Up in the high mountains of the north eastern corner of the Northern Continent, the descendents of the Winged Beings live. They are the Morinan; a fair race of albino people. They sport red or green eyes, long pale ivory hair, and fair, smooth skin like alabaster.
Their word for their own race is "Learliana," or "Blessed of the Goddess." The Cormorin gave them the name Morinan, after the name of their city on the highest peak, Morinand. Their lifestyle is marked by magnificent architecture, a rich history of literature and myth, and a highly advanced society based on equality and without class structure.
The Morinan is an agriculturally based society. They grow food crops on the soily ledges of their mountains, much like the Incans did in Peru and Chile. They herd Ilomai, furry horse-like llama-like creatures, which are one of their main sources of material used for making fabric. The other are giant spider-like creatures, "Andullu," that are naturally equipped to make silken material to use for climbing up the mountains and the trees. This silken material has been collected and used to make clothing and rope for centuries in the Morinand kingdom. Silver, rubies, and sapphires are the chief valuble resources found in the Morinan kingdom. There is also an old opal mine, but it does not produce anymore. Thus opals are the most prized valuble to the Morinan. Gold is found in such abundance and is so soft and pliable, that it is considered only semi-precious, along with a rock similar to turquois.
The only religion of the Morinan is the cult of the Opaline Goddess. There is only one statue that exists of her, and that is deep within the old opal mine that dates back to the Morinan antiquity. During the course of its short history, the mine produced eight opals of gigantic size and beauty. These opals were kept on the statue of the goddess, which was said to come to life in times of great need, and at these times, would speak messages from the Goddess herself. This cave was revered by the Morinan, and was guarded always by the Queen and by the magic of the people.
Because they are the most Blessed of the Goddess, the Morinan were given great gifts as a people. The first of all was great beauty. One can rarely find an ugly Morinan. Their minds are incredibly advanced. Most even have such incredible powers as telekinesis and are telepathic. They are also gifted with a certain measure of magic. However, as a people, much of this magic has been lost by the time the Cormorin arrive. There are old spells that still exist; for exampe, the magic that keeps the water flowing up from their wells and into their homes. It has done so ever since the spell was cast when Morinand was first built. Even without the magic, however, these people are of brilliant minds.
Math, a written language, philosophy, and astronomy, among many other sciences, have been known to these people for ages. Their architecture is incredible; it is characterized by rounded shapes and they had developed the dome independently of the Cormorin. They also have great buildings with flying butresses. Their art and artistry are magnificent, as are their statues; something virtually unknown to the Cormorin.
Their community was rather small, but very close-knit. Morinand was ruled by one Queen, who would rule for forty years. There was an assembly of people chosen to represent the people, and these acted as direct advisors to the Queen. On matters that affected the whole kingdom, a mass vote was taken. Morinan lived on the slopes of the mountains as well as on top, and some even lived down on the very easternmost coast of the Northern Continent. There, they had small ships that would fish for the kingdom. It was an immensely small kingdom compared to that of Corminlan, the Cormorin Kingdom.
For the most part, the Morinan accepted the fact that they were alone, and it comforted them that they were isolated. They did know about the Korman'shi, or "Blood Drinkers" who dwelled in caves in the harsh lands to the West, but they never attempted to contact or mingle with them. The only time the two peoples ever came into contact was when a few Korman'shi would raid the border between the two lands. Sometimes they would kill or kidnap a Learliana, but most of the time, it was just to steal animals and pilage the small settlements. It was rare that a Learliana, or Morinan, was killed or captured, especially in the early days. Usually, they could fend the looters off with magic. The Korman'shi would mostly only move in the night, anyway, for fear of the day. Dawn would send them of, whether they had anything to boast of their efforts for or not.
It was during the late Fifth Epoch that war broke out between the Morinan and the Korman'shi. The Goors, the Cormorin name for those who left Corminlan and the Southern Continent to settle on Guonilan, their name for the Northern Continent, were drawn into the battle first. However, it was the Morinan that was their target. And when they joined the war as the Goorian ally, the Kormic Empire was pleased.
The Korman'shi was finally defeated after six years of bloody fighting. The worst of the war happened in the borderline guerrilla battles, where Korman'shi raiders would viciously attack settlements, killing and looting. A new race began forming and this was a sort of middle-race of half-borns: children born of unions between parents of two different races. The Morinan began to disappear due to the ravages of disease and war. They intermarried with Cormorin and Goors, and continued sort of on the side. There were few full Morinan left by the Third Age.
After a rather short time of peace and relative prosperity, another war broke out during the late middle part of the Third Age. This time, it was for completely different reasons.
The Korman'shi had never fully recovered from the last war. They had, however, developed into a more civilized race, and half-borns of Korman'shi and captured Cormorin and Korman'shi and captured Morinan were come of age with new ideals for the remains of the Kormanic Empire. They believed that a greater society could rise out of the ashes. What was left of the Morinan race were distrustful and oppressive towards them, never forgiving the Korman'shi for the harm that they had caused during the Kormanic War. What was left of the Morinan society was split into small kingdoms, or city-states, under individual Kings or Queens. Some ruled well; others abused their power. In the Red War, the Korman'shi fought for their freedom from the rule of the other races.
After the Fourth Epoch, the Morinan were basically an extinct race. Yet, they still had some fate intertwined with the future, which would soon come to light; all based on an old prophecy...
