Endal
From Mizahar Lore
 The Eagle Riders |
The Endal hold the highest position in Inarta society. Just over a third of all Inarta are of the Endal Caste, and they are tasked to provide the food and protection the city itself needs to survive. The eagle riders carry out the vast majority of hunting, so in turn they often eat the best food, have the best quarters (the aeries) and enjoy the spoils of their lifestyle. Endal are often some of the most telepathic members of Wind Reach's society and tend to hold some of the highest intelligence and physical fitness as well. While they are incredibly gifted individuals, they also tend to have a strong sense of what is right and wrong, and aid the Valintar in their day to day duties. There are rankings within the Endal Caste as well.
A typical Endal pair consists of the Inarta and his or her Wind Eagle (normally of the same sex). Each and every Endal pair belongs to a larger group called a Flight. Individuals are allowed to choose the Flight to which they belong. A Flight consists of ten Endal, one of which leads the group as a Flightleader. Ten Flights make up a Wing and the Wingleader is promoted from amongst the Flighleaders.
Flightleaders have more rank than a normal rider and Wingleader is the highest rank an Endal may hope to achieve by hard work and dedication. The Tavina and The Tavinar have higher jurisdiction than a Wingleader, but these individuals are chosen by age rather than skill. All Endals still have to answer to the Valintar first and foremost, regardless of rank.
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The Tavin
The oldest still fully functional mated pair of Wind Eagles and their riders holds leadership over all of Wind Reach. This position is called The Tavina (female) and the Tavinar (male), or the Tavin if one is talking about the both of them. The current Tavin go by the names Yoletta and Rhyon, with their Wind Eagles Astrid and Koyl.
Yoletta, Rhyon, Astrid, and Koyl are still required to carry out their Endal duties regardless of their age. If they weren’t capable of holding up their end of the bargain, then they wouldn’t hold the title of Tavin. Rank allows the Tavin to join any Flight or Wing they chose, accompanying those Endal on whatever patrol or mission they hope to carry out. Experienced as they are, the Tavin are the ones who give performance reports to the Valintar, promotion suggestions as well as praise or complaints for an individual, Flight, or Wing.
Flights and Flightleaders
A Flight consists of five Endal pairs, one of which is promoted to the rank of Flightleader. While Flightleaders in general hold rank above regular Endal riders, there tends to be a common curtsey among the riders that prevents Flightleaders from directly interfering with Endal of a different Flight unless matters are dire. Each Flight takes the name of the Flightleader, Example: Endal Harkoi is Flightleader of the Haroki Flight. As Flightleaders are promoted to Wingleaders, the names of the Flights do change as a new Endal is appointed.
A Flightleader is an Endal who has gone through special training to lead and coordinate flights for both hunting and city defense. In relation to the other Castes, a Flightleader is no different than an Endal, but among their own caste they are the ones who arrange, coordinate, and lead all formal missions.
With the added benefits comes added responsibility. Flightleaders are required to perform all the duties of a normal Endal. Strong leadership skills are required since Flightleaders are expected to take charge and be able to adequately control and coordinate their Flights. In addition, they work together with other Flightleaders to coordinate hunting parties, city defense, and anything else that requires unifying the Endal Caste. Flight Leaders are also called on to settle personal and professional disputes between two or more Endal. All Endal follow a schedule that consists of hunting, patrolling, and peacekeeping. These duties rotate between Flights every ten days to help save individuals from boredom and burnout. Afterall, there is nothing worse than a bored Wind Eagle.
Even though everyone does essentially the same thing, every Flight tends to have a specialty. Since joining a flight is a choice left up to the Endal, those of like mind and interest are usually drawn together. However, it is not uncommon for Flights to host a series of Endal from the same family; Mothers, Fathers, Sons, Daughters, Grandchildren all seem to stick together in the Endal setting.
While it wasn’t the original intent of the Valintar when the Flights were created, the differences between the Flights have been embraced, and some of the more common distinctions have been given names. More than anything else, these Flight distinctions act as surnames to set the Endal and the Flights apart from one another.
For example, The White Owls. These Endal focus specifically on the people of the city. They tend to be more “accepting” and have great people skills and diplomacy. This Flight deals with Outsiders, other races and other cities. White Owls tend to encompass those Endal who are healers and other aid-bearing professions. Though everyone shares the same duties, the White Owls are usually called upon when more delicate social niceties are required.
