Maraya

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Maraya
Race
Pronunciation	Maa-raa-ya
Classification	Maia
Common Nicknames	Vaulters (praising) Burrowers (derogatory) Sleepers (derogatory) Cryst-lars (praising)
Languages	Shalota
Naming Customs	Fluently flowing names with frequent usage of Ls and Ms
Racial Traits
Distinctions	Ancient sleeper Race re-awakened by the Cataclysm
Maximum Age	400
Height	5'5 - 6’2
Eye Colors	Race Palette
Hair Colors	Race Palette
Skin Tones	Race Palette

A people caught out of place, out of time, the Maraya are tiefling-like with distinct unique features that make them also appear rather fae-like. They belong to an ancient civilization called the Meraic Civilization, sometimes also called the Fourth Civilization, that existed long before the Elves united under Talea, and founded a vast sci-fi world-spanning civilization with a high emphasis on technology and having developed space-flight. Corruption in their highest government eventually led to the Fourth Void Invasion, which ended their civilization. Up to a million of their citizens fled into specialized Vaults however, that were meant to keep them safe in cryo sleep for a few centuries while the Demons disappeared. Centuries turned to Millennia, and despite the promises from the Dragons to awaken them, the Meraic Vaults did not open until a full 25,000 years later, and with only so few of them opening, the Meraic were unable to re-assert their dominance over the world, with so many civilizations now existing that outcompete them, and even create technological parity with so little information that survived the fall of their civilization. After emerging and re-baptizing themselves as the Maraya, some continue to try and open yet lost Vaults or re-discover ancient blueprints, while others have given up on the dream of a new Meraic Realm, instead bravely venturing into the world to discover it anew.

Core Concept

The Maraya Race is split between four distinct sub-cultures, three of which are playable, and the fourth of which is not (though it still exists for point of reference). The Maraya Race can be a wonderful Race to play for new players, or the worst Race to play, depending on specific choices in Character Creation. Vaulter Maraya are Maraya who entered the vaults when their Empire fell. This requires a bit of extra reading, but basically ensures that you don't have to read any other information on the Wiki besides Abilities, because such a Character is new to the world. Every roleplay interaction is discovering new information, and familiarizing yourself with the lore by playing it, instead of reading about it. Inversely, picking other subcultures of Maraya may require extensive reading, and frustrate new players who want to quickly jump into Roleplay.

History

This section covers a brief abridged version of Maraya and extended Meraic history. For a full understanding of Meraic History, read said page. It is however possible to roleplay a Maraya correctly without ever having read this page, for more information, see the Sub-Cultures section. The Maraya descend from the Meraic Empire that existed roughly 35,000 years prior to the modern era, and collapsed after a corrupt political elite dabbled in Magic, and attempted to create a magical power singularity that caused the Fourth Void Invasion. The Dragons assisted the Meraic, but were unable to stop the collapse of their civilization, instead promising to shelter survivors in Vaults that they would build with the Meraic. About a million Meraic survived in these Vaults, but the Dragons never re-opened them, with the first Vault in Hadar failing because of a technical fault and self-opening around the year 200 BC. This is where the first Vaulters emerged to a radically changed world, having to quickly adapt, and secure a foothold in a hostile area that was at that point inhabited by arriving Allar migrants, Slizzar, and some Elves. The Maraya used enough of their technology to produce a seclusionist state called Tohsmaaq Venheer, keeping foreigners out with some of the ancient tech that was taken with them in the Vaults, but lacking the manpower or the means to really amount a war of expansion on their surroundings, thus being trapped. Over the centuries, the Maraya could only watch as other Empires went to war with each other, content to keep to themselves, and research the past. Every year, a new Vault would be found, adding a few thousand more Maraya to their numbers, but at this point many of them had already abandoned the idea of remaking the Meraic state, and ventured off into the wider world, familiarizing other Races with who the Maraya were. In the modern day, the Maraya can be found far and wide, with notable communities existing in Regalia, Ashaven, Amontaar, and even Hadar, where they have found ways to make them useful. Some of them still pine after a return of their old Empire, while others have grown content to just try and save as many Maraya from vaults as possible, and see what to do from there.

