Makani

[HollowWorld]

[Art Credit: Elz]



[ THE MAKANI ]
The Makani are avian humanoids indigenous to the rocky island of Vata’inu, a previously unknown landmass that had drifted through the skies of Altera for millennia. Since the fall of Vata’inu the Makani have been scattered across the Northern Continent, taking up residence in other towns or cities and creating new settlements for the Makani. While some may claim to still remember the floating cliffs of Vata’inu, many Makani are now having to grow up in Altera never having known the graceful peaks of their ancestral home.

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Physical Attributes

The Makani look like average-sized humanoids with taloned feet and hands, digitigrade legs, and a birdlike beak. Their bodies are covered in a mixture of hard flight feathers and soft contour feathers which allow them to take flight and retain a modest amount of heat. Upon their backs are large wings that enable a Makani to fly to great heights for long periods of time. ​

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Weight & Height

Most Makani are within the same range of height as other Alteran races, ranging between 5' and 6' feet tall. Due to their hollow bones most Makani are 10-15% lighter than a humanoid of their size would be. Their feathers and scaly skin are a variety of colors and shapes dependent on clan and gender, and females are generally taller than the males. While Makani carry many avian traits they are not birds, and do not carry any bird-like traits other than the ones listed. Makani all have the same skeletal structure, and thus while some Makani may have the feather patterns of a bird, their heads are not different shapes or sizes.​

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Pregnancy

While Makani carry many traits of typical birds, they are not birds. Makani do not lay eggs, and instead have live-birth just as every humanoid on Altera does. The pregnancy of a Makani is one of the shortest on Altera, lasting only four months from contraception. A Makani will typically give birth to anywhere from one to three children, but the complication caused by wings means giving birth is more perilous to the Makani mother than other races. Baby Makani are born with a soft white down which will slowly turn into the more rigid colorful feathers needed for flight. They will not be capable of full flight until the age of 16, though many can briefly glide by the age of 10.​

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Sexual Dimorphism

There are few differences between male and female Makani. Both come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, and are thus hard to distinguish. While the females do lack mammary organs, which gives both males and females a generic body profile, the females are slimmer and generally taller than the more broad-chested, shorter males. The only other difference is in a female’s head feathers, which are much longer than that of a male.​

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Traits & Abilities

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Flight

The Makani’s most defining trait is their wings. These large feathered appendages allow Makani to take flight and were useful for commuting across the floating island of Vata’inu. A Makani's wings are capable of carrying them in flight, but are not strong enough to support any significant amount of additional weight; they are unable to fly if carrying another person, if wearing any sort of metal armor other than gauntlets or greaves, or if otherwise encumbered by anything weighing more than ~50 pounds/22kgs. Flight will also be prevented if a Makani is fully submerged in water, their feathers being more akin to that of an eagle or hawk than the hydrophobic feathers of a duck, though they are still capable of flying in rain or snow.​

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Grooming

Hygiene is very important to Makani, though it is not quite like that of a normal humanoid. Instead, they must focus on two important things: Keeping their beak sharpened and preening their feathers. Makani can be found chewing on small bones or sticks with their beak to keep it from overgrowing, wearing down any chips or growths. Throughout the day a Makani will preen their feathers to ensure they’re aligned. Unaligned feathers can be uncomfortable or even painful to a Makani.​

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Senses

While a human's senses are balanced out reasonably well, the Makani have a vastly different balance due to adaptations to flight and their pseudo-relation with birds. A Makani's eyesight is their most powerful sense, capable of seeing small movements from high in the air and perceiving every detail from dozens of meters away. The ears of a Makani are adapted for the high-pitched language of the skies, and thus struggle to hear in the lower pitch at a distance. This has no mechanical effect on their hearing but is reflected in their Racial Bonus within the [Character Stats System].​

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Yakai

While many would assume that Makani sound like birds when speaking their native tongue, this is not the case. The Makani’s language is called Yavei, and is more akin to an alien melodic sound than it is to any bird. The full language and its influences can be found [Here]. Many Makani have a very limited understanding of Common, passed down by Makani who had met Groundlings many years ago.​

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Common Names​

Females- Vatuei, Evani, Mava, Yakaya, Vamai, Eeyei, Mawei​

Males- Amuus, Luo, Tei, Malo, Esuus, Mako, Keimos, Latis, Tama​

[Art Credit: Porokelle]​

Credit:
2023:
Solus, Arget Istalri for formal 2.0 Updates to Makani. Lore team for review.
Sankera for formatting.

2017:
NIAH for the original lore.