Telakarami

Each Telakarami that is known.

The **Telakarami**, widely known as the **Ram people**, are a partially sheep-like humanoid that live in the lands of New Delvani in the Merka’vish Dominion in eastern Grimur, with some having diaspora around the world. As the last surviving exant of *Delviniades*, they would become the most dominant of their species, and is currently the only known member of the order of *Artiodactyla* to share similar qualities to humans, as well as varying other evolved species.

## History

The Telakarami originated from a world known as Delvani, which was described as a formerly beautiful and lush world, before turning into an absolute ashland through some apocalyptical event. From this, their deity leader, Merka'vish, would bring them through a portal in which they came through, and established the Merka’vish Dominion. Together under the leadership of Merka'vish, who called herself Natrosk from then on, created a powerful empire that would come to dominate most of eastern Grimur, establishing what is known as the "Merka'vish Empire". This empire would last until the later -1500s where Natrosk would disappear, and the empire falling into chaos quickly, with many as 300 houses vying for power within the Empire. Upon establishment of the Grand Council, and the 44 houses that united together in an uneasy Dominion, the Telakarami would be at half the population that they were before, going down from three million to only about a million.

The establishment of the Dominion also saw a lot of Shadow-Marked leaving the Dominion, as the racial dominance of the Blood-Marked begun to take place, declaring themselves superior to Shadow-Marked, despite being in less population than the Shadow-Marked. This decline in population would see Shadow-Marked appearing in varying settlements across the north, and a small diaspora to the south in Grimur. These communities would become secluded, although, some communities would become more open toward different races. The ones who stayed in the Dominion, didn't all saw doom and gloom, with a few respected Shadow-Marked such as Keveranah, who saw herself become a major political influence on the Dominion.

Upon discovery by scientists and paleontologists, they would be put on the conservation list as "Endangered", due to their declining and lower population status.

## Biology

Telakarami are defined by their rather tall appearances, and their notable ram-like features that surround their bodies, mostly fur, but their faces look overall human, with a notable difference, which is that their eyes are shaped similarly to a rams, with many having either hooves or humanoid feet. Many Telakarami range from 6’0 to about 6’7, with shorter Telakaramis, ranging at around 5’9. They are taller than the average human, and the average elf even, which explains why many of their average houses and palaces have taller entryways. Telakaramis have ashen skin, due to the environment they had originated from, and the lack of actual sunlight, though they do not burn in sunlight. Their lungs are adapted to the volcanic ash, as well as being more fire resistant to adjust to their surroundings.

Telakarami are extremely well known for their distinctive marks that flow throughout their backs almost like a tattoo they were given at birth. Each Telakarami has a stream of a particular type of mark that flows down their back, growing further down when they get older. The maximum of the flow is when it reaches down to their feet, in which it terminates. These marks however, are not mere decoration, but they also function as a source of their magical powers, and dictates what type of magic they cast. Currently, there are only four known mark types: Blood, Shadow, Smoke and Ice. It is possible that there are other mark types, but this is currently unknown. Depending on what mark type breeds, there is a higher chance one will dominate the other. It is extremely rare for one to have two or more mark types, with one born with all four being impossibly rare. The most common mark types are Blood and Shadow, with Smoke being uncommon and Ice being rare. Their eye color are also dependent on their mark, so for example, the eye color of a Blood-Marked is Blood Red, an Ice-Marked is Ice Blue, a Shadow-Marked is Shadow Grey, and Smoke-Marked is Smoke Grey. A mixture usually shows side by side.

Telakarami can live up to be around 150 years of age, while some can live up to be 200 years of age. This is due to the fact that prolonged life from the blessings of Natrosk can give them the will to live longer. Maturity is the same as a regular humanoid, which is 18. Mensteral periods usually vary for different Telakarami, with Shadow-Marked getting it far more often than Blood-Marked, who get it less. Ice-Marked and Smoke-Marked usually experience them a bit later, which explains their lower population count. For reasons unknown, Telakarami are able to have pure-bred children with men without a single trace of the male's DNA in them. This oddity has raised many questions with scientists and anthropologists, as well as even the Grimur Ministry of Magic, but it's possible it's linked to divine intervention by Natrosk herself to prolong the species' surviveability.