The closest neighbours of the Vossen can be found just south of the Sea of Mists on an island chain known as Alaotra with it's largest islands, Sifka, Masoala, Saamu, Danfoss, Athu, Golaia and Dihma all once having been part of the Vossen islands which have drifted farther south when their volcanoes went extinct or dormant. It is home to the Indri who despite havign fur and tails are closely related to humans and considered a sub species of human, though some theorise that humans originated from the Indri and spread out across Eidon as they explored and lost their fur and tail as they adapted to their new homes. Though nobody has been able to prove either theory and the origin of humans, which suits many humans who think themselves above the beast folk just fine.

Humans generally do not trade with the Indri or have much contact with them as the iNdri prefer to stay on their islands, no longer exploring the seas on large ships and just traveling between the islands to trade with eachother. The only outside trade comes from the Dakkarans, the Amazons and once the Dracaenae as well before they suddenly seem to have vanished. The main exports are copper, and silver which is among the purest on all of Eidon and both of which are desired by gadgeteers and magi, polished obsidian and copper jewelry, timber, alcohol, tropical flowers and melan fruit. Local goods are usually only traded between the islands, such as fish and tree sap which is bartered for things only found on specific islands. The tree sap is particularly valuable to the Indri as it has many uses from preservative to seasoning and sealant depending on how it is treated and stored. It is also an important ingredient for batteries when mixed with fish oil, and boiled to create an acid that can generate or store an electrical charge. Having access to so much copper allows them to power some things in their tree homes such as stoves, lights and fans. Remarkably they discovered this sort of technology on their own long ago while Eidon's gadgeteers are only just discovering these things so it is not as wide spread elsewhere in the world.

Each island has it's own cultural quirks despite mostly overlapping, and it could be debated if the islanders are perhaps a different species as colors and fur patterns differ between the mailn islands and could help explain these cultural differences.
On Saamu for example footwear is forbidden on the canopy walkways and indoors so people have to tie their shoes to their belt when they make their way down to the forest floor. On Athu the males and females live in seperate areas and females have to shave their heads as short hair is considered to be a sign of beauty. on Dihma it is custom to ritualistically have one's tongue tip split or pierced when coming of age, while on Golaia this involves piercing and stretching of ears with increasingly larger discs to name just a few customs. Their religeon centers around the sea and fire so they worship a version of one of the lesser elemental deities rathet than the twin goddesses worshipped on most of Eidon. On all islands except Athu and Danfoss it is custom to share one's mate with a visitor as a sign of good hospitality and trust and hopelly build long lasting friendships with the visitor. Children are generally raised in a communal dorm, spending several months of the year there before staying with their parents for a while again. This starts at 10 years old untill their 16th year when they are considered adults and move back in with their parents untill they find a mate.

Every seven years the islands hold the fishing festival where the islands compete to see who are the best fishermen(or women) and catch the most or biggest fish, but the main goal is to be the first to catch a silversail, a huge fish which only returns to the reefs every seven years to lay it's eggs, catching one of these can feed a village for months and being the first and only one to catch one brings prestige to the island the fisher comes from. Before and after the fishing festival there are the usual yearly festivals on the majortiy of the islands so it is a busy time of year when those line up with the fishing festival and the islanders mingle and set aside their differences to build friendship and cooperation between them as they ultimately all rely on eachother in times of need.

As mentioned before they all live in tree houses built along the tree trunks and among the canopy of the massive palm trees in the center of the island. These trees are considered sacred so anything built on them is done with minimal damage to the tree, the smaller trees on the outside the island are the only ones suitable for timber and harvesting. because trees are so important the Indri go out of their way to manage the forests so that forest fires can be stopped as soon as possible by creatign some breach areas of open land with artifficial lakes and rivers to stop fire from advancing. So whenever there is an extended draught they will go into the forest and clear as much of the underbrush as they can of any kindling and wet the ground with water from the lakes and rivers. It does not always work to prevent a fire, but at least there has not been a catastrophy that burnt down every tree on the islands. It is also the reason why they have no fire stoves in their homes anymore for safety, instead using the battery powered ones as a safer alternative for cooking and warmth.

As far as the outside world is concerned the Indri are barely known, since they never leave their island and down't sail large distances anymore beyond the reefs. Few even know of them aside from the Dakkara and Amazons and even the Vossen have had limited contact with them so only their exports are really known with only the traders knowing where the actual islands are located, this it suits the Indri just fine with only traders and a few explorers visiting their home as it helps preserve the delicate natural balance, although they do have some places reserved for tourists where they are welcome as long as they behave and respect nature. Ofcourse this means only the wealthy really know of this place to get away from the world for a while if they are willing to live a more humble lifestyle for a while. Pirates have been a bit of a nuisance in trying to cause trouble locally but the merchants help keep the peace with their armed merchant ships and escorts and the Amazons founded an outpost there to provide help should the pirates get a bit too brave and set foot on land.

Some of the younger Indri recently developed a desire to go explore the world once again, though their elders are still reluctant to allow it knowing many of the dangers out there such as the slavers who would be more than happy to have a rare and unique slave to sell, and ofcourse the many unknown monsters travelers have told them about and the trouble too many outsiders might bring if they discovered the Alaotra Islands and the mostly peaceful people living there with little to no defenses. It is uncertain what the future might bring but the rest of Eidon might soon be seeing a new face among them for better or worse...

Made in Hero Forge
Characters belong to me  Chakat_Blackwater