Veilasa peoples

The Veilasa (/veɪlɑːsə/; Soliarrin Veilassureiba) people groups make up a superethnicity of human which evolved on the sub-continental island of Veilassurei. The vast majority of veilasa currently live on Veilassurei, especially concentrated on the western coastline, but have begun emigration to the nearby continents of Charin and Makelion as well as to the veilasa colony of Sstai Borr over the last century.

The veilasa are notable for an aethyristic mutation which led to blue melanin and a lack of external nasal cartilage. It is suggested that the veilasa are the result of peripatry from the nearby continent of Makelion, and such are related to the ykanid peoples.

Demographics
The veilas can be separated into three major ethnicities, with tribal and classical ethnicities making up a minor percentage of the population. These ethnicities are judged by the structure of the bones, the darkness of the skin, and the shape of the eye, and appear naturally in strict geographic areas: in the northern Veilassurei, the paonccas; in the southern and western Veilassurei, the apsamas; and in the eastern Veilassurei and the chain of islands near the mainland, the toukas.

The paonccas are characterized by dark blue skin and hair, wide, dark eyes, and a stout, thick bone structure. This is due to the adaptation and microevolutions due to generations of life in the heat of the Veilassurei north. The paonccas have adapted well to heat. They have also been found to have dense bones and musculature, as well as fingers shorter than those of veilas to the south. The most instantly notable feature of the paonccas other than their almond-shaped eyes is a flat and structured jawline that the majority of pure-blooded paonccas share.

The apsamas are characterized by lighter hair and thin, downturned eyes. Their musculature and bone structure are most similar to those of an eida chutag, suggesting ancient ethnic mixing. The apsamas are often characterized as well by freckles, or larger dark spots that do not relate to the chutag biological term ‘freckle’ – the Soliarrin term for these spots is petacce (/pɛtat͡ʃe/). An apsamas is more likely to form a ridge of nasal cartilage, and is more likely to carry the gene for green or hazel iris colours, rare in the veilas population. This sub-race is the most similar to the chutag among the veilas.

Lastly, the toukas are notably smaller in stature and much less stocky than the paonccas to the north, though they carry similar skin and hair shades. Some toukas have been found to be a dark indigo or violet at birth, but many of these eventually fade to a natural blue. The toukas’ nostrils are slightly larger than the apsamas’ or the paonccas’, and they have more control over the muscles that manipulate their nasal flaps. This allows them to consciously as well as subconsciously limit the amount of dust or humidity that they breathe. The toukas are also known for their relatively flat faces and pointed jawlines.

Minor ethnicities are found generally towards the center of the country, and divide inclusively into the loutaras, the pinyias, the bunyudas, the ytoccas, and the voibas. The loutaras and the pinyias are closely related to the apsamas, the bunyudas to the paonccas, and the ytoccas to the toukas (perhaps using a derivative or original name). The voibas almost entirely populate one small island to the south of Veilassurei, known as Voibayei, and have unique ear and eye shapes as well as a larger variance in skin colour than any other homogenous people group on the planet.

By the most recent census (48Tj), 51% of the veilas population identify as majorly apsamasa, 29% identify as paonccasa, 19% identify as toukasa, and 1% identify as none or a tribal sub-race.

Ethnobiology
The veilas are part of a major human mutation that occurred through genetic connectivity to the aethyric stream. Many of their physical aspects differ from that of an eida chutag, the most visual being the color of the melanin in their skin and hair (variant shades of blue), the lack of a large part of the nasal cartilage that a chutag possesses, and the slightly elongated torso which contains one more pair of ribs than a chutag.

The leading biological theory concerning the tint of melanin in a veilasa body relies on the Mastislan Theory, in which the Aethyr and the repeated use of aethyric forces may create in the physical realm a liquid dubbed “aethyric fluid." Biologists agree that if such a liquid were to at any point exist, the chemical reaction it would have with the physical world would be unverifiable. It has been asserted that ancient veilas’ aethyristic practices caused a mass mutation. Nevertheless, the tint has no ill effects on a veilas’ ability to reject ultraviolet radiation.

The lack of outstanding nasal cartilage is a more difficult aspect to justify. The nasal area of a veilas contains two nostrils smaller than the average chutaga nostril, with variance between no cartilage at all over them or a small ridge of cartilage around them. In both cases, the nostrils are covered in part by small flaps of skin that likely serve the same purpose as the cartilage on a chutag. Biologists have reduced the problem to two theories: first, ancient veilas could have lost the need for the cartilage because of the climate of Veilassurei or because of a similar reason to the tint in their skin: a genetic defect caused by theoretical aethyric fluid. There are large problems with both of these theories: the first explanation lacks in substance, as no other people group in similar climates on the planet has a similar nasal structure, and the second lacks in empirical data, as, although accepted tentatively by chutaga scientists, the Mastislan aethyric fluid’s existence is unconfirmed. Some suggest an alternate initial evolutionary tree, but this is conjecture.

