Murai
In the World of Threa, there are 21 races. This is a description of a race that lives in the world of Threa, the Murai. That I will describe
The Murai are Warrior society. each person has a role not just during times of peace, but also during war
on there appearance, their skin color ranges between pale and dim reds and purples, their hair and eye color are deep reds, dark reds. with rare oranges and golden yellow. they have a receding hairline. their hair clumps into five points, one on top of their head and two on each side. they may style their hair using those five points. like cutting the top point, or tying two adjacent points together. they have pointed ears. because of their active lifestyle, it is common for them to have lean, muscular build.
each Murai has a dual role, one relating to peacetime, know as Concord, and the other relating to wartime, know as Discord. The labor class in Concord are the main infantry class in Discord. the merchants deal with logistics. the administrators and governors form the command structure during Discord. scribes and poets in Concord, carry orders and communication duties. artisans serve as armorers
of particular note is their armor. Second only to Dis Com Heavy armor. Murai armor comes in three grades. each is defined by the amount of skill needed to wield it and the amount of Azure metal used. Azure is a precious metal. similar to Gold, with the difference being that Azure is blue, not yellow. its use in any armament seems perplexing because as a soft metal, it will easily deform from being hit. This is were the skill of the Murai comes into play. Murai know how to imbue items with lifeforce. Murai can then use this lifeforce reserve to enhance their own properties, becoming faster, stronger, harder. The can use the lifeforce to tank more hits.Azure metal can gold more lifeforce than any other material. Valiant grade armor has minimal use of Azure, relying more on hard metals like iron and steel. Victor grade armors have around 50 percent azure, allowing the warrior to have acces to a larger reserve of lifeforce. it also has increase coverage of the body. Noble grade armors are nearly entirely made of Azure metal. their bodies are fully covered, giving them the highest reserve of lifeforce possible
Part of maintaining their armor is to restore any expended lifeforce. the easiest way is to pour blood onto the armor. and it is even easier if the wielders own blood is use. The wielder taps into the lifeforce already within the blood and transfers it into the armor. it is more effective if the wielder uses their own, familiar blood and lifeforce, than someone else. but they can still extract some nonetheless. they typically slit their wrist and let about one third of their blood flow unto the armor. this leaves the wielder weak and must recover. the wielder can repeat the session until the armor is full. a depleted armor is considered dead and will take more blood than otherwise in order to revive it. Skilled wielders can transfer the lifeforce straight into the armor, without using blood as the intermediary. They can also use the lifeforce of their opponent if they draw their blood. it would not be as efficient but it is a helpful skill.
Murai maintain two sets of clothing. their Concord cloth is what they wear every day. Commoners use sturdy materials for their shirts, coats, hats, pants and boots. Nobles use finer materials with intricate decorations for their shirts, coats, hats, pants and boots. females may also adorn their hair with ribbons. their Discord cloth is their armor. they maintain it during Concord so it will be ready to wield when Discord starts.
Murai are egalitarian. there are few impositions placed upon the individual based on their gender. any and all role are available to anyone as long as they can demonstrate their capabilities.
materials used for armor and weapons. Iron: a basic metal, has a dull grey color Blacked Steel: a type of steel that has been hardened. it has glossy black. it is like glass. it is very tough, and will fracture rather than deform. and it is formed when liquid or molded in a cast. White Steel: a form of steel that is hard to craft. has a white luster. highly flexible Azure: a soft metal with a blue luster. it is used as a vessel for lifeforce. in order to make the azure usable for making armor and weapons, it is alloyed with the other metals. iron - azure alloy. it is a crude, mass produces metal, with low azure content, little to no temperature control. it comes out in a variety of vibrant colors. the ingot can come out either green, red, pink, yellow, purple or even a slick rainbow luster . it is slightly softer than regular iron
the colors are based on the temperature and azure content. but since they are forged in a crude manner, they are basically random. if they would be willing to refine the process, they can get the exact color they want. like the Iridescent rainbow is cause by large temperature fluctuations. Maybe they were forging in a windy day and someone didn’t close the door.
azure - blacked steel alloy: it is done with more care than Azure - Iron. it is a dark blue to deep blue in color. it can flex before it cracks. and it flexes, so it returns back to its shape, like spring steel. but not as tough like blacked steel.
Azure - White Steel alloy: it has pastel blues in color. it is more precise in its manufacture, maintain very high temperatures, place the right amounts of iron sand and azure powder in the charcoal forge, to dust the precise amount of azure powder in the correct layer. it has a higher azure content. it is superior than white steel. it is tougher, more flexible, just heavier.
