Mecamii

Beauty is ephemeral and we are its requiem.
~ Limpia, Hall of Competition

Born from the dusted remains of broken temples, dilapidated palaces, or long-forgotten cities the Mecamii are the paper-made heralds of caducity, whose existence serves as the testimony for the lost and faded beauty of the countless structures that have been turned to dust by the insatiable appetite of the teeth of time.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The bodies of the Mecamii are formed from hundreds of palm-sized sheets of "Ruin Paper", which is a paper-like substance made from compressed dust, sand or ash.
While both the exact size and shape of each sheet vary from individual to individual so are the most common of a rectangular or square shape, though more roundish or irregular shapes such as triangles or circles are not unheard of.
Given that the Mecamii are able to willingly shift these sheets around, they are able to take one a great number of different appearances, whose shapes are only limited by their number of body sheets as well as their admittedly rather lackluster imagination.
Because of this most Mecamii possess only one or two default shapes, which usually mimic the appearance of a certain object or creature that they have encountered in the past.

Biological Traits

Did you honestly think that you could kill a being that witnessed the fall of the first civilizations, with a measly torch?
I might have come into existence due to some klutz with a torch, but I most certainly won't bite the dust because of one.
~ Ly'bar, Study-Hall of Xan'dria

Scales of Paper

Even though the Ruin Paper, which makes up the bodies of the Mecamii shares some similarities to mundane paper, such as its low weight, sharp edges and ability to be written on with ink, so does it also possess numerous others features that clearly set the two materials apart.
So is Ruin Paper not only quite literally as hard as a rock and therefore nearly impenetrable for mundane weapons, but it is also fully incombustible as well as completely waterproof and therefore doesn't turn into a muddy goop when immersed in water.

Mountains from the Sands of Time

In addition to their physical and arcane might, the passage of time also increases the actual size of a Mecamii as each grain that is eroded from "their" building is compressed into further sheets of Ruin Paper, which are then added to their body.
Because of this Mecamii that are either incredibly old or whose buildings were rapidly eroded by harsh environmental conditions can reach truly titanic sizes, with some of the oldest and most powerful members of the species reaching the size of entire cities.

Death of a Building

While artistic beauty and cultural importance of a destroyed edifice determine the size and strength of manifested Mecamii, so is the character and frame of mind of a potentially manifested Mecamii determined by the way how their building was destroyed.

Calice ("Mudwashed One")

The so-called Calice are Mecamii manifested from buildings that have been destroyed by the force of water. For this to occur it is inconsequential whether the building was ground down by endless streams of rain, broken apart by repeated cycles of congelifraction or if it sank beneath the waves to be crushed by the unrelenting tides.
Similar to the water that led to their manifestation, Calices are usually of a rather calm disposition, though once one manages to exhaust their seemingly endless patience they show a far more violent and unrelenting side, whose ice-cold fury few are able to endure.

Glaive ("Sandscratched One")

Glaive are what remains of buildings that have been eroded by small particles carried along the currents of the wind in a process known as abrasion. Fitting for their air-related theme, Glaive are naturally born airheads that cause a whirlwind of activity wherever they go.

Barre ("Ashsorched One")

Barre are the manifestation of buildings that have been consumed by the insatiable hunger of a raging fire. Given that many of these fires were either the result of arson or military actions, it is no wonder that most Barre are very temperamental and possess the greatest tendency for violence out of all Mecamii.

Piécette ("Soilburried One")

Piécette are the result of a building that has been reclaimed by nature and whose structure has therefore been broken apart by the roots and branches of the local flora. Due to this close affinity to nature and living beings in general Piécette are the most common type of Mecamii that regularly interacts with other species and thanks to their down-to-earth mentality they usually have no problems to adjust to the various different cultures they encounter.

Genetics and Reproduction

We are the ashes that remained, the dust that filled the void and the sands that endured the teeth of time.
~ Aros, Flame-House of Xan'dria

The Mecamii are neither born nor created, instead, they are naturally formed from the eroded remains of a destroyed building as a form of an undead specter, which represents the "character" of the fallen structure.
While in theory, all buildings in Cenorad are able to manifest a Mecamii after their destruction, only buildings that sport either a highly artistic or elaborate architecture as well as a certain amount of cultural importance such as temples, palaces or fortresses have an adequate chance of manifesting a fully sapient Mecamii.

