Mewah

These ears have the ability to move ever so slightly to convey emotions; not enough to change their permanent positions but enough for anyone to notice the difference from the mewah’s usual attitudes. They also have superb hearing and would often have to concentrate to distinguish sounds, in the same room as them, from one another so they wouldn’t get overwhelmed. It makes whispering very difficult in their presence.

Similar to that of the pursa, the mewah are great with magic. They even have their own college of magic to teach others how to wield it better. They tend to be very strong with offense magic, using their skills to win duels in an attempt to best others. Their race-exclusive magic is the illuminator, which allows them to look into the past of a location using candle magic. Their usage of this magic stems from their religion (See Religion and Belief System).

A mewah can live to as old as 507 years old, with some falling short at 489. Their hair will start to grey at around 420 years old and wrinkles will start appearing at around 450. They will often still look and act youthful while still sporting wrinkles and graying hair as growing old doesn’t make them as frail as artrune elders. They are still spry in their old age and are flexible and athletic.

However, once they start dying, they will start to glow and slowly fade from existence, clothes and all. This process only takes about an hour and they remain corporeal until that hour is up. This means they can talk and physically touch and pick up things even as they begin to look transparent. They still have their energy and physical abilities as they die so they can run, use magic, and do other things up until the point that they finally disappear for good. Should they be poisoned or mortally wounded, their body will start to shut down completely, before they even start becoming transparent and disappearing.

Half-Mewah Hybrids
The mewah are just one of many races that can breed together to create hybrid children. Some hybrids look more like one race than the other. Special race-exclusive magics remain race-exclusive; not even hybrids have the privilege of dipping into that kind of magic.

This hybrid shares most of their physical strength and magical attributes with their artrune parentage. Their ears, eyes, and height allow them to even pass as pure-mewah as long as they aren’t discovered through any means. The only hair that grows on them is both the hair on top of their head and down below the waistline (not including on the legs). A Half-Artrune, Half-Mewah hybrid can be either Dragon, Magulis, or Rider Class.

clanofstuff's character, Velario Murali.

All though this hybrid sports a smaller (and singular) pair of wings from it's zephyr parent, these wings are too small to fly nor can they grant the hybrid the ability to walk on clouds like the zephyr race. Their ears are the same as their mewahen parent and like their mewahen heritage, the only hair that grows on them is both the hair on top of their head and down below the waistline (not including on the legs). These hybrids can only be Magulis Class.

Shopkeeper of The Blazing Ravenry in Pagoma (The Wharf)

They keep their mewahen parent’s height with lack of defined muscles (unless they work themselves up to that point on their own), and they have the stamina of the average mewah. They inherit the skin colors of their mewahen parent but will have the ears of their sil’nyy parent and, if the hybrid is male, then they will also inherit a smaller version of the horns that are part of their sil’nyy heritage. These hybrids can be Dragon, Magulis, or Rider class.

admin's character, Leonidas Istoria.

Main Geographical Locations
There are three mewahen cities in existence and all three are located within the continent of Selgamed. There is one that a pursa settlement has been built next to but otherwise the cities of mewah are isolated and out of the way to get to.

Pagoma (Paw-Goh-Muh) is in the deepest south of Selgamed, surrounded by snow and frozen waters. Pagoma is in similar condition to Esfandell: Pristine and well-kept. Despite the constant snowfall and wind, the inside of the city is untouched by such weather. Instead, there is a runic spell used, etched into the walls, to protect the citizen’s homes from any harsh weather. It’s typically nice and warm with a small breeze within Pagoma and the flowers and shrubs are always in bloom. There is a statue of a god of the sun directly before the castle.

Social
Mewah are never homeless as they find the sight of homeless disgusting. Everyone has a home and are expected to have a job. If they don’t have a job then the government will interfere and give them one themselves just so the mewah can afford a home. They are expected to work the rest of their lives, whether they stick to the job that the mewahen government gives them or move on to a higher paying one. Dreams don’t matter to the mewah; it’s the here and the now that they are most concerned about.

