Emheel (5e Race)

Emheel

“	You make a mockery of our culture. You steal our mythology, you twist our own people to believe your misshapen version of events. You claim to serve the black enchantress, and to fight with the red sorcerer, but you do not even know them. You claim to hate to hate the frozen king, but you have never lost your sons at the hands of winter. You claim to hate the dragon, but he has never scorched your village. You claim that the swine has done nothing for you, and that the human is the enemy, while you ride upon the backs of them, and fight alongside them, and partake of their flesh, and act like them, and you fight for an empire who wishes to tear it all down and build up their 49 false gods in its place.	”
—Elector Ctal-Gorong of the Oath of Swine

Physical Description

Although it's hard to realistically connect the dots of what an Emheel is to any other species, it is a highly derived species of North Amantic angels, arising from extreme neoteny, even to the point of embryonic biology in mature individuals. Emheels can be roughly divided into an inner and outer form. The inner form resembles a massive bird embryo, with a large lumpy head, and a pair of black, bulbous eyes on the sides of their head. 3 small creases in the flesh appear beneath the eyes, and a round snout-like nose emerges from the center of the face. The mouth is a gaping crevasse only used for speaking, and is vestigial for inhaling air and ingesting food, both of which are taken in through umbilical cords. The embryonic arms are little more than small nubs of flesh coming from its sides, and its legs are emaciated strips of flesh emerging from either side of the tail, a bony protuberance almost the length of the rest of the body. A soft pink skin is stretched over the body, padded with thick, raw, flesh. The inner form, including the tail, is only about 5 feet long. The outer form is a different story.

The inner form floats within a soup of fluid which is continually replaced and expelled, which is in turn surrounded by an immense translucent shell, which appears to be made out of pure force. The head is a massive hemisphere with a thick nose, two clear ovals that let light in to reach the eye, and a gaping mouth filled with flat teeth that intakes food and expels the air released through speech. Regular inhaling and exhaling is done through a second, much smaller hole beneath the mouth. Olfactory senses are taken in through pits along the face. The outer form of an Emheel also displays the same creases beneath the eyes, the origin of which is not known.

The arms of an outer Emheel are massive trunk-like arms, proportionally about the same length as those of a human. Their legs are much longer and slightly thinner, running along either side of their tail structure, which is only slightly thicker than the inner form. Like most North Amantic creatures, the Emheel's outer form has 6 wings emerging from its back, which look something like taught bowstrings with leather stretched in between. An Emheels outer form is much taller, well over 7 feet tall.

History

Emheels are not native to Catria- they arrived there from Northern Amantia almost 2000 years ago, into what is now the Provisional Coalition of Tadelakt. The area was largely uninhabited, although as the Emheel nation grew, it displaced many of the native species. Tadelakt's geographical position, being in the complete forefront of the Southern Current, allowed for a prosperous society, which ultimately comes together to make one of the most populous countries in Terra Koruk.

Throughout their history, Tadelakt has never been very affected by the other cultures of Catria, although the unique geography does impose a similar mindset, a sharp contrast between hot summers and incredibly cold winters as the Souther current trails off, with a warmer period in mid-winter. The closest relative to the Emheels are the Seraphim of High Rock and Celador, which are just across the Strait of Tammravo. Because of this close relation, Tadelakt has always been shaped by the culture of Celador, although this has generally not gone both ways.

All this to say, Tadelakt's dominant mythology and religion is that of Pryglyzmitivism, which holds that there are 49 distinct gods, and only by appeasing and fulfilling each of them using their own unique rituals can a paradise be achieved on earth. Like Celador, they through their weight behind Faakh'el in the Malchite crusades and fell in line behind Celador after the fall of Faakh'el. They would become one of Celador's closest allies as the Grand Imperial Alliance took form.

For some reason, in the years following Faakh'el's decline and Celador's rise to power, Tadelakt would become culturally distanced from Celador. The reason for this is not known, but historians agree it was either a subconscious effort by the population to become distanced from Celador as they rapidly exceeded Tadelakt in power and influenced, or a conscious effort by the government to become closer with allies on Catria. Either way, Tadelakt would soon form the Oath of Crow.

