Maryn Races

This article is about an aspect of the Maryn Consociation.

The Maryn Consociation was a group of kingdoms, each primarily populated by a different race of people, being collectively and individually raised from ignorance into sentient and civilisation by the elven Maryn family and their human agents. The various races are sometimes referred to collectively as the Hiin. They include:

Vanara

The Monkey people were cunning and learned fast, but lacked discipline, and often caused trouble amongst other clans. They were good merchants and craftsmen, and their curiousity and absence of fear meant that many made good warriors, although their lack of perserverance meant that their administration skills were often lacking. The most famous Vanara was Hanuman. They lived primarily in the kingdoms of Nishadha, Dandaka, Kasi, Avanti, and Matsya.

Dawon

The Tiger people were a warrior race, tall, strong, fast, and very fierce. They preferred to use large weapons that could be wielded at speed, such as swords and glaives, but also excelled at close combat. They were never numerous, and often lived in small communities rather than large cities, or in elite positions of responsibility over other races. The royal Dawon guard were the de facto rulers of many of the weaker kingdoms. They lived primarily in the kingdoms of Kosala, Vidarbha, and Sindhu.

Rabari

The Wolf people were the most numerous of the 'predator' races, and made up the bulk of the foot soldiers and scouts in the army. They were also excellent herdsmen and fair farmers. It was said that one Rabari meant one hundred, as they lived, fought, loved, and died in large packs, never far away from each other. Any lone Rabari was considered insane. They lived primarily in the kingdoms of Southern Kosala, Anga, Gurjara, and Sudra.

Brahma

The Sacred Cattle people were the main Priests and religious advisors of the Maryn Consociation. They were initially priests of the local racial deities and guardian spirits, but also took up the cause of dharma when politically expedient. However, they never engaged with Angel worship, and subsequently, this was never popular amongst the Beast-men. They originally lived in the kingdom of Malla, but spread to wherever their advice was needed, or religious power was available. They only places where they were not near the top of the local hierarchy were where the Dimasa had secured power in the local religion before them. The Brahma and Dimasa peoples were engaged in a protracted struggle for power throughout the six millennia of the Consociation, with the Brahma usually dominant.

Dimasa

The Serpent people were the keepers of Ancient Lore, and Priests of the Dark Gods. Unlike their rivals the Brahma, they never accepted dharma, and maintained the old ways. They were most popular with the other reptillian races, and were rarely seen outside of jungles, swamps, and waterways. Despite rumours, the bite of a Dimasa is not naturally poisonous. They could not chew their food, but squallowed anything up to the size of a toddler whole, over a period of minutes. They lived primarily in the kingdoms of Maryn Kingdoms#Asmaka, Surparaka, Surasena, but could be found anywhere along the western seaboard.

Karkadann

The Rhinocerous people were a heavy-set, short-tempered and territorial race who lived on the western plains of Nishada, Abhira, and Salwa, between the Saraswati and Lavanavati rivers. They co-operated warily with the Diwon and Dwarves when threatened by the Drow, but otherwise had little time for other peoples.

Parandrus

The shapeshifter Ox people were a race of mystics, visionaries and poets who wandered through the northern lands, begging and telling fortunes for food. It is said that not only could they imitate most other races, but they could conceal themselves by taking on the appearance of their surroundings. Their traditional home was the mountain valleys in southern Karusha, and the alpine slopes of the eastern Paripata.

Dhole

The Red Dog people were numerous, crude, uneducated, and unwashed. Their primary virtue was that they responded well to discipline. Like the Rabari, they lived in packs, but were always scavengers, harassers of the weak, and ne'er-do-wells. They lived in the central river valleys of Dasarna, Vatsa, Kunti, and Malava.

Bharia

The Goat people were simple, hard-working, easily-led and obedient people. They were often simple craftsmen, subsistence farmers and labourers. The women were known for their participation in the low-class service industries, notoriously as barmaids, seamstresses, and whores, as most of the predator races found them attractive and easy to scare. They came from the very northern fringe of the Maryn Consociation, in the adjacent mountain valleys of Nepa, Northern Panchala, and Eastern Kuru.

Saurime

The Swamp Lizard people were as they are today – dim-witted, dishonest, primitive fish-eating river bandits. They were most common in the south-western kingdoms of Anupa, Heyaya, Saurashtra, and also in the border state of Sauvira.

Sasquatch

The Hairy Ape people were a withdrawn, shy race, prone to disappearing into their mountain retreats, particularly when faced with tax-collectors. They were insular and primitive, and could be aggressive if pushed. They lived in the mountain peaks of Kirata, and the alpine forest of Western Kuru.

Gnoll

The Jackal people were very disorganised and nomadic, travelling in large bands through their loosely-defined territory. They liked to raid small villages and travellers to gain plunder, as they disdained to work for themselves. They were superstitious and highly religious. They were good diggers when encouraged to do so, but they rarely attempted mining on their own, even though they liked caves. They lived in Maryn Kingdoms#Videha, Chedi, Southern Panchala, and above the Dwarves in Sivi.

Mog

The Gharial people were like Saurime, except they preferred to catch fish with their mouths than their claws. They were lazy, sun-bathing, boat-overturning, baby-snatching miscreants. They were most voracious in the river delta of Maryn Kingdoms#Vanga\Vanga, and the sandbank-rich archipelago of Dwaraka.

Sora

The Swine people were gregarious, filthy, easily-led, strong and simple. Perhaps the kindliest description is 'salt-of-the-earth'. Born peasants, they relished the opportunity to till the rich alluvial soils of the river delta of Pundra, and the oft-flooded fields of Magadha and Anarta. When away from their beloved mud, the professions at which they shined included: tanner, butcher, village idiot, scat-collector, leather worker, potter, gambler, and petty thug.

Karbi

These thieving scum lived in the edge of every city and town in the Maryn Consociation, stealing from the rightful inhabitants and refusing to do an honest day's work. Their only value was as inspirations for folk sayings like: 'as worthless as a Karbi', 'I'd rather have a dead Karbi', and 'even a Karbi wouldn't touch that'.

Orcs

The Orcs were relatively civilised, and considered one of the Elder Races, along with Humans and Dwarves. Unfortunately, of their homelands of Telinga, Odra, Ukala, Kalinga, and Sindhu, only Sindhu wasn't in a semi-permanent state of rebellion or guerrilla warfare, due to their poor choice in leaders.

Dwarves

The Dwarves of Sivi were like Dwarves everywhere. They lived on a border with a Drow Empire, and their nearest 'allies' were Gnolls, Orcs and Karkadann, so they kept themselves to themselves.