A widespread personal belief of the mewah is that they are the most intelligent, talented race and also the most important. They’ll help out other races if they ask for help and if they fulfill their desired requirements. However, this doesn’t mean their views on the race have changed. Races are often treated as lesser or even second-class citizens if the majority of mewah had their way. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t any mewah that believes otherwise. Some mewah have even been known to fall in love with and have children of other races.

There are a handful of known hybrids of the mewah, all of which are guaranteed to be treated as second-class citizens by those of the major cities. Not by will of the monarch that rules but by societal views. Not only are the hybrids seen in a bad light but so too are their families, especially the mewahen parent of the hybrid. As most of the mewah see it, the mewahen parent has stained their lineage and deserve to be ostracized. The government doesn’t interfere and remove them from the cities, though. However, those working for the government will make it very hard for the family to enjoy living there.

Riders are considered a gift of the gods to the mewah for being so loyal to them. They are treated with just as much respect as the monarchs of the cities; being treated as royalty. Dragons, however, are considered owned by the Rider partner and thus are treated as lesser. They are expected not to speak unless spoken to and obey the commands of the Rider and sometimes even the Rider’s immediate family. This will often result in disdain and hatred from the Dragon. Should the Dragon be a mewahen hybrid, they’re treated even worse.

Which god is worshiped, whether it’s one or more gods, does not matter to the mewah. All gods of the pantheon are welcome and each of the cities, even if the cities were a dedication to one god in particular. However, it’s highly likely that rumors about families or individuals who worship a different god than the city they are in will spread like wildfire, as they’re more prone to be seen as ‘different’ in the eyes of the citizens of their city. Despite this, there is often no hostility held or unleashed towards those who worship another god.

Those who worship all three gods are typically unaffected by rumors as it still includes the god in which their city was built for. Those who worship only two gods, neither of which the city was dedicated to, subjects them to the same fate as if they were to worship a single different god. In fact, if an individual were not to worship the god of the city they reside in, they may be questioned as to why by the citizens. Depending on the answer, views on the family or individual may change and their living conditions may become worse depending on the level of hostility from their neighbors.

If one were to worship a different god or multiple different gods than their family, then their family would often question them as well. They would never get hostile; they would just like to know why their family member had deviated from the beliefs they were raised on. That being said, the family of this individual are often proud that the mewah who worshiped differently than them actually had a reason and wasn’t afraid to hide the reason.

Since the city of Pagoma is on the water, they are open to trade and traveling vessels. They even have a tavern and inn on the docs for those who just want to guzzle a drink on their downtime. Although the entrance on both ends of the city are heavily guarded, two guards at the docs and two guards at the entrance to the snowy wasteland beyond the city, they are a lot more warmer to newcomers, whether they seem suspicious or not. It’s only after a newcomer does something against their laws that they will take action; never before. In fact, on their breaks, these same mewah guards will have a drink with the sailors.

In addition to the docks, where fish and alcohol sales are abundant, they also have their own market inside the city. Much smaller than that of Esfandell, but it’s still widely used by both mewah and traveling merchants alike. There’s frequent buy of warm clothing and enchanted items to keep the bearer warm in the cold, should they venture out from the magically-protected city into the vast tundra. There are a lot of benefits to doing so, including the collection of rare magical ingredients that are produced only near Pagoma, either by animals or by a plant that can withstand the colds. These products are highly sought after by alchemists and cost nearly a fortune to obtain.

The mewah here have a strong sense of justice; reporting any wrongdoing they see to the guards. This usually doesn’t include little things like littering or loitering but usually has to do with a perpetrator and victim. If there is a victim involved, whether it looks like a kidnapping/slavery, a mugging, a robbery, or even murder, it is always reported post-haste. There is no hesitation when it comes to the mewah of the city of Pagoma. That being said, these mewah are a little on the nosy side so chances of there being a handful of witnesses are huge and most people know better to commit such crimes in this city because of this little fact.

Government
All three cities are run by a government controlled under their individual monarchs. Each law and their consequences are written within the pages of books of mewahen law. Each city has some laws that differ, but all the cities have general laws that they follow. They don’t typically add new laws unless they deem it really necessary and it’s not an immediate process when they do.

