Jundari

A species of winged humanoids prefers to live up in the highest mountains in great colonies called aeries. It is from here they hunt with the Thunderhawk and soar with the Great Eagle. The jundari are one of the Godly Races. They were created by Aesir from spirits of the air that she brought from the Land of Clouds.

Most jundari stand around five and a half (5 1/2) feet tall with very thin humanoid builds. They are a long-lived race, with a life span of slightly more than 200 years. Eye color is generally dark, but hazel can be found in some cases. Their hair color always favors the predominate color of their wings.

Their feathered wings extend outward from their back just below their shoulders. There is a second set of muscles and bones strictly for flying; however this still requires a great deal muscle from the shoulders. This leaves them with very little strength left in their arms while in flight, but the strength in their legs still affords them some grasping. They are capable of very long gliding flights and are capable of staying aloft for a week or more before they need to land.

Males have brightly-colored wings decorated with exotic patterns, which serves as both a warning and symbol of their strength. Females have lighter coloration and show only the soft hint of a pattern. During ovulation a female's pattern will become very brightly colored, outshining even the boldest males.

When a jundari female begins to near her mating time males will begin to gather around her, attracted by her bright colors. They will compete in tests of strength, skill, and endurance — from this flock the female will choose a single male for the mating. Once the mating is over, the male will play no further role in the child’s upbringing — his role being replaced by older males and females of the aerie.

Most females will give live birth to a single child, twins being extremely rare, once every 3 years. During this time her wings become mottled and the colors start blending with the territory where she is raising her young. Once the child is strong enough to fly alone they are presented to the rest of the aerie. They will cast off their childhood name and give themselves their adult name.

A jundari child is typically weaned from his mother by the third (3rd) year, but will not reach full maturity until their after their thirtieth (30th) year. For the next fifty to sixty (50-60) years a jundari will remain sexually mature until they go through a physical change near their one-hundredth (100th) year. The next hundred (100) years, or for a long-lived jundari, they physically and mentally fit only declining in the last ten (10) or so years of their life.

Community is more to the jundari that most other species on Miranda. The spirits of air that inhabit their body are but fractions of a fraction of the spirits that Aesir brought to this world. The fractions seek out others of themselves across the world in order to live close to each other. Their is strength and security in numbers, but for the jundari a community is so much more - it is spiritual life.

The jundari, like most godly races, have remained much as they were when created. They have socially and physically adapted, but there has been no new species to arise from them. There is a single exception to this; although the scholars do not believe they are naturally related.

The jundari are not as stratified or geographically bound as many other species on the Miranda. They not only range across the world, but in fact are drawn together in a larger community. This intermingling has reduced the rise of distinct races as can be found among other sub-species.

Regardless of the belief of most scholars that the Rathari and jundari are related, the jundari themselves reject this fully. The Rathari share many of the same characteristics as a winged humanoid species, but they were not created by Aesir from spirits of the air and they are far smaller - standing just under three (3) feet. Jundari lore speaks of the Rathari as creatures that appeared during the Age of Legends or was an experiment by the magi.