The Windriders, sometimes spelled Wind-Riders, are a group of people who are telepathically bonded with flying creatures which they ride. They were originally exclusively elves when the group was formed on the world of Lezaria, but they were quick to welcome in outsiders who proved themselves worthy.[1]
Although Windriders can technically come from any race now, the original bloodlines on Lezaria comprised a distinct race of elf. They tended to have dark hair, and blue or hazel eyes, unusual for Lezarian elves.
History[]
The earliest Windriders were the companions and descendants of Therrin. The group was founded in the mountains of Garateck circa 2100, when a number of giant eagles rescued Therrin's expedition from a landslide. They founded the city of Tentisalu on the southern coast of Taverak. Around 2300, the Windriders relocated across the Mirandarine Ocean and founded the kingdom of Dalizar.[2][3] From there, they eventually found their way to the Seven Planes, and now have a presense in the land of Seacliffs on Wilderplane, and other worlds as well.[4]
Culture[]
When a young Windrider comes of age, they must jump from a cliff and be caught in midair by their future bond creature, in order to form the telepathic bond with trust and loyalty.
Family is important to Windriders, and they take pride in their bloodlines. Lezarian Windriders have an unusually high chance of having multiple births. Twins and even triplets are much more common among them than other elves, who rarely have twins, and are even higher than humans.
Lezarian Windrider surname inheritance works without regard to gender, but instead is based on order of birth and number of siblings. Birth order takes precedence, for instance, if a child's father was second-born and the mother was third-born, the child will inherit the father's name. If both parents were second-born, but the father has three siblings and the mother has only one, the child generally receives the mother's name. However, in such cases where two of the same birth order marry, more typically some of the children will receive one surname and some will receive the other surname.
Any Windrider is allowed to found their own house, but the majority of Lezarian Windriders belong to the house of one of Therrin's seven children, or one of her three younger siblings.
Windriders on other worlds tend to use naming conventions more in line with the typical ones used on those worlds. For instance, Wilderplane Windriders still use planar surname inheritance -- the given name is followed by the father's last name, then the mother's last name.