Difference between revisions of "Mhun"

Most Mhun in the present day hail from the vast mountainhome of [[Moghedu]], an immense network of caverns stretching far beneath the Siroccian Mountains. Prior to the year 422 MA, Moghedu lay instead in the Mhojave Desert, which most Mhun consider to be their ancestral homeland. Between the years 422 and 457 MA, Moghedu was ruled by a brutal Mhun theocracy, and those who grew up during its rule were accustomed to constant telepathic surveillance and mandatory acceptance of Mhun religious doctrine. Even following the establishment of monarchy by Queen Nesvenai, Moghedu remains ruled by a rigid caste system and a preference for Albedi faith, where opportunities for advancement are limited and non-Mhun in Moghedu are discriminated against particularly harshly.

There is historical precedent for such attitudes, however - prior to the revolution which occurred in 422 MA, led by the Great Mhunna Nesventesh, the Mhun were persecuted and hunted by many, serving as a source of blood, food, and other materials for the residents of Bloodloch, and sentiment against them was common in all other parts of the world. In spite of this long history of oppression and its lingering effects in the world at large, Mhun have proved to be a resilient and persistent people, surviving against harsh odds and holding strong loyalty to one other. Physically, Mhun are very similar to Humans, although they tend to be smaller, thinner, and weaker, with dark skin and angular features.

The Mhun's racial heritage of struggles and oppression give players lots of freedom to play a character who has been disenfranchised or has fought against the odds. Humble origins, scrappy pluck or even browbeaten submission all work great with the Mhun background - many "good" organizations make an effort to protect the lower-class Mhun from oppression and attack, so a Mhun finding their way to Enorian is a natural fit. Conversely, Mhun also make an intriguing choice for a vampire character, and some players choose to play a Mhun who has fallen into temptation or embraced the role of oppressed becoming the oppressor, turning to Bloodloch for a home. Mhun also offer a good fit for anyone interested in making a character who is interested in geology or craftsmanship, making the Teradrim or crafters of various ilks another obvious choice.

As told by Nhusema Odreyeb, the holy text of the Mhun:

Earth beneath, at first, only darkness was. The gods the Mother made, and the Mother earth beneath

grew. She up rose, and tall She was, tall enough to mountains shadow. She womb of was abundant, and

many children She did birth so that they within the lush Iviofa and beneath the sun fought and  

danced. The children of the Mother beautiful were.

The skies and earth the children hated, and the gods, Makers of Mother the Keepers of sky and earth

fought. The fight of great length was, and much blood upon the ground was spilled, until out from

the earth and out from the skies the gods were driven, so that only Mother to protect the children

was there.

stone, their eyes like gems. Yet Mother remain upon the earth could not, so within the earth she

herself buried, and she the bones of the earth was, and to this day it is said: the seed the gods

Mother with filled, these the earth's gems are, these and all other things precious which up the

earth yields. From Earth, to Earth - entesh, untesh - for Earth our Mother is, and Mother embraces

us when we to Mheribus return.

The Earth-Ones fought. Some Mother so loved that they upon Iviofa could not bear to remain. Yet one,  

the wisest, the greatest of Mother's children, to the other children said: 'Of the Earth we no

longer are in whole, but Sky as well; for look! We upon Water ourselves sustain, and upon us does

Fire burn so that our skin darks, and the Air our bones fills.' Some to the wise child hearkened,

and to this child Cherektesh a name was given: Great Mother - Great Mhunna.

'Eight times I will die,' the Great Mother the children told. 'You all will suffer, for that you

choose Iviofa and not Earth. At the end of this time, know; you will be rewarded, for the soul of

Mother I will carry forth, and you will know; the Keepers our gods are not, and our gods to us will  

return.' The Great Mother's years many were, and then he died.

The history of the Mhun is a long, sad tale - oppressed by Dwarves, Rajamala, Goblins, and Humans, freedom has at once been the highest ideal in their minds, and yet the most unattainable. Long thought to be mysteriously bereft of Divine patronage, the Mhun system of worship, which prioritized seven Spirits, was thought to be an invention by an envious race. Recent times have revealed, however, that the Mhun held Albedi faith in the distant past, and their ill-remembered Spirits were in fact gods of Albedos. The Mhun consider seven of these deities to be primary in traditional practice:

 

These Gods - or spirits, as they were called - were, until a few centuries ago, represented materially by the Great Mhunna (literally, 'Great Mother', in a gender-neutral sense), high priest and a leader of the people, who held sole religious and political authority over all Mhun. The Great Mhunna is considered a position inherited by reincarnation; that though the Great Mhunna has possessed multiple embodiments, they are the same soul, returning again and again. Thus, in Mhun history, there were points at which the Great Mhunna ruled alone, and points at which the caste-leaders ruled by consensus.

There are some actions, like banishment or certain functions of worship, that cannot be performed without a Great Mhunna. The last Great Mhunna, Nesventesh, fulfilled the promise of freedom from slavery. Once she departed, governments arose to replace her - first a theocracy founded in her name, and now a monarchy whose Queen, Nesvenai, is the niece of Nesventesh and her closest living descendant. The Queen has thus been accorded most of the authority typically associated with a Great Mhunna, though she does not possess the same religious significance.

Curiously, as a result of this close intermingling of religious practice with racial identity and culture, any being who converts to the Mhun faith is considered a member of the race by most other Mhun, and accordingly forsaken by the Gods of Sapience from then on. One individual who undertook such conversion was [[Dorin Silverbeard]], who lived out the last of his days as a practicing Dwarven Mhun. Mhun who remain loyal to their race, even if they reject the Albedi faith common in Moghedu, are still considered Mhun; those who turn against their own kind are considered banished by the Queen's authority.