance the show. Most dances are close to ballet or strange contemporary dance. Most flashy dances with flowy movements are preferred.

Marriage/Binding

The ceremony of "Binding" is a week-long endeavor, like most major celebrations. The pairing (or all the parties in a polygamous binding) will then commune with their major spirits to see if the pairing is acceptable. Pairings such as fire and water are difficult but fruitful, and pairings such as earth and air are calm but boring. This communion is a way to see how simple or complicated the partnership will be.

Then the pair collect the gifts they received from one another and explain the meaning of each one. This is something similar to human vows. Each item is a part of their relationship and should represent something valuable to the person and the pair.

It is customary to take two sheets of cloth colored to represent each person in the pairing and cut them up. The pair then sew the cloth in patterns that come naturally to the pairing and then display that in their home.

Each person that celebrates with them is to bring the newly bound people a gift. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's heartfelt. A flower plucked from your garden is just as valued as a new sailing vessel, even though one has more monetary worth than the other.

It is also expected that during this week of feasting and partying, the couple creates a work of art together and displays it separately from the bound cloth. Whatever the couple makes is up to them, whether that be a dance, statue, painting, or poem.

If these pairs ever wish to be "unbound," they must destroy everything they have made together. This includes the cloth they sewed together during their binding, the art they made, and anything else they've created together (excluding living things such as plants and children.) The couple will be unbound only when the last thing is torn apart, broken, or burned.

A red flag for most Tiefling marriages is when one partner is unwilling to share or create things with their partner. It is assumed then that they are unwilling to commit to the marriage and commit to this bonded way of life.

Life and Reproduction

Tieflings live up to age 130 and age more slowly than their human neighbors.

Tieflings reach full physical maturity at age 30 and reach puberty at age 18, when both males and females can now procreate.

Despite being able to live up to 130 years, female Tieflings begin losing fertility at around age 40, with males following a decade later, leaving a very small window open to have children.

If a Tiefling manages to get pregnant, its small size and other biological factors make it difficult to deliver a baby to term and not die during childbirth. For this reason, infant mortality rates are high. However, the body attempts to balance this by having a shorter gestation period than most and prematurely giving birth.

Most gestation periods last only five and a half months, much shorter than most other races. Since most babies are born prematurely, it is unlikely that a child's lungs will be fully developed, making Tieflings highly susceptible to respiratory diseases and more likely to develop breathing issues such as asthma.

Death and Funerals

Tieflings often accept death as a natural part of life and do not see it as a terrible loss. They believe that the people that have passed have met their maker and are safe and sound.

Tieflings don't necessarily have funerals, but they have ways to honor their dead that might seem macabre and taboo to other cultures. They cut out one's horns, burn the bodies, and then shift through the ashes for the remaining bones. Bones and horns are often carved into figurines, instruments, and bowls or can be cast into the sea, buried, or burned a second time. Some families spread ashes around meaningful locations or keep a vial of ash for each family member. Considering your death and discussing how you want your remains to be treated in death is a common subject in life to be sure that you will not be disrespected.

History

Before the Fall of Nous

The Tieflings strived inside a ravine, making homes inside the caves and tents. There was a large nation known as Nous. This is where all the Tieflings lived their lives. No other race lived here because they were close to each other and would not include other races in their traditions. Nous was a colorful place with banners all around, the farm animals painted with paste to fit with the rest of the lands, and tents made from colorful silk and wool. They were a joyful race and would always be seen with a smile on their faces and love for one another. The love for trade and meeting new people was what they lived for, though they did not like them to stay too long. Mystique van Hugh was the man in charge of this nation, and he was a noble person with love for his people and their wellbeing.

The Plague

The Tieflings were quite peaceful and lived their lives without bothering others. They got their food, drink, and resources to sustain themselves. Never be a part of any big meetings or wars against other nations because, in their eyes, no one was on their side. So why should they be on any others? All was well, and they were happy until one day, a sickness arose, and some children began getting sick to the point of dying. A few days later, the first cases rose. No petty sickness would pass in a few days or weeks. No, this sickness even was caught by the livestock inside Nous and would then kill off their major food supply, and even the wool would become scarce. This brought worry to Mystique van Hugh. This was a test for him to prove he could take control and do what was best for his people. After two years of struggle, he decided to take a small group of soldiers and citizens north to look for unknown lands, to find food or anything to help them.

The Fall of Nous

Upon moving north, they were greeted by a massive forest with wildlife flowing inside. Many colors of mushrooms and berries would show the closer they got. So a decision was made to farm off as much food as they could carry. Morale was raised as they could make medicines from some herbs to help ease the pain of the rotting Plague. After many trips, they sent more and more people to help gather. They did a little scouting ahead because of how much in need they were. This was an ill move on their part. They began cutting trees for the wood to use on the fires and wooden huts to move from their primitive homes. After weeks of constant farming and scavenging, arrows shot through the forest and killed many Tieflings. Screaming was heard from all over the land. Blood ran through the forest with guts hung on the tree branches. This was a horrific day for the Tieflings, and once word got back to Mystique van Hugh, it was too late moments after large copper-skinned folk with pointy ears surrounded Nous and began their attack, killing as much as they could. Many Tieflings escaped the attack, wandering the lands. But those that were left, left behind a horrific scene, one from the bottom of the Void; the lands were colored in red, the fire was burning the tents, and these people were looting the home for all that the Tieflings had left.

Present

After these events, the Tieflings are seen throughout Eden, living anywhere they can. They swore not to forget what had happened to them in this time in Nous, but in recent times the new generations are not taught their history, for it would scare the children into their lives. The Plague is now over and does not worry the people anymore. The place of Nous is overgrown with green and mushrooms, the most beautiful in Eden. The bodies that lay must have fed the soil and plants to create this place for remembrance and could still be visited to pay respects; some things still lay here that were there when Nous was still a striving settlement for the Tieflings. They will live where they can for now but aim to recreate their nation to show all others that they do not need any other race to survive.