Non-Human People in The Relics of War

Shan’tar has acquired the Shalin Stone, and is determined to use its power against the gods as he plots to overthrow the Five Kingdoms. Another relic, The Moon’s Eye, is the only means to counteract it, but its whereabouts are unknown. The various peoples of the Five Kingdoms and beyond must come together to stop Shan’tar, but their actions come too late. War is on the horizon, and the search for magical relics to bolster either side is now imperative.

I am actually quite a bit farther into the rewrite of the story than the above makes it out to be, but for those who have not read the original version, I don’t want to leave spoilers, so I’m ending it there. Now, on to the real business at hand…

This week, I want to talk about the many non-human (or half-human) people that the reader will encounter in the Relics of War series. Some are based on mythology, while others are completely from my own imaginings.

The Scorpion Men

The race known as the Scorpion Men are a desert people. They are half-human, half-scorpion warriors. Men and women alike are trained in combat from a young age. Those who do not choose to become soldiers often take up related professions (blade smithing, armor smithing, leather-working, fletching, etc.)

The origins of the Scorpion Men stem from the time of the First Great War, and the reign of the first Soulless. Their ancestors were human prisoners of war, captured during the conflict. They were tortured and abused, pushed to the brink of death due to injury and starvation, then magically and irreversibly altered into their current form. The once-human prisoners were then subjugated, and forced to fight in the war under the command of the Soulless. It was only upon her death that the Scorpion Men were freed, but the biological changes they endured were permanent.

The Scorpion Men eventually settled in an area south of the Wasted Land, known as the Desert of Snow due to its white sand. It has been more than a thousand years since their creation, and they continue to harbor deep hatred toward the Soulless and the Shadow Council who follows them. Due to the nature of their creation, the Scorpion Men are mistrustful of magic and those who wield it. Their home, called the Stronghold, was sealed off from magic not long after its construction as a safeguard against further intrusion by the Soulless.

The first character profile I released for The Relics of War featured Vardak, who is one of these people. You can read more about him here.

The Murkor

The Murkor are a race of cave-dwelling people who live in the northern reaches of the Wasted Land. They are humanoid, though they sport dark blue skin and have pale, almost colorless eyes.

The Murkor are a very private people. It is customary that they wear deep hoods to conceal their faces, even in the presence of their own kind. Only immediate family and lovers have the opportunity to see the faces of those they care deeply for. The Murkor decorate themselves with tattoos to signify family ties, profession, rank, and personal achievement. The markings on arms and hands are often the only true identifiers an individual displays to others.

A Murkor’s place in their society is dictated from a young age, based on the child’s aptitude in various subjects and innate skills. When their place is assigned, they begin wearing colors to signify their position (for example, soldiers wear black, while alchemists wear bright green).

Due to their proximity to the Shadow Council’s seat of power, the Murkor have often been coerced and manipulated into fighting wars they wish no part of. Early on in the first book, it is made clear the Murkor are once again being threatened by the Soulless, and will be forced into battle yet again.

The second character profile I released for the series featured Aran’daj, the commander of the Murkor army. You can read more about him here.

The Drakkon

Referred to by some humans as the “lizard people”, a term they find offensive, the Drakkon are a bipedal, reptilian race graced with a strong aptitude for magic. The Drakkon often keep to themselves and rarely venture into human lands unless a great need drives them. They prefer to keep to the high places of the world, where they make their homes on cliff sides and mountain peaks. The Drakkon rarely allow outsiders into their homes, and little is known about them by other peoples.

The Drakkon featured in the Relics of War are a small group working with the human wizards of the Shining Tower. Their initial hope is to prevent war, but as the Soulless gain power and followers, prevention becomes impossible. In spite of their best efforts, the Drakkon become embroiled in the fight.

Of the six main characters featured in the series, there are no Drakkon. The young wizard’s apprentice, Tavesin, who is one of the mains, encounters the leader of the Drakkon mages early on. Throughout the series, he works with her to learn magic the current wizards cannot teach him, and the teenager later lands himself in a pivotal role during the final battle. Tavesin’s character profile and artwork will be released in September’s newsletter.

The Felenes

The Felenes once inhabited the lands of the Five Kingdoms, as well as those of the southern continent across the sea. In the years before the appearance of the first Soulless, those in the Five Kingdoms were decimated by plague, leaving no survivors. Those in the south were spared, due to their geographical isolation.

The Felenes are a race of bipedal humanoids with distinctly feline features and coloration. They inhabit the deep jungles of the southern continent, and have not ventured northward since the time of the plague. To the peoples of the Five Kingdoms far to the north, they have become creatures of folklore.

The Felenes are primarily nocturnal, and are exclusively carnivorous. The jungles teem with life (with one major exception, which I won’t go into here due to spoilers), and they subsist on a diet of meat, insects, and poultry of various types. Secluded as they are, they have few trained warriors amongst them. Those who decide to train at arms do so only to protect their settlements from the larger jungle predators. Most Felenes become craftsmen or artists.

During his adventures in the first book, Vardak encounters the Felenes, who consider him a strange curiosity. He befriends one of their number, who ultimately joins him on his search for the relic known as the Moon’s Eye.

The Airess

Like the Felenes, the Airess were decimated by the plague in the years before the First Great War. Only two of their number remain, spared by the goddess of fortune and chance at the expense of their eternal separation.

The Airess are tall, humanoids with large, butterfly-like wings. They were a peaceful, forest-dwelling people prior to the plague, known largely for their skill with herbs, poultices, and remedies. The Airess gardens were once renowned for their beauty and bountiful yields.

One of the two remaining Airess, Coreyaless, joins Vardak early during the first book. She agrees to provide him the location of the Moon’s Eye in exchange for his assistance in finding her long-lost mate. Coreyaless is an herbalist/apothecary of great skill, but millennia spent seeking her counterpart with little to show for it has made her bitter and mistrustful of all the gods.

The Builders of Stonewall Hall (also called the Undead)

Little is known about the original builders of Stonewall Hall, beyond the curse that had reduced them to the monsters they have become. They were once great sculptors, stone-masons, and jewelers, with an aptitude for magic. Stonewall Hall was their home, and the apex of their craftsmanship.

Legends state that the builders were once favored by the god of death, who has become known only as the Nameless, long before his fall from grace. Something occurred in their history, an event now obscured by the ravages of time, that led the Nameless god to curse the builders irrevocably.

They were reduced to a state of non-living, yet were denied eternal rest. They continue to prowl the halls of their once-glorious home, unable to die and driven to madness by what they have become. The builders devour the souls of the living in order to continue their existence, and are wraith-like shadows of the people they once were. Most other people refer to them as the Undead.

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I plan to continue to release information about the trilogy as we near the rerelease dates. I am hoping to have my draft of The Moon’s Eye completed in September, and to the editor soon after that. I have a professional artist commissioned to make new covers for all three books, and met with him for the first time last week. I’m very excited to see what he comes up with! They will reflect the genre and the fact that these are adult fantasy books far better than the original covers did.

As always, thanks for reading! If you’re interested in keeping up with the character reveals and bonus content I release to the newsletter, you can sign up here.