Raghyneos

Tysm! This means a lot to me!

[CA Race Lore] - THE AURELLAE Lanternfolk, Amberkin, or Honey-Moths. 1. INTRODUCTION / OVERVIEW. The AURELLAE —more often called lanternfolk, amberkin, or, when people feel less generous, honey-moths—are not easy to spot. They are rare. Imagine humanoid figures wrapped in soft chitinous plates, their antennae twitching while wings look almost too fragile for the world. Waxcraft, garden rituals, lanterns, migration, moth-light, and quiet, steady labor all seep into their culture. Do not picture them as giant insects, drones, or commanders of swarms. That misses the point. They are people, really. Odd at first glance, yes, but full of feeling, prone to mistakes, and defined by variety. Some stay gentle, tending lanterns or gardens. Others carve out lives as criminals, wanderers, priests, merchants, scholars, soldiers, or even outcasts who want nothing to do with tradition. Their niche is not raw combat power. Instead, their stories lean into community, fear, beauty, craft, transformation, the loneliness of being an outsider, and the push-and-pull between seeming monstrous while being so deeply, plainly mortal. bDespite the wings, they cannot fly. They are not decked out in supernatural upgrades. They have no magic senses. Their chitin does not work as armor. Mechanically, Aurellae sit right alongside ordinary descendants. They have no extra strength, speed, or toughness. 2. ORIGIN & BACKGROUND. Their origins are humble. They do not claim roots in empires, gods, or world-shaking wars. Their oldest tales swirl around a hidden place called the First Lantern, a quiet valley with flower-thick ravines, sheltered caves, cliffside apiaries, and moths circling glass lamps as dusk folds in. Maybe it was real, maybe it was changed by some odd force, or maybe it is just myth. The truth hangs uncertain. What matters, really matters, is survival. In that hidden place, they tended bees and moths, kept gardens beneath stone, wove stories into wax tablets, and passed history through bead-strings, cloth knots, songs, and memory-keepers. Isolation could not last. A hard frost wiped out gardens. Disease spoiled old combs. Lantern-houses had to migrate. Young Aurellae started trading with descendants as waxworkers, lampmakers, orchard hands, scribes, watchmen, textile workers, and shrine-tenders. First encounters were tough. People mistook them for monsters, spirits, or alchemical failures. Sometimes they were chased. Sometimes they were exploited. Sometimes, just sometimes, they were welcomed. Over time, Aurellae became known across scattered places, but they never flourished in great numbers. They reproduce slowly, raise children carefully, and live in small groups rather than great hives. Harsh cold, constant rain, city smog, and societies that see wings before seeing people do not suit them. They are strange, yes, but their origin is meant to be modest. They are not secret rulers or ancient heroes. They are just survivors stepping into the wider world. 3. CULTURAL ASPECTS Culture changes wildly between Aurellae. A cityborn Aurellan raised among humans might barely know old customs, while one from a lantern-house may see the world through seasons, scent, rituals, and craft. Nothing is compulsory. No leader, faith, moral code, family, or settlement is forced upon them. Lantern-Houses At the core sits the lantern-house. Sometimes it is a family. Sometimes it is a workshop, a caravan, a shrine, a garden lodge, or a household adopted from unrelated souls. Blood is not the glue. Mutual care is. Forget hives. Leadership is social, not biological. Roles, when they exist, bring respect, not power. Common roles include: - Lampkeeper, one who preserves memory, rituals, and household records. - Garden-Tender, one who tends plants, orchards, apiaries, and moth-gardens. - Combhand, one trusted with wax, tools, stores, and trade. - Moth-Warden, one who serves as a night watch, guide, mourner, or ritual dancer. - Elder of Soot, one who has survived hardship such as exile, fire, famine, or migration. These titles carry respect, not racial authority. Values A belief runs deep among many Aurellae: what is taken must be answered by care. They value reciprocity, hospitality, patient work, memory, careful crafting, and protecting the fragile. People who maintain things gardens, shrines, families, tools, records, roads, lamps, promises—earn their respect. Beauty holds real meaning Many Aurellae dress with elegance, defiant and deliberate, because they know strangers might see them a monsters first. Bright veils, polished lanterns, painted masks, and well-cut coats can become a kind of shield. Take nectar, leave seed. Take shelter, mend the roof. Take warmth, keep the lamp. Take kindness, remember the hand. Bees, Moths, and Swarms Living near bees, moths, silkworms, and lantern groves is common for them. These creatures matter in their lives, but they are not extensions of their will. Aurellae may keep apiaries, raise moths, plant flowers, and interpret insects as omens. They may lure insects with ordinary food, flowers, warmth, or shelter. They