The Available Races of the RPG

The Races of the Avatar world are many and diverse.  Here is a list of all that are playable and available for use by members.

Modern humans from the Six Nations are descendant of those in Nippon and the bending-less tribes of the Six Nations before those of Nippon arrived.  During ancient times, the humans in the Six Nations (at that time four) were Spirit Benders.  Eventually, their connection to the spiritual slowly fizzled and Spirit Bending became Energy Bending.

Energy bending slowly started to become Light and Dark Benders, and when the two elements crossed over, their children became the Fire, Air, Water and Earth Benders we see today.  

At some point thousands of years ago, human beings couldn't stop warring, so as punishment the Spirit King, with the grace of the gods and an army of Light, Dark and Energy Benders, removed bending from all humans in the Four Nations.  

The Light, Dark and Energy Benders joined the Spirit King in the Shadow Lands as he disconnected the Spirit World from the Physical World and took the Shadow Lands with him.  They would eventually become the inhabitants of the Spirit World, non-bending spirit animals either working for the Spirit King or lived out in the wilds.  

It was a thousand years later, when Nippon began colonizing the Four Nations area, that bending was reintroduced to the Humans in the Four Nations region and the Four Nations were created over 1700 years from today.  Nowadays all six elements exist together in harmony as the Six Nations: The Vermilion Dragon Empire (Formerly Fire Nation), Earth Kingdom, Light State, Dark State, United Kingdom of the Water Tribes, and the Kingdom of the Four Winds.

Nippon was the land where modern bending hails from, though their styles of bending are much older than the ones those in the Six Nations use today.  Nippon is the only land where all six elements, as well as Energy Bending, exist in harmony.  

Formerly the Empire of Nippon, Nippon is also the land where all human life originated.  When the gods created humans they placed them on Nippon as a test to see how humans evolve, and the Oina tribe was created in Kamui by Kanatta after his sealing of Yomi.  Nippon, though a state of the Vermilion Dragon Empire now, still holds its proud traditions and history close to it.  

A land full of spirits, demons, mystery and legend, Nippon is a place that not even its inhabitants have fully discovered.  

[**NOTE!!** The bending styles of Nippon are based upon these martial arts styles: Air - Shaolin Kung Fu, Water - Wing Chung, Fire - Shotokan Karate, Earth - Tae Kwon Do, Light - Capoeira, Dark - Muay Thai]

The Oina tribe are the oldest non-divine beings in existence.  In existence for thousands of years, the were created from the tears of Kanatta after the loss of his wife and the sealing of Yomi, prior to his reascension to heaven.  They are tasked with keeping Yomi sealed, and later on, with keeping evil and darkness in Nippon at bay.  

They are keepers of the demon slaying sword Kutone and of the ancient and mysterious Ark of Yamato.  It is said that the current Ezofuji line is descended from the Oina Tribe through Nagi, who was born of an encounter with F'yr, God of Fire and an Oina woman.  

Though the Oina are not benders, they have a strong connection with element spirits (Kami) because of their divine origin, and they use their connection to these spirits to fight evil demons and spirits as part of their mission from the gods.  The Oina also utilize Mirror Shields, Magatama Jade Cords and Demon Slaying Blades to defeat the demons of Nippon, seal them, and return them to the Ark of Yamato.

They are also part man, part beast, and they always wear masks that resemble one of the thirteen Animal Deities of Nippon (the cat, the ox, the wolf, the rat, the phoenix, the tiger, the sheep, the boar, the dragon, the monkey trio, the snake, the rabbit, and the horse).  

While they all wear a different mask (and never reveal their faces to anyone but their own family) they all transform into wolves, but their masks are still affixed to their foreheads.  Older Oina men usually grow long, bushy beards, and they all have long, dark hair.

Oina never remove their masks in public, especially in fron of strangers and outsiders. It is considered rude and blasphemous. They are familiar with demons that steal faces or shape shift to become you. So they keep their identities safe. When indoors, Oina will only remove their masks for close friends and families.

