History
The Chu come from a planet with two goddesses called Stratia. The flamboyant, winged goddess of the humans, Evening Star; and the Goddess of the Chu, Chuenah. Chuenah has a similar appearance to other Chu, but she is much larger. She prefers to walk on all fours. Her eyes have no pupils or irises, but instead glow with rich golden color. She also has streaks of gold in her fur. There is only one temple made in her honor, and it's location is a closely guarded secret. All that's known about it is that it lies behind a waterfall, where strange Chu live. Chuenah and Evening Star were both confident that they had created the better species, and so they proposed a contest. They would entice their peoples to war against each other, best species wins. It was easy to sow the seeds of mistrust among the humans and convince them to fight the Chu. But the Chu were a peaceful species that had never known a real, large-scale war. They didn't think that the humans would ever attack them unprovoked until they did. However, before the war could begin, Evening Star vanished. And then, not long into the war, Chuenah vanished as well. Before she left, all she told her people was that she would return, even if it seemed like a long time to them.
The war was devastating and raged for many years. Eventually, a prince from the human kingdom, only visiting the war camps to perfect his swordsmanship, was saved by a Chu of the deciduous forests. They became friends, and put a stop to the war. Now the two people's are at peace, though tensions still exist between them. Now, twice every year, emissary's from each people visit each other. This happens on the days of the summer and winter solstices. These days are held in celebration of the end of the war and continuing peace by holding parades and feasts. In addition to these holidays, the Chu also have a spring festival known as "Pollen Day". Its a special day where Chu turning 20 years old have a goodbye party with their family, at the end of which they leave their village to go on a journey. This is traditionally to visit other species of Chu, but in the peaceful times after the war some Chu also visit the human kingdoms. They have another holiday in autumn, in which they celebrate the lives of those they've lost. It's called the Twilight Festival, a lively party that lasts all night.
The northern-most part of the continent is covered by evergreen forests, on both sides of the mountain range. The Chu here are the only ones who know how to cross the mountains, and keep it a closely guarded secret. To cross the mountains, you must pay tribute to them and be blindfolded for the journey. South of here is the great redwood forest, with some trees being 300 feet tall and having a diameter of 30 feet (91.44 meters tall, 9.14 meters thick). Lots of strange creatures live here besides the Chu. To the northeast, following the ocean and bordering the evergreen forests and the redwoods, is the thick mossy forest. It is very easy to get lost here, so its best to take a guide. South of the redwoods is a large expanse of deciduous forests, with some of the largest towns of Chu being here. This borders the thick and humid jungle, near the equator. Below the jungle is a mix of deciduous forests and birch forests. And, to the far south and bordering the ocean, is marshes and more redwoods. There is also a chain of islands to the south, populated by humans. This kingdom of humans has a good relationship with the Chu and they do lots of trading. To the east, the forests run all the way to the ocean and drop off in steep cliffs. These cliffs are full of caves and populated by many species of birds. Some Chu also live in these caves. To the west is the border of the forests. At the end of the trees marks human territory and their many kingdoms. Humans are allowed to log here, monitored and supervised by the Chu.
There is much more this world has to offer. The Chu are a diverse and friendly species, with almost no conflict between them. For more information on them, contact me.
Short Stories of the Chu
When Arruu’s parents asked him where he was headed after the Pollen Festival, he had no idea. Eventually, he decided he’d follow after his friend who had left the year before. Ourha had set out for the birthplace of music, the Cliffs of Gan. Where the jungle met the ocean, to the far east, there were massive cliffs and gorgeous caves. She had always had a passion for music. Arruu, on the other hand, didn’t really know what he was passionate about yet. When he left his village in the northern deciduous forests he was able to go most of the way with another group, made up of Chu from his village and the surrounding ones that were all headed to the jungle. However, when they reached the jungle they had to part ways. They were headed southwest, to one of the larger jungle towns, and Arruu had to make his way all the way to the east, to where the land ends. This is the first time he felt afraid on his journey. Traveling into the unknown jungle, without anyone by his side, it was a big step for a young Chu who had never left the forest where he grew up. Somehow though he found the courage. It almost felt like something was leading him on. The first night in the dark jungle, woken by a light tropical rain, he nearly turned back. But for some reason he felt he shouldn’t.
It took 3 months of travel, sometimes stopping for days at a time when he came across the jungle tribes. They were such vibrant people, so different from him and with such a different culture, yet they always made him feel at home. He grew to realize that, though he’d felt alone when he entered the jungle, it was another place the Chu thrived, and he was surrounded by friends. When he finally reached the Cliffs of Gan, Arruu was so excited to share the stories of his travels with Ourha. He found that she had settled in with a jungle chu family that lived there, and they were teaching her how to make music. They gladly accepted Arruu, and invited him to the cliffs that night to see what made them so special.
That night, under the stars and a sliver of moon, they all made their way to a special place on the cliffs. Here the wide mouth of a cave opened inland, and thick grass grew all around. Amazingly, the moss within the cave glowed like torches. Big patches of moss hung from the ceiling, glowing a bright blue-green. Hundreds of Chu gathered around the mouth of the cave, sitting down and letting the light of the moss wash over them as they chatted quietly. It wasn’t long before a group of three Chu, draped in the glowing moss, approached and stood right at the opening of the cave. Immediately, everyone went silent, and the only sound was the distant lapping of the waves. Then the three Chu began to play.
One of them started off playing a gentle, nostalgic tune on the pan flute. Then the second joined in on the gan drum, a slow beat. And the third Chu started playing his shinhan, a strange shaped instrument with 3 strings. They directed all of their music into the cave, and the cave echoed it back. But the sound wasn’t the same when it returned from the cave. It was richer and distorted. He was told later that they believed it was their ancestors, playing back to them from the spirit realm. The mesh of sounds from the musicians and the cave created complex, rhythmic melodies that completely entranced Arruu. After that night, listening to them play for hours, he told Ourha that he too wanted to learn how to make music. And the very next day he began his lessons.
Many years later, Arruu and Ourha had traveled all the Chu territories, playing beautiful music. And yet they were always drawn back to the Cliffs of Gan. It was here that they eventually stayed, and had three young Chu of their own. They spent many nights playing their music to the cave, and many sunny days teaching their children how to play the ancient melodies. Lucky Arruu had found his passion, there on the Cliffs of Gan.
