Imaskari - The First Men
Before the Second Coming of Men - who brought earthly magics and cemented Gods as what they are - there was the Imaskari folk. While the Domovoj ruled the mountains, the Nelwyns ruled the waters, and the Orang Bunian ruled the lowlands; it was the Orcneas People were masters of survival. Legends singing their praises of surviving the harshes of seasons, or weathering the worst of wars in the Shifting Lands. All while guides by the most gentle of spirits. Unfortunately, when the Orang Bunian's White Ships tamed the lowlands, much of their culture was lost over the millennia.
By the time of the Second Coming of Men, only two dynasties of the Imaskari remained: The Goliaths of Dauk and the Ogresh of Wozgor. The Daukian Goliaths found a home at the highest mountain peaks, becoming nomadic and reclusive. Wandering bleak realm of rock, wind, and cold. Their bodies look as if they are carved from mountain stone and give them great physical power. Their hearts were said to be infused with the cold regard of their frigid realm, leaving each goliath with the responsibility to earn a place in the tribe or die trying.
By now, the original culture of the Ogresh of Wozgor has seemingly faded away. Disappearing long before the Godswar and tainted by the Necrichor of a dead god. The eldest of their kinship groups claims that they were once an oasis of calm in Shifting Lands of Ulgrotha. They hum or chant in sonorous tones and move slowly or sit in perfect stillness of their wooded badlands. But they had been forever changed - changed into a weapon to be weilded by the Nerathilord of War. Sometimes called Ogres or Orcs, these white giants that come from under the earth. They venture forth under the full moon to feed on the unwary villager caught alone at night.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The Imaskari folk are human, but they are like no other humans anywhere. Nearly all adults stand over six feet tall, and seven feet are not uncommon. They are massively muscled and have gray skin (ranging from ashy gray-white to deeper blue-gray) - with the Ogresh being far more adaptable to their enviorment. Gaining more muscle, or more hair, depending on what they need to survive their enviorments.
The Daukian Goliaths inparticular are remarkably resistant - their hardened bodies resilient to not just a bronze blade, but also the most biting cold weather experienced.
The Ogresh of Wozgor - the Ogres and Orcs - have been so twisted by the occult sciences of the Nerathilords they have become an entirely seperate species. They have become almost enitrely weaponized - with claws, tusks, and a robust constiution. All able to survive wounds that could kill a lesser man, resulting in a form of transhuman dread. Many of these orges have begun to turn to a minority of their own - a subrace that has become smarter, more attuned to the scarred world around them - to lead them from their previous ways.
Ogres are also able to sire children with humans, elves or dwarves.
Behaviour
While the Goliaths of Dauk have become more reclusive, the Ogresh of Wozgor have attempted to find a place for themselves in the world. Now, they've made a tentative peace with civilized races. They're still war-like and rather creepy, with their religious philosophy about the value of pain - but they have learned to view it as a positive force that goads you towards life and shows you are testing your limits. As a result, they believe that nothing worthwhile comes without sacrifice; an Ogresh would gain more honor from a bloody, near-fatal duel than one in which they triumphed without a scratch.
Wild goliaths are fierce, mountain-dwelling barbarians who raid the people ofthe lowlands in search of plunder, captives, and prestige. While urban Goliaths become urban thugs or mercenaries. They adopt the culture and traditions ofthe cities in which they dwell. And in martial cultures, they are prized for their strength - showering the mighty warriors with luxuries in exchange for their loyalty.
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