A mewah isn’t typically killed for breaking a law unless they are a literal threat to the existence of others; even murderers often live but are indefinitely detained within a cell. If a murderer is a known escape-artist, this is when they will be, for a lack of better word, ‘put down’ for safety reasons should they be caught once more. Another example of a mewah needing the death penalty is one that inspires others to rise up against the monarchs or even spies or assassins that work specifically against their government. Other races are treated more harshly, often resulting in deaths as punishment compared to their mewahen counterparts for murder and other similar cases, whether they can escape from prison or not.

The rulers of the cities do not often rule with iron fists; they are firm but they understand that people make mistakes and they have respect for personal freedoms. There is no uniform way a mewah lives under their rule within their respective cities. Sometimes these monarchs will help each other when it comes to outlaws from one city that escaped to their own city or give aid during wars and hard times like plagues or famine.

Processes revolving around trials, which everyone gets a chance to have, includes collecting every witness testimony and any evidence left, no matter how insignificant it may seem in the long run. This is to ensure the results of the trial are one-hundred percent accurate or as close to accurate as can be. Any witnesses found will be able to speak during the trial should they agree to. If there are any errors that happen during the trial, the trial itself is completely redone. Not just the section of the trial where the error occurred. All documentation of what happened during the original trial is tossed out and completely replaced with the new trial.

Those who are being detained until and during their trial are considered guilty until proven innocent. There are often two separate cell blocks or prisons, depending on the city, to separate those on trial and those who have been convicted. Those on trial aren’t usually treated very well but they are often treated better than those who are found guilty as a trial result. Those who are being put down by the city government are even treated worse than either. Dragon Class that are guilty or accused, or any of the other races (including hybrids) aside from mewah, are treated the absolute worst compared to their mewah counterparts. Treatment of the guilty and the accused varies from city to city.

King Tonioki is the ruler of Pagoma and is actually married to the ruler of Krymmenos who is also male. They separately rule their own kingdoms. Because they are a gay couple they can not bare children of their own. King Tonioki’s nephew, named Diomidi, is next in line for the throne. Unlike in Esfandell, there is an actual separate prison that is used for the inmates or those awaiting trial.

The guards often receive witness reports piled on, one after another, should anything happen within the city. Due to an increase in these reports, if more than one crime happens, the lesser of the crimes may be ignored in favor of the more serious or heinous acts. Of course, they’ll always go back to the less-important crimes if they ever have time to. This means that it could potentially take years to make an arrest based on some crimes.

Those who are found guilty of crimes as a result of trial are forced to labor in the cold wasteland surrounding the city. This usually means they have sharp objects that could be used as weapons. Thankfully, these sharp objects are enchanted to disallow use against living flesh and blood and are also enchanted to prevent them from being used to channel magic. Punishments include chopping down trees and cutting them down for firewood or building material, gathering rare ingredients for shops within Pagoma, ice fishing to keep Pagoma fed, cutting ice to distribute among Pagoma’s citizens, or repairing the wall protecting Pagoma.

However, that’s reserved for other races aside from the mewah. Mewah get to work inside the city, where they are sheltered from the cold by the magic that protects Pagoma from harsher weather. They too have to perform physical labor including repairing roads, buildings, the inner wall of Pagoma, constructing new buildings or vehicles such as carts or wagons, or making new weapons for the guards to replace their old and worn-out ones.

No matter what task an inmate has, they are always watched by the guards on duty. There is one guard for every three inmates. Races other than the mewah are often subject to cruelty by some of the more aggressive guards, including being whipped or beaten because they’re either not working fast enough or the guard simply just wants to take their anger and frustration out on the inmate. However, if any race, mewah or not, refuses to do their work, they are not fed until they finally attempt it.

Sometimes a crew is needed for a new ship and the most trusted of inmates are given the chance to sail the seas under a mewah captain, regardless of race. Only the most loyal and well behaved inmates get this chance. This usually takes years of near-perfect behaviour with no signs of aggression or violence. This means those that had murdered or injured others, whether during their crime or to avoid capture, will never be given this chance.

Should word reach the guards of illegal contraband on the docks, including but not limited to slaves and stolen property, the guards will examine every inch of the reported ship to ensure that no such thing reaches their shores. Should anything be found, however, the entirety of the crew of the ship will be arrested and thrown into the cells beneath the castle. The mewah here have a strong sense of justice and will free slaves and return stolen goods to their rightful owners, should they find them.

