To hunt is our purpose.

  There are ancient stories passed down through the voices of our ancestors that whisper of the Master of the Hunt. Some might call him our god, our creator. If that is true, he is our god no longer and we know nothing else of him. Our purpose, we know, was to hunt.   Across Nine Horizons, we chased our prey. Sometimes the stories tell of a great bear, white as snow. Sometimes it is a wolf, or a spider, or a dragon. And sometimes, it is a woman not too unlike ourselves. All the stories end the same; in failure.   Our prey led us across the stars, our stories say, and into the wilds of this world. Impossibly, they escaped and we could not find their trail. Our people, for the first time, were truly lost and without purpose. That is when the Solar Titan reached out his hand and broke our chains.   For many generations we hunted on the dunes, slipping like shadows through the desert nights unimpeded. We found others like us and some not at all like us. Trade was free and so were we.   The Turmoil brought devastation to all but in the aftermath, our numbers were so few. In our moment of weakness, the humans who had settled the deserts, whom we had traded peacefully with for so long, forced us off our hunting grounds. Many of us were enslaved and still so many suffer under that yoke.   Our story singers still whisper our origins to young Ziin. And slowly we are gaining our strength, remembering our purpose. Our purpose is to hunt.  

Ziin

Ziin'ellar tend to be slight, light of foot and nimble. They range from bronzed tan to dark red-brown, so as to blend with the sand and earth of the deserts. Their large ears, like other Ellar, are pointed but much more pronounced than the others. Their eyes are the most striking feature they have; bright and shining like molten metal of gold or bronze.   The clothing they wear is optimized for moving quickly and silently through the sands. They tend to forego things that reflect or shine and have the uncanny ability to disappear in the slightest shadow.   They are nomadic, living in tribal groups that travel through the deserts of what is now Sitaar. There are many Ziin'ellar, however, that live in the towns and cities of Sitaar in indentured servitude to the humans. This has led to many of the nomadic tribes to adopt a xenophobic mentality, preferring to simply attack any strangers who approach them than risk trusting potential slavers.  

Way Singers

The Way Singers are the keepers of the history and wisdom of the Ziin'ellar people. They are said to have the ability to see paths that are kept hidden even from the gods and they sing the history of their race to each generation. Few Way Singers are left, but rumors of a hidden sect dedicated to teaching younger Ziin to sing have begun to spread.