On Matters Racial, Part Two

Follow on from last week's post as promised, more details on the Windryders and Genchi.

Physical Appearance

Whilst Humanoid and can pass for Human with a degree of effort, both the Windryders and Genchi have physical characteristics that set them apart from Humans as well as linking the two. They generally have green pointed ears, slightly prehensile hairless tail in matching skin tone to ears, 4-digits only on both hands and feet as opposed to Human norm of 5-digits. All thats required for either race to pass for Human is the right sort of clothing, the Windryders are typically dressed in thick furs out of practicability due to the cold climate of their home and so most folk presume that they are Human. The Genchi on the other hand can be found further afield and in warmer climates where lighter clothing are required, meaning its typically to see that they are not Human.

On the whole both races tend to be of a smaller build and shorter height on average to compared to Humans, both never have had anything close to the readily available food Humans had. Course in the present day the situation is even worse, the Windryders face a resurgence of Wulvers encroaching on their food supplies whilst the Genchi are bottom of the list with regards to the rationing that is still in force since the War. The Genchi in particular are getting even worse deal, they are frequently being accused of being thieves if the latest delivery of rations turns up short.

Culture

The Windryders have managed to retain their tribal ways over the centuries, they are nomadic hunter-gatherers and are typically grouped into family groups called kindreds. In remote places across the Alyeskan Outlands they have adapted old Ancient Terran ruins into habitable dwellings, typically only used to see out the worst of the weather such as blizzards during the winter months. These shelters are marked with Windryder runes, usually denoting which kindreds have used the shelter and critical information about the local area for other kindreds such as food sources, dangers, etc. Typically they don't take kindly to outsiders using these shelters, though they have on occasion invited outsiders who had been rescued from trouble by Windryders.

For the Genchi much of the tribal ways of their ancestors was brutally eradicated during their enslavement by the Ancient Terrans, so much of their culture they have had to rebuild from scratch. They have managed to retain the kindred structure of their Windryder cousins, this is most evident in so-called ghettos where most of the inhabitants all belong to the same kindred. Genchi Ghettos are typically the slum area of many cities, the Genchi are rarely able to earn above the poverty live due to them often being second class citizens. During the War the ghettos are particularly hit hard by bombing raids against various cities resulting in large numbers of Genchi losing their lives, today the surviving Genchi are bottom of the list for rehousing and have been forced to rebuild their bomb blasted homes best they can.

There is an offshoot of the Genchi dubbed the Skykin, the lure of the freedom of the skies of their Windryder ancestors is strong in their blood. As a result the Skykin Genchi have become nomads of the skies, residing in free roaming airships and making ends meet by bartering or offering their skills to various settlements. The Skykin have travelled widely, typically as a convoy of airships that carries an entire kindred. For extra protection the airships carry a motley collection of ramshackle fighters, which can be remarkably effective piloted by a race known for being agile.