The Village of Starfall

        Another large lutrai community resides near the center of Solair's great rainforest basin. The village of Starfall rests between the misty foothills to the north, and a series of wide, meandering jungle rivers. On the muddy banks of these rivers are the root-supported holts of the Everwind Tribe. As with most lutrai dwellings, they tend to be faily simple, modestly furnished, and easy to maintain. The koba taught the lutrai to build their homes here, within easy reach of the river as both a source of food and a means of escaping the predators of the rainforest basin. Most of these holts have multiple bolt holes, which prevent the inhabitants from being easily cornered. Starfall's population numbers approximately seven hundred, living on either bank for the better part of a mile.

        The chieftain of Starfall is an eccentric young inventor named Flight. Brilliant beyond his years, the easily-distracted youth is prone to sequestering himself away in his holt and dreaming up new things to invent. With his mind so often in the clouds and his heart set on learning to fly, it's little wonder that his natural element is air, the focus of his magical potential. Flight is rather shy and withdrawn, and so he leaves much of the leadership to his sister, the healer, Tamook. Most of his inventions are spectacular flops, but several have become surprisingly useful to the Everwind tribe. He is affectionately nicknamed 'Featherhead'.

        Tamook is far more grounded than her brother, but not quite so clever. Together, they make an excellent team; intelligence and insight united. Tamook is an escaped slave, and still has a rusted manacle stuck around one of her wrists. Flight is still trying to invent something to get it off, but for now it serves to remind the lutrai girl of the dangers just beyond the shores of Cekus. She holds no grudge, however, as few lutrai seem able to for any length of time, instead focusing her attention on training to become a chainbreaker. Tamook is shorter and a touch heavier than her lean brother, with warm brown eyes and sleek, spikey headfur. A faint trace of scarring around her shoulders and hips hint at her former life, mostly just a distant memory now.

The Mud Slides

        Lutrai adore sliding as much as their lower counterparts, and these flood-prone riverbanks are ideal for it. Holts are often excavated high up on the banks to stay above any potential surges in the water level, and to provide the otter-folk with long, smoothe mud slides as an easy access to the river below. The lutrai have a certain affection for close contact in this slick medium, and don't seem to mind it any more than they do water. Some have even mastered coasting down these slides perched on their own tails, and a variety of curiously-named stunts has resulted. Their slick pelts provide even greater glide, a feeling most lutrai are born to love at the genetic level.

        The koba, too, frequent these river embankments, to trade with the lutrai or join them in their games. Here, earth and water merge, and the two species can coexist quite well for extended durations. The riverbanks are also home to a variety of other animals, along with those merely stopping for a drink. Alligators are among the only real threat to the lutrai here, and most members of the Starfall tribe learn to dodge and outmaneuver the slower reptiles at an early age (most - those ones that don't learn tend to get eaten).

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