The Taong Gubat are the only race that can be safely said has had not a lot of experience with other people; this is because they are among the direct descendants of the Ten'nin who did not lose their plant-like attributes, as the first generation of Ten'nin had plant traits bestowed upon them by the God of Life, Bu'hay (who is also known to have plant attributes). The Gubat, like any other race, eventually evolved to different subraces and breeds, but in general, they are always plant people. Skins are fine fibers that resemble baby roots or grass, but the Gubat's skin patterns are that of flowers--reds, pinks, whites, yellows, violets, blacks, but just about never green (the color of leaves and chlorophyll) or brown (the color of seeds and bark). Females have literal petals for head traits, usually in the shape of hair, ears, or plummage. Males, on the other hand, have thorns and petal-shaped ears, though their colorations are still that of flowers. Tail traits also vary, from flowery fans to slender vines. Like the Himmelia, males are winged, but unlike the Himmelia, more often than not, Gubat are not flight capable--they are merely vestigial traits that remain from their ancestral links to the Ten'nin. In the case of Gubat wings, I haven't decided if I'll base them off of insects or leaves/flower petals. We'll see when I play around the concept art of supporting Gubat characters (as Madahon and Magugat are poor examples to have of typical Gubat traits. You'll see in a bit).
Although the Gubat are extremely diverse, tribes and clans are not determined by animal meta-species; there is no "bird" tribe or "mouse tribe". Instead, the division of the people, at least historically, are based off of the meta-species of the plant base--thus, there is a Rose tribe, a Jasmine tribe, a Sunflower tribe, etc. For the most part, the Gubat are matriarchal, though they do not discredit the existence of Kura'yam the Father Titan or practice gender segregation. While women are the warriors, the rulers, and the hunters, the men are the care givers, the craftsmen, and the cooks; when it came to politics, each gender must gain approval from the other before a decision is made. The Gubat follow a concept known as the Voice and the Hand: the women are the Hand (people of action) while the men are the Voice (people of decision making). Women cannot make an action without men's approval, but men cannot make a decision without the women to enforce or support it. Despite women being the leaders, both men and women have a direct hand and voice in making the rules and laws of the tribe.
The tribes are ruled by a chieftess, but they all have to answer to the Chieftess-Queen. CQ Matapat is the mother of Madahon on the right, therefore making him a prince. Because green is not usual among the Taong Gubat, Madahon is immediately identified as the current generation's Song, and at a 'perfect' timing too--the Gubat as a whole were struggling against the growing numbers of the Taong Bundok and the Mikra, both races historically being refugees from their ancestral continents and finding haven among the Gubat forests. Madahon, thus, was raised as the hero of the Gubat, with the CQ's consort, Mapula, wanting Madahon to support a war and genocide. Meanwhile, the Gubat learn that the Bundok have a Song of their own: an abandoned Gubat baby, little Magugat, whom they declare as the real Song due to her humble background and being a female of an atypical skin color (brown). Songs usually exist one at a time between generations; thus, Magugat was rejected as the Song among the Gubat with Madahon declared as the true one, being born of noble birth and with the color associated with life. The Gubat and the Bundok then raise Madahon and Magugat, respectfully, to develop hostility towards the other, with an intention for, one day, one killing the other. While this mortifies 10 year old spoiled brat Madahon, Magugat--being raised among the discriminated Bundok--takes on the challenge without a second thought.
In hopes to avert a certain death (and getting his pretty hands bloody), Madahon arranges a private meeting with Magugat in hopes that they would find a less... violent solution in determining who is the true Song. Just as the two fight, a Mikra named Faeyle finds them after hearing of warnings from seers among her people that the supervolcano Puzoh, which everyone lived at the based of, is going to erupt. Rather than deciding on fighting, both children rush to warn their people and evacuate. Not everyone fled, though--there are more skeptics than there are followers, given that Puzoh hasn't erupted in nearly a million years. Before anyone would know it, Puzoh did erupt, destroying much of itself, the subcontinent it rested on, and the people who did not evacuate far enough or at all.
By the miracle of Bu'hay, not everyone died; It was able to save as many lives as It could, but at a price. Due to the scale of the volcano and the thousands upon thousands of people It needed to save, Bu'hay was gravely injured. Madahon and Magugat would find Bu'hay at the very center of the caldera the eruption produced... rather than leave It behind, the two stayed, in deep gratitude that the god directly saved their lives. With what power Bu'hay had left, Bu'hay regrew some life to feed and shelter the two children, allowing them some time to recover from the traumatic experience of nearly dying and their people dying off. However, Bu'hay Itself wasn't recovering; the children grew concerned. Bu'hay then told the two that, in order to regain Its power, the two Songs needs to leave this island and find the Ba'yaani to amplify their gifts of healing and restore Bu'hay. However, because the World is at a state of chaos and war--and the children are still so very young--Bu'hay commanded that neither should attempt at doing any Song work--just get the Ba'yaani and come back, and Bu'hay will train the two properly in how they can heal the broken World.
As fate would have it, both children are discovered by foreigners who decided to come to the caldera and investigate the damage. From the East came Hitoh colonizers, and they found Madahon, mistook him for a runaway Bundok slave, and kidnapped him. From the West, Himmelia scientists want to find out why the fish are dying ocean levels are rising and the air temps are becoming colder, so upon seeing Magugat, they take her because they feel she has the answers. From there, the story begins as Madahon and Magugat are presented with challenges in the world they are not ready to take--but want to prove to Bu'hay who is the worthier Song.
More to come later.
