The Bestiaries of Déchiré - Yacand'a - The Men in Beasts' Clothing

Range: Northern Amarant. Northern Zairath.

Vide Orcs, Ogres. That 'Nrg' is their name for themselves is a gross misconception, and a long-standing joke of humans. In their own tongue, the beast-men are called Yacand'a (Yah-kan-doo-a). The term Nrg comes from an ancient legend perpetuated mostly in populations which are more isolated and less-educated. As the tale goes, when man first met beast-man, he sent a scout ahead to find out just what they were, and whether they were friend or foe. By no fault of his own, the scout committed a grevious error in Yacand'a diplomatic protocol, and the short-tempered beast-men showed him the door to the next world. When he was found by his comrades, he was too far gone to be assissted; however, this did not stop them from attmpting to retrieve whatever knowledge he had managed to gather. In response to the question, "Well, what are they?", the scout is said to have rolled his eyes to the north, muttered the word "Nrg", and died. Whether or not there is any truth whatsoever to the tale is long lost in the annals of time, but the effects remain, and the Yacand'a are known as Nrg to the majority of the humanoid population (even the Ævani were quick to adopt the new name).

Standing at around nine feet in height, the Nrg have patchy hides of steel grey, brown, or black, or combinations thereof (pinto is common). Their faces are unpleasant to look at, at best; and their broken-fanged mouths are often left gaping for drool to string out of. The bulk of their bodies is comprised of twisted, sinewy muscle attached to a skeletal system nearly twice as dense as that of a human. While their forelimbs are somewhat overlong in proportion, not unlike a great primate, they are perfectly suited for swinging large, blunt weapons. Nrg-clubs may be anything from swords broken in battles and claimed for their own to tree limbs (or even trunks, depending on the size of the Nrg and the tree). These, in turn, are often studded with rocks and bits of metal, broken glass, or even gems, which are pounded into any part that will accept such intrusions. They are quick to be angered and slow to ask questions, which is interpreted - correctly or not - by the enlightened races as a sign of blunt stupidity.

Nrg have a patriarchal society - the males are warriors and the females breeders. Lacking the natural knowledge necessary to farm, they make use of whatever they can find. Their diet contains anything from moss and rock fungus to rotting corpses, and their bodies are adorned with the hides, skin, and/or clothing of their dinner guests. Blood and earthen pigments are both utilized as cosmetics and incorporated into simplistic paintings on the walls of their homes. Occasionally, the Nrg are able to obtain bits and pieces of ill-fitting armour, to which are added the bones of their victims. Skulls are either worn as helms or mounted on the same.

The ancestral lands of the Nrg once spanned northern Amarant and Zairath. Today, they are largely restricted to the Territories of Ruj'vak and Rothandal, where they dwell in caves of stone and ice.

Asunder - The Bestiaries of Déchiré