Important Note from Eerie!

Names and Titles
The mewahen naming system is often only used by a pure-bred Mewah (as it's an important part of their heritage) or by hybrids that were either named by their mewahen parent or their other parent who loves and respects the mewahen heritage. Unlike other races, there is no gendering of the names. Instead, rules are based on name placement (i.e. First, Middle, Last). A pure-bred Mewah has all three names and would only stray from such names should their parents not care for them or they are adopted by another race.

First Name Rules
1. These names always start with a consonant.
2. They have exactly four syllables.
3. The name always ends with a vowel, which includes the letter 'Y'.

Middle Name Rules
1. These names always start with a consonant.
2. Though two to three syllables is traditional, four syllables has become a new trend among younger mewah.
3. If the first name ended with a y, then the middle name needs to end with a consonant.
4. If the first name didn't end with a y, then it can end with either a consonant or a vowel.

Last Name (Surname) Rules
1. These names always start with a consonant.
2. They have three or four syllables.
3. The name can either end in a vowel or a consonant.

Many families may share the same surname but aren’t related. There can be multiple families with the same last name living in the same city or in close proximity to each other. Surname origins have been lost to the past, before writing had even been invented, so even if they were related they wouldn’t really know. It often doesn’t matter to the mewah families, however. Should two families believe they are of relation, they may merge into one.

A woman’s surname will change after marriage. The surname will either be their significant other’s last name or a combination of both their surname and their significant others with a hyphenation between. This is up to the mewahen woman. Surnames for offspring are often the father’s or a combination of both their father’s and their mother’s with a hyphenation between (mother’s surname - father’s surname; in that order). The child may drop the surname for another, of their choice, within their close family (cousins, parents, aunts and uncles, etc.) when they get older so long as they can prove they are related.

Should anyone be good at their job or especially skilled, they are often given an honorific title to match by the mewah that addresses them. This means a mewah will give a title to any race so long as they are skilled at what they do. Some titles can mean many things, such as the Scholar title. It could mean the person who receives the title can either be especially skilled in the study of magic or even have a job with books and scrolls such as librarian or historian. Some titles also include Apprentice or Master should they relate to an understudy and the one teaching them. This goes hand-in-hand with the skill, for example Apprentice Scholar.

Honorific titles always come before the first name of an individual. When using an honorific title, the actual name of the individual doesn’t typically need to be used unless there are multiple people within presence with the same title. Using the individual’s first name along with the title prevents confusion. However, in rare instances, there may be multiple people with similar sounding names that may have the same title. In which case, the use of first name and surname is needed.

Some honorific titles are only used by mewah within the trade themselves. Honorary titles that include mercenary or are pirate related are not typically said in public. This is because most people with these titles are criminals or have performed many illegal actions and will be arrested on sight, depending on where they are.

Religion and Beliefs
The mewah have three gods and most mewah worship only one. However, there have been instances where some of the gods, all of the gods, or none of the gods are worshiped by a mewah. Their belief is that the gods produce the light of the earth and provide said light from the heavens from which they sleep. All three produce light in a similar but different fashion and all three also represent many different natures of Nouva.

There is a statue of each god in their respective cities, located at the center of the city just before each of the castles that houses the monarch of the city. There are also cathedrals which are visited by many throughout the city and by mewahen travellers. Despite only one god statue per city, each of the cathedrals share worship of all three gods for those who need it. However, the god of the city always takes precedence over the other two.

Each cathedral has at least three representatives, one for each of the gods. These representatives dress in fancy robes and attire and sport tattoos to reflect the gods they worship and preach about. The tattoos are always of specific colors and there is a single symbol on the forehead of the individual priest that represents the god in combination of multiple tattoos all over the body; the latter of which is really based on decoration of the body with no real meaning other than support of the main symbol on the forehead. This symbol acts as an ‘eye’ for the specific god to see through, to see the people that worship and to give blessings through the priest that bears it.

A white five-pointed star represents the goddess of the stars, Asteri. A pale yellow sun represents the God of the Sun, Ilios. And a pale blue crescent moon represents the God of the Moon, Fengari. All three of the gods are believed to be siblings.