The Karu are a culture of nature-focused architects that have transformed central Garuda into an economic powerhouse and the seat of power of the Divine Order of the Phoenix. With their deities, the Divinity, they consider themselves Garuda’s keepers.
Along the edge of the Great Kahali Rainforest sits a grassland and savanna that makes up central Garuda. This area, known as the Ilun Valley, is the ancestral home of the Karu, who currently make up the ethnic majority in Garuda as well as a significant presence in the Divine Order of the Phoenix.
According to the Karu, they were created first by Garuyda, the Great Phoenix, along with many other creatures in Garuda, by the plume of one of her feathers. Though not the only children created by the Great Phoenix, the Karu have spread throughout the land in numbers that have made them the dominant voice. Despite that proliferation, the Karu culture has taken a slow and conscious effort to expand with nature, rather than against it.
“Only fools destroy that which also gives them life and nourishment.” — Karu proverb
Nature is the medium
In valleys, they bend their roads around the terrain rather than cleave ways through it, and in the forest areas, trees are rarely cleared to make way for society or infrastructure. The Karu view the nature around them as an extension of their divine entity, holding it all in high regard, even if that means taking the long route. The most venerated craftsmen among the Karu are called Soulcarvers — their ability to catch the very soul of a subject is legendary, and their ornate carver axes, known as Arde, can take anyone’s breath away.