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Deathseeker - People - Maruaks

The Maruaks are marauders who roam and kill like barbarians. Their name stands for glory in the Blood Tongue. Traditionally, Maruaks only kill the adult warriors of the tribes they pillage, taking what they need, and allowing the tribes to rebuild for the next raid. They usually attack in the evenings with a main party, and retire to celebrate and rest after their victory. The next morning a return party is sent to retrieve the resources they need from the now defenseless tribe.

Recently, the Maruaks have grown more aggressive, attacking and pillaging tribes at a higher frequency. They have also begun to raze the villages they attack, killing every single member of the tribe. The reason for the sudden change is still unknown, but it has alarmed the remaining tribes and the City. The 5th Company is currently investigating the situation.

Maruaks are very animalistic in nature, and have a military class hierarchy. They are divided into three main classes, the scouts, the warriors and the shamans.

The scouts, at the bottom of the ladder, scurry about on all fours with their backs hunched, making them rather short. They are as stealthy as rats, and carry poisoned daggers. Scouts are usually disposable frontliners, but are formidable for their speed and agility, often pouncing onto enemies and debilitating them before they can react. In massive sieges, they are sent in first to create chaos, disable sentries, or simply to take the ranged fire of enemies as live meatshields.

The warriors, at the middle of the ladder, command the troops. They are hulking beasts that walk on twos, proud and upright. Weapons variety may vary from warrior to warrior, but most carry at least two different large weapons like bastard swords, heavy axes or ball hammers. They are extremely strong and fast for their size, and a single warrior can take on 3 to 5 common soldiers. Only their heads and necks are protected by a strong helmet and thick armour, as the rest of their body is very thick and resistant to arrows and projectiles.

The shamans, at the top of the ladder, are the ruling class among the Maruaks, making the political decisions for the entire tribe. Shamans usually do not venture out except on major raids, and even then only one or two will be assigned to monitor the raid. Before Shalek, it was unheard of to find a shaman in a return party, a task normally undertaken by lowly scouts. Maruak shamans are rumoured to be extremely powerful, as they are the only tribe to known to harvest spirits of the fallen. Shamans of tribes under attack usually try to send the spirits of their own to the netherworlds before the Maruak shamans can harvest them.

All Maruaks are extremely hardy and difficult to kill. Most can survive extreme flesh wounds, and it takes a solid thrust to the heart or the lobbing of their head to kill one. Maruaks believe that ranged weapons are for the cowardly, and only the shamans wield any ranged magic at all. Even then, many shamans prefer to manifest their spirit guardians as melee beasts.

(This section is incomplete. More will be revealed as the story progresses, to prevent unnecessary spoilers.)

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