Valiant armor is mass produced by Artisans. they use traditional armor techniques, with iron a. by itself, it would make a decent light armor. but on the upper limit of weight to be classed as light armor. and also less coverage than other light armors. Lifeforce can be stored on the iron, but not much. thou even with this amount, is enough to be able to lighten the armor, so the weight penalty is minimized. That is just without the Azure metal. but with the azure - iron alloy used, the armor can hold between to fifth to one thirds of an average person’s lifeforce.
Victor Armor are crafted with greater care than Valiant armor. it uses less blacked Steel and its azure alloy. it has more detailing, that is used to hold more Azure, that can be personalized. these armors can hold between one third and half a persons life. it sits in the middle in regards to medium armors
Noble grade armors are more complex, intricate and provides the most coverage. specially commissioned by it wearer, it can take a year or more to craft. it uses blacked steel, white steel, their azure alloys and pure azure itself. a complex frame, a scaffolding of sorts made of white steel. the joints and bolts are reinforced with blacked steel. its azure alloys can be used as substitutes, at the artisans discretion. a wire mesh of blacked steel fills the voids in between the frame. this mesh probide the attacment points for plates made of azure - white steel alloy and of pure azure. additional detailing is made of those two materials on top of the plates. this maximizes the amount of azure that can be used on the armor, while still function as an armor. it is classed as a heavy armor. it can store between half an average person’s life force up to twice the amount
Bringing the Armor to life. once the armor is crafted, it will be its wielder that brings it to life. the murai may prepare for a week, being well fed and hydrated, before performing this ritual. they can stand, sit or kneel in front of their armor. their armor is arranged in the manner of their liking, but it all must be connected. they will meditate for a while, to get a feel of their own lifeforce and feel the azure in the armor. then they will cut open their wrist and place their arm over the armor, letting the blood slowly drip on the armor. they must remain like so for hours, typically scheduled for sun up till mid day, or mid day till sunset. it must be a slow drip so that the lifeforce in the blood can penetrate the azure as efficient as possible. it must be steady and uninterrupted, otherwise it may risk damage, lifeforce blockage. They may have assistants to help them monitor their progress, like their spouse, parents or children. it is about one third of their blood that must drip on the armor, too little and it may not hold, it will empty out, to much and it may break. to finish, they place their hand on the helmet, by tradition but it can be any part of the armor. if they can feel their lifeforce in the armor, they have been successes full, and will seal it. the armor is now alive, it has been born. at this point the wielder would be weak, they would be pale. they will bandage their wrists to stop the bleeding. the best course of action is to don the armor. their assistant may help with this. once they fully don their armor, they can use the lifeforce to help them heal. if they are for some reason unable to don their armor, they would be need to be tended to for them to recover. if something wrong happens, if the assistant believes that the wielder life is in danger and cant complete the ritual. they can stop it. in order to prevent damage because of the premature end. the assistant is to cut themselves and pour their blood in the armor to seal it. it can be cleanse later and the ritual retried once the wielder has recovered. if a part of the armor was not connected, then the lifeforce would not have flowed into it, as if it wasn’t part of the ritual at all. this would have a diminished lifeforce capacity. they may attempt later, and it would still require the one third of blood for that one piece. this process can be done alone, but it carries even more risks
in order to prevent damage because the of the incomplete ritual. someone else had to pour their lifeforce in order to seal it. this is needed to prevent, for example, leak, blockages or clogs. leak is when lifeforce constantly drains, blockage is when there is lifeforce that cant be used, and clogs can result in inconsistent flow. if it was left unsealed, any of these problems could arise. since someone else sealed it. there are two different lifeforces in the armor. since the armor is still not alive, it cant be used effectively. the lifeforce that it has would need to be burned off. that is to say that it needs to be used up. the easiest way is for both to touch the armor and burn off their respective lifeforces, that is to say to use the lifeforce for nothing. it is just being consumed without doing anything. once it is drained, an artisan inspects the armor for physical damage and repairs any. once that is done, and the wielder has recovered, they can try again . it is possible for one to do the clensing, but handling someone else’s lifeforce is harder than one’s own. so it runs the risk of accidentaly leaving some lifeforce that might end up damaging it when the ritual is retried.
The weapon of choice for the Murai are Shields. efective uses can deal high amounts of blunt damage, while further bolstering the armors defenses. Murai Shields are mounted on the armor’s bracers. Murai Shields come in variety of shapes, but by far the most common shape ends in a point in front of the hands. some varieties have embedded blades. one in particular is the sparing shield. it is large and heavy round shield. Its increased defense is meant to protect the wielder during sparing session, and its heaviness hinders mobility. some however have found that with training, Sparing Shields can be used effectively in combat. especially it can provide ranged capabilities since it can be thrown like a disk.