Maraya Sub-Cultures

Vaulter Maraya Vaulter Maraya are the easiest to play Maraya, only the reading of this page, and the Meraic History Page may be required to start a Character. Vaulter Maraya are those Maraya that survived the Void Invasion by slumbering in their cryo vaults, only to awaken to an alien world, thousands of years later. Vaulter Characters can be of any age within the maximum aging for Maraya, as suspended in cryo sleep, they did not age. They can also have been unvaulted several decades ago, or just this year, as Vaults continue to be discovered by other Maraya nearly every year. It is permissable to play a Maraya with memory less, though reading Meraic History is recommended for someone wanting to play a Maraya who can remember their ancient Empire. While technically the vaults refused entry to Mages, the chaos during the collapse of Meraic civilization makes the idea of a Mage sneaking in, or bribing their way in, as not very farfetched. Vaulters showing up in Regalia often do so to re-orient themselves and understand this new world by experiencing it, and where better than Regalia.

Roamer Maraya Roamer Maraya are those Maraya who saw the writing on the wall, and either became disillusioned about the idea of trying to restore the old, or just wanted to experience the new before making up their mind. While they still hold onto the Tohn Sona to some degree, they largely set out into the wider world, having abandoned Maraya society for some reason or another, to discover the alien-ness of this world, and perhaps experience a little glee at how technologically backwards it is, in comparison to the far distant past of their lost superstate. Roamer Maraya can often be found selling their services as technicians, mercenaries, poets, artists or just general service people, traveling far and wide, until perhaps eventually settling in Regalia, a city where anything can be experienced, and where world events seem to come to Regalia's doorstep, instead of constantly chasing after them. It is equally possible for Roamers to have decided that Regalia is worth more of their time to support, and thus to stop working with the remnant states (or the Allorn Empire), and join Regalia.

Tohn Maraya The Tohn Maraya hold fiercely onto the promise of the old Tohn Sona, scriptures that were stored with them in the Vaults, and continue to prescribe a standard to live by for them. Tohn Maraya sit somewhere in between the Roamer and the Vaulter. They are either ex-Vaulters, or descendants from the first Vaulters who appeared in Hadar several centuries ago, who all decided to try and revive as much of their old civilization as possible. It is mainly the Tohn Maraya who continue to hunt for as of yet unopened Vaults, aiding more of their kin in awakening from their slumber, and setting out to create a state for the Maraya in a world that is already very populated by many other Races, thus inevitably coming in conflict with the Allar, Maraya, and Elves in Hadar. The Tohn Maraya mostly inhabit the decrepit ruins of their civilization, cobbled together with modern technology to prevent it from utterly collapsing in decay, but a lasting memory to their brilliance. Some travel to Regalia, the center of learning, in the hopes of discovering more Vaults and Tech.

Homeswarm Maraya The Homeswarm Maraya, are an engimatic and not playable sub-culture of Maraya, who drift across the world's skies on a large fleet of space-ships called the Homeswarm. Attempts from any Maraya, whether Drifter, Roamer, or Tohn, to contact the Homeswarm have largely failed, with only enigmatic contact between them and the surface dwellers. Many theories exist to identify the Homeswarm. Some claim they are the remnants of the Tohn Sona Unity, who built their own secret vault which harbored a lot more technology, allowing them to resurface with much more power, while others speculate they are the descendants of those who traveled into space, or even those who were stuck in space when their civilization collapsed. The Homeswarm has occasionally been seen during historical events, only watching and seemingly analyzing the situation before leaving, preventing as of yet any airborne entity or being from reaching them with powerful cannons. Some Tohn and Roamer Maraya are obsessed with trying to learn more about the Homeswarm.

