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Of Teitanians and their culture
"North of the mountainous region in which Dwarves live, lies the barren, cold land of Teitania, home of the Teitanians or simply Teitans. Although Teitania is located relatively far away from the regions colonized by humans, the trip from New Jahan to this region is made much easier thanks to the so-called Mountain Path, an old road which connects Northpass, near Argo, to the heart of Teitania itself. The region consists of a dry desert of grey, metallic dust, whose most prominent feature is the great number of immense polyhedric pillars littering the landscape, of a dark grey color, which can rival mountains in their size. These columns, often called "monoliths" by scholars, are intricately carved with golden letters in an alphabet and language that are yet to be deciphered.
Teitans themselves are said to be made of stone: this is only partially true. Their body is, in fact, composed by what appears the same strange material of which the monoliths are made,(the so-called Teitanium) complete with complicated carvings on their body. Although their physiognomy is humanoid in shape, it is notably different from that of humans: they possess only two-claw like fingers on their hands and one thumb, their eyes have a black sclera and a small blue iris (seemingly without a pupil), and their facial structure is entirely diverse from the human one, and vaguely more similar to that of avians, and with teeth and jaws resembling those of reptiles. Also, it is unknown whether they are gendered or not. They are usually a little taller then humans: the average Teitan are around six and a half feet tall, but others can easily reach the seven or seven and a half feet.
Studying Teitan anatomy is extremely difficult, because this people notoriously tends to avoid showing his body and face to others, especially members of other species. As many explorers know, the only clothes they wear are robes, capes, hoods, scarves and similar garments of various colors. Rosaries, necklaces, moniles, bracelets and other such trinkets, of wood or precious metals, are also very common. An item every Teitan possesses is the so called "Stone staff", a magical artifact consisting of a teitanium staff. These jagged staves are carved and decorated, with the patterns becoming more intricate and elaborate the higher the caste of the owner.
Teitans are not only secretive about their appearance, but also about their society and customs. Teitanian society is rigidly structured in what could be defined a caste system. Eleven different castes have been identified so far, each symbolized by a color: in fact, the cast of an individual Teitan can be easily determined by looking at the color of his robe. Blue robes, indicating the lowest caste, are the most common, while a Teitan with a crimson robe was seen only once by humans, and appeared to be of a very high caste. The interactions between different Teitans are notably influenced by this caste system: it has been reported that a blue-caste Teitan would not even dare to look at or talk to a orange-caste one, because of the large gap between their two castes.
Teitans appear to not have the need to sustain themselves through eating or drinking. They are incredibly more longevous than humans, perhaps even immortal: it has been calculated that the oldest known Teitan is around one million years old. New borns are extremely rare, especially in higher castes. They possess no cities or villages, and are mostly nomadic. The only "buildings" they have are the so-called monastries, around which small community of Teitans gather, dwelling inside the structure, again made of teitanium. Teitans are free to join or leave these communities at any time, though usually once they become a part of a monastry they remain so for around a decade. Sometimes, the so called "gatherings" are called by one or more monastries: when this happens, many Teitans nearby flock to the monastry, and once a determinate number is reached, the doors of the monastry are sealed shut, to be opened again only when the gathering has completed. This can last for days or decades, but no human knows what happens inside the monastry while its gates are closed.
Teitans are also known for possessing a great propensity for magic. Although their school of magic hasn't been studied yet by the Academy, it is cleat that even Teitans of the lowest castes are powerful magicians by human standards. Their sorcery mostly involves the utterance of short magical formulas or words, in order to create Teitanium out of various materials, or radically modify the shape of the already present Teitanium. Examples include transforming their arm in an extremely sharp blade, making pillars of Teitanium erupt from the ground, or calling a rain of thin Teitanium needles, seemingly out of thin air. Their staves appear to act as catalysts for these spells.
Although their high secrecy, Teitanians enjoy trade with humans: caravans often leave from Argo or The Colony exporting small amounts of wood or cloth and returning full of precious metals and gems, of which their land is abundant."
- scholars of the Imperial Court, Aenciclopedia Novi Mundi