Hailene were one of the original races brought to Ere during Saint’s Landing. They were once the favored of the god Justicar, but when the gods became distant, the hailene fell from grace and made war with the other races – a war known as the War of Ascension. Beings of immense grace and magical proclivity, the hailene mar these qualities with haughtiness comparable to that of dwarves.

Personality: Almost all hailene are possessed with a sense of self superiority, the result of being trained as such from birth. Because of this, most hailene have quirks developed from years of posturing. For example, many have amazing posture from years of standing up straight to appear taller, or deeper, more commanding voices from trying to assert dominance on their peers. Hailene that have been socialized among non-hailene races quickly learn to hide this smugness, though they revert to it just as quickly if insulted.

Most hailene are driven to prove that they are the best in their field and quickly become competitive with anyone who threatens this self image. Failures are take particularly hard, or covered up with celerity.

Physical Description: Hailene stand between five foot ten and seven feet tall and weight between eighty and one hundred and twenty pounds. They are humanoid, having two arms and two legs.

A pair of white or grey feathered wings grows from their backs, emerging just between their shoulder blades and spanning up twelve feet. When not in use, these wings close tightly against their back. These feathers are waterproof and fire retardant and when healthy, remarkably difficult to remove from the wing.

At birth, these wings are soft with down and dappled brown and white. From the ages of nine and fourteen, these feathers fall out and flight feathers grow in. Once their flight feathers have grown in, many hailene decorate their feathers with tribal tattoos. Tribal elders or those in similar positions of power have their feathers dyed completely black or sky blue to ensure their underlings know their status

Relations: Relations: Racial relations between hailene and non-hailene are often strained purely due to the inherent delusions of granduer hailene are possessed of. Hailene strongly believe that their race is superior to all others and are quick to point it out, which grates on the nerves of most other races.

The memory of the Hailene War of Ascension remains with many individuals both of other races and hailene. Minotaurs in particular have a strong oral history that has kept hailene atrocities fresh in their cultural minds. Many hailene also toil under the shadow of the war; either seeking a way to repent for the sins of their forefathers, or seeking to complete what they started.

Hailene Lands: Hailene have always claimed Illium as their homeland, even as they maintain that the first of their number arrived on Ere with the Greater Pantheon during Saint’s Landing. Illium has yet to fully recover from the War of Ascension; with a few fledgling cities rising out of the corpse of a once great empire.

Other hailene communities were displaced to the mainland after the war. They now live in closely knit, remote communities along cliff faces and atop hills. Each such colony is ruled by a council of elder sorcerers and inborn casters known as rook lords that protect the colony and serve as envoys to the nations that play their hosts.

Religion:Hailene despise the gods for casting them down, but fear them because they do not wish to be eradicated. As such, they have instead raised up a number of hero-gods to worship (especially on Illium). Devotion to these heroes, most of whom share credit for ensuring the survival of the hailene race after the war, is not strong enough to provide clerics with spells, but they do usually enjoy followings in multiple communities.

Hailene living on the mainland are sometimes far enough removed from the bitterness of their abandonment by Justicar and Dey’s reprisal that they do accept some of the other members of the Pantheon; particularly Hessa and Sylph. Those who are especially bitter sometimes turn to the Threefold Moon, seduced by the promise that the god wishes to destroy the Greater Pantheon.

Surprisingly, some repentant hailene have in recent decades taken to serving Dey, the very goddess who destroyed their empire. These individuals are often disavowed by Illium based hailene and labeled as ang’hailene.

Language: Hailene speak Ancient and are often schooled in Common in communities with good education systems.

Names: Hailene tend toward grandiose names, but use human names when forced to travel into other lands.
Male Names: Alexander, Cristoff, Vaughn, Corwell
Female Names: Larrissa, Avianna, Laurielle, Seirra
Family Names: Lightwings, Starseeker, Goodfeather, Worldreigner

Adventurers: A hailene who is a career adventurer is usually an ang’hailene who has no place in contemporary hailene society or one who has grown tired of the strictures and constant supremacy battles back home. Few adventure purely for money, but as a means to achieve the fame and glory that all hailene aspire to.