Jamoura
From Mizahar Lore
 Reclusive Forest Giants | |
| Height | 8' (males), 7' (females) |
|---|---|
| Weight | 500-600lbs (males), 450-500lbs (females) |
| Lifespan | 850 years |
| Major features | Bestial appearance, immense size |
| Abilities | Natural camouflage, Commune with nature |
| Population | 300 |
| Most common in | Spires, Tadera |
| Reputation | Intelligent, reclusive |
| Racial gods | Caiyha |
| Subraces | None |
The Jamoura are a race of humanoid apes as mighty and wise as the great forests in which they make their home. Bestial in appearance, they are a generally peaceful folk devoted to intellectual pursuits that may take decades, even centuries to master. Seen as reclusive, the Jamoura are generally friendly and hold a great interest in knowledge, learning and teaching. Living in the forest of massive trees called, Spires, they have become known as the keepers of a sacred knowledge that transcends most mortal understanding. To learn from a Jamoura is considered an honor by many.
Contents |
History
The Jamoura were not always the intellectuals they are now. In ages past, the Jamoura were a simpler species. They wandered the forests of southern Sylira as animals, surviving as animals do. Unlike other animals however, they displayed a rudimentary intelligence that they used to fashion simple tools from rocks and sticks which they used to attain food easier and even go so far as to improve their chances for and quality of survival. They existed in social units led by alpha males who directed large groups of up to 30 other Jamoura and worked together to ensure each others survival. Thus they were born, lived and died in the forests as simple creatures existing in the grand structure of nature.
Then came the humans and subsequent changes to very Jamoura that would forever alter their very being. At first and for quite some time, the Jamoura saw now difference in life after the arrival of humans. As the human population grew, they expanded. With this growth and expansion came the eventual need for resources. Mining, logging and hunting found their way to the Jamoura. The forests they lived in were slowly destroyed by the humans thus food and shelter for the great apes vanished. The Jamoura did as the other animals did and fled deeper into the wild. The humans still pushed forward and soon the Jamoura themselves became targets. Confrontations between human hunters and the Jamoura became more frequent and death resulted on both sides. Unfortunately for the Jamoura however, the humans intellect was too much to overcome. The Jamoura quickly lost the battle for supremacy over the forests and with their already small numbers now even smaller, they had no choice but to continue fleeing as far as they could from the human incursion. Thus the Jamoura found themselves pushed as far north as the Tadera region. There, with only a relative handful of their species remaining, they made their home in massive forests of the place now called Spires.
Unfortunately, peace would not stay with the Jamoura. With little warning came the Valterrian. They cowered in fear and without understanding as the land around them shattered. Though shielded by the brunt of the destruction by the great trees around them, many Jamoura were lost. When the Valterrian finally quieted and ceased, the Jamoura, like many other creatures, would undergo a startling change in mind, body and soul.
Throughout it all, the plight of the Jamoura hat not gone unnoticed. Someone of great power and influence had been watching for quite some time. They watched and felt every wound, every tear and ever pain that the Jamoura felt. Normally, this person would allow nature to take its course as the struggle for survival played out as it did everywhere in Her realm. Caiyha, Goddess of Flora, Fauna and the Wilderness was sickened by the acts of the humans and heartbroken by the horrors suffered by the Jamoura. Long ago she had planted the seeds of a new era into the blood of the Jamoura. These seeds were passed on to the young and grew as they did. After a few generations of growth, these seeds were ready to finally break the surface. The Valterrian was the final slight upon nature and upon Caihya. So many seeds she had planted had since grown and were ready to bloom; the Jamoura were among the first.
During the Valterrian, the Jamoura transformed quicker than a blooming flower. The oldest living Jamoura at the time, a male by the name of Marn, was the first to experience the transformation.
"It began oddly enough with a strong scent of flowers in the air which considering what was happening everywhere else at the time, was quite peculiar. With the smell came a warm sensation as if being wrapped in a soft blanket of feathers. I heard a soft melodic sound which I can say now was a sweet song sung by a female voice. When the song ended, it was as if I were waking from a dream. I opened my eyes and stretched. As I did, I watched with no small amount of surprise as I shed my body; hair, flesh, muscle and bone all at once. As I stood up, the changes were obvious. I was changed; twice as large as I was before with thoughts speeding through my head unlike nothing before. I looked around me to see others undergoing similar changes. No longer were the hunted, frightened animals. At that moment we had become the kings of the forest."
With Caiyha's gift, the Jamoura devoted themselves to peaceful and scholarly pursuits. They learned about the forests in ways they could never fathom and they embraced all that it had to offer. Although quite capable of dominating their surroundings as the humans had done, the Jamoura chose instead to live as one with all that was around them.
