Unborn

Historically, the Ajata claim they are a godless people. Before the dragon-gods, before the living gods, the world itself birthed them into being and they fought the world for their place within it. Their term for their own species, "ajata", means "unborn" in their ancestral tongue, Bhesa, a language they claim predates themselves. In antiquity, the ajata took to a tribal societal structure, subdividing each tribe by clan; inter-tribal warfare eventually inspired the ajata to place a great deal of distance between themselves and their rival tribes, leading to tribes and clans being scattered quite significantly.

Despite these differences, the ajata recognize their relative fragility as a people - as the live, and die, and live again, this cycle can be interrupted. When one of the unborn does die for ever, all tribes mourn.

Physiology
The ajata possess similar fundamental physical makeup to humans; while humanoid, however, they are one of the least humanlike of the many thinking peoples. They possess six digits on each hand and foot, with facial structure roughly similar to humans. The ajata have two eyes, membraned ears along the back of the jaw, folded and gilled nostrils, and hair atop the head and lining the brow.

Unlike humans, ajata teeth are broad but come to points, with a serrated fluke down the interior facet of the tooth. A raspy texture dominates their thinner tongue. Aside from the scalp, ajata have no body hair, though complex patterned markings originate from the scalp and spine to ornament the body. The ajata eye is slightly larger than a human's eye, often described as seeming 'cloudy' or 'foggy' with a star-shaped pupil.

The ajata hand and foot are capable of dislocating and relocating into a fan-like configuration, stretching a webbing between the digits and providing greater maneuverability when swimming. An ajata's gills are located in a bony 'collar' along the shoulders and base of the throat; in most tribes, the gills exist in a dormant, 'dry' state and require extended immersion to reawaken. This collar braces the head and spine, causing ajata discomfort in holding the head in many lateral positions. As a result, the posture of ajata is typically hypererect, to such an extent that when on land they must stand on their toes to maintain their balance.

Ajata do not have sexes. The number of ajata in the world is static, and will only diminish.

Rather than reproduce, each ajata bears an egg that begins developing as they reach physical maturity at the end of their first year of age. After exposure to air, this egg has a brief period of time in which it is leathery, but soon develops a robust crystalline surface bearing an intricate repeating pattern (spelling the name of its parent-child, in bhesa). When the host of the egg dies for any reason, the egg will soon hatch, having inherited a large portion of the host's memories. The circumstances in which an ajata egg can be destroyed without extreme effort are rare - mainly the ajata must be slain while very young, or the egg crushed while still fragile.

Ajata are amphibians. Though they possess hair and are generally analogous to or identical to other mammalian sentient species, most other qualities of their anatomy are entirely alien.

Species Mechanics

 * Low-Light Vision: Ajata can see in dim light as well as they do in bright light.
 * Keen Senses: Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks.
 * Altered Respiration: Each tribe has some manner by which their breathing is superior. See below.

Physiology
The Kiribanu tribe of ajata is more diminutive than the other tribes, with a mean height of around 5'4" and mean weight of around 120lbs. Skin tones are medium to dark, ranging from olive to a greenish or bluish hue, with black, brown, or blond hair. Many kiribanu develop a sympathetic culture of algae within their hair, giving it a greenish tint; this culture will die if they do not immerse it in water. Kiribanu markings favor a 'dappled' appearance. Their eyes are usually black or green.
 * Kiribanu gills are perpetually ready. They breathe freely underwater, and need no time to adjust.
 * The kiribanu are particularly sensitive, and can cast Detect Magic as a cantrip.

Culture
The kiribanu believe the world was initially a great ocean, before the sand and rock emerged from it. Accordingly, to the kiribanu, water is a primordial, powerful thing, able to wear away mountains and reclaim the world. To many kiribanu, there is no greater force than the darkest, deepest waters.

The kiribanu usually maintain small villages with strong social communities. They use any excuse to feast - bountiful harvest, bountiful fishing hauls, impressive hunts, funerals, anniversaries, particularly warm or cold days, et cetera.
 * Kiribanu are proficient with javelins, harpoons, and nets.
 * Kiribanu are usually illiterate. Following that, though, they have a rich tradition of oral history, and place enough importance on the spoken or sung word enough to recall it well. During play kiribanu can take advantage of this to ask the Game Master questions pertaining to anything they have heard.