The other aspects of the veilas physiognomy and physiology parallel the human’s to a wide degree. It has been noted that some small generalities differ, such as the brain of the veilas being approximately 3.7% more compact than that of the chutaga human, causing the veilas’ ability to make logical connections slightly stronger than that of the chutaga human. Another minor difference is the veilas’ fractionally smaller appendages and palmar pads, making the veilas’ fingers appear longer than the chutag’s.

Environment
The homeland of the veilas is Veilassurei, which is the origin of the chutagshin word for the people group. Veilassurei is a nearly-continental landmass in the southern hemisphere of Shiora that contains four gradient biomes: monsoon forest in the north as the landmass approaches the equator, temperate forest towards the west and center, subtropical grassland in the south and center, and subtropical broadleaf moist forest as the landmass breaks off into islands to the east.

Along Veilassurei’s main river in the north, the Als Batamne, a tropical rainforest exists that initiates precipitation throughout the northern area and creating in the process a rocky monsoon forest climate. Although mediterranean vegetation exists along the coast, the majority of the land has rough but healthy soil and drastic rainfall. This creates a necessity push towards a farming society, as a nomadic civilization is impossible because of the difficulty of transportation in the environment. Hence, the people group that developed here, the paonccas, do not adapt well to climates outside of their own. Their abilities to resist disease and heat stem from the need to survive for long periods of time in one place, through any plagues that pass through the area.

The temperate forests, which, along certain dips in the rain basin morph into peat-bogs, are equally adequate for farming but were not harnessed for this for an extended period of time. Temperate forests allow surrounding civilizations to form trade-based society quickly using lumber, precious materials, and fuel that are found naturally close to the surface of the earth, and therefore as holds formed transportation became easy and natural. While not nomadic, the apsamas were peripatetic and later feudal early in their history, making them more inviting to global communication as it began to occur; pure-blooded apsamasa veilas are rare if they exist at all, and their many parallels to the chutag are a result of cross-breeding and eventual genetic mutation. Many assert that the lightness of their skin is due to an early society and the mild climate in which they live, which is not an incongruous statement and is palpable.

In the south, the lack of any large water basins like there are in the north reduces the climate to drier, mountainous, sparsely-forested grassland. The very south of the landmass is boreal, a cold, high-altitude coniferous forest. There is no clear historical or geographical reason that urban areas in communication with the western side of the landmass are present in this area, but the apsamas population is found here, as well, for this reason. However, there are noticeably fewer chutag-like adaptations and mutations among the population.

The east exists in its own ecosystem. Its water cycle begins in the north and spreads over the coast and the Leyotyiei Islands, with the mountains to the southeast retaining the cycle and creating a small, self-preserving basin. Because of its connection with the islands, the eastern coast of Veilassurei is strongly maritime, relying on a fishing and aquatic economy. During the reign of Hanhaia, the eastern coast (called at the time Manaa Ccoriastan, or the Kingdom of the Bronze) was engaged in a primarily marine war with the nearby Batoka territories, during which the eastern veilas, later the toukas, showed their biological superiority for the first time in terms of endurance, perception, and swimming. These traits are certainly due to their reliance on the sea and their ties to the Leyotyiei.

Very few other lines can be drawn that explicitly show the relationship between the environment and the veilas, as the geological history of the landmass is relatively unknown. Aethyric forces in the environment may play a part in interference with proper measurements and procedures.

Nutrition
The nutritional habits of the veilas do not differ from the average chutag's to a notable extent. In some areas, because of the scarcity of resources, certain cuisines have arisen in certain cultures, moderately changing the chemical balance of the native population’s gastric systems. For example, among the veilas towards the western midcountry, the common occurrence of both white and red droughts have caused the acidity of the population’s gastric fluid to rise to accommodate the need to digest more basic foods. However, this effect is lesser as compared to similarly-placed populations, as the veilas can use aethyric force to draw water from the air to some extent, and this practice is both common and continual even in modern times and in non-emergency situations.

History
To the veilas, that which has happened in the past is considered less than hard science, and the closest English word for it would be ‘mythology.’ ‘History’ is a term used for that which has happened to one personally. The veilas recognize the inconsistency in dealing with historical accounts, and the Matcca Bassi do not regard historicity as immediately relevant; however, many veilas pursue the study of history regardless and as many veilas as chutager hold bloodlines and descent important.

Veilasa historians have compiled a comprehensive historical textbook as well as a twenty-part academic history titled “Veilassureiba im !emurai,” or “Mythology of the Velassurei Man”. !emurai, as it is commonly known, begins approximately four hundred years before the start of the chutaga history initiated by the scholar Hagath. Although there are records in chutaga history from this time period, they are debated and many are lost; thus, parallel compilation is virtually impossible.