Physical & Mental Characteristics

The Maraya can best be described as tieflings-like humanoids, with distinct butterfly-like ears and cranial formations or horns. They have vibrant hair and skin colors (seen in color palettes to the sides) that often cause them to be mistaken for other Races, or even some Afflictions (for example, red Maraya may be mistaken for the now extinct Manathar, magically corrupted Elves). They look physically very similar to other Races of Aloria, though tend to be on the tall side. Maraya can be big and bulky or stocky, though most of them are slender and appear with more elongated limb proportions than other Races, giving them a very delicate and graceful appearance, if somewhat unsettling. Their Race engaged in genetic engineering, meaning some of them may have additional horns, tails, or different body proportions, or even skin patterns, though their ears are always recognizably the same, even if their size may vary. Mentally speaking, the Maraya are often described as callous, or melancholic. Even for those Roamers who have abandoned the idea of reviving a Meraic state, the very knowledge of the things they lost, can cause frustration to quickly boil, because of little issues like crystalline resonant self-washing clothing not yet having been invented in this era. This does not mean Maraya are angry or bitter all the time, there is plenty of laughter and celebration of life, but it can cause Maraya to come across with a sense of self superiority based on historical providence.

Racial Traits

Lore Compliant Maraya Hair or Skin colors. Their hair is consistently one of these, and skintone another. Being Dimensionswapped allows them to change either to a tone more appropriate for their Dimension.

Maya cranial features can either form horns, but also forehead plates that either bend back, stick sideways, or point upwards. There can even be multiple.

Maraya can grow facial hair, though they often shave it off. Roamer Maraya will still frequently sport facial hair however, as it both helps them fit it, and they may not have access to shaving equipment.

Traditionally Kul-Merai fought with technological gloves powered by Crystaltech for extra punching power.

Maraya horns can be short or long, curved or sharp, and even multiple horns that can exist, though they always follow the skin color in tone.

The Stirrin is a typical tool re-invented by the Maraya since the loss of their civilization, a whip-like weapon with adjustable handle.

Abilities

Ability Name	Ability Type	Ability Range	Ability Description	Modifier
Armor Summon	Summon Power	Self	Grants the user Armor Summon	Maraya Modifier
Weapon Summon	Summon Power	Self	Grants the user Weapon Summon	Maraya Modifier

Free Packs

• Maraya Buff 1: Maraya gain the Ancient Speech Pack for free. This does not count as an investment, meaning Distant Speech Pack can still be Point-Bought.

Limitations

• Crystaltech: This is not a hard limitation, but a strong guideline, in that Maraya should generally choose Crystaltech as their Engineering Branch if investing in Engineering.

Mechanics

• Inheritors: Maraya when participating in Progressions, are infinitely more likely to encounter the Homeswarm than other Races, who have exactly 0 chance to ever encounter them. Homeswarm arrivals may be random and unexpected, and may provide lucky hints or saving graces to an already failing Progression Order. There is no way to anticipate the Homeswarm's saving grace, and no way to specifically communicate or seek out the Homeswarm to plan for their arrival and assistance in any given Progression Order.
• Chrysallus: Each Maraya has tiny little pores on the palms of their hands, that are able to secrete a substance of Chrysalis that quickly hardens and forms crystals of any desired color and shape. This can be used as a raw resource for Crystaltech Artificer/Technician Abilities, but can also just be used to make jewelry or decorative objects. These Crystals can glow, sparkle, hum with energy or tones. This supply is effectively infinite, but they do get hungry from overuse, needing to recover.
• Dimensionwap: Maraya are uniquely susceptible to the Dimenthist energies. By default, without any Occult status, a Maraya is Life Magic (primal) aligned. Any Maraya can be captured and through a magical or religious ritual depending on the alignment of Gods (Void worship for Void, Estellon/Estelsoor for Exist, Dragon Worship for Dragon Magic (primal), and Ordial Cultism for Ordial), converted to that Dimensional Alignment instead (even against their will!). This converts all Abilities they have from their original Alignment to whatever Alignment they are being converted to, even if those Abilities were bought in Packs that do not permit certain Alignments (but it will not make them more favorable towards that Dimension). If a Maraya has been captured and converted twice in the same month already, the player is permitted to request further conversions be avoided. Any Maraya without Spell Point Buy or Theurgy Point Buy, can step into the Tohn Faraam Chamber in the Maraya Embassy in Regalia, which will revert them back to Life Magic Maraya. Maraya who are Afflicted cannot be Dimension Swapped at all, and if the Maraya had any Spirits attached to them, these are swapped with them to their new Alignment.
• Switchtech: Maraya have a number of Mechanics changes to Artificer Point Buy and Technician Point Buy. Firstly, Firstly, if the Character has Point-Bought the Technician Lifelink Pack, they are able to target two Targets instead of just one (though both are on the same Cooldown). Additionally, if the Maraya Point-Bought either the Technician Recall Pack, or Artificer Communicator Pack, they can produce three Redstone communicators instead of two. Finally, Maraya can make use of Technician Point Buy Packs even if they are Afflicted (for example with Vampirism), or are Occult (for example if they are Theurgists).

