Twilight Ramblings 12 - Fubarnii Races

During the time of devanu rule there was relatively little movement of fubarnii across anyaral, so there are strong racial distinctions in many regions. These have been mentioned quite a few times, but I thought I would pull together some of the general racial characteristics that are seen across the various fubarnii of Anyaral. The herders are very definitely Gethloan, while the knights and militia are slightly more varied. There are no specific Casanii or Eragu sculpts to date.

Gethloan (geth-low-ann). The Gethloan generally have pale brownish skin, often with darker mottling and spots over the top of their snouts and backs, with similar markings over their shoulders and down their arms. The gethloan ″race″ is fairly diluted and cosmopolitan as many travellers from other regions have been accepted into the central empire communities. The rural farmers and herders tend to be more typically gethloan in their features than their town-living cousins. To the North are the various setirii (seh-tear-ee). This phrase actually covers a number of different races who have kept themselves separate to a certain extent.

The Dhogu (doh-goo) live in unknown numbers throughout the mountains. Small even by fubarnii standards, the Dhogu generally avoid the cities, although some do visit to trade and offer their services. They are very pale skinned and usually wear thick leathers and furs to protect them from the cold. It is a common misconception that they have hairy hooves and there are a number of derogatory racial terms along those lines (as well as insults to do with hairy eggs). There is a general view that you can’t trust a Dhogu. This may be unfair to some extent, but their moral code differs to that of most of the empire - in their view a promise is worthless, unless backed up by the Dhogu’s ″dhog″ (pronounced doh-guh, with a very soft ″guh″, and roughly translates to clan, family, or tribe). Thus a deal to guide a traveller through the mountains means nothing unless it is quite carefully negotiated. Many travellers have perished as a result of this technicality. A true promise from a Dhogu is however a very serious oath and would never be broken. Oathbreakers are killed or exiled as they shame the dhog. The Delgon (Dell-gone) are also a setirii race. They clearly have a lot of Dhogu blood in them, but they seem to have some gethloan origin as well, linked to when they retreated from the devanu occupation. They have pale, greyish skin with minor speckling more visible in the Delgon of some regions. They are slightly taller than the Dhogu, but are short by most fubarnii standards. While the Delgon armies that have been seen to date are very uniform, there are more distinct differences in armour and clothing style within the Delgon borders. There is however a strong tendency towards uniformity and this is reinforced by their very rigid crèche structure, where young jenta are immediately put into crèches from the moment they hatch and are unlikely to ever know their parents. Instead there is a strong bond between crèche siblings. The Eragu (Eh-rah-goo) are a very distinctive setirii race. They have long-term animosity with the Dhogu as they have had many historical battles over territory etc. They are generally the largest of the fubarnii races and thus tower over their neighbours. Their skin is greyish in tone - similar to the other setirii. Both the Engu and the Galin are eragu clans and they are very similar in many aspects of their culture.

The Nerinii (Neh-ree-nee) are a disparate and varied race who live in the regions around the great lakes. They are often olive or green skinned, but as with the gethloan they are a cosmopolitan race and there is a lot of variation both between and within regions. They are seen as a generally light-hearted and welcoming people, but can be very harsh when their way of life is threatened. The Casanii (Cass-aah-nee) occupy the vast Casanii territories. They are nominally split into three ″clans″ for administrative reasons, but the Casanii themselves consider themselves as belonging to much smaller groupings. There are often skirmishes between these groups, but at many times they have gathered in vast numbers to deal with a threat. The Casanii are generally a tall slender race (by fubarnii standards), but there is a large amount of variation across the territories. They tend to have slightly darker skin than their northern brethren, but may groups wear a great deal of brightly coloured body paint. The territories are very warm, so the Casanii wear minimal clothing, often just wearing ornate breastplates. Headdresses are commonly seen and mark seniority. The Tohranii (Toe-raah-nee), commonly known as Ferals, are a nomadic people who follow the great migrations across the Empire. They are a distinct race who bear many similarities to the Gethloan people, albeit with a number of distinct differences in skin tones and facial shapes. They are an insular people with strong traditions, but they will trade and interact with clans they pass through. The Argoran (ahh-gore-ann) bear some similarities to both the Gethloan and the Casanii, being relatively tall and slender, but not to the same extent as the Casanii.