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Out of character note: PC’s can achieve flightleader status via In Character requirements found here. |
Flight Distinctions
Most of those Inarta who are Endal weren’t born into the Caste; instead, they have been picked from Yasi, Chiet, Avora and sometimes even the Dek Castes. This means that those Endal who provide for Wind Reach also have skills that they practiced prior to their elevation in Caste. This has lead to Flight Distinctions, which allows those of like mind to work together, doing what they love while also fulfilling their Endal duties.
The name of a Flight of individuals who all seem to share this common mindset would be as follows: Endal Harkoi is the Flightleader of the Flight Harkoi of the White Owls. Of course, these full distinctions are only added on when the utmost formality is required.
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Out of character note: Flights are not required to have Flight Distinctions. |
War Hawks
Endal who are attracted to the War Hawk name are those who prefer to use their fists and weapons before anything else. They love to fight and are usually the more hardheaded, stubborn individuals. Those Endal who identify as a War Hawk usually spend most of their free time training and tend to be the Endal who volunteer to go out in search of those individuals who have gone missing or are in some sort of danger in the wild. While there were no organized forces prior to the Djed Storm of 512, there has since been an upswing of interest in this area. War Hawk Flights from different Wings have been training together and preparing for the future and the unknown. They are mostly in place as reserves in case of danger to the city. They are also usually the biggest of Wind Eagles and heartiest of Endal.
White Owls
These Endal prefer to focus their time and energy on the people of Wind Reach. They enjoy spending their time patrolling the city and keeping the peace. They tend to be more “accepting” and have great people skills and diplomacy. The Endal who identify with this distinction tend to be the ones who are called upon to deal with Outsiders, other races and other cities. White Owls tend to encompass those who are healers and other aid-bearing professions, which can be invaluable on any hunt.
Swift Falcons
Endal who prefer hunting above all else usually take this name. The War Hawks hunt with the Swift Falcons when their training is slow. The Swift Falcons tend to be smaller, lighter and faster of both wind Eagle and Endal. They have very high competences in hunting, tracking, and wilderness survival.
Wild Harriers
These are the Endal that favor flying trade routes between the different cities. Physically, these Endal and Wind Eagles tend to have the most endurance of the bunch and are usually comprised of the individuals who have that travel lust yet have no real desire to leave their city.
Wings and Wingleaders
A Wing is the name given to the band of five Flights, for a total of twenty-five Endal, that coordinate and work together as a cohesive group. Wings are structured so that at least one of each Flight Distinction is found within each Wing unit, making the formation as well rounded force.
Wings consist of over one hundred riders, it is only on special occasions that they form up into their respective units; the day-to-day life if an Endal is spent in contact with their Flight. During the Summer, Wings will fly long distances together in search of prime hunting grounds. Forest Fires require whole, or multiple, Wings to help stop the spread of destruction. Defense, Evacuation, and Excursions to Cities for reasons other than Trade are the remaining reasons why a Wing would meet.
Since Wings so rarely have the need to meet, Wingleaders are simply Flightleaders who have taken on the extra duty of leading a Wing when the need arises; they are chosen from amongst the Flightleaders, and the Wingleader retains all of his or her duties as a Flightleader.
Social
Endal are tough, brave, daring, bold, and strong minded individuals on a whole. They are physically and mentally fit and able to withstand high amounts of pressure, since the welfare of their city rests almost entirely on their shoulders. That being said, they need some way to blow off steam.
The Competition between flights is intense. While the Flights that belong to the same Wing need to be able to work together at a moments notice, the tension between those Flights are low. Flights, and especially those with the same Flight Distinction, of differing Wings tend to display the greatest amount of competition.
It is not unheard of for there to be “Strong Man” like competitions between the contending Flights in order to crown a victor. These are taken seriously among the Endal as well as the rest of the Wind Reach populace; since Flightleaders and Wingleaders are few and far between, the majority of the Endal Riders have to find some way form a hierarchy amongst themselves.
NPC Flights and Wings
| Flights | ||
 | Aidara (Sira) | Healer, Endal, Falconer, Twin to Sairque |
| Wings | ||
| Aidara (Sira) | Healer, Endal, Falconer, Twin to Sairque |
PC Created Flights and Wings
| Flights | ||
| Aidara (Sira) | Healer, Endal, Falconer, Twin to Sairque |
| Wings | ||
| Aidara (Sira) | Healer, Endal, Falconer, Twin to Sairque |