Physiology
Tallest of the ajata, the mean height for the garosh tribe is 6'1", with a mean weight around 220lbs. Garoshi are very dark of skin, featuring brown hues of varying saturation and value. Usually, garoshi markings are paler than the rest of their skin, in tigerlike or hyena-like stripes. Their hair is often described as particularly sleek and straight, usually black, dark brown, or a dark red in hue, though it also sometimes matches their pale markings. Garoshi ajata commonly have brown, gold, or yellow eyes.
 * Garosh ajata are prodigious leapers, and have inherent advantage and heightened distance to any and all checks made when jumping.
 * Garoshi are particularly resilient to magical influence and control.
 * Given a period of exposure, garoshi gill structures can adapt to be either water-ready gills (requiring cutting and constant rinsing) or gas filters (requiring sealing and an oiled massage).

Culture
The garosh tribe of ajata thrives on constant travel, nomadically roaming in their vans; the only garosh who maintain permanent settlements are those in the city of Keep's Landing, in the Vathrian province of Choka. Garoshi call themselves the 'people of the wind', and like the wind, they claim nothing can keep them still; commonly, city life fits them poorly as they are accustomed to travel and a very active day-to-day lifestyle, often becoming restless in the 'captivity' of urban culture.

The tribe as a whole organizes itself into several sub-tribal clans, who maintain a handful of vans each and pass between Keep's Landing and a 'holy site' bordering the Storm. Each of these vans boasts around thirty members.

When an individual of a van can no longer keep pace, that individual is expected to either remain behind at a permanent settlement or to wander off into the night. It is rare that the garoshi will pressure an individual to make this choice.
 * Garoshi are proficient with war clubs, bows, and shortspears.
 * Garoshi travel quite a bit, and learn to live from the land wherever they go. As long as they're familiar with an area, they have advantage on Survival checks there.

Physiology
The Rashasthani tribe stands on average around 5'8", with a mean weight of 150lbs. Rashasthani ajata have a reddish hue to their skin, and a broad range of skin tones - from the very dark to the very pale. Their markings tend to create large, symmetrical regions on the body, often without a clear boundary to them but instead a gradual effect. Rashasthani hair is typically very curly, in black, various reds, and occasionally a coppery blond. Most Rashasthani have coppery brown, gold, or red-orange eyes.

Rashasthani gills have evolved into a different structure entirely - not a gill but a filter. Rather than an outflow for water, the rashasthani collar serves as a secondary air intake that protects them from smoke and other fumes.
 * Rashasthani resist fire damage. They slightly weak to cold damage.
 * Rashasthani smolder preternaturally. Non-Gifted Rashasthani have eyes that seem to smoke, and will seem to be feverishly warm to other peoples; Gifted Rashasthani will seem to burn from the eyes, and will feel extremely hot to the touch. As a result of the smoke and inner fire, they see clearly through cloud effects, smoke, or fog, and possess 60-foot darkvision..
 * Rashasthani are incapable of adapting to aquatic life. However, they never suffer from breathing smoke or ash or most gases.

Culture
Rashasthani legend claims, when the other tribes were picking nuts and berries from the ground and squabbling over herd rights, their own tribe learned of fire, and soon after of metals. Removing themselves from tribal conflict early on in the history of the ajata people, the Rashasthan tribe struck east, eventually reaching a site with exposed metal ores and hints of more in the ground, whereupon they established a village. In time this village became a city and more satellite villages were raised, and eventually they subjugated an emerging human populace, establishing the rashasthani people as a curious thearchy with its own, internal castes, under all of which reside most of the humans of Alalku. Some embrace the state religion, and become one of the enlightened few - but most do not.
 * Rashasthani are proficient with numerous exotic weapons - the furnace staff, scimitar, repeating crossbow, and bagh nakhs.
 * Rashasthani culture strongly advocates education. Advantage on Intelligence checks related to alchemy, geography, and other state-sanctioned key points of infermation.