Banyari

A collective term used to desciribe the various tribes and inhabitants of Banyan. Banyari develop an Overlight bond with a Hearthwood Tree, which affects their development. Banyari are one of the least understood Folk by the others, save the Novapendra. While they differ from tribe to tribe, all Banyari worship the green light of Compassion above all else. The known Banyari tribes are: Each tribe is physiologically different. As such, different tribes cannot reproduce with other tribes. Despite this physiological difference, the Banyari tribes have a shared cultural heritage.
 * Verthod
 * Nitansien
 * Aeworn
 * Brendenol
 * Romos
 * Worulthing

It is known that, periodically, some Banyari will travel long distances to meet others from across the tribes of Banyan. They meet together in small groups, at locations with no discernable connection but which we must assume have special spiritual or historical significance. Once there, the assembled individuals engage in a form of ritualized, competitive storytelling. We have come to understand that some of these tales are recollections and embellishments of actual events that have personally happened to the storytellers, but many others are complete fabrications, stories unspooled entirely from the imaginative minds of their creators. Tales of this latter sort take the form of new myths — fables crafted around a fixed set of characters, heroes of legend, or a pantheon of demigods that the Banyari revere.

The outcomes of these competitions can have tremendously negative effects upon the lives of the losers. More than just ceding social standing, some of the defeated Banyari appear to be physically wounded, and lifelong grudges and enmity can arise out of these meetings.

It is believed that some of the storytellers use some form of Chroma to weave calamitous or fortunate consequences into their fables. These Banyari wanderers rarely return to the same place twice in a row.