Vahnatai

The Vahnatai are a fictional race of beings in the Spiderweb Software series Avernum and Exile.
Anatomy
The physical anatomy of the Vahnatai is quite similar in many ways to that of the classic "little green men" of science fiction (though much taller - they stand at least a head above humans). The average Vahnatai has a large, bulbous, completely bald head. Their eyes are large enough to take up much of their faces and although they can vary to virtually any color, the eyes of an individual Vahnatai will be one solid color. Their skin tones vary from green to blue to gray and are often quite pale.
The Vahnatai encountered in the game series' adventures are always depicted as extremely thin to the point where their skeletal structures are blatantly apparent. This appearance makes them seem unhealthy or weak to the human eye, but they are in fact quite strong relative to their body masses and can at times be found to move with amazing speed. They have four long, thin fingers on each hand and two toes on each foot. They wield long, waved blades, swords and throw "razordisks": a sort of razor-sharp meld between a boomerang and a frisbee (players of Warcraft III should picture the triple swords of the Night Elf Huntress). Vahnatai are highly skilled in magic, their magic is almost exclusively crystal-based, whereas other Avernum races use Arcane, Divine or Shamanic magic.
Both their physical appearance and gracefully spartan, rounded architecture bear a remarkable resemblance to the later race portrayed in Star Wars: Episode II.
Vahnatai live for several centuries naturally, and for millennia through the "restings" (the years spent in restings are not counted - see ) .
Names
The Vahnatai use suffixes to define a person's position:
*Bok - highest level leaders
*Tel - mayors
*Ihrno - highest level mages
*Ka - mages
*Te - warriors
*Ta - teachers
Culture
The Vahnatai revere the "Crystal Souls," the crystalline incarnations of the souls and magic of deceased Boks. These Crystals are the final and greatest authority to the Vahnatai before their gods (referred to as "the Spirits"). Aside from the Souls, Vahnatai government is similar to those of the humans. The Vahnatai love the caverns they call homes (as opposed to the first-generation Avernites, who were exiled there), and go to great pains to preserve them. Every few centuries, resources in the caves run scarce, and the Vahnatai retreat to coffin-like crystals to hibernate in periods called "Restings" (the perpetual resource system Avernum runs on was magically produced by the Archmage Erika).
The souls of notable Vahnatai were allowed to leave their bodies and rest in Soul Crystals and thus were referred to as Crystal Souls when re-incarnated. This would generally happen when the Vahnatai was too old, the resting would restore their soul, and a very powerful spell would be cast to bring the soul back to life when they were ready to stop resting.
Vahnavoi and Hraithes
Vahnatai who did not earn the privilege to rest their soul in a Soul Crystal would become enraged and evil, attempting to re-inhabit their original bodies at the moment of their death, turned them into evil-undead-creatures called Vahnavois. Those who were highly specialized in magic would turn to Hraithes.
In-Game Appearances
The Vahnatai have appeared in each game in the Avernum and Exile series thus far.
*In the first Exile/Avernum game, their only appearances are as corpses or undead spirits, and the player is not explicitly informed of their race. However, there is a certain location in the game that has an impassable forcefield with a sign drawn on a nearby wall, informing potential intruders of the future return of a mysterious race. In Exile/Avernum 2, the very same location is shown as a gateway between Avernite and Vahnatai caves.
*In Exile/Avernum 2, the player makes true contact with the Vahnatai, and liberates several stolen Crystal Souls from the game's antagonist, the Empire.
*In Exile/Avernum 3, the Vahnatai are revealed to be responsible for a series of plagues threatening the surface world, and the player is tasked with sabotaging their efforts.
*In Avernum 4, a rogue Crystal Soul is found to be responsible for most of the problems threatening the caves of Avernum.
*In Avernum 5, conflict between reawakening Vahnatai and the expanding nation of Avernum forms part of the game's theme of territorial conflict.

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See Also

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