According to the mythology of Catria, there were 7 great races at first- Raven, Human, Dragon, Serpent, Phoenix, Frostworm, and Pig, each of which is led by a great king or queen. Human and Pig have always been allied in solitude as they were tossed around by the mightier species, but alliances have been in constant flux between the other 5. Currently, Raven, Phoenix, and Serpent are allied together against Dragon and Frostworm, and the three alliances of Catria line up with these. The Oath of the Dragon is obviously connected to Yssalru via the Clands, and the Oath of Swine's position as a desperate neutrality between much more powerful sides left them allied with the Anjanus Alliance headed by the Seelie court. That left Celador and Tadelakt to scoop up diplomatic ties with the Oath of Crow.

Society

Tadelakt's superficial alliance has certainly not permeated the culture of the Emheels, which remain devoutly Pryglyzmitivist and much closer to North Amantia, certainly nothing like the way nations like Adalyea and Otskos have turned away from typical North Amantic paradigms. These societal norms generally take the form of commandments and guidelines from the 49 gods, which seem to cover every aspect of society with its own distinct "right" way to do things, to live, and to act.

The entirety of the ethical codes of Pryglyzmitivism are far too long to be printed here, but suffice it to say that much of Pryglyzmitivism supports the Celadran social structure, a very strict hierarchical feudal system with a caste of slaves at the bottom, almost no societal mobility, and a divine emperor, with a heavy emphasis on spreading the Pryglyzmitivist dogma to other nation. In Tadelakt, the people tend to be less intense in their devotion to these ideals, but they still define the society to some extent.

Emheel Names

Like in all North Amantic languages, nasals like m or n can occur in place of a vowel in most syllables in Tadlaktian, and like in most North Amantic languages, nasals have a tonal distinction between high and low, designated using a doubled symbol or a single symbol, respectively.

Male: Dabujasuu, Jññŋuuŋŋ, Lŋŋsuunŋŋwmo, Ñiliirññlŋŋw, Ññiituugu, Ŋwemiisho, Shənañu, Shŋŋwbobŋ, Yŋwke

Female: Bññwiiro, Bolaŋŋishi, Gərañe, Hhiiwŋwwii, Jəŋŋoññiipŋŋ, Ŋŋwədŋŋwŋŋuuta, Pihhii, Rŋŋuuwii, Wubyojoyŋ

Emheel Traits

An undeveloped creature with the shell of an angelic human.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1.
Age. Emheels live a typical angelic lifespan of up to 500 years, reaching maturity at around 80.
Alignment. Emheels outlook on life is very narrowly lawful, but the extent to which they value order over anything else can tilt towards neutral or even evil.
Size. Emheels' internal forms are much smaller than humans, but their outer shell of force brings their height to well over 7 feet. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You angel wings grant you a flying speed of 30 feet.
Double-Hearted. A distinctive synapomorphy of angels is their 2 hearts, set on either side of the body. You can gain up to 7 levels of exhaustion before dying, and gaining one level of exhaustion only causes you to lose your flying speed. Gaining two levels of exhaustion is equivalent to the normal effects of gaining 1 level of exhaustion, and so on.
Synchronize. When you are charmed, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned, or put to sleep by an effect originating from a creature within 120 ft. of you, you can yuse your reaction to force that creature to make a Wisdom saving throw or be affected as well as if they were targeted by the effect. The DC for this saving throw is equal to 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Force Echo. Your outer layer leaves a dimensional trace that protects you from extra-planar effects. You cannot be targeted by divination magic, and you have advantage on Charisma saving throws.
Incubation. Your outer layer protects your inner layer from harsh effects. You are immune to the effects of extreme heat and extreme cold.
Amnion. Your inner layer is nestled in a protective fluid that keeps your body in a neutral, sterile state. You can breathe normally in any environment, and have advantage on saving throws made against harmful gases and vapors (such as cloudkill and stinking cloud effects, inhaled poisons, and the breath weapons of some dragons).
Eggshell. When you are reduced to 0 hit points, your outer layer cracks, revealing your vulnerable inner layer. You gain vulnerability to all damage until you return to your hit point maximum.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Tadlaktian. You can breathe out through your tubes while speaking through your mouth, allowing you to continously talk without pausing for breath.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
7′ 3''	+1d6	150 lb.	× (2d8) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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