Yama

The Yama are a group of monstrous humanoids that live in the Ashi and Malada mountains. Ogre-like in appearance, they are hulking brutes with rippling muscles. Their skin is a variety of colours, ranging from red to blue to green. They live in the mountains, hiding in caves and valleys far from the prying eyes of the Elves. Small groups of them lurk the forests and pathways across the Kodno, preying on caravans and lone travellers across the region. Occasionally these smaller groups will band together to form war parties, who raid and pillage more isolated villages. Mutsu is especially prey to the Yama, who have launched larger assaults on the city across history. The Yama are depicted in Elvish culture as villains, appearing in plays and other stories. Some Sea Elf warriors have face masks carved to depict Yama as part of their armour, used to frighten their foes.

History

The Yama seem to be the spiritual counterpart to the Elves. Where one desires order, the other spreads chaos. Legend tells that when the first Elves entered the world from Kunin’s realm, Naruka was jealous. The god of chaos made the Yama to disrupt Kunin’s plans, placing in the mountains while the Elves clustered around the sea. Opposite to the Elves in every way, the two were destined to be rivals for dominance over the Kodno. Across history this has been the case, being a thorn in the side of the growing and developing Elvish societies. The Yama have little development to call their own, sheltered in the high mountains. They live a largely subsistence lifestyle, raiding and pillaging for sustenance. This has kept their numbers manageable, and their relative isolation keeps them from banding together in too great of numbers.

Description

Tall and broad, Yama are hulking creatures. Their brightly coloured skin is pulled tight across muscle-bound backs, broken by patterns of tattoos and warpaint. Red skin is the most common among them, though blue, green and even yellow can be found. Horns erupt from their heads and the edges of their mouths, giving them a nearly permanent snarl. Loincloths are their main dress, seemingly impervious to the cold of their mountain homes. Furs and hides are the most common material used, with little to no armour of their own design in use. They do however use scavenged bits of Elvish armour and clothing, used haphazardly and seemingly in mockery of their foes. The Yama are exceptionally strong, and carry spiked iron clubs as weapons, able to shatter bone with a single strike.

Notable Figures

Labazhe

Literally meaning the Horned One, Labazhe is a great and formidable leader of the Yama. Living in the Malada mountains north of Mutsu, he leads an abnormally large pack of Yama, who batter and press on the Elves there. They have made the north coast effectively unliveable, driving the villagers there behind the city’s fortifications. A great rival to Juntoku Banri, the ruler of Mutsu, he possesses a cunning unlike any other Yama. His will is almost supernatural, with the Yama under his command following his orders completely. His skin is a deep olive, the colour of earth or the mountains themselves. Tufts of white hair erupt across his body, making him look more beastlike than humanoid. Two great horns point upwards from his scalp, giving him his name. His armour is battered iron, covered with wood and wicker and layered on his muscular form. Silent, his seemingly only goal is to destroy Mutsu entirely. His forces break upon the walls of the city, an uncertain state of siege existing between the two on the northern bank. A rumour has begun, after dealings with them in the human lands, that he is some sort of Noreya, twisted even further and controlling the Yama through sorcery. He has surely lived longer than any Yama should, providing for many theories as to his true nature.