cannot command them. Bees and moths remain ordinary. They might ignore an Aurellan, flee, die, sting, or act up They cannot be ordered to fight, scout, track, blind, restrain, defend, Interrupt casting, body-block, or spy. Rituals Their rituals are often lovely, sometimes poignant.The First Lighting is performed at dusk. Lamps are lit one by one, and each participant names something worth preserving: a friendship, a craft, a grave, aroad, a child, a promise, or a home. Pollination Rites are spring customs where Aurellae carry pollen with brushes, cloths, or ordinary beekeeping tools. The rite teaches that helping life continue does not mean owning it.Wax Oaths are sealed with colored wax. They are not magical, but breaking one stains your reputation.Wing-Veil Dances use wings, sleeves, veils, and antennae to show apology, courtship, grief, celebration, or defiance. They have no supernatural effect.The Long Lantern is performed before migration, as each lamp of a home is extinguished except one. Art, Music, and Dress Art swirls around amber beads, carved wax, dyed paper, silk banners, pressed flowers, painted masks, and lantern shadows. Music hums with choirs, reed flutes, glass bells, soft drums, and bead percussion. Clothing dances around wings and antennae. Open-backed coats, side-fastened tunics, rain-cloaks, mantles, sleeveless smocks, bead collars, veils, and wing covers are common. Heavy helmets are unpleasant because they press against the antennae. Food Aurellae are omnivorous, but honey or flowers do not suffice. They need balance: honey, fruit, nectar teas, soft bread, porridge, nuts, eggs, fish, beans, mushrooms, and lightly cooked meats. Smoke-tainted food, spoiled meat, dry meals, and heavy alcohol can make them sick. Sweet food is beloved, but it is not enough. Funeral Customs Their funerals are called Dimming Rites. The dead are wrapped in cloth or laid beneath flowers according to local law and faith. One last candle is lit, and mourners speak into the flame before covering the light. Cremation splits opinion. Some see it as cleansing. Others fear fire too much. Coming of Age Coming of age is marked by the First Carrying, where an Aurellan carries something fragile and useful through a public place. It might be a lamp, a seedling, a bowl of honeyed water, a sealed letter, a young animal, or a wax tablet. The lesson is simple: adulthood means protecting what can break. Taboos Common taboos include wasting food in winter, breaking guest-right under a lit lantern, killing pollinators for sport, mocking the injured or wing-damaged, and using another Aurellan’s broken parts as decoration without permission. Traditional Aurellae often dislike terms such as queen, drone, or hive-master when applied to their people, though others may reclaim those words culturally. Faith and Individuality Faith is up to the individual. Anything allowed by server lore may be followed: Canonism, Aspectism, Brathmordakin worship, shamanism, ancestor-veneration, secular scholarship, atheism, or something else entirely. Some reject their culture altogether. An Aurellan may despise gardens, shun community, mock traditions, assimil, become a criminal, join an army, or live alone. 4. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION Aurellae are always humanoid. They have two arms, two legs, one head, and one torso. They are not giant insects, many-limbed monsters, or non-playable creatures. - Height: anywhere between 4’8” and 6’2” - Weight: 80 to 190 lbs - Lifespan: 175 to 200 years - Maturity: 16 to 18 years - Strength: the same as a descendant of similar stature and training - Speed: the same as a descendant of similar stature and training - Durability: the same as a descendant of similar stature and training Body Their bodies meld skin, soft fuzz, flexible chitin-like plates, and lightly segmented areas. These plates are usually found on the shoulders, forearms, shins, collar, back, and abdomen. They allow movement and do not work as actual armor Hands are functional and humanoid. Most have five fingers, though four fingers may be used for flavor if it gives no advantage. Face and Eyes Faces range from almost descendant-like to clearly insectoid. Their eyes are large and reflective, sometimes appearing faceted, but they give no special vision. Some have small mandible-like mouthparts near an otherwise humanoid mouth. Speech may carry faint hums, clicks, buzzes, or rasping tones. Antennae Every Aurellan has two antennae. They may be smooth, feathery, clubbed, curved, short, or long. They are fragile, expressive, and sensitive to strong mundane smells nearby. Damage to the antennae causes pain and confusion. They do not give supernatural senses, tracking, lie detection, danger sense, magic detection, invisibility detection, or automatic awareness. Wings Most Aurellae have one or two pairs of wings. These may be bee-marked or moth-marked. They are used for expression, balance, cooling, and ritual display. They cannot fly or glide. Rain, mud, snow, heavy armor, or injury can easily ruin their wings. Wing scales, where present, are harmless cosmetic