Drahar

Drahar
Plural	Drahari

The Drahari are a hardy, cliff-dwelling species that carve their homes directly into the sheer rock faces of Orrakar’s canyons. The Drahari thrive in the vertical realm of the canyon walls, creating sprawling, interconnected pueblo-like settlements across the cliffs.

Though they live high above the canyon floor, the Drahari are relentless scavengers, descending daily to forage, hunt, and salvage whatever the winds and erosion bring. Nothing is wasted in Drahari culture—what is lost to time, they reclaim; what is buried, they unearth. They are the canyon’s memory, holding onto what erosion seeks to erase.

Physical Characteristics

• Stony, Layered Skin – Their rough, dust-colored skin is thick and ridged, mimicking weathered rock, making them nearly indistinguishable from the canyon walls when still.
• Hooked Hands & Feet – Their powerful, gripping fingers and toes allow them to climb sheer rock with ease, enabling them to move across cliffs like living sculptures of stone.
• Seismic Perception – Though they have small, dark eyes, they rely more on vibrations to sense movement, allowing them to detect falling debris, shifting rock, or distant footsteps before they are seen.
• Expandable Jaw & Storage Pouch – Their lower jaws can widen significantly, allowing them to carry scavenged materials or food, while a throat pouch stores excess finds for later use.

Culture and Society

1. Cliffside Pueblos & Vertical Settlements

• The Drahari do not build on the canyon floor—instead, they excavate the cliffs, carving multi-chambered dwellings into the stone like ancient cliff pueblos.
• Their cities are a maze of interconnected tunnels, rope bridges, and suspended platforms, with some homes abandoned mid-construction as the rock naturally erodes.
• The higher a Drahari’s dwelling, the more prestigious their status, as only the strongest climbers can maintain homes in the most unstable peaks.

2. Scavengers & Salvagers of the Canyon Floor

• Every day, Drahari descend into the ever-changing canyon floor, searching for whatever erosion has unearthed.
• They collect fallen fruit from high-altitude trees, carcasses of canyon beasts, remnants of old settlements, and materials washed in by seasonal floods.
• Some scavengers take greater risks, venturing into unsteady, crumbling sections of the canyon where the greatest treasures—and dangers—lie.

3. Philosophy of Erosion & Reclamation

• The Drahari do not see erosion as destruction—they see it as renewal, an endless cycle of revealing what was hidden.
• To the Drahari, nothing truly disappears; it is merely buried, waiting to be found again.
• They never carve symbols or written records—instead, they pass down knowledge through stories and markings on objects, knowing that one day their homes will crumble, but their history will survive in what they leave behind.

History and Legends

1. The Hollow Feast (Honoring What Is Lost)

• When a structure collapses or an artifact is found, the Drahari hold a Hollow Feast—they prepare a communal meal, placing an empty plate for whatever was lost.
• The plate is then shattered and buried at the canyon’s edge, symbolizing acceptance of erosion’s will.

2. The Wind’s Challenge (Coming of Age Ritual)

• Young Drahari must descend alone into the canyon floor, retrieve a fallen relic from the past, and return to the highest cliff dwelling without being seen by other tribesmen.
• The challenge is not about the relic itself, but about proving that they understand the canyon—that they can predict shifts in rock, avoid dangerous winds, and move unseen like the ancestors did.

3. The Lost Vaults (Legends of What Lies Beneath)

• Drahari oral tradition speaks of vast, forgotten chambers hidden beneath the canyon, where entire civilizations once stood, buried by time.
• Some believe that the deepest ruins still contain knowledge or spirits from a forgotten age, waiting for erosion to uncover them again.
• Few dare to seek them, as it is said that what is buried is not always meant to be found.