The Bratun

 

This time we look at the last of the major sentient species of the setting, the Bratun.  Having previously looked at all the others both common and uncommon in Gal Hadre, though perhaps some of those older blog posts should be revisited.  Hopefully next week we will back at a more detailed look at some of the pantheon of the gods.

The only sentient plant species of the world, they are an uncommon sight in Gal Hadre as they, like the Carvax, originate in the southern continent and the Bratun do not like sailing any considerable distance.  Like any other plants they require sunlight to function, but can go for days without any though they become lethargic the longer they go without.  At a quick glance they can be mistaken for a tree, but any attention will show their relatively humanoid form.  They stand from about five and half to seven feet tall when fully grown.  Their two arm branches are long compared to that of most other sentients.  They can willingly choose to anchor themselves on any ground that roots can penetrate reasonably quickly, becoming very hard to move; they generally need to do this semi-regularly in sunlight to maintain proper energy levels.

As Bratun don’t reproduce like other sentients they don’t have the same concepts of gender or family the others do.  Bratun children are hard to attribute to any specific Bratun adults from the area and are generally raised by the entire village, eventually apprenticing to one of the older Bratun with similar aptitudes.  This makes inheritance and succession a complex problem for more developed Bratun societies.

If a Bratun is killed their body will begin to rot very quickly, in most Bratun cultures any dead are burned shortly after they die.  Unlike other sentients, they do not appear to become Vrak.  Unless Bratun are actively killed however they don’t seem to truly die, instead becoming more and more fixed in place starting around 130 years old, before eventually being unable to move.  If this happens in the wrong place, the Bratun will be left isolated and rather quickly go completely insane.  Many Bratun also do not wish to spend decades rooted in one place and effectively choose to die rather than continue in such a form.  

Bratun are cautious around fire, and generally their smithing lags behind other species; in mixed species settlements it is very rare to find a Bratun smith.  But Bratun are experts at growing plants and don’t need to devote any significant resources to growing food.  In mixed communities there are usually Bratun who make a living as herbalists, selling high grade healing and other products.

Bratun settlements look odd to outsiders, with far fewer and generally smaller structures than other sentients require.  These are mainly storage and workshops as the Bratun are almost always comfortable outside in all but the most extreme temperatures.  With this lesser concern for structures it is often hard for outsiders to even find a Bratun village in a forest as it generally blends in much easier.  It is only when Bratun feel that a location needs to be defended or becomes fairly large that it really stands out from the forest around it.

While Bratun can use all paths of dragon magic they tend to avoid using the path of living fire and the path of the manifest beast, though some younger mages have begun to experiment with the later to see if there are ways to use it to allow them to manifest the traits of other plants, and their mages generally use the path of stone awakened, the glacial path and the path of life.  Many of their most powerful magic users can fuse the path of stone awakened and the path of life to create spells that can cause rapid growth of plant life, or temporarily granting a tree or large shrub a shadow of sentience for a few moments.

Most Bratun in Gal Hadre hail from the northern coast of the southern continent either from the Narsan of Magel or the Land of the Three Princes.  The main Bratun concentrations in Gal Hadre tend to be in and around the major ports of Aclimdan and Sangad, primarily around Hurras, Hadtus, Norr and Rawg.  Few have travelled inland, and the communities are small, with no circles of wisdom to call upon for advice.

The Delosians of Kreos Phal are well aware of the Bratun, mainly because of the Delosian daughter-city of Plaskun on the island Kingdom of Zanzorzat, off the northern coast of the southern continent.  Few Bratun have travelled back to Delos other than diplomatic groups back to the mother cities of Plaskun, Ekael and Haellos.  It is possible that there are more Bratun in parts of the east and south of Kreos Phal that are less well known to the lands of Gal Hadre.

Unlike many other species where there are certain parts of the world that are almost entirely one species, the Bratun almost always live in areas that others live in as well even if individual settlements are divided, that doesn’t mean however that Bratun cannot live in the same settlements as others, though they do not like to live in fairly large settlements that lack any real greenery.  They will travel into those places rather than living in them.

None of this means that Bratun as a species are anti-technology, they will happily make and use advanced tools and weapons including metal ones.  In conflict between various groups of Bratun, they favour heavy edged weapons like axes, glaives or halberds as their bark-like exterior is resistant to light slashes and their bodies care less for blunt force trauma than many animals.

What do you think of the Bratun?  Are there any gaps you think should be filled in the various sentients of my setting?  Which one did you find the most interesting overall?  Should I do updated blog posts about the Tund, Werd and the like?