Growth Rate & Stages

While the initial power of a Mecamii directly correlates to the artistic value and cultural importance of the building, whose "character" they represent, their current power is instead determined by how far in the past the "death" of their building lies. The reason for this is that the Mecamii continuously grow stronger as time marches, as each passing moment more and more erodes what little remains of the building whose "character" they represent
Because of this, the few Mecamii that were spawned from the crude and simple huts that were built by the first sapient creatures are unfathomable more powerful than the ones that were created more recently, even though their buildings were handcrafted architectural masterpieces.

Dietary Needs and Habits

This ink takes a little bit to blue. Are you sure that you added a pinch of kibbled turf as I asked you to do?
~ G'za, First of the Pyramids

The Mecamii sustain themselves through the consumption of a substance known as "Stone Ink", which is a usually dark blue or black liquid that is created by mixing fine powdered substances such as sand, ash or bonemeal with a suitable liquid such as water, thought various other liquids such as plant saps, mineral oils or even blood can also be used.
Depending on what kind of materials were used for its creation, the finished stone ink will possess a characteristic hue, saturation, and lightness, which is perceived as a "flavor" by the Mecamii. Because of this most Mecamii usually only consume ink made from very specific substances.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Once you realize that you can't simply kill anyone that annoys you, you quickly start to get along with living in a commune full of idiots.
~ Guillotine, Abattoir of Phat

While the first generations of Mecamii were mostly solitary mavericks, most modern Mecamiis live within more or less loosely connected groups of roundabout 60 to 300 individuals, which are commonly known as either "Paper Parish" or "Dust Communes".
Despite the fact that many of these Parishes are completely isolated from each other similar to the numerous Siren Holds of the Kostaca-Strain, every single last of them is governed in a democratic manner, regardless of how much they differ in their other cultural customs.
The reason for this universal bias towards democratic systems is the fact that the Mecamii lack many of the incentives that cause violence and friction within the communities of other species.
So is there basically no real competition over food due to the ingredients for Stone Ink being readily available and due to the fact that the Mecamii are unable to even see noble metals. they can't bet tempted into trying to amass them to increase their wealth. Additionally, it is quite difficult to actually kill a Mecamii, as even severely wounded or malnourished individuals are able to return to form within a short amount of time if supplied with enough Stone Ink.
Because of these reasons, all members of a Parish are seen as comparably equal regardless of their age, power or poetic aptitude and are therefore able to determine and shape the future of their commune in equal measure.

Elector Counts

Even though nearly all Mecamii recognize the benefit of a democratically ruled community, such sentiments would only go so far if they wouldn't be backed by an overarching authority that is both feared and respected by each member of the community.
The position of this overarching authority is filled by the so-called "Elector Counts", which are incredibly powerful, artificial Mecamii that have been created via a ritual known simply as "Election", which sees each member of a commune sacrifice one sheet of their bodies into a central ballot box.
Once all members of a parish have "cast" their vote into this box, the sheets inside of it will begin to clump together and thereby create a new Elector Count, whose personality and views represent the majority opinion of the commune.
Their powers and ability, on the other hand, don't correlate to the average power of the commune's members, as the power of an Elector Count are more than the sums of its parts, meaning that a Count has no problems of subduing all but the most ancients of Mecamii.
While smaller communes of Mecamii generally only possess a single Elector-Count, larger parishes commonly create one or two secondary Elector Counts, which are known as Viscounts.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

You just write one little murderous bird into existence and now everyone just keeps calling your magic the "Art of Tweet".
~ Ephessyl, Flower-Temple of Are'at

The Mecamii's Ruin Paper together with the Stone Ink that they consume, are the two major ingredients required for the practices of the Arcane Art of "Tweet".

Geographic Origin and Distribution

We are born from disasters, but we do not make them.
~ Giagat, Pride of Rhod

While Mecamii can manifest in all places that possess at least one destroyed building, they tend to cluster in regions that have a higher than average rate of ruins. Given that many of these ruin-rich regions are the result of a natural disaster or a highly destructive war, the Mecamii are commonly referred to as "Specters of Calamity" or "Disaster Derelicts".

