"The Vralsk are a grim and hardy people, but they are nationally burdened by superstition. Understandable though this is, truth and fantasy must needs be discerned by the academic. Among the most common of tales among the Vralsk is that of the Tumanota, mortals twisted by the mists that permeate Vralach. These nocturnal bogeymen kidnap sleepers, especially unruly children, and drag them into the night mists, where they hold their captive, reputedly transforming the poor soul into a tumanota. This scholar does not doubt the existence of tumanota outright, but has little reason to believe such beings are not simply other creatures that stalk the mists and abduct unfortunate souls."
~~Zhenli of the Phoenix, Beliefs of The North
Tumanota (singular: tumanik; Imperial:
wuren) are creatures found in
Vralach and The Everforest. Typical tumanota have unsaturated skin that range from stark white to coal grey; though some reports describe tumanota with pale pigmentation; stand between three and eight feet in height and possess slender morphology. Lending credence to the belief that tumanota are twisted forms of their victims is the fact that there exist tumanota that are muscular or corpulent. Tumanota society is opaque to outsiders. There are groups of them in the Vralsk wilds, and in the closer reaches of the Everforest, but there are also smaller groups, pairs and solitary tumaniki closer to Vralsk settlements. Rarely, they will make homes in abandoned barns or houses within or near settlements.
Whether tumanota are capable of making their own weapons and tools or those they possess are loot claimed, it is uncertain. Tumanota are capable of speech, but they speak their own language, one always whispered, quieter than the wind. Even in anger, a tumanik's voice will not raise above a harsh whisper. They despise sunlight and fire, perhaps because of sensitive eyesight. Three distinct types of tumanota have been identified by scholars.
Tumaniki Bol'she
Tumaniki of approximate size to an average human or elf, though with longer limbs. They appear to hold leadership positions among the tumanota. When tumanota are raiding a settlement constantly, a bol'she is usually somewhere nearby. The Lesniki notes on the bol'shi indicate that, although they are cunning and often covetous, they are possessed of intellect and may be bargained with.
Tumaniki Malenk
The smallest of the tumanota, as identified by the
Plemya Lesniki. They are the most common of the tumanota, and usually the least threatening. Like all tumanota, they are more than mere monsters, though their minds are not quite as quick as the common Vralsk's.
Tumaniki Nakazan
The nakazani are unnerving tumaniki wrapped in bandages. Beneath the bandages is a shifting mass of flesh and bone. The Lesniki theorised that this is the fate of those kidnapped by the tumanota , and that the nakazani are like pupae, albeit ones that attack with savage cunning.
Fire-Fearing Recluses.
Tumanota are not simple beasts. They are an intelligent species despite their absence from society. Their communities rarely grow bigger than a handful of families. To paint all tumanota with a single brush is reductive and erroneous -- like any people, tumanota communities vary in outlook and operation. A fear of fire is one constant, however. A blaze repulses tumaniki, its heat and light painful and blinding.
Stealthy Opportunists.
Similarly uniting tumanota is an ability to blend with the mists of the Everforest and a comfort in darkness. Many tumanota have the ability to disappear into the mist, transforming their bodies into the ghostly substance for a time. Tumanota are cunning, too, with accounts emphasising the dangers of assuming a dull intellect. There are reports of them rigging mind-boggling traps from bric-a-brac. Similarly salient in accounts is the prodigious ability of tumanota to exploit weakness, be it in battle or in the structure of communities.
Mysterious Origins.
The reproductive processes of tumanota remain a mystery to those that chronicle the dangers of the Everforest. Though humanoid in appearance, some scholars posit that tumanota, in addition to conventional sexual reproduction, transform those they kidnap into tumaniki. These scholars point to the variance in size among the tumanota, suggesting that this is due to a difference in underlying racial distinctions rather than simpler genetic variance. The nakazani tumanota, swaddled in bandages that cover foul ichor and shifting, gelatinous forms, are considered a pupal stage by these thinkers. This school of thought has long permeated the folklore of frontier settlements, and the tumanota are used as bogeymen, taking away naughty children and promiscuous or lazy adults.
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