Wild orlan

Wild orlans are a sub-race of orlans in Pillars of Eternity. The orlans themselves consider the term to be bigoted and prefer forest kin or forest orlan.^[1]

Origin and prevalence

Wild orlans are the "original" orlans who lived in the deepest forests and jungles between the tropics. While they have only been significantly separated from hearth orlans for a thousand years, a few genetic differences have appeared rapidly, most notably a lack of facial hair in the hearth orlan branch. Wild orlans are common in the deep reaches of Eir Glanfath. Unlike their hearth orlan brethren, they are not often seen in the Dyrwood, Readceras, or the Vailian Republics. ^[2]

In the Eastern Reach, they are typically found in the deepest forests of Eir Glanfath. In recent centuries, the biases of surrounding colonial cultures have driven them even farther from new settlements.

Physiology and culture

The most obvious difference between hearth and wild orlans is that the latter are almost entirely covered with inch long coat of hair (or fur, depending on how you look at it). The face and neck of a wild orlan are covered with hair as thick as any other part of their body.^[3]^[4]

Wild orlans are only rarely found in established communities. Considered savage and uncontrollable by many Dyrwoodans, Vailians, and Readcerans, Wild Orlans often find interactions with outsiders strained, if not outright violent. Many colonists pre-judge all Orlans as untrustworthy and bloodthirsty, but within that vein of racism, they often classify Wild Orlans as "the bad ones". Given the difficulty of concealing their hirsute bodies and faces, prejudice follows them in most colonial areas. ^[5]