dust. They are not alchemical, poisonous, magical, or blinding. Bee-Like Traits Bee-marked Aurellae may show golden banding, fuzzy collars, amber eyes, translucent wings, rounded bodies, or pollen-brush markings. Some may have vestigial sting-spurs. These are cosmetic, non-venomous, and not proper weapons. Moth-Like Traits Moth-marked Aurellae may have feathery antennae, soft fuzz, pale scales, broad wings, muted colors, eye-like markings, or dark thorax patterns. They may be more comfortable in dim light, but they do not have perfect night vision. Voice Their voices might hum, buzz, rasp, click, whisper, or sound ordinary. Wing taps and antenna gestures may supplement speech, but they are never telepathy or secret supernatural communication. Reproduction and Childhood Reproduction is slow, private, and handled offscreen. They do not produce large broods or sudden hives. Children are soft-plated and vulnerable, developing wings and antennae gradually. Most families raise one child at a time, rarely two. 5. SUBTYPES OR MORPHS Subtypes, or morphs, are mostly cosmetic and tied to tradition. None of them grant advantages. Apic Morph Apic Aurellae are inspired by honeybees. They often have golden or brown banding, translucent wings, amber eyes, and strong waxcraft traditions. They do not produce special honey, command bees, or possess venom. Bombic Morph Bombic Aurellae are inspired by bumblebees. They may be rounder, fuzzier, darker in pattern, and culturally connected to endurance stories or cold-weather migration. They are not stronger, tougher, or more cold-resistant than other Aurellae. Silkwing Morph Silkwing Aurellae are inspired by silk moths. They often have pale wings, soft fuzz, cream or gold coloration, and textile-rich customs. They do not produce harvestable silk from their bodies. Lunara Morph Lunara Aurellae are inspired by moon and night moths. They may have pale, silver, green, or blue wings, sometimes with tails or eyespots. They are comfortable in low light, but they have no night vision boost. Ashen Morph Ashen Aurellae are inspired by darker moths. They may have sooty plates, black wings, or skull-like markings. They have no intimidation power, fear aura, death magic, or necromancy. Duskwoven Morph Duskwoven Aurellae combine bee and moth traits. They are often seen in urban Aurellae or inter-house families. They gain no hybrid bonus. 6. MENTALITY & INTELLECT Mentally, they are not alien. Their feelings run the full spectrum: fear, shame, love, pride, anger, grief, envy, curiosity, faith, doubt, ambition, and everything in between. Instincts about shelter, warmth, scent, weather, andcommunity shape them. Cold, smoke, isolation, or even a broken lamp may hit harder than expected. Many struggle with solitude, either growing anxious or obsessing over small tasks, but some adapt just fine and become wanderers, hermits, or explorers. Crowds can comfort them with warmth and sound, but they can also overwhelm them with scents, noise, and stares. Gentle light is soothing. Lanterns, candles, moonlight, fire glimpsed from far away, and warm windows in the rain may all carry meaning. Sudden or magical bright light, especially after darkness, can unsettle them. They have no hive mind. They share no thoughts. They cannotsense the location, injury, death, or emotional state of other Aurellae. Coordination is limited to ordinary signs, codes, gestures, and language. 7. STRENGTHS Their strengths are mostly social, sensory, or flavorful. Craft Familiarity Many Aurellae grow up around waxcraft, candle-making, lanterns, textiles, gardening, flower pressing, and beekeeping tools. This is not automatic mastery. It only means cultural familiarity. Real skill still needs roleplay, tools, time, and training. Close-Range Scent Recognition At close range, an Aurellan might catch strong and obvious mundane scents, such as smoke, rot, honey, lamp oil, flowers, spoiled food,damp cloth, strong perfume, or spilled alcohol. This works only within about two blocks or meters. It is not tracking, lie detection, fear detection, magic detection, creature detection, invisibility detection, or a way to discover hidden characters automatically. Low-Light Comfort Aurellae often feel at home in dim places, especially moth-marked morphs. This does not give superior vision and does not help in combat. Expressive Wings and Antennae Their wings and antennae can show emotion through movement. Fear, irritation, joy, shame, flirtation, grief, or amusement may all show in posture. Others are not forced to understand or react. Startled Flutter An Aurellan may buzz or flutter briefly when startled, embarrassed, excited, or off-balance. This is pure roleplay. It gives no mechanical effect, no flight, no gliding, no dodging, no fall reduction, no hovering, and no extra movement. Garden and Apiary Familiarity Many know how to care for ordinary bees, moths, gardens, apiaries, flowers, and pollination tools.They cannot command insects. Bees, moths, and other small creatures do not fight, scout, defend, track, blind, restrain, or obey them. 8. WEAKNESSES Fragile Wings Their wings