THE FLARI

Introduction

Once a widespread people, inhabiting lands as distant as eastern Ralios, the Flari are now almost entirely restricted to the forests of Rathorela. Even so, they still number around 20,000, making them one of the more numerous of the 'minor' hsunchen races. Like their totem, they are primarily nocturnal, although do sometimes hunt during the day if food is scarce.

They live in nuclear familes, with kinship traced through the female line. Individual families cluster about the homes of shamans, but there is no overall social structure. Homes are simple huts made of wattle and daub. As is typical among hsunchen, the men are hunters while the women gather leaves, roots and nuts. Trade in goods between different families is quite common, and the shaman mediates such deals when disputes arise.

Only during time of war will the Flari unite, and such events are rare. If a sufficient number of the shamans in a region agree that a threat must be countered with force, a number of Flari hunters may gather together, and, while they fight as individual warriors, all will place themselves under the authority of the shamans for the duration of the conflict. As of 1620, such an event has not occured since the Ban. Unsurprisingly, the Flari prefer to fight at night whenever possible, employing hit and run tactics against their opponents and disappearing back into the darkness. They are especially famed - and feared - for their powers of stealth and their natural night-vision which allow them to rapidly approach an enemy without him noticing.

Flari shamans may be of either gender, but always perform the traditional tasks of the opposite sex, so that women hunt and men forage and look after children. The spouse of the shaman also takes part in this role reversal, allowing the family to be properly fed.

Appearance

The Flari are a stocky Wareran people, with pale skin and blond hair. Both sexes keep their hair short and daub dark plant pigments in circles around their eyes, making them look larger. Clothing is composed of white-tawed leather (which appears much paler than the tanned variety), turned inside out so as to provide a fur-covered inner lining to which down feathers may also be added. Hooded tunic, trews, boots and mittens cover all of the body except the face, which is essential for activity in the cold north Fronelan nights. The fur is turned outside around the circular rim of the hood, combining with the eye-circles to create a particularly round looking face.

The clothing of shamans is decorated with feathers and small talismans of bone or ivory to indicate their special status and to act as foci for the numerous spirit magics under the shaman's command.

OWLS

Natural habitat: any except ocean or bare icecap
Distribution: throughout Glorantha
Adult size: 14-71 cm head/body length, 50-4000 g

There are over a hundred species of owl, ranging from Zamokil to Fronela, and varying greatly in terms of habitat, size and colouration. All however, are broadly the same shape. The Flari are associated with more than one species, the most important being the barn owl Tyto alba. Others include the horned owl, Bubo loskalmiatus, the snowy owl Nyctea porentica and the red owl Strix rufus.

Females are generally larger than males, and lay a small number of eggs (usually 2-5) which hatch after 4-5 weeks, during which the male hunts while the mother sits on the nest. Owls generally nest in holes in cliffs or trees, although buildings are frequently appropriated in civilised regions, and the snowy owl just scrapes a shallow hole in the ground. They generally eat ground-dwelling mammals, ranging from mice to hares, but will also eat insects and the occasional arboreal mammal. Owls are not generally social animals.

Stats

RQ3: Use the 'hawk' stats (Creatures Book p24) adding Sneak 80+29.

GURPS: (see GURPS Bestiary p26)