N/Bestiary/Raa'Jul
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The Raa'Jul are a race of human-like sentients that roam Greater Gallorum, known to foreigners as the Natives of Geugaw, they are a dark-skinned race which have come to live in harmony with the many threats of the western continent.
[edit] Physiology
The Raa'Jul are a pre-human species, with an advanced human stature and poise, but with thicker shoulder-blades which protrude in older males of the species. These are known as the Raa'j, which is where the species got their name, from the J'raa word for "Men with Raa'j". Females possess thinner, almost modern human-like shoulder blades, while the males use the bony protrusions in mating rituals and conflicts over females.
The language of the Raa'Jul, known as J'raa, consists of words of no more than five syllables, and is intermixed with gutteral grunts and moans. The language has been translated by Gallorumi scholars, which have been able to learn a great deal about the Raa'Jul culture from experienced tribal elders.
[edit] History
The early Raa'Jul were the result of evolution from an earlier humanoid race found exclusively in the Wastelands, the Raa'Jan. In keeping with their hunting instincts, the Raa'Jul continued to pursue large herds of beasts in search of their next meals. Soon mastering a form of easily moved tents and equipment, Raa'Jul tribes scurried across the Geugaw deserts in patterns consistent with the migration paths of many of the large beasts of the area.
It was in the Classic Age that the first band of explorers to the new continent encountered what they described as "Beastmen", with "longs spikes jutting from their shoulders", and "thick, sharp, dangerous teeth". The awkward meeting of the two cultures led to a hostile gesture by the explorers causing the Raa'Jul to give chase.
The explorers would return to their homelands and report the creatures as being "terrible blends of beast, devil, and man". It would be centuries later before relations would be improved. During this time, the slaying of the Raa'Jul was a practiced sport, until the Raa'Jul became disturbed by the attacks and began to slay hunting packs, turning the hunters into the prey themselves.
It would take a 103-year-old Raa'Jul elder, and a nine-year-old Galorumi boy to establish a standing peace between the two cultures. Hunting of the Raa'Jul was banned across The Midworld, and diplomatic relations were attempted, but turned down. It was then that the Edict of Juun'Dal was established by a prominent Raa'Jul male.
The Edict declared that the cultures of the Raa'Jul and all foreign cultures would remain at diplomatic, social, and military neutrality for as long as possible, which essentially ended all diplomatic contact with the Raa'Jul. This established peace has continued, though but months after the Edict of Juun'Dal, there sprang groups on both sides which opposed the peace between the two cultures.
These rogue groups of Raa'Jul, and the militant human radicals lead to many diplomatic strains between the two cultures, but both groups are attempting to restrain the actions of these radical and often terrorist groups.