tear, bruise, burn, and crumple easily. Rain, mud, fire, force, crushing, or misfit armor can leave them painful and useless. Rain and Soaking Soaked Aurellae are miserable. Their wings become useless, their antennae become irritated, and their expressive movement is limited until they dry. Cold Vulnerability Cold leaves them stiff, tired, and clumsy. Long exposure can cause shaking hands, slowed speech, and difficulty moving comfortably. This is not instant defeat, but it should matter in travel and combat scenes. Smoke Sensitivity Smoke can cause coughing, nausea, panic, and disorientation. It irritates their eyes, throat, and antennae. Scent recognition does not work in smoky places Harsh Light and Sudden Flame Sudden bright light or close flame can startle them, especially after darkness. This is a roleplay drawback, not a forced stun. Heavy Armor Discomfort Heavy armor is awkward for Aurellae. It presses on wings, antennae, breathing plates, and flexible chitin seams. Fitted armor is possible, but discomfort lingers. They gain no armor benefit or loophole. Fragile Antennae Damaged antennae cause pain, nausea, headaches, and reduced scent awareness. Binding or crushing them is distressing and disorienting. No Natural Armor Chitin-like plates do not block damage. Blades, arrows, claws, teeth, fire, blunt force, acid, and magic harm them normally. Dietary Needs They need balanced food and clean water. Honey, nectar, and fruit are not enough. Hard to Hide Wings, antennae, reflective eyes, voice, plates, and posture make them hard to disguise. Passing as ordinary is unreliable. 9. ABILITIES The Aurellae do not come packed with flashy powers. Their uniqueness lives in their culture and anatomy, not in magic or superhuman feats. 10. GENERAL REDLINES - Aurellae cannot fly, glide, or hover. - They do not get any resistance to falling. - They cannot use wings for better dodging. - They cannot use wings to cross gaps, run away in combat, climb walls, skip terrain, or avoid movement restrictions. - They cannot carry anyone with their wings. - They have no swarm control. - Swarms cannot work as weapons, scouts, shields, restraints, CRP distractions, tracking tools, armor-piercing attackers, or combat entities. - All Aurellae-linked insects are mundane, noncombatant, and only serve culture, environment, or visuals unless separate lore says otherwise. - They have no hive mind. - They have no telepathy. - They do not share thoughts, memories, pain, emotions, or locations. - They cannot sense another Aurellan’s injury, death, or distress from a distance. - They have no mind-control pheromones. - They have no emotion-control pheromones. - They have no lie-detection pheromones. - They cannot use scent to seduce, calm, frighten, enrage, pacify, or control others. - They have no lethal venom. - They have no paralyzing venom. - They have no harvestable poison. - They have no combat-use poison. - If they have a stinger, it is just for show and hurts like a tiny thorn, nothing more. - Anything they make or carry, such as honey, wax, silk, chitin, pollen, wing scales, or other products, is ordinary stuff. - Their body products have no special alchemical, medicinal, poisonous, magical, enchanting, armor, weapon, or economic value. - They cannot produce large amounts of wax, silk, honey, venom, or any reagent from their bodies. - Their chitin is not natural armor. - They cannot use their plating as a shield. - They cannot harvest self-made chitin for tools, weapons, armor, or reagents. - They cannot automatically track or detect people. - They cannot automatically find hidden entities, magic, undead, constructs, cursed beings, shapeshifters, or special character archetypes. - They cannot see invisible beings. - Climbing is limited to what is physically possible. - They cannot wall-run. - They cannot walk on ceilings. - They gain no loopholes with weapons or armor. - They cannot ignore LotC combat, consent, movement, magic, or item rules. - Nobody is forced to follow Aurellae culture. - Nobody is forced to follow Aurellae moral ideals. - They cannot powergame based on insect-like traits. - They cannot claim bonus functional limbs. - They cannot say their eyes give them 360-degree vision. - They cannot use antennae for danger sense, initiative boosts, ambush spotting, or meta knowledge. - They cannot use moth dust for blinding, poisoning, muting, silencing, or disrupting other people. - Wax, silk, or honey is mundane unless created through normal mundane production. - They cannot build biological castes with special powers. - There are no queens, drones, soldiers, or workers with hidden abilities. - No Aurellan must obey a leader, scent, queen, nest, or lantern-house. - They do not reproduce quickly. - They cannot form massive hive hordes. 