Aer

Aer is a peaceful nation found in the western sea, inhabited by citizens who call themselves the aerborne. The Aer Isles team with wind magic, which plays a critical role in keeping their hot-balloon cities afloat in the sky. Aerbornes live alongside enormous avians called Roc, who are integral to Aer's history, traditions, and wellbeing. Aerbornes are best known for their coming-of-age traditions, the Imprinting and Migration respectively.

The Aer Isles
The Aer Isles are a series of five landmasses that erupt from the ocean like towering pillars. There is no shore to access; the parameter of each island consists entirely of steep bluffs, making anything less than an aerial approach impossible.

Atop each isle is a flat, lush steppe occasional dotted with sparse forests. The soil is adequate for the nation's agricultural needs, and produce farms are the majority of what you will find when exploring the land for homesteads. For the rest of Aer's civilization, one merely needs to look up.

Most Aerbornes live within The Zephyr, a floating city held aloft by a myriad of colorful hot air balloons. For visitors, the swinging bridges that connect homes and establishments to one another feels like a dizzying maze of brightly painted rope and creaking planks, but the average resident knows precisely where they're going, and how to get there. The balloons that keep the city afloat are minded around the clock, and thoughtfully placed netting keeps little ones from plummeting too far.

Unsurprisingly, most Aerbornes are a pegasi or pegasi hybrid. Other species are less common, but not startlingly so.

The Roc
The Roc are enormous avians regarded as sacred and integral to Aer culture. Aerbornes live alongside these creatures in a symbiotic relationship, offering mutual survival, friendship, and trust.

Biology
Rocs are highly intelligent and emotionally rich. They possess their own trilling, whistling language- described as 'to the point' by those capable of translating it - and typically learn to understand Common Tongue in their adolescence, though they are not capable of speaking it.

A Roc measures between 6 and 8 meters (19.6-26.2 ft) at the wither, and has a wingspan between 42 and 55 meters (137.7-180.4 ft) As stamina flyers built to traverse Aeon's seas, they have 'active soaring' wings - long and narrow.

Roc have taloned feet on their wings that allow them to easily traverse terrian. The head, legs, belly, throat, and tail is feathered, while their back is covered in thick, leathery skin that can extend up the back of their necks and the top of their tails. They come in all colors, but typically mimic the earth, sky, or sea.

Roc consume meat and raw magic. Aerbornes are careful to maintain the island's population of indigenous elephants, a Roc's primary meat source. The other half of their diet is provided by the arcane geysers around the Zephyr, which constantly expel wind magic. A Roc intending to take a long journey will gorge itself on magic for weeks ahead of depature, consuming enough magic to sustain their bodies for up to a year.