Olkhan

The Olkhan (pronounced /ˈoʊlkæn/) are a thede of Ym native to cold areas. Tall, broad, and fair of hair and complexion, the Olkhan are often capable of developing powers involving cold and ice. Though most common in the mountains of Hornland where they originated, the Olkhan have since spread all over the world, though they still seem much more comfortable in colder areas, and are rare near the world's hot spots.

Description

On average, the Olkhan are the physically largest and strongest of the major thedes of Ym, averaging very close to two meters tall and about 120 kilograms. They have very pale skin and hair, the latter usually a straw-colored blond, though Olkhan with darker brown hair are not uncommon, and some have red or white. Exposed to bright sunlight, many Olkhan develop extensive freckles. An Olkhan's hair is typically straight and coarse, though sometimes wavy, and their faces broad, with blunt features. The most common eye color is blue, though the exact shades vary; green- and gold-eyed Olkhan also exist.

Olkhan generally have hefty, muscular builds. Those who lead sedentary lifestyles and get little exercise may instead become badly obese, but this is rare, in part because Olkhan culture places a high value on physical activity.

Culture

The Olkhan are a boisterous race, much given to sport and revelry. Physical competitions of all sorts are common in Olkhan culture, from races, mock battles, and tests of strength to dance contests. They are also fond of music, both listening and performing, and most Olkhan choose as children one particular instrument to focus on; they can change their focus to a different instrument later, but rarely do, and it is considered somewhat odd to do so. (Some precocious children invent their own instruments, though this rarely goes well, and most such progidies end up later devoting themselves to a more conventional instrument.)

Olkhan culture includes much respect for ancestors, to the extent among some groups of actually worshipping notable ancestors as gods. Few Olkhan houses are without pictures or even statues of the inhabitants' ancestors, and pilgrimages to gravesites are very common. An Olkhan funeral is a reverent affair that includes an invocation to the deceased to bless the family and stay by its side. Some Olkhan believe that many, if not all, people are reincarnations of certain ancestors, but this belief is becoming less common. (Still, in accordance with the power of belief in Inji, it is likely that this is at least in some cases true.)

Powers

Among the most common powers that many Olkhan develop involve cold and ice: the ability to project freezing temperatures either in surrounding areas or in directed cones; the ability to resist such extreme temperatures themselves; the ability to form frigid precipitation, cold or hail; the ablity to create ice out of thin air, perhaps as a coating on surrounding objects or perhaps in sculpted forms. Some can even change their own body into ice, the better to withstand certain kinds of damage. Another common power developed by many Olkhan is that of supernatural strength, either in particular muscles or overall. Many Olkhan develop the ability to speak with their dead ancestors, though the amount of information that can be gained in this way is limited.

There are some other powers that are less common but that some rare Olkhan do acquire. Some Olkhan cultivate the ability to temporarily grow to many times their normal size. Others can turn not only their own bodies into ice, but those of others (or of inanimate objects) as well, either as a transubstantiation that leaves them conscious and animate or as an agalmatation that renders them immobile statues. A few Olkhan can not only communicate with their ancestors, but actually call them back from the grave to aid them, perhaps as ghosts or perhaps bringing them fully back to corporeal life for a brief period before they return to death.

Subraces

There are a number of subraces of Olkhan, as is the case with all the major thedes; while they have much in common, there are subtle differences. The Julak are large even for Olkhan, and may develop the ability to eat unusual substances... and to perhaps gain other powers based on what they eat. The Skaran have a sallower cast to their skin than most Olkhan, and narrower features; they can develop a different kind of control over ice, including animating ice and calling forth spirits of cold. The Vanan, who are pale to the point of translucency and have somewhat oversized hands and feet, have a closer link with their ancestors even than other Olkhan, and commonly can infuse talismans with their spirits, or at least some of their properties. Finally, the Frodd, who tend to have big ears and often have multiple dark lentigines, have the potential to develop various sonic powers.