Morians

The original appearance of the Morians is presumed to be featherless, as this historic race created thousands of tunnels, caves, and chambers throughout Ainran, even more adamant at tunneling than the dwarves, for as they sought metals, the Morians dug for the sake of digging. Having been spawned deep beneath the earth and surviving great temperatures, the Morians spent their lives fleeing creatures called the Pokthoth: great, brilliant, and sinister amoebae. The Morians' lives were simple, and they fed from all which grew underground, moving continuously. Their bodies were well suited for traveling long distances, maneuvering through underground chasms, and digging, for they spat substance upon rock, which made it as loose as sand. The Pokthoth followed them always, slowly, killing all Morians who were left behind or decided to stay behind, in belief that the Pokthoth would not come. The cycle of their generations was broken, as scribed in their great text, The Nauka:

*Falak and Ditic had both finished the burials of all those who died of starvation, lest their bodies be taken by the Pokthoth. Falak heard a voice, and he went to Ditic: "Did you call for me? I heard a voice." And Ditic responded, "No, I did not.  Where did you hear the voice?" Falak listened again, and then he heard the voice a second time. "Was that you, Ditic?" And he responded. "No. Where did you hear it?" Falak immediately dug the last grave. "Perhaps we buried one alive." When he had finished digging, he found that the body had been stripped of all flesh, and it now spoke clearly: "Falak, son of Zahdur, your people have suffered and continued diligently to survive against what you call the Pokthoth. I am with pride for you. I am God of your ancestry and of this world. I have chosen you to bring your people into liberation. A war has broken the seal between your world and another, and it is in this new land that I promise your people lives without running and beauty you could not imagine to witness. I command you to dig upward, you and all of your people." Falak became suspicious. He responded, "You as God come to me as bones of my brother. Why do you appear as this? Why were we beset by the Pokthoth all these generations?" And the bones nodded at him. "I have two forms that are comprehensible by you: Light and Shadow, Mortality and Magic. Though it has been lost to your history in your permanent exodus, I was with your fathers before you, whom I told of the riches of your world. Though I warned them against it, your fathers decided to delve too far here, and though they became wealthy, they lost the way, and soon that way was sealed. In their desire for more of all they could touch, I tell you that your fathers sacrificed themselves upon an altar to Kozamtiv, the goat with more heads than it can feed. And they, your fathers, became the Pokthoth. In your loyalty and respect for those who have gone before you, I give you this chance to obey or deny me, the same that which I gave your fathers. Rise, and enter a new world."*

Though it is rumoured some remained beneath the earth, most Morians followed Falak to the surface. They arrived at the end of the Old War.

*And when they had breached the new world, the portal shown, the first rays of the Sun striking the Morians, sending them back in fear. And from this great and powerful light came a bipedal shape along the walls, a shadow. And it spoke: "Do not fear, Abevok, son of Ceirow, son of Falak, whom I gave this task as Death. For your people, the new world will be dark, growing with more light each generation. You will record all you know, building grand collections of knowledge for Me." And then the shadow vanished, for the Sun fell as well.*

Thus began the age of the Great Darkness, where all the mortal races moved beneath the earth after having rejected their old rulers and ceased their war. But in this age, the Morians moved and expanded all across Ainran. They grew feathers and lost their acidic saliva. They farmed and became great paperworkers and scribes. They built libraries, but all their knowledge gained and recorded was understood to be a gift from God the Shadow, and they became the only race on Ainran that is able to practice and learn Arcane magic in a clerical, divine manner.

Yet, as memory of the Pokthoth faded and discredited by some, the Morians split apart themselves. According to historical records, Kozamtiv appeared to those that doubted, promising them magical power. And many sacrificed themselves for it. Filled with desire for dominion, they warred against their bretheren, using a magic of which the details are removed from history. While many cities and structures fell, and creature

   s of the world were forever changed by the Tiktori ('Those Who Doubted'), most especially in the west where they land, the faithful prevailed, most of the Tiktori destroyed by *Them*, agents, in Morian belief, of the Binity God. Time passed, and when the full light of day returned many generations later, the other peoples of the world arose and reformed, recreated, or created their lands' holds.

Morians now live almost anywhere in the world, yet while widespread, their population is minimal, making them more rare than other races. Many live in hovels, as it suits them naturally, while others live in what they've built. Many carry scythes, as it is a symbol of God the Light and is useful as both a weapon and tool.Their governmental systems vary due to being both small and numerous, but they all hold in common the knowledge of the past and of their deity.

*God the Light -This Person of God concerns himself deeply with the life of the world and is brother to God the Shadow. He is the reason life continues and day rises. It is believed that those who die will meet God the Light, who judges them based on how they spent their lives interacting with the other lives in the world.*

*God the Shadow - This Person of God accounts for all the machinations of the world - time, magic, astrology, truths. It is believed that this Person is met by those who pursue magic to the point where the line crosses from mortal to deific, or their magic is so strong that they could change the course of the world forever. It is not to stop them, but to speak with them.*

*Light and Shadow are one in the same. We see this every day: where there is light, there are shadows. Where there is a shadow, there must be a light. It is one and the same entity. God the Light and God the Shadow are both God, yet Light is not Shadow, nor Shadow Light.*

Morian gender is distinguished between male and female in three ways: males have longer anthropodic bodies, far more robust upper bodies, and feathers on their anthropodic bottoms. Females only have longer anthropodic bodies when they are pregnant, and since they must die in order to give birth, this is a rare sight, and romantic relationships are not often for Morians to hold. Those women who do die to bring life into the world are hailed by their community, loved by all good Morians, and are considered to be in special favour with God the Light. God the Shadow focuses on the men, ensuring they uphold their ancestoral promise of recording and record-keeping.