12. WEAKNESSES Aurellae are not naturally magical. They do not have special talent for any school of magic. They have no special affinity for druidism, voidal magic, alchemy, shamanism, holy magic, dark magic, bardic arts, seer feats, housemagery, or anything in between. They do not get bonus spell organs, larger mana pools, spiritual senses, fae ties, extra resistance to magic, or special favor in alchemy or rituals. They can only learn magic, feats, and regular skills according to current LotC rules, and only if their creature type is allowed to take them. No shortcuts exist. They must follow all application, teacher, connection, disconnection, feat, slot, item, and lore requirements fully.Their race grants them no exceptions. Any magic or transformation that changes the soul, body, anatomy, mortality, or race should be reviewed carefully. They cannot stack with another CA or transformation unless both pieces of lore clearly allow it. Their wings, antennae, chitin, scent, waxcraft, honey, silk, pollen, or scales cannot empower magic or reduce magical drawbacks. When in doubt, assume it needs Story Team review. 13. ROLEPLAY EXAMPLES Example 1: Lantern Rite The orchard lamps were lit one by one, each flame covered in blue paper to soften the glare. Vetha Wax-Palm knelt beside a row of pear blossoms and touched a small brush to the pollen. She passed it to the child beside her, whose antennae trembled with concentration. “Slowly,” she hummed. “A flower is not a door to be forced open.” The child dabbed the next bloom and glanced toward the=apiary boxes beyond the fence. Bees moved there in the warm dusk, unconcerned with the lanternfolk. “Are they helping us?” “They are helping themselves,” Vetha said. “That is why we respect them.” Example 2: Mistaken for a Monster The tavern quieted when Sulen Ashwing stepped inside. His wings were hidden beneath a rain-cloak, but the dark skull-like mark across his thorax showed above his collar. A man by the hearth stood too quickly. “Monster.” Sulen’s antennae lowered. “Lampmaker,” he answered. “You’ve got a bug’s face.” the man acclaimed. “And you have a poor host’s tongue.” Sulen said afterwards. Sulen placed three plain candles on the counter. “I came to sell wax, not frighten your children.” The innkeeper hesitated, then took the candles. “No swarms?” he said. “No swarms,” Sulen said. “No curses. Only candles.” Example 3: Combat-Adjacent Weakness Rain hammered the alley stones. Iri of the Blue Orchard stumbled backward, her wings soaked flat beneath a torn cloak. Smoke from a thrown torch curled along the wall, making her cough and clutch at her antennae. The bandit laughed. “Fly away, moth.” “I cannot,” Iri rasped. A few bees stirred beneath a nearby awning, disturbed by the rain and smoke. Iri did not command them. They did not attack. They did not blind the bandit. They did not shield her. She drew a short knife with shaking hands and backed toward the street, moving no faster than any frightened person in wet clothes. When the bandit lunged, her wings buzzed uselessly. 14. OOC MOTIVATION The Aurellae are meant to bring insectoid folk roleplay to LotC in a restrained, character-focused way. On a personal level, this concept matters a lot to me. I have spent years trying to find the right roleplay community, and I have been around Lord of the Craft once or twice before, but I never fully committed. The reason was not a lack of interest in the server. It was that I struggled to stay attached to characters who were not rooted in my special interest: insects. Because of my autism, insects are not just a passing aesthetic for me. They are the thing my imagination keeps returning to. I have had the same difficulty in Dungeons and Dragons, Habbo Hotel roleplay communities, and play-by-post forum roleplay. If a character is not deeply connected to that interest, I often lose the ability to stay invested in them long-term, even when I like the setting or the people around me. That is why I decided to write the Aurellae as a fully developed race rather than a small personal gimmick or a loose aesthetic. I wanted to make something careful, balanced, and fitting for LotC, so I could finally dedicate my free time to roleplay in this community with the kind of character I have always wished I could play. The Aurellae offer bee and moth aesthetics without swarm powers, flight, venom, hive minds, or natural armor. Their roleplay centers on community, migration, craft, lanterns, gardens, wax, silk, fear, beauty, and the experience of being visibly inhuman while still being a person.They do not replace Musin, Kha, Epiphytes, or any existing CA. Musin already cover small mousefolk roleplay. Kha and similar beastfolk concepts occupy different animal, cultural, and physical niches. Epiphytes are tied to plantlike transformation and demifae themes, while the Aurellae are a rare insectoid people with no fae bond, no plant rebirth, and no magical biological inheritance. This concept works best as CA Race Lore because the anatomy requires oversight. Wings, antennae, chitin, scent, insect symbolism, and harvestable-material risks all need clear redlines. It is not merely a culture, because the body is central to the concept. It is not Event Creature Lore, because the goal is regular playable roleplay. It is not a feat, because it is not something learned. The Aurellae are intended to add flavorful outsider roleplay, not a power fantasy.

Done said changes!