Endonym: Orenda-Awéri
The birdfolk of Ylembica are the creation of the Sky God Cigwe, the grand Thunderbird. Their mythology states that Cigwe flapped his mighty wings and with a thunderous boom carved the Orenda-awéri from the stone of the mountains. Orenda-awéri are widely varied across the world, with different legends, dialects, values, looks, and customs. Settlements of the Orenda-awéri are rather isolationist, to be brought to one of their settlements is a high honor, but that honor can be quickly revoked, and one should be very cautious to respect their customs. As a result, their settlements are rather remote, the side of a mountain the the vast wilderness, the secluded waterfall in the middle of a jungle, even the cave in the middle of a desert, all make good spots for the Aarakocra to make their homes.
Tribes of Orenda-awéri are referred to as Roosts. As stated, each roost differs from the others in multitudes of ways. Few similarities exist between roosts, such as their spirituality and their traditionalism, and their high sense of honor. The Orenda-awéri have had a troubled past when it comes to their relationship with the outside world, along with their inter-tribal relationships. Orenda-awéri have seen entire roosts decimated or eliminated by Elves, Humans, Dwarves, and Orcs, and have never had the best relationship with other roosts, which fuels their isolationism. Still, the Orenda-awéri view their wings as a gift from their divine God, and view them as tools for traveling the world.
Children mature very quickly, and begin traveling as soon as they can fly. They traverse the world to inform their art as well as collect other cultures’ forms of art, from jewelry, to wood carvings, to paintings, to every other medium possible. However, Orenda-awéri go through great lengths to keep the location out of their settlement secret, out of a justified fear of outside threats. To be invited to visit a Orenda-awéri settlement is a great honor, and although the elders of the roost respect their youth and their decisions to extend invitations to outsiders, they are wary of any outsider nonetheless.