Title: Ashkar

Appearance: Ashkar rarely appears in full form as he is often at task around the world. When he does appear, he is often accompanied by tornadoes or in the calm of a hurricane eye. He appears as a translucent towering giant, robed only in clouds. He has twelve mouths, each a direction of the wind that speak in chorus, shining white eyes and a strong equine nose.

Domain: Winds, Storms, Rain, Mountains, Valleys

Alignment: Neutral

Personality:As fickle as his dominion he can also be very stubborn. He has many secrets and a raging temper.

Symbol: Three horizontal lines with a circle on the top and bottom.

Method of Worship: To honor Ashkar, followers walk traditional and sacred paths along steep cliff walls, into valleys and across plains. Some of these journeys take weeks, with some followers perishing along the way. There are thousands of songs, chants and prayers that are recited/played at different altars along these sacred paths. Offerings at these altars include burning incense and herbs. Some tribes commit there dead at the altar and leave the bodies for carrion birds in a ritual called a Sky Burial.

Prayers to Ashkar mostly ask for favorable winds (metaphorically and literally) in certain ventures, business and otherwise. Ashkar is not feared per say, but rather understood as having great power and capable of destroying crops and cities in the form of storms, hurricanes etc.

Race: The Garuda

Race Name: The Garuda

Description:
The Garuda are a humanoid people of the plains, valleys and mountains spanning dozens of tribes and sub-ethnicities. They take their name from an ancient (and probably mythical) mountain called Garuda, the palace of the god of Wind & Storm, Ashkar.

The Garuda are dark complected, with black to light brown hair, large facial features and short stature. They are close to nature, living harmoniously with the creatures of the plains, mountains and valleys they inhabit, but wary of other races.

Strengths: The Garuda are great hunters, trackers and fighters.

Weaknesses: Fighting among the Garuda tribes is common, often over resources or for some honor debt. They also have a very low population over a great area with a low birth/survival rate.

Economy/Industry: The Garuda are traders, trappers and hunters. They use a large variety of animals and animal-by-products. Smoking, curing meat. They keep sheep and cows, hunt bear, deer, wolves, foxes, rabbits etc. They are great fisherman and are excellent guides through mountains and valleys.

Buildings:
The Valley: While not a building (in game terms) the Valley is a communal location for any/all of the tribes to gather as needed. Resources are collected here and can be fortified in case of attack. Basically where all the buildings (in game terms) will be constructed, as the Garuda are technically nomadic in nature.

Wind Altar Atop the sacred mountain near the Valley. Central location of worship, the central hub for all of the 'sacred paths' and primary burial site.

Smoke House Meat and fish are gathered and preserved here for the winter months.

Forge Not much here yet, but a fire is always burning. Crude stone tools and weapons are fashioned here.

Method of making more of their kind : Live Birth, usually one child is birthed at a time but twins and even triplets occasionally.