Luora

Luora

Ethnic group
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Regions with significant populations
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The Luora are one of the two extant Wolgosid humanoid lineage, the other being the Wolgos. The Luora diverged from their cousin species around forty thousand years ago and around seventy thousand years ago from Humanity. This hominid species numbers less than half a million and is largely concentrated in Northern Davai north of the Half Moon Alps and in the Varadh river basin, a secluded and severe climatic region that has protected the Luora from much human competition until the modern age. In their homelands, they live in highly spread low-density settlements amongst the boreal forests and tundra that dominate northern Davai.

Superficially, the Luora look much like North Anarian humans but certainly share key Wolgosid characteristics and a unique psyche that set them apart from humans and the Wolgos.

Anatomy of the Luora

Resembling the humans in many aspects of their physical appearance, the Luora share a similar stature and skin colouring with the north-central Anarians, sharing traits such as light to dark brown hair and green to brown eyes. This resemblance, however, as a closer look will reveal Wolgosid traits such as double canines, a strong Wolgosid bite, an animal protein-dominant diet, a dislike for overly sweet foods,  and facial features like brow and shape reminiscent of that of the Wolgos.

From a molecular biology standpoint, the Luora have a karyotype with 23 unique chromosomes, much like the Wolgos, and are largely unable to mate with humans to produce offspring successfully.

Unlike their cousins, the Wolgos, the Luora are not albino or as differentiated in their secondary sexual development traits; their height range is more in line with that of humans and has some unique adaptations. They have adapted to living in much colder climates and possess fat distribution that protects key features and body areas from frostbite. Their body hair coverage in males is much denser and more prominent than in most human ethnic groups, and they have denser bodies and narrow nostrils to reduce heat loss. The Luoran metabolism is highly adapted to periods of starvation and low caloric intake, and it is adept at reducing muscle and neural mass loss in cases of extreme starvation; unlike their cousin hominid species, they do not need a daily caloric intake exceeding five thousand calories.

The Luoran likely diverged from the Wolgosid common ancestor to specialise as a scavenger hominid rather than as a specialised predator of humans as the Wolgos did. In their early development, they may have preyed on humans, but this likely never became a key survival strategy.

Psyche of the Luora

Much like the Wolgos at some point in their development when they were a single species, likely when two of their chromosomes merged to form a single new chromosome, the Luora experienced a primordial and fundamental alteration to their expression of empathy, processing of social cues, expressions and interaction. They likely shared a weak sense of empathy, selective but strong relationships, symbolic thinking and a sense of otherness.

Once diverged from the Wolgosid ancestors, the Luoran psyche developed differently from the Wolgos. A weak sense of empathy became apathy rather than a pragmatic callousness. The Luorans developed apathy not just to outsiders but to their kin to a large degree; the Luorans are typically solitary and have extremely small social circles with strong and codependent bonds. Usually, these circles are family-based.

Luoran apathy has developed to the extent that they have little interest in forming complex hierarchies, in being ruled or ruling others. They have little practical comprehension of human social organisation and wolgos unyielding power-based hierarchies. They struggled to form large organised collectives, and their leadership was ephemeral and arose only when truly required. Most organisations within the Luoran communities arise organically and are guided by principles of non-interference of each other and minimising mutual social discomfort, leading to low organisation yet low conflict societies.

The Luorans have a clear grasp of reality and fantasy yet exist and depend on a rich and intricate inner world where they live complex fantasies and interactions, completely absorbed by their interests and curiosities. This a trait universally shared to the degree that Luorans understand their inner worlds as facets of reality as they understand it, meaning Luorans often have highly personal points of reference and cryptic mannerisms that are typically only shared by a single individual or small social circle.

Communication between the Luorans shares a core lexicon and grammar, but it displays a high degree of variation and fragmentation as Luorans vary their language to suit their own personal and inward needs. This means that dialects of Luoran speech are vastly numerous and varied, often with few speakers and, at times, a single to a handful of speakers. In communities and social circles, language is often dominated by reference points to shared inner-world developments, almost as if having inside jokes and expressions came to dominate their expression of language.

Between distant Luorans, communication relies on the core structures of their speech, broader cultural references and non-verbal communication until they have become acquainted with each other idiosyncrasies and inner world expression if they deem it appropriate to share, which they are often cautious in doing so.

Expression in the Luorans relied heavily on their crafts and artefacts, which they created rich in symbolism; these are often used to showcase the inner world expression they wish to share with other Luorans. Often, in spaces frequented by their communities, such as clearings or trails, informal community spaces that act as bulletin boards and non-physical ways of making connections with like-minded individuals are formed. After obtaining writing from humans over two centuries ago, the Luorans have become avid creators of journals and texts they make in notebooks obtained from humans or made by their craftsmen. They filled their notebooks with arcane, disparate, highly personal and cryptic writings and illustrations that only share a superficial art style and literary cohesion. The Luoran art and literature are often disjointed, eclectic, and difficult for outsiders to decipher; their literature styles can seem highly experimental or brute as they lack little interest in studying the styles of others outside that immediately interest them.

Places of frequent Luoran traffic where they seek to trade their wares and resources have come to be dominated by large clusters of round houses used to store and display a large number of notebooks and illustrations, carvings and weaving they make to share with others. Round houses are often brimming with decades, if not older, works, pilling up and disorganised, with outside poles and walls covered with a myriad of notes, opinions and messages about others' work and queries. These clusters are the only truly communal spaces luorans share.

The Luorans are generally utterly disinterested in matters beyond those of their immediate communities or social circles, only possessing a weak and abstract sense of unity amongst their kin. They might be suspicious of outsiders or just completely uninterested and oblivious to outsiders, and they may interfere with their affairs. Their emotional expression is often flat and seemingly tepid to humans. Humans who interact with the Luora describe them as aloof, dismissive, cold, and with little cues for emotional expression. Nevertheless, they have noted that the Luorans can become visibly irritated, hostile or avoidant when humans interfere in their matters.