Races of Adel: The Iomadi

The Iomadi are the race closest to the humans who once ruled the world. While the humans have gone extinct, everything about the Iomadi suggests their continued existence and perhaps evolution. Iomadi are believed to be the de-facto direct descendants of the human race by blood, though this attribution has become somewhat taboo. The Iomadi are the most numerous of the races of adel – over half the population of any given area is likely to be composed of Iomadi.

The word “Iomadi” in the spirit’s tongue means “marked” – unlike human beings, Iomadi are said to be blessed, and their blessing comes in the form of physical markings that serve as their only separation from the aesthetic of the human body. These features of their body are important to their communication and their keener-than-normal senses, and are taken to be the gifts of various spirits. These changes in part attuned the Iomadi to the new world and severed them from the Lost World.

The following is a more thorough look at this race and features that can help to portray them.

Physical Features: Iomadi are basically human in nearly every way – their faces, the general size and shape of their body, the length of their limbs, all take after the human. Most Iomadi have tan or brown skin. For Northern Iomadi, a variation of pink or light skin can also be seen, while Southern Iomadi can be seen with very dark brown or black skin. Most Iomadi have dark, red or brown head hair, and possess thin brows and eyelashes, and tend not to have much facial or body hair. For those that do have more pronounced body hair, they tend to embrace shaving. Iomadi hair can be curly, straight or just somewhat messy, but often grows long. Their faces tend to be fairly slim and delicate in features, for both males and females, though a few Iomadi are more rugged. Body types vary with the individual and his or her circumstances – anything from androgynous slightness, to pleasant plumpness, to heavy substance and muscularity, can be found depending on the life and proclivities of the individual, just like humans. Most are slight, but it’d be unfair to say the species is effete.

There are three kinds of Iomadi. While they are part of the same species, their Markings manifest differently. A Iomadi’s Markings represent a spiritual heritage, and the familiar animal of his or her family line. It is said that the Iomadi were humans who were taught how to survive in the new Adel by the creatures of the land. As such, they are marked in gratitude to these spirits. The most common Iomadi are Tiger Iomadi, named after the spirit tiger Byakko, and they have furry earflaps (pinna) and long furry tails taking after mammalian predators. Iomadi can move their ears and tails, and use them as part of their body language. Phoenix Iomadi are noticeably rarer, and have wing-like ear-flaps and feathered fan-like tails. The most rare of the Iomadi are the Dragon Iomadi, who have scaled, frill-like pinna and scaly, sharp-ended tails.

Iomadi are used to people blending or defying sexual appearance norms within their culture. For some Iomadi, it is not uncommon that a different set of clothes, a new hairstyle, and some makeup is enough to pass as another sex. While, for example, a male would obviously not have breasts and undressing would reveal the truth, slight males and rugged females can still skip the sexes visually. Adelian culture in general does not have strict or enforced gender “roles.” To the Iomadi, a person “being” male or female goes beyond characteristics, and is in the realm of the mind and soul. So a male person identifying as female or dressing and behaving female, or vice versa is not strange or taboo for Adelians.

Life And Growth: Aside from their markings, Iomadi are basically humans in every aspect. Iomadi generally live to 100 if they don’t suffer violence or ill health. They tend to start walking and talking at age 2 or 3 and are able to reproduce beginning at around 11 or 12, but reach complete maturity at about 15 or 16. Most laws consider them under their parent’s protection until 16 or 17, but many can join the military at 15. At around 38 to 45 they begin to manifest signs of wear and tear, such as graying hair and the beginnings of wrinkles around the eyes and mouth. By about 75 they are venerable and have lost much of their healthy spark, though they are not as helpless or crippled as one might envision.

Place In History: Iomadi are the majority of Adel’s population, composing over half the population in any given area and indeed in the world as a whole. During the Aptoan Empire age, the imperial line of the Aptoa and its hierarchy was largely dominated by Iomadi. However, Iomadi dominated other Iomadi – the struggle of the Intolerable War was more nationalist and class-based than a racial struggle. The other Adelian races don’t hold the Aptoan Empire against the Iomadi, in fact being the majority of the Adelian population, the villager Iomadi were also the majority of the sufferers. Some Iomadi, however, can feel that they have something to atone for in the blood shed during the Intolerable War.

Tails And Ears: A Iomadi’s ears and tail are used as part of its body language. Some expressions:

Ears Standing Up: Alarm, surprise, alertness. Can also be used to silently show distress.

Ears Wagging: Happiness, levity, eagerness. Can be done to scare off bugs floating around.

Droopy/Folded ears: Weariness, sadness, injury. Ears drop during sleep to keep bugs out.

Ears straight out: The neutral position of a Iomadi’s pinna is perpendicular to the eyes.

Tail dropped, swaying gently: This is the neutral position of a Iomadi’s tail.

Tail-Fan Closed, Dropped: As above, for Phoenix Iomadi with a tail-fan.

Tail dropped, swaying hard: Nervousness, alarm, or trauma.

Tail-Fan raised, feathers spread: As above, for Phoenix Iomadi with a tail-fan.

Tail dropped, stiff, unmoving: Fear or pain, or the Iomadi might be holding a breath.

Tail-Fan raised, feathers closed: As above, for Phoenix Iomadi with a tail-fan.

Stiff, straight tail: Aggression, anger or tight focus on an activity. Same for tail-fans.

Tail curled around waist: A kind of relaxed, inviting, healthy gesture.

Tails touching: This is a flirtatious sort of maneuver, touching a tail with your own.

Tail-fan gently opening and closing: As the above two for flirtatious Phoenix Iomadi.

Grabbing somebody’s ears can be playful (albeit it is also an invasion of space if you don’t know the person you’re touching), but touching someone’s tail with your hand is not very tolerated among the Iomadi except with very close people and with much gentleness. Among parents, squeezing the tail of a child is seen as a form of beating. The tail is sensitive, and a hard hold of it can be very painful, particularly if it was moving. No Iomadi actually covers his or her tail with an outfit – they always come out of a hole. A Iomadi that loses a tail might grow a smaller one. Phoenix Iomadi have an easier time replacing their tail, since most of it is feathers. Tail-taboos still apply, but not for physical reasons.

Some Iomadi, particularly kids in their games, develop secret codes using their tails and ears. This can also be useful to adults, who might say, wag their ears three times to represent something to others silently. For most onlookers, the Iomadi is merely happy, but it is actually communicating something else entirely.