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Mecamii perceive their environment by sensing the "Temporal Dust" in the world around them, which is created through the eroding effects of the passing of time. Because of this frail and ephemeral objects such as for example a fading flame, appear very clear to them, whereas highly durable and ageless materials such as gold are practically invisible for them.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

The names of the Mecamii are usually just the names -or a variation thereof- of the buildings from whose ruins they have been manifested. In cases were these buildings belong to a larger complex such as a town or city, many Mecamii chose to adopt the name of this city as their family name.
As the grew older their names undergo an erosion process similar to the physical ruins of their buildings, until they have been reduced to an unrecognizable jumble of letters and syllables. Because of this, one can roughly estimate the age and thereby the power of a Mecamii based on how short their name is.

Major Organizations

I. AM. THE. PARLIAMENT
~ Grand Elector Count of the Republic of Mâché

The Republic of Mâché is a so-called Super-Commune, which consists of several dozen smaller communes, that are organized beneath a central government represented by an incredibly powerful Elector Count known simply as the "Parliament".

Common Dress Code

Given that the sheets of Ruin Paper that make up their bodies already double as a highly durable and protective armor that reliably shields them from nearly all types of environmental conditions, the Mecamii have no real use for clothing.
Instead, they utilize various types of colorful pigments, dyes, and Stone Ink to cover their bodies in numerous patterns and drawings, whose complexity can range from crudely drawn hieroglyphs all the way to masterfully drawn artworks that depict the story of the building that has manifested them.
In addition to these visual stimuli, some Mecamii especially those belonging to the Piécette subspecies also coat their sheets with various fragrant substances and perfumes, which reminds them of the smell of the plants that overgrew their building.
In a similar manner, some Barre also coat their sheets with flammable liquids or pastes to once again feel the burning embrace of the flames that consume their building.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Elections

The Elections are highly important and ritualized events during which the members of a given commune sacrifice a sheet of their own body in order to facilitate the creation of an Elector Count that serves as the overarching authority of the entire community.
Depending on the size of a community and how much the opinions of its member differ from each other, the frequency with which Elections are held changes drastically, with large and quarreling communes usually having one or two Elections per year, whereas small and uniform communes only hold them once every century.

Duels of Dust

The so-called "Dust Duels" are mock battles between two or more Mecamii that serve as an outlet for personal grudges and interpersonal conflicts, and which are fought with "written-up" creatures that have been brought into existence through the Arcane Art of Tweet.

Common Taboos

The act of deliberately damaging the building of another Mecamii is seen as highly disrespectful and offensive action by the Mecamii and therefore carries a social stigma comparable to the defilement of a gravesite in many other cultures.

History

There is a difference between being alone and being lonely.
The latter is a state of mind, the first a natural consequence of being the first of one's kind.
~ Y'lon, Shadow of the First City

As Old as Dirt

The Mecamii are an incredibly old species, with the first of their kind being manifested from the ruined buildings of the first civilizations tens of thousands of years ago. Yet despite their unfathomable age these ancient beings only had a minor effect on the overall course of Cenorad's history as the first Mecamii were mostly just solitary hermits that preferred to live a highly secluded life far away from the other species.
While this isolationistic behavior was certainly influenced by the simple and pragmatic character of the first Mecamii, which mimicked the design of the buildings that had manifested them, so was it also caused by the fact that such a manifestation was a highly unlikely event, which meant that it could take several decades or even centuries before a new Mecamii was manifested.

Building Boom

Once the civilizations of the other species started to really get off the ground, the manifestation rate of the Mecamii quite literally went through the roof, as more and more buildings of superior architecture and cultural importance were being constructed and subsequently destroyed.
With the numbers of their species now increasing at a previously unimaginable speed, all but the most reclusive of Mecamii inevitably came into contact with each other, which over time led to the formation of the first small communities of Mecamii.

Theme Song

Lifespan

Immortal, as long as they are able to regulary feed on Stone Ink.

Average Height

A few centimeters to potentially several miles if fully streched out.

Average Weight

A few grams to potentially hundreds of tons.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

The coloration of the individual sheets of Ruin Paper that makes up the bodies of the Mecamii ranges from a dark ash grey over a leathery brown all the way to a pristine white.

Related Myths

• The Missing Ink