Voliere

Appearing alongside each other, early Dwarven text describes the Voliere and Högg as having a collaborative relationship. Much changed in the perspective of the Short-beaked Voliere however, as they grew accustomed to the sky and began to look down on the other races. Due to their natural hunting ability, the Short-beaked Voliere took on leadership positions early on in Voliere societies. Not having much choice, the Long-beaked and Flightless Voliere followed suit and had to abandon their Högg friends.

After flying above the world for many centuries, the Short-beaks decided that they are its rightful owners. They hope to create a far reaching empire, mostly consisting of the various mountain ranges around the planet. This is because they believe the mountains are the closest to their Goddess, Aeirdr. They also believe their god, Feuervogel, will bring forth a great rebirth on the world, rightfully placing the Short-beaks at the top of every race. Lamentably for the Högg, they also choose to live in the mountains. This eventually led to heinous battles between the Högg and Voliere, in which the Voliere claimed victory and sequentially enslaved them, using them to create towers on mountain peaks. These towers look similar to volcanoes; and they serve as altars and temples to Feuervogel - the God of Rebirth, who is depicted as a Phoenix.

They operate under an Authoritarian Empire with a caste system. The caste is decided by many factors, but it can be summarized into one word -- beauty. Conventional beauty standards in the empire are usually constrained to only include the Short-beaks, however there are some Long-beaked Voliere in the upper caste. The upper caste live luxurious lives high up in the mountains, where they are provided all necessities and the ability to govern. The middle caste mostly consists of Long-beaked Voliere. The middle caste has many different professions, including landowners, explorers, and traders. They are largely responsible for connecting the Voliere economy with the rest of the world, as most of the other races are not allowed in the capital city. Finally, the lower caste is comprised of the “ugly ducklings.” This mostly includes Flightless Voliere, but it can also include Short-beak and Long-beak Voliere who are deemed ugly by the emperor. The purpose of the lower caste is to gather whatever the upper caste may need, heeding to their every whim. Because of this, many Flightless Voliere tend to escape the empire, integrating into the other societies in whatever way they can find. They hope that this will help to lighten the harsh reputation that the Voliere has around the world.

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