Unique among the peoples of Brighthaven in that they came after the Mage Wars.
They are always found by large rivers or the oceans with deltas being a favorite location. With that said they do not like still water so will rarely be found by lakes or ponds. Vesla are nocturnal and if out on a bright day most vesla need magic to protect their eyes.
Their diet is mostly fish and shellfish but they will eat other animals. Plant matter is rarely eaten and is usually fermented in some way. They prefer spicy and sour flavors and usually dislike sweet flavors, they can taste sweet but not well.
Gestation is 9 months and the baby is weaned at 2 years. Adulthood is at 20 which is when a vesla starts receiving memories of their past lives and their telepathy awakens. With that said, a vesla isn't sexually mature until they are 50 after which female vesla start going into heats every 5 years and a male starts reacting to heats. Heats end when a female is 300 or so but male vesla continue to be reactive until they are 400. Average age is roughly 350 for both genders but they can live up till 500 years of age.
They are 6-7 ft and are feline in appearance, Triangular heads with large oval eyes, almost too big for their faces, with oval pupils, pointed ears high on their head, and delicate cat like noses and thin lips. Thick short fur covers their bodies and adults usually have a crest of longer fur on their heads and down their spines. Their hands look human and have the same number of fingers but with claw like nails. Their feet are massive and cat shaped with retractable claws and webbing between the toes.
Fur coloration is usually solid browns or grays, with their crest being a darker shade. Other colors are possible though. Eye color is gold, green, or bronze but again other colors are possible.
Their clothing are Knee length skirts and long sashes for belts that go most of the way up their chests. Males add a wrap around their groin under their skirt for protection. For formal events they wear an ankle length open robe with large sleaves with the colors/symbols of their vorah and a chain belt to keep it close to their bodies.
When fighting vesla wear leather breastplates with enameled metal studs as well as forearm and shin guards. vesla do not ever wear anything on their heads. There's a very old taboo against it but the reason has been lost to time.
Adult vesla also wear vorahae, which are a row of small gemstone studs on the edge of the ear, the color of which marks their Vorah. at the bottom there is a ring that holds little pendants that symbolize important events in a vesla's life.
Magic
Their main magics are telepathy, mind healing, past life memories and spirit work; which they mostly use to help lay spirits of the dead to rest. Most vesla can also use most simple mage spells but rarely gain any rank higher than practitioner. Some Vesta can walk between worlds similar to Unicorns. They call it Aether Walking and before Serendipity it was considered a lost art.
Regarding Telepathy: there is a limit to how far their abilities reach, usually about half a mile in diameter, with the exception of vorana, for whom no distance is too far. Also most adult vesla must be with others of their own kind otherwise they go insane.
Fighting
Vesla are considered great knife and spear fighters, Especially impressive because the knives and spear tips tend to be made of volcanic glass, vesla mostly do not use metal for taboo reasons. They are also handy with slings and bows but rarely use those for fighting.
Sailing and Fishing
They are considered among the greatest sailors and fishermen on Brighthaven, tied with serosep when it comes to freshwater and Merfolk when it comes to ocean fishing. They mostly use spears and small nets that they can dive with to catch fish but will use long line fishing for certain fish. They also dive for shellfish and trained divers can hold their breath for up to 20 minutes.
Vorah is the vesla word for the family group one belongs to as well as the people one considers family. Most vorah are ruled by the Graash of the Vestila Vorah but this really only affects the other vorah when it comes to interacting with each other or outsiders. For the most part each vorah rules itself, via an Elder. Some vorah do not consider themselves under the power of the Graash, this is accepted but they are treated as outsiders by those vorah who do follow the Graash.
Vorana is the vesla word for twin as well as their version of soulmates. These are usually (although not always) same-sex and do not have to be biological twins. This is an extremely close bond that allows vorana to be mentally linked no matter how far apart they are Some vorana wear a special bracelet to mark their bond, but not all.
Fighting between vesla is very ceremonial and is between two fighters who are the champions of their vorah, and is usually to first blood, although if serious enough fights can be to the death. These fights are refereed by the Cadash, or Warleader, or, as long as it isn't a death fight, his Racada, seconds, who are members of a vorah so they paint their vorahae black and even then must never be a member of either vorah fighting.
With the exception of the Daughters of the Stars and the Great Library they don't tend to interact much with non Vesla. They do trade with the mountfulk for metal from time to time but, as that species are even shyer than vesla, this isn't often.
They worship the Aether as their primary god, with the stars being viewed as the windows into the Aether. They are also animistic and also practice ancestor worship via each vorah's Vorahmada (the first mother of the vorah).
Some vesla are shamans and tend to live on the edges of society, others go to them for help and they enter the vorah for certain ceremonies. However, one doesn't need a Shamon for most things like welcoming the babies or laying the dead to rest. For those it's usually the vorah elder who leads although someone else can lead them instead if the Elder isn't available.