Races of Eden: The Cuporo

Well in tune with nature, both theirs, the world’s and those of other people, the Cuporo are sociable and curious little beings. Their connection to Adel’s flora is mild, and what they are truly known for is their incredible memory for songs, stories and other lore, which they absorb since childhood and grow to share with others. Lovers of travel and meeting new souls, the Cuporo are welcome members of Eden’s cultural and academic establishments.

Physiology

The Cuporo can be considered rather short from the perspective of other races. They rarely reach more than 5’1″ in height – the tallest Cuporo on record was about 5’3″ in height. They average around 4’11″ and somewhere between 90 and 120 lbs. The Cuporo despite their height tend to be well-proportioned, though some are a bit plump. Their facial structure is more often round, and they tend to have small noses and ears. Cuporo’s skin can be green or earth-toned, with a dark, sandy coloration being the most common. Their hair is usually brown, sandy-colored or rust red, capable of growing fairly long and straight, though it is sometimes rather frizzy or curly as well. Their eyes tend towards darker colors.

Most Cuporo don’t have much facial or body hair, but an interesting quirk of theirs is growing plant matter from their bodies. Vines may grow along their hair, flowers might sprout from their heads, moss and fungus might cling to them. While a particularly dirty Iomadi may have a thick, scraggly beard, the Cuporo equivalent would be moss hanging from the face, or scab-like fungus across the body. Cuporo’s health can be easily noted by the sorts of plants growing on them. They tend to remove these – they are annoying and parasitical, and other people have a tendency touch or pluck them like they’re public goods. However, female Cuporo tend to leave a particularly nice flower on their heads or hair. This is a sign of physical maturity that female Cuporo feel proud to display, since they aren’t particularly curvy even as adults like other race’s females.

Cuporo males and females vary from having few differences to being as radically different as male and female humans. Some Cuporo might look like green dwarfs while others are fine as small elves, and others have a more distinct “Cuporo” look – average weight, good proportions, round face, average build. Cuporo don’t tend to show many signs of aging.

History

Along with the Iomadi and Setah, Cuporo are known as being part of the “landed races” on Adel, as opposed to the “island races” like the Damakran and Athirua (or whatever one classifies the Dromidae as). They grew on the mainland of Adel alongside the Iomadi and Setah and quickly joined their culture. Like the rare Anpe, Cuporo served as lorekeepers, storytellers and scouts. They blended in well in the wilderness, were quick on their feet and thoughts, and have great memories. Many of the detailed historical accounts and mythical stories were preserved by Cuporo minds.

Cuporo were somewhat disdained for their tendency to talk and travel. In a time of questionable loyalties, the flighty Cuporo were some of the most questionable. During the Intolerable War they were less participants than record-keepers. Even those who participated in great battles accomplished little themselves, preferring to record the heroics of others and to relish the movement of their feet across many surfaces of Adel. Nowadays thanks to the national culture they are even freer to move about as they please and are hard to keep tied down.

Way of Life

Cuporo are travelers by heart, but they can settle down. Usually after a while. Because they don’t show many signs of aging, most Cuporo in villages are actually rather old and don’t seem much like it. The girl you saw carrying a bucket of water from the river might be 50 or 60 years old. They tend to serve as storytellers and record-keepers, as well as doing whatever manual labor is expected of anybody. Despite their size, Cuporo can be strong, and despite their sometimes child-like attitude, they can be fierce.

They make up a lot of the academia and many also serve (or own part of) the great mercantile interests in Periterim (and Sargasso, on a lesser note). When a Cuporo wants to get away but can’t, due to some obligation or another, one option for them is to join the Clergy. It is an option that many have taken, as the first pilgrimage of a cleric is a divine right, and they are allowed to take their first plunge into the wider world any time after their initial training. Arcanists are also well represented in the Cuporo race, with many having been the first to discover new magic from deciphering pre-Cataclysm texts.

Mythologically, the Cuporo believed that Paikar planted them on the ground and grew them in her garden. They could see far into the horizon from the enormous mythical tree of which they were fruit, and they longed to see it all, so they struggled and tossed and turned until they were released from their floral bonds, and could roam the world. They don’t, however, bear any ill will towards their supposed creator, and neither does she to them.

Cuporo pair up within their own race about as much as they pair up with Iomadi. They don’t tend to couple with Damakran or Athirua. Cuporo are known for playing hard-to-get in romance, but in reality they are just as likely to be forward about their emotions as they are to be teasing and guarded. Whichever route they take, they are the type that will get flamboyant with their declarations, using their learning to create grandiose displays of affection. Cuporo are very romantic in that sense.

Being plant-like, Cuporo enjoy the sunlight, though this is a mostly psychological trait. Bathing in the sun is a good placebo for them, but it does not actually have many pronounced benefits to them or their parasite plants.

Social Standing

Cuporo occupy almost all walks of life. There are Cuporo in the congress of Andaliel, in the nobility of Emderuer and the oligarchy of Periterim. They exist in the smallest rural villages and largest towns. Nobody really begrudges anything from a Cuporo, nor asks them anything. In a sense, one waits to see what a Cuporo will do or offer. The Cuporo are a people with many ideas, so it is difficult to judge them or expect them. That being said, one always thinks that a Cuporo will have something to say, whether it be wise or stupid. The only thing not expected of them is quiet.

The plant-like aspects of the Cuporo physiology, their “parasite plants,” are linked to many superstitions. Some include that plucking leaves off a Cuporo is good luck, or that taking the flower off a Cuporo and giving it to your bride will insure a long-lasting marriage. Though these kinds of beliefs have been steadily declining, it’s something Cuporo are still self-conscious about. The amount of parasite-plants on a Cuporo is a show of his or her confidence or power – if a Cuporo only has one flower on its head, she is not tempting anyone to take it. But someone with many not only revels in such beauty, but is probably quite ready to grievously punish trespassers, no matter how well meaning.

Cuporo In Play

Childish tricksters, knowledge-hungry scholars, weathered and wise veterans, are all roles that could be easily played by a Cuporo. The traveling bard could be a Cuporo, as could the sheltered student. Cuporo’s defining traits are their curiosity, eagerness to travel and see the world, and their appreciation for other cultures. Cuporo are not prejudiced – every cultural trait has a place in the banks of their memories. Cuporo are exceptional wielders of either type of magic, and make good scouts and stalkers due to their size and physique. Cuporo rarely become bruisers, though this is not impossible. Cuporo distinguish themselves not just by their physical appearances, which can vary in interesting ways, but also by what forms the traits their races shares manifests in. Is your Cuporo smug for all its learning, vain for all its traveling? Has it grown wiser, or has all the knowledge it has gained merely been stored away to be used for empty cleverness? Or perhaps, does your Cuporo not have a love of learning at all? Perhaps it has grown weary of the world from all that it has seen, or all that it has been told.

And in the end, what is your character’s goal in a life of travel and learning? Does it want to pass it on to others, keep it to itself, or amass it for some other purpose or power?