Mur-ain

Pride, culture, and duty are of the utmost importance to the Warrior Fae of the Mur-ain people. They were once the rulers of their lands in the Faerie Kingdom, and carved out a strong kingdom in this world as well. They can seem alien and strange to the men and dwarves of the Human Lands, following practices and customs for which men have no understanding. Quick to temper and take insult, they mostly prefer to avoid Human Lands now.

Mur-ain are diminutive standing about as tall as gnomes, and possessing a whipcord-thinness to their surprisingly strong muscles. Their skin comes in a few shades of blue; from electric blue to turquoise to navy blue, with a few being virtually black. They possess 4 fingers on each hand, and have feet with a large backwards, opposable "toe", almost like a bird's claw. Their ears are like exaggerated cones, elven ears, coming out almost horizontally to a sharp point 3-6" off the head, and their eyes burn with intense colors like red, gold, and green.

The Mur-ain warriors are renown for their speed, and their fighting techniques embrace this advantage. Small long swords or rapiers are preferred, with the long-spear and javelins being popular as well. Chain shirts and light leathers are the armors of choice, since they favor mobility over protection, and the Mur-ain do not usually carry shields. Mur-ain also do not pray directly to any gods or goddesses. They instead draw strength from their ancestors and living friends, and most mur-ain have a teacher or mentor that they feel indebted to for life.

### Not of this world (fae)

The Mur-ain were originally from the Faerie Kingdom a realm which occasionally overlaps with ours, but is mostly hidden from our sight. They migrated from there after some ancient rebellion removed them from power, but the Mur-ain have never quite fully adapted to life in the realm of men. Seasons, storms, disease, and famine are threats which are still quite bizarre to them, and they hold fast to the rules of the Faerie World, which offer limited assistance here. They are still often surprised by the appearance of other races or animals from lands not so close to theirs, and families still tell tales of adventuring relatives from the "old world" of the fae.

Mur-ain reproduction is one of the stranger aspects of this race. The females of the species seem to become pregnant at random, with or without any involvement from the males around them. Given their close ties to the Faerie World, it is thought that the pregnancy somehow originates there, and gets transfered to the Mur-ain female here in some manner. The Mur-ain themselves are bizarrely disinterested in why this happens. When pressured for a reason, they shrug and simply state that its been this way ever since they came to dwell in the world of men. Not all Mur-ain practice romantic love, and roughly half of all marriages in Mur-ain society are prearranged between families. Since there is not a biological connection between love and reproduction, Mur-ain are free to marry one individual, but fall in romantic love with another, if they are so inclined. Old fashioned, conservative Mur-ain seem to believe that they never practiced "love" of any sort before migrating to this realm, and that romantic attachment is a sort of bad habit that they picked up from the native humans when they arrived here. Not all Mur-ain historians believe this theory, however.

Mur-ain appetites might seem strange by human standards. They relish the meat of birds and wild game, but also enjoy stranger fare like insects, caterpillars dogs, horses, slugs, jellyfish, certain leaves, tubers, blood, and fresh cat's milk, just to name a few items. Mur-ain do not seem to have the taste buds to enjoy sweet items, which they report as having a slight burning sensation when consumed, not unlike how hot peppers affect humans. Anything overly acidic or alcoholic tastes grossly vile to most mur-ain, and a bare thimble full of vinegar can incapacitate a mur-ain temporarily until the sickness passes.

### Warrior Pride

A prideful people at best, and arrogant and boastful at worst, the Mur-ain value the pride of their families and friends above all other social constructs. However, their sense of honor in this regard is quite foreign and hard to understand by outside races. Telling a Mur-ain that his beloved sister is as ugly as a horse won't cause him to bat an eye, but offering him a drink of the wrong color is likely to start a blood feud. Further compounding the problem is the fact that Mur-ain consider it highly distasteful to verbally describe their social rules to outsiders, much as humans dislike describing personal details to strangers. This makes befriending outside races difficult for most Mur-ain, as the communication problems work both ways. A Mur-ain who isn't accustomed to spending time with dwarves, for example, might not understand why it is impolite to point out that a dwarvin child bears much more resemblance to its father's neighbor than to its father himself.

### Societal Rules

Mur-ain communicate in Ywne an old sylvan tongue spoken only in North Point now, and they use a great deal of non-verbal communication in the form of eye contact, posture and inflection. If a mur-ain pupil were to ask his mentor if he should travel to the Kharos Mts to adventure, the mentor could speak only the Ywne word for "no," but his body posture and body language would communicate to the young student the mentors exact feeling on the subject. These signals would inform the pupil if the mentor thought that the timing was bad, the student was too young for the trip now, or if the trip was too dangerous for anyone and the mentor was reprimanding the pupil for his ignorance. Having a basic knowledge of the Ywne tongue does not impart any of the ability to discern these facts and a non-native speaker must spend at least 3 years in the company of mur-ain before they can pick up on these clues.

The Mur-Ain society is a complex one, with many rules of conduct governing the average mur-ain's life. Each region in the land will have a set of taboos it will not intentionally break, such as a ban against the consumption of food after sunset, or the strict requirement of certain tattoos. Also, clans within the region will have a set of rules that their members will follow in addition to the region rules. Family units will also have a set of codes, then to add to the confusion, individuals will have unique taboos they hold to strongly. Some of these rules include a prohibition against currency, full body tattoos, or a tendency to speak in poems. Most mur-ain feel that their allies should follow the general principles of their rules as well, and will be gravely insulted if they directly violate them. A normal mur-ain will not tell his compatriots of his rules, allowing them to find out through the course of his actions, and this can lead to conflict and confusion.

Sample Taboos:

* Prohibition against; tattoos, alcohol, currency, gems, idols, rings or jewelry, pork, beef, fish, wheat, bread, leather, shoes or gloves, eye contact with same/opposite sex, singing, playing instruments, gambling, shirts/pants, cold iron, holy relics, etc..
* Must shave head hair in certain pattern
* Cannot ride on a mount
* Must give 50% of money to charity
* Must obey host if given a gift
* Never speaks in any language but Ywne (even if other are known)
* Extreme prejudice against a certain race or country
* Never speaks unless spoken too
* Must wear a certain color at all times
* Cannot used ranged weapons
* Cannot use blunt/edged weapons
* Cannot travel at night
* Must meditate 4 hours per day
* Cannot attack a certain race
* Must smoke certain herbs before battle
* Cannot tolerate cats/dogs
* Cannot live in cities
* Must sleep out in the open
* Must face north in a fight