Before the age of 14, most Oina wear a plain, white mask with eye holes. Once they turn 14, the Oina are brought to the Altar at Lake Laochi. Before the Ark of Yamato, at the Altar where the sacred Oina sword, Kutone, is kept., the child receives a blessing from one of the Animal Gods.

The god, random, reveals itself before the child, choosing to favour the child over the other Animal Spirits. From then on, the Oina child becomes an "adult" and wears a mask carved in the likeness of their chosen Animal Spirit. The Oina will then call upon that Spirit for blessings and help in battling the demons.

The Oina will learn to battle demons, how to trap them in the Mirror Shield, bind them with the Jade Magatama Cord, and sever their souls from their flesh with their Demon Killer Swords.
After a year of training to battle Demons, the Oina are sent out to travel Nippon and help the locals by hunting demons. The Oina will take the souls in their Mirror Shields back to the Altar of Kutone, and release the souls so they can return to the Ark and be sealed there. All demons come from the Ark.

There is a great evil sealed inside producing them. The Oina keep the Ark safe, secret and sealed, and return the demons back. But it's like trying to fix a leaky boat by bailing the water instead of fixing the hole. But the Oina don't know how to fix the hole. So they do what they can.

The land they live, Kamui, is a wintery tundra that is frozen over six months of the year. They live straw and stone homes inside of a valley. They live on ledges and homes built into the walls, and the city is platforms and walkways with a market on an island in the middle of a holy pond at the bottom.

The Oina are also keepers of the sacred forest of Yoshpet. They cannot go in there unless in their wolf forms. Yoshpet's trees produce deadly gas that only the Oina can breathe. Even then the Oina can only survive for a max of fifteen minutes in the forest before the toxins over come their lungs. No one knows what's in Yoshpet.

Because of their holy origins, Oina live as long as spirit benders. 110 is the average lifespan, and they age slower. An Oina lifespan is typically 110-140.

They believe in it takes a village to raise a children, and even though a children has parents. Everyone in the village has a role and responsibility in punishment, discpline, and teaching children. Oina children have "mother and father" their parents by blood. But the adult males and females are always "auntie and uncle." All elderly are technically "grandparents." And the kids they grow up with aer always "brother and sister", even though they aren't always blood.

Oinas mate for life, and can breed from the age of 14, when they typically hit puberty, until about 60 or 70. Because they age a little slower, they'd be about 40-50 at that time by human standards. Or at least look it

Oina can also commune with spirits easier, and enter the spirit world at will.

Any Oina that doens't hunt demons fill out roles in the village. Hunters, weavers, pottery makers, tanners, smiths, etc. The Oina don't farm. They can't because six months of the year the ground is frozen over with snow. They hunt, subsistence hunt to be specific. Use every part of the animal they hunt. There are no traditional gender roles; women can hunt, men can weave, etc. It's a matter of preference and skill.

Oina are matriarchal. Children inherit from the mother's family. In other words they get their last name and stuff from the mother. When males marry females they move into the woman's home. Oina homes are usually large, and involved collected families.

The Sand Bender tribes are matriarchal.  There are several tribes, one named for each of the gods of the pantheon, each pray to a single of the patron gods as their own.

The Sand Bender tribes have been fighting for autonomy and freedom for hundreds of years.  Recently, they've gone from nomadic tribes to massive, stone cities that rival some of the smaller settlements in the rest of the world.

Sand Benders have prospered through war and inter-tribal trade.  Recently they have been battling the Earth Kingdom, raiding caravans and settlements until they get their independence.  The Sand Benders are also highly xenophobic and dislike outsiders.

Sand Benders are incredibly strong in terms of their sense of community and nationalism, and never leave their homes, not even to settle in another tribe.  Most tribes mistrust each other, and war is common amongst them.

The clans are named: Cae, Ilyd, Cutae, Adeza, Takamagahara, Kaleck, Aelouanath, Tans, Elounli, Laedaela, Sceter, Ryz, and Mar.