Origin
According to legend, there was once a great kingdom in the northeast of Astana, bordering the Shards. This kingdom’s true name was lost to time, as outsiders only called it The City of Beasts. Through the aid of those in Eirilys, their kingdom prospered and became a safe haven for all Beastkin, as the world outside at the time was cruel to them. 

As this kingdom grew, it’s need for an army to defend itself did too. One individual who volunteered himself was a birdkin known only as Watcher. Watcher was born wingless, but was a powerful mage at a time when magic was still a great unknown, and had learned how to summon wings of pure magic when they were needed. He became a leader amongst this new army, and formed an elite group, known as the Tengu.

Watcher brought in many birdkin like himself, who were too humanoid to be born with wings and wanted to prove their worth.They all fought hard to learn the magic Watcher taught them, and the group slowly became one of the most prevalent, and most feared, defenders of the kingdom. The masks they wore to represent their rankings withing, became a symbol of hope.

When Darum’s rage fell upon Astana, this kingdom fell to ruin. Even their strongest could not hope to fell a dragon of his size and strength. However, Watcher did as he always did: donned his mask, summoned his wings, and flew to the defense of his kingdom. Helped people flee north to Eirilys, and fought the dragon off in whatever ways he could.

The spirits of the Gate knew that if Astana were to fall to ruin, the Gate would fall too. And so, the spirits approached Watcher, knowing that he and his Tengu were one of the few actually capable of taking the fight to Darum, with their magic and their flight. And so, the spirits gave Watcher a contract: their power and their energy for him killing Darum. He accepted.

While the remnants of the great City of Beasts fell and fled north, the Tengu remained in Astana. Many of them wanted to bring the fight to Darum, but Watcher knew that if they all were to perish, those who were fleeing would be as good as dead. And so, he sent the rest of his army to defend the passes that lead north.

Watcher confronted Darum alone. He knew full well it was suicide, but he gave his life in service to the kingdom that had given him a purpose, he was happy to do this one last thing for them. He fought with Darum all throught the day and night. The sword the spirits’ power allowed him to summon was powerful, able to pierce Darum’s scaled hide, and the energy they gave allowed him near endless use of his magic. 

After a full day of fighting, he managed to fatally wound the beast. As the beast wept, Watcher took a step back, dropped the sword, and fell to his knees. The exhaustion had caught up to him, and even the boundless energy the spirits gave him was all but spent. And so, with his final moments, he sent a signal with his lightning, telling the Tengu that the deed was done.

While it was Watcher who felled the great beast, the enemies of the City of Beasts, who now make up the city of Drakengard, took the credit for the victory, and nobody on the outside moved to correct them. After all, it was very soon after this that the Shards went to war against Eirilys, and very many of the Beastkin of the Shards were those left from the City of Beasts. The Tengu, left in Astana and amongst the rubble of their grand kingdom, took a vow. They’d keep Watcher’s name alive, and would fight tooth and nail to uphold his honor. It doesn’t matter if they were forgotten, they would keep the people they were once sworn to protect, safe. They were divided into clans, each holding a different area of Astana, in order to uphold this oath.


Centuries Later…
Tengu have made it very known that they hold great dislike for Drakengard and hold their authority in no regard. There isn’t open war, but tensions are constantly high. Many within Drakengard view them as cruel warlords, but the villages under their watchful eyes view them as peaceful guardians. The clans closer to Drakengard mainly focus on raiding villages that are under Drakengard’s protection, gathering resources to give to the villages under other Tengu clan’s guardianship. 

Tengu are much more widespread. Majority are still in Astana, but a few wayward clans found themselves in Lindin or even travelling all the way down to Eren and to the Drekaya Empire, swearing their fealty to their Queen. Those that did reasoned that the Watcher would wish for them to make peace with the kin of the dragon he felled, and to protect the people who would make sure that dragons would no longer pose a threat to this world. 

These Tengu and the Tengu of Astana hold high regards for each other: Both are carrying out the Watcher’s will in their own way. If the Watcher gave his life to protect his people from the maddened dragon that terrorized them, then both views were correct in their own right.