Society

Language

The Maraya all speak the Language of Shalota, a tongue even older than those of the Altalar given its roots among the Meraic. It is a melodic language which makes frequent use of double m’s, s’ and l’s with plenty of vowels, with the most common hard consonant being “q”. Whether Shalota was the exact tongue that the ancient Meraic spoke however, is up for debate. Due to the nature of Maraya reawakening, the ancient Meraic language and modern Shalota does share continuity in its alphabet, a series of 26 glyphs refined by modern Maraya but essentially the same as those found in Meraic ruins and old Vaults. There is also one more quirk of Shalota, and that is in the use of the word “Tohn.” Tohn was the first name of the Maraya unifier who wrote the most important scripture of the Tohn Sona. Tohn just means "greatness" nowadays, but it is often used a prefix to things from states, book titles, machine names, anything that Maraya make essentially. Maraya names are inherently genderless, though they commonly use nicknames for each other that try to shorten the name as much as possible.

Example of Maraya Names: Qaleem, Meniir, Emmenaa, Tohsaal, Ssinim, LLomela, Llewel, Menness, Immir, Ossorm, Allaarn, Lluna, Ssola, Mmana, Silaam, Ymalla, Qullo.

Religion

The Maraya do not formally have a religion (though some, Drifters notably, may have adopted one over time). Rather, the Maraya have a near-holy scripture called the Tohn Sona, which is a book with ground rules for how society should function. This book is theoretically long, covering topics from healthy diets to correct forms of governance, however in all practicality, most roleplayers will never interact with the deep sociopolitical nuances of the Tohn Sona, and only need a basic structure for how to live their lives on a daily basis in Regalia. As such, this section will cover the most important tenets of the Tohn Sona that can be applied in day to day Roleplay on the server. Note, these are also not extreme rules, one does not get expelled from Maraya community for breaking them, but they invite a point of contention and debate, as well as accountability for those that break them.

• The serene state of world, is to be led by the Meraic kin, devoid of monarchies, devoid of religions, and ruled by technocrats, for scientists and scholars always know best.
• The serene state of mind, is one with ambition and goals, the wandering and drifting mind is one of idle error and miscalculation, a danger for others waiting to happen.
• The serene state of body, is one where aesthetic sensibilities do not undermine functional uses. Self idolatry is a getaway and gateway drug to a failing mind and fortune.
• Magic is not evil by nature of existence, but evil by nature of changes to nature. To underestimate or downplay the power of this force, is equally as ruinous as to drink from it.
• Information is a common good that cannot be withheld, privatized, owned, or otherwise gatekept, Information can only be collectivized, from which it is utilized.
• The great source of corruption, is religion, to outsource the free state of independent thought and reason to an incomprehensible and contempt filled capricious entity.
• The minor source of corruption, is a failing ethic, to inflict willing physical or emotional harm on others without the explicit betterment of society at large.
• The least source of corruption, is spite and envy, for emotions are cascading failures of personal integrity, and every building begins with a first brick laid in error.

Trivia

• There is a saying among scholars that goes "Color Theory is not real", when attempting to explain why so many Void people dress red, Exist people dress blue or white, and all Ordial people only have green clothes in their wardrobe. Maraya on the other hand, prove this wrong, as they can have their skin tone and hair color change to Color Theory appropriate tones.

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Accreditation
Writers MonMarty, HydraLana Processors Acosmism, Volaie, OkaDoka, FireFan96, MantaRey	Last Editor MonMarty on 04/6/2023.

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