German

German
German values his freedom above all else...
Information
Alternate Names/Spellings
Origins	Slavic Mythology, Legend and Folklore
Alignment	Lawful Neutral, Neutral Good
Element	Air/Wind/Sky, Ice, Life/Death/Blood, Water
Species	Humanoid
Appearance	Blue male humanoid (often naked)

Also Called

• Герман/Георги.Гечо

• Дюрманджо/Драганчо

• Скалоян/Кабаиван

• Dragancho

• Dyurmandzho

• Dzherman

• Germandzho

• Gyorgy

• Kabaivan

• Kaloyani/Skaloyan

Origins

The German (pronounced "Yer-Mon") is one of a race of creatures with origins in Slavic mythology, legend and folklore. In particular, accounts of its existence are first documented in Eastern Serbia and Northern Bulgaria. For their amazing powers as spirits of rain and hail, they were widely respected, loved and feared.

At home in the beauteous Elemental Plane of Air...

Many rituals were dedicated to flattering them and invoking the favor of German; among which included setting food and wine out near the edge of a forest (often on the family woodpile) to appease or propitiate them, and then shouting out to them an invitation to join them for dinner.

If the German does not accept, it makes no difference, but if he does accept, it is seen as a great honor, and as a sign of good agricultural fortune to come for the area.

Some would even make dolls or effigies of German (out of rags, fired clay or fruits/vegetables; a proper effigy or doll would include a generous depiction of the German's erect genitals).

Participants (typically young virgin girls, but also occasionally adult women) would then either bury the effigy/doll (often near a body of water; lake, river, beach shore, etc) or put it into a makeshift casket, set into the water and hold for it a mock funeral, to show how well loved and respected the German is.

German arrives on the material plane...

In return, they hoped their shows of kindness and appreciation would bring forth rain, to bless their crops for a good harvest. If their ritual called forth too much rain, or if hail resulted, the effigy would be quickly unburied and discarded (or destroyed).

For some reason, Christianized interpretations of Pagan beliefs closely associate the spirit with Saint Germanus (a saint associated, in Catholic belief, with hail and sometimes lightning), and occasionally also with the biblical Elijah.

Appearance

The German are an all-male species; no female German can, or do, exist. Females born of a German father have only a chance of taking after their female parent, or being Half-German (which have varying German traits, but are easily recognized as mixed-race by other air, water and ice elementals). Even in a union of a male and female Half-German, or a Half-German and a German, only the males have a chance of being full German.

The skin of the German can be any of numerous, various shades of blue (indicating their nature as water, air and ice elementals), and they can be found in either a solid form or a gaseous, insubstantial, incorporeal form. They can be anywhere from 5'0 to 8'0 tall, ranging between lean, medium, chunky or muscular body types (they are never underweight or overweight).

"The rains are wasted on you...but a flood shall be of great use against you."

The hair of the German may be long, medium or short; straight, curly or wavy in texture; hair colors range from black, brown, blond, red, white, or a darker shade of blue than their skin. They may even be bald (which is fairly common). Facial hair, body hair and eye color also varies widely.

Behavior

The German RARELY wears clothes, often valuing its nudity as a sign of its freedom; likewise, they are unashamed and unbothered by seeing the nakedness of others. When, or if, they do wear clothes, the clothes will be light and veil-like. They are fond of capes, cloaks, veils and loose tunics. Though, even these are more common among those influenced by the cultures of the Plane of Air (rather than those influenced by the Plane of Water).

"My job here...is done."

Also, due to their capabilities (and their origins at the point where the Plane of Water and the Plane of Air converge), German are calm, pleasant and serene. They despise violence, and are unwilling to fight at all; they would sooner simply vanish into thin air (to the upper air of the atmosphere or to their home plane) than take place in what they consider frivolous and pointless behavior.

Furthermore, the German are free-spirited and nomadic. They love to travel wherever their whim takes them (often a place where it rains frequently, due to their fondness of the rain, or to a place where rain is needed), and will spend very little time in any one place.

Their nomadic nature is due to their capacity as bringers (or stayers) of rain and hail. When they visit new lands, they are often given to observing the place's inhabitants from afar (like in neighboring forests) as they go about their day unawares. By their observation, the German can make a judgment as to whether the people deserve the sky's punishment or it's reward.

As such, their wide travels and their observations of other sentient races often lead to a very philosophical perspective on life.

“We are crying for German; because of the drought, German has died for the rain to fall.”

Despite this, they perceive schooling and the work of domestic life to be pointless, except when necessary to finding food, shelter or a mate. And should they ever find love, rather than settling down in one place, they will invite their mate to travel abroad with them.

If their mate refuses, the German will leave them behind, no matter how difficult it may be (even if they leave behind children). This is about half of the cases with those romantically involved with German. Children of German may take on traits and/or abilities of their father, but only male children have a chance of being German themselves.

Abilities

• Astral Form- the ability to assume the form of a spiritual body.

• Cloud Walking- the ability to interact with clouds as though standing or moving on solid ground.

• Death Inducing- German have the ability to cause oneself to die.
  • Resurrection- German can raise from the dead after rain has fallen for a suitable amount of time.

• Dimensional Travel- German can psychically pass between the material realm, and the Elemental Realms and/or the Astral Realm.

• Flight- The ability to propel oneself unaided through the air.
  • Levitation- the ability to float and drift mid-air.

• Imperceptibility- the ability to psychically render oneself unavailable to the senses.

• • Inaudibility- the ability to psychically render oneself unavailable to the sense of hearing.
  • Inodorosity- the ability to psychically render oneself unavailable to the sense of smell.
  • Intangibility- the ability to psychically render oneself unavailable to physical contact.
  • Invisibility- the ability to psychically render oneself unavailable to the sense of sight.

• Moisturizing- the ability to impart moisture into a given body of matter.

• Rain Manipulation- the ability to psychically control raindrops and/or patterns of rainfall.

• Weather Perception- the ability to psychically detect meteorological phenomena.

Weaknesses

No specific weaknesses are pointed out as particular to harming or killing the German.