Over the next four hundred years, the Jamoura learned all they could of the forest, the plants and animals. They communed with beings of the wild and with Nature, Herself. They learned about what had happened to cause the Valterrian and through their communing with nature, they even learned about the outside world and how it had been affected by the divine devastation. One thing the Jamoura discovered about their new existence was their vast potential for retaining knowledge. Their minds were almost encyclopedic in their ability to collect and maintain knowledge down to the smallest detail; effectively becoming living libraries of information. Their ability speak with animals and commune with the land allowed them a way to gain information from parts of Mizahar hundreds of miles away.
Into the fifth century after the Valterrian, it was Marn; still alive and quite active, who made the decision to attempt more direct contact with the outside world. The Jamoura possessed a racial memory of what had been done to them by the humans yet they had learned their old enemies were suffering even greater. The Valterrian had destroyed civilization across the world. Gods and Goddesses had been lost, the land was still healing and the humans had fallen into chaos. Pockets of rebuilding had already been underway but the humans were not yet ready for what awaited them. So, Marn, made Grand Elder by his people, declared that they would seek out places where human civilization was rebuilding and offer to teach and prepare them for the new world that awaited them. Over the next hundred years, the Jamoura sent emissaries to more established human cities and offered to share knowledge with those capable of accepting it.
Thus the isolated forest known as Spires, became a place where those who were ready, could seek out a new level of knowledge and awareness and become one not only with themselves but expand their very being into areas never before imagined.
Biology
Physical Appearance
The Jamoura have come a long way from their more humble beginnings as simple apes. The average Jamoura male stands around 8' tall and weighs between 500 and 600lbs. Females are normally a little smaller at 7' tall and between 450 and 500lbs. Thick fur covers their entire body save for the front of their torso and their face. Unlike their ancestors, the Jamoura are capable of standing and walking as humans do though their build is quite heavy. The shoulder width of a Jamoura measures half their overall height. Thus an 8' tall Jamoura has a shoulder width of 4'. Although they retain the elongated teeth of their ancestors, Jamoura seldom use them for anything other than eating. They do have small claws on their hands and feet although these are useful for little more than climbing. Fur color ranges from a dark orange or light brown to deep gray or black although these colors are capable of changing with a bit of concentration; allowing the Jamoura to match its fur color to its surroundings in a form of unique camouflage. Their eye color is usually brown with occasional instances of green.
Common Traits
Jamoura all share a undeniable love and respect for nature. Though peaceful and intellectual, no Jamoura will suffer the spoiling of the wild. They know their very existence is owed to the Goddess of Nature thus they will defend her domain to the death. While defenders of nature, the Jamoura are also watchers and in turn possess a variety of related abilities. Regardless of gender, all Jamoura possess the ability to alter the color and pattern of their fur as well as masking their own scent in order to better blend into their environment. This ability is was gifted to the Jamoura by Caihya and thus only works to full capacity in the presence of untouched nature. A Jamoura who attempts to camouflage himself in this manner while in a town, city or other location altered by other humanoids will find their ability to blend seriously reduced. A fully camouflaged Jamoura is nearly impossible to detect with natural senses. Moving while camouflage will disrupt the ability and make their presence known.
With their immense size comes great strength. A single Jamoura has a strength equal to 10 full grown humans. However, in nature there is always balance and the Jamoura are no exception. While strong, Jamoura are not quick or agile; relying on their camouflaging to escape notice. They can climb however via short but durable claws on their hands and feet. Many a Jamoura make their home high in the trees of great forests.
Perhaps the most unique trait possessed by the Jamoura is their ability to commune with nature. With this ability a Jamoura can communicate with wild animals via a link between minds. The Jamoura can share all of the senses of the animal they link with and can pass basic commands on to the animal while receiving basic answers and messages. A Jamoura can only link with a single animal at any one time however that animal may then communicate with others of its kind nearby and so on and so forth. Through this, a network of communication can be formed with information being shared throughout the collective; beginning and ending at the Jamoura. As well, a Jamoura can commune with the land itself in a radius of 50' centered on the communing Jamoura. With this form of communing, they may see any event that took place within the area of affect for up to a year into the past. Communing in any of its forms is mentally exhausting for the Jamoura. After one link with a section of land, the Jamoura will be left feeling as though they haven't slept for a couple days. Linking with an animal feels as though they haven't slept for almost a day. Due to the nature of this gift, a Jamoura cannot use their communing ability to hunt. Attempts to do so have been known to lead the Jamoura into unforeseen danger as a result of nature's balance.