Braman

Bramen are slim, bipedal herbivores with hairless bodies and large floppy ears, reaching a height of about two meters (6.6 feet).  They are very intelligent and tend to be drawn to natural philosophy; consequently, many braman cultures are famed for their skills with alchemy, engineering and herbalism.  Most bramen disdain violence, preferring intellectual and economic power, and are well-known as sailors and traders throughout the inhabited world.  They tend to live in coastal towns and small cities on their home islands, which are Terrinor's oldest centers of civilization; their ships and navigational skills, too, are by far the best on Terrinor.  They possess an average aptitude for magic, but tend to distrust the magical arts.

Note:  A positive IC and (at least a) neutral OOC peer rating is required in order to create a braman character.

Bramen are one of the most important races on Terrinor and, as such, should be played with care.

The braman homeland is an archipelago called Our Verdant Isles, often referred to as 'the Verdant Isles' or 'the Isles' by members of other races.  It is located in a region called Moorva - an equatorial salt sea dotted with chains of volcanic islands.  Though Moorva encompasses a vast geographic area, the settlements on its individual island groups are united by the Moorvic language and a common culture that is maintained and reinforced by regular contact with braman trade ships.  Under the surface of the sea, networks of seamounts, lagoons associated with uninhabited islets, and other shallow submerged areas are home to the isolated remnants of the once-glorious livathi race.  The main body of the aquaepura race also inhabits Moorva.  However, their enclaves are well-hidden from the prying eyes of outsiders, to whom they usually present themselves as bramen.

Braman civilization has been around longer than the others have.  Its history is one of stability, peace, security, and relative comfort.  Historically, the braman peace was always abetted by their isolation.  Typically, the bramen interacted with the non-Moorvic races on braman terms.  Land-based races visited Moorva with the consent of the bramen and livathi, never despite them.  As it was in the past, this is still a truism in modern times.

Bramen always had excellent relations with the livathi.  Both races considered the other their intellectual equal and both shared their knowledge, histories, and philosophies with the other.  In the past, livathi violently protected bramen interests in Moorva to the point where none but braman ships dared to sail the seas.  In the distant past, differences in habitat and physical ability led the bramen and livathi down separate and diverging intellectual paths.  Bramen became masters of nature and technology: engineering, astronomy, navigation, alchemy, and herbalism.  Livathi, on the other hand, concentrated on the magical arts; their talents with all things mystical were unmatched.  Sadly, while it left the bramen unscathed, the Breaking decimated the livathi.  These days, the few remaining livathi are twisted and pathetic, their sanity gone along with their knowledge and civilization.  Bramen still speak of the livathi in the sad, hushed tones befitting a tragedy of almost unimaginable dimensions.

Peacefulness is a braman trait (please note that this is distinct from pacifism).  Bramen are quite willing to use violence and coercion to protect themselves and their society, and individual bramen may enjoy honing their martial abilities as a pastime, a test of skill, or to prepare for certain activities (ship's officers, for instance, need to be able to defend themselves against a potentially mutinous human crew).  However, violence and strife are distasteful to bramen.  They much prefer to achieve their goals through careful planning and elegant strategy.  Braman power stems from economic wherewithal rather than from military strength.  A braman who can't avoid danger will protect himself with defensive fighting tactics, if circumstances necessitate such a distasteful activity.

Bramen do their utmost to remain neutral in regards to conflict.  The great Wars of the past destroyed some sentient races, irrevocably changed others, wrecked powerful empires, and forever altered the world.  However, these Wars passed the bramen by with very little effect.  Other than the sundering of the braman homeland into three Isles during the Breaking (and the heartfelt distress caused by the loss of the livathi), the bramen were barely affected by the hostilities.  Likewise, in modern times, bramen will not choose sides in a conflict, preferring to take a long-term approach to such things by waiting it out then cleaning up the pieces (usually to their material benefit).

Bramen are intensely curious about everything.  There is no detail too inconsequential, no concept too esoteric, and no story too far-fetched for a braman to decline to investigate it thoroughly.  To a braman, knowledge is power - the power to plan ahead and always come out on top of the game.  The bramen collect their knowledge in great libraries on their home Isles, preserving it for the day when it might be of some use to a scholar.  Traditionally, libraries are open to all bramen who come to study in good faith.

A few dozen extended families anchor the braman civilization.  These dynasties (often called great families) trace their roots back several millennia which is a span of time longer than the history of some of the magically-created races.  Although most bramen do not count themselves as among the members of these respected families, practically every braman is somehow associated with one of them, either by familial ties or by a vocation that brings him into the sphere of influence of a particular family.

Equal in influence to the great families are the learned societies.  One or more of these scholarly groups studies and catalogues every major field of knowledge.  In this way, the collection of information is encouraged, directed, and organized.  Many bramen travel around Terrinor at the direction of these learned societies, searching for answers to questions posed by scholars of a particular field of knowledge.

Also important is a council of well-respected bramen that typically deals with other races and presents a unified front that speaks for all bramen when such a thing is necessary.  The members of this council are popularly elected by the great families, the learned societies, and by the inhabitants of the more far-flung regions of Moorva who would otherwise have little influence.  This council is mostly ceremonial in nature.  It has no power of its own and depends on the largess of the great families for its funding.  It is implicitly understood by most bramen (although certainly not by the other races) that the council only operates with the consent and for the benefit of the great families and the learned societies.

The braman relationship with magic is one of dispassionate disregard.  Although some bramen dabble in it to satisfy their curiosity, most see little need for magic and plenty of downside to its continued use.  They study it only to learn about its potential to affect their civilization.  Though rare, there have been groups of braman mages that studied magic in a similar vein to the way other groups studied alchemy or herbalism.  Braman concerns about the safety of magic prevented them from depending on it in the past, and they view it as a dead-end in modern, post-Breaking times. To the untutored, braman alchemy may appear near-magical.  But unlike magic it is generally safe and predictable.  Alchemy, coupled with technology (the most advanced of which is in braman hands) allows the bramen to accomplish a good number of the things that other races depended on magic to do.

The bramen have good relations with the other races.  They do their utmost to learn all they can about others.  With greater understanding comes a more focused trading strategy and more of an ability to plan for whatever the future holds.  A surprised braman is one who did not study the facts of a situation sufficiently.  There is comfort and satisfaction in learning about the other races.