16.9.4 The history of the Lamiran race
The first ancestors of the lamira were drifter human families living in the Bardosi Forests. When the moon of Aetherius split asunder, smoke and fire rained down upon their forest and forced them to flee in terror. They fled for many days and nights, crossing mountains and deserts until they wearily stopped west of the forests now known as Khandava in the desert regions of the Shaahri.
It was just before 350 AA when a group of them wished to continue on in westward exploration. While this group continued, the rest believed they had wandered far enough and settled in the desert sands. Thus the refugees of the 'Forest That Is No More' split apart for the first time in generations.
The humans who continued onward soon found themselves on the edge of the continent, at the beginning of a vast ocean. Eventually they discovered bountiful supplies of fish, sea weeds and shellfish in the waters of the Western Sea. As time passed, they spent more time in the warm waters, soon titling themselves the 'lami', or the 'Water People' and lived there quite happily along the ocean's prosperous shore.
It was the moon Moradeim and its magick of change in the year 350 AA that completed the lami's evolved appearances. It formed rows of tiny gills behind the water peoples' ears and small, delicate lines of webbing about their bodies. Thus the ocean's new children found life more suitable beneath the waves rather than above and emerged only when it suited them or tradition demanded it.
It was during this time that the race of the lami grew in thriving population. They discovered that the ocean held a wealth of resources as well as provided room to grow. The lami had many small, diverse tribes living in various places of the deep but built a charming city, Peili dyn Lami, or 'The Sand of the People', to unite in times of need or celebration. Religious belief became more defined and the new cultures of the people were highly valued.
Early in the year 730 AA, a Lamira by the name of Pat'nesai Fasch began a defiant revolt against his tribe. He wished to reserve the right his ancestors had given him to continue exploration of the world. By now, the lami had spread far into the depths of the ocean, different beliefs emerged, conflicting with their his own peoples. Pat'nesai was thought to by many lami to dishonour all his people had accomplished, and the event which had overwhelmingly change the lami. Nonetheless, Pat'nesai led a small band of lami away from their established, proud lives, to live topside as a wandering tribe again. The lami would title those who left 'lamiras', the 'Second People'. Those of the new tribe, proudly titled themselves the 'lami-fasch'.
Later in the year 730 AA, people from the city of Antioch experienced a great drought and went westward looking for aide. The akrabi had been persecuted for their appearances and were reluctant to give assistance of any kind. One of the scout leaders, Tzuzapet Azkeru, was akrabi himself and led his expedition farther west than any other parties. He remembered his ancestors' tales of relations far to the west who left in search of a better lifestyle and believed that if they were still alive, they would surely help. Find them he did; the lean lamira with glistening skin emerged from the waters and at first did not speak the common languages of Aetherius. However, highly intelligent, the lamiras learned the strangers' words quickly.
The lami-fasch agreed to aid the Antiochians. A group was dispatched, wandering around the desert city for days, until finally, at long last an elder member of the tribe tapped his staff on the ground and uttered a short command, "Here. The people of the desert city quickly began to dig where the lamira pointed and behold, found the water they needed to continue precious life in the unforgiving deserts.
This event opened up a new door for the young lami-fasch, especially those who stayed to live in Antioch. With knowledge of the common tongue and stories of great expanses of land to explore - Pat'nesai's great, great granddaughter Anyissa Rhuidean led a small band of her peers away from her tribe to travel eastward past the Waelin River and over the mountains. They discovered a similar settlement, (though much grander than Antioch they believed), in which they would settle. Kinsarmar was what they called it, and this new tribe would call themselves the 'lami-anyissa'. These wanderers would learn to adapt in their new environment and with the different races. They not only grew in knowledge and of advanced technology, but also changed many beliefs, forming a new culture and social life in the process.
In time, the lamira would make one last great migration. Nikatu Kyo, a young and bold fellow discovered a darker study of magick, far beyond the walls of Kinsarmar. He believed that in order to aide his people in ultimate intellect, magick should be studied from all angles. He would tell his few followers this included dark magicks as well as the ways of demons. Against the wishes of his people, and in the footsteps of his descendants, Nikatu and a handful of lami-anyissa left their clans to travel towards Modin by way of the Waelin River. In respect to the new insights they would gain, they proudly titled themselves the 'lami-kyo', or the 'Dark People'.
Many great migrations of the lamira people has formed the culture and way of their people. Several families left during the migrations, or the 'Great Walk' as most lamira call it, settling in secluded places far from the three major tribes. Descendants of some of those clans eventually found their way back into the tribes to share their unique culture and environments with their kin. Whatever the settlement of the lamira people, or the lami that still emerge from the waters this day, history has shown us that with great determination, a race willing to learn, surely thrives well.