Akash: Path of the Five contains an author's note which, in summation, makes it clear that while the game relies heavily on the gender binary for its main story arc (as it is centered around childbirth) the scope of this story is not an accurate reflection of the greater world, nor indeed the world of Akash. There are nonbinary elementals, transgender elementals, and diverse genders in their world just as in ours. This has raised some questions from interested readers who wish to know a bit more about how gender works in the world of Akash. While much of this information was established in the building of the game world, Akash: Path of the Five remains fairly light on exposition in order to streamline its storytelling, thus these concepts were not addressed in the text given the scope of Aurora's tale. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35639313/12ff823f6de32cd26b18897ebbc32514b3076fac.jpg[/img] Al'wan are biologically agendered at birth (a state known has '[i]hadi[/i],' or 'pure') until about ten years of age, at which point a unique form of puberty occurs which they refer to only as '[i]tanwie[/i]' or 'the change'. During this period, a proportion of the children differentiate into male or female. An equal proportion mature without further secondary sexual differentiation, and they are known as "safa" (literally translated as 'serene' or 'unclouded'). Safa hold a relatively unique place in elemental society as, like young elemental females, they retain access to [b]all [/b]forms of magic. The depth of their power, ultimately, remains less potent than their Al'wani brothers and sisters. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35639313/812b24fd1beef1c2cc33a98a2a766eacdcf7431c.png[/img] Though they lack the [i]absolute [/i]mastery of a single, focused elemental force, possessing even limited access to all forms of magic does have its benefits (as reflected in Akash's main story). They generally hold a revered place in nearly all Al'wani societies: Safa fire elementals, for example, may take on the role of a healer in their village because of their access to light magic. Safa water elementals, in turn, can help their village's crops grow during times of famine. Lastly, though they retain access to all forms of magic, Safa have occasionally chosen to focus their abilities on one, should they feel that is what suits them best. It is important to note here that, just like humans, elemental's physiology does not necessarily dictate their gender: Indeed, though Al'wan may be male, female, or safa, their gender may run the gamut. Just like male or female Al'wani, safa elementals might be he, she, or they, gender fluid or gender ambivalent. Similarly, this has no absolute bearing on an elemental's sexual preference either; they might prefer males, females, safa, be ambivalent, any combination of the three, bisexual or asexual. Though it has occurred to a far lesser degree than human societies, Al'wani history has been fraught with occasional hardships and injustices; much in the way Aurora finds herself being burdened with expectations and prejudices that are a result of her gender, other females, males and safa in the past have also, at different times, experienced discrimination because of what, rather than who, they were. No human society is perfect, and elementals, at their core, were truly no different when their culture was young. What remains constant among all people's of Akash's world (and, indeed, our own) is the need for growth and change, and the willingness to evolve beyond their nurture if they are to incorporate greater understanding into their worldview. By the time Akash's story takes place, the Al'wan have already done so, in part because of the new crisis facing their people. Also, as [i]hadi[/i] is simply part of their natural life-cycle, safa is also seen as an extension of this and, thus, is a state that is as easily acceptable as any other. To close this discussion of the Al'wan, and to celebrate the milestone of 1000 followers on Tumblr, our wonderful artist Vanna has created a vision of Aurora as an elemental male. This image is presented in 4K, and may be downloaded by right-clicking and selecting "save as ..." [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35639313/3c1a386e3dd3e0f29063b1d187031d28882451cc.jpg[/img] As always, thank you for taking the time to read this little bit of lore, and for playing our game! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35639313/c83bfd4eab30776c8065336219a0b4afc582e35d.png[/img]