Etjarutr Hybrids

The Etjarutr (sg: Etjarutri) are an ethnic group belonging to the species Homo spargere who possess the ability to transform into a non-human form. They are the dominant ethnic group living in the country Vinerolnu.

=History=

Origin
In the year 1356AN a lermaamu insect laid a clutch of eggs in Meilvarestu. The leraamu species is known for feeding off of large vertabrates with the side effect of causing its victims to turn into another species. Typically the transformation is permanent but this one particular female carried a rare mutation that allowed for a longer life and the ability to feed off of more than two hosts. The individual female did not express this mutation but the eggs in her clutch did. When the eggs hatched and when the offspring grew into mature adults they had a feeding frenzy, feeding on a wide arrange of species, including Homo spargere. Due to their mutated ability to feed on multiple hosts they infected a large number of people. These victims were not doomed to a permanent fate however, the bites of this clutch allowed for transformations back and forth, giving the victimcs the ability to turn into another species and then back to human. Another side effect that the individuals of this clutch inherited was infertility meaning that when they eventually died this rare mutation died with them. However it’s consequences lived on. It left a number of Mangeodge humans with the ability to turn into animals and this would have a great ripple theoughout history. These victims would go on to become the ancestors of the Etjarutr people.

Prior to feeding on the human victims the bugs had fed off of megafauna such as mammoths, cave lions, aurochs, sabre tooth cats, deer, wolves, bears, daedons, argentinus magnificus, giant sloths andrewsarchuses and one individual giant eagle who had strayed far from its native range. It is these animals that the people would then turn into.

Rivalry with the Mangeodge people
The first generation of Etjarutr people was comprised of disparate individuals with this new found ability. Upon their first transformations they found their new found impulses and instincts difficult to control. Those that became mammoths and giant sloths found themselves feeding on crops which heavily angered nearby farmers. Those that became more ferocious creatures known for preying on humans, such as the giant eagle or cave lions, well they found themselves feasting on their human kin. This caused the humans to have an incredible fear and hatred for all those who became animals. Those who were identified as having this ability were either exiled in wild spaces or murdered.

Hybrids
For several centuries afterwords the various shapeshifters would either live in isolation in wild spaces, or attempt to live among people keeping their other nature a secret. The Etjarutr tended to marry with other Etjarutr, although there was an internal division where an individual who becomes a prey species (mammoth, giant sloth, daedon or deer) would not marry an individual who became a predator species (giant eagle, cave lion, wolf, sabre tooth cat or andrewsarchus). The two would not attack or eat each other but nonetheless breeding between them was taboo. Over time as these individuals had children with other shapeshifters their alternative forms would mix together in their children. Over time a balance found itself where several new “hybrid” forms emerged and the “pre” forms became rarer. The predators became that with the body of an andrewsarchus with a long wolf’s tail, with the great wings of a giant eagle and the long sword like teeth of the sabre tooth cat. The preys stabilized into two possible forms. One with the body of a giant sloth with short mammoth tusks and a small trink for a nose, possessing an impressive set of either antlers or horns (if male), and with hooves on the hind feet. The other with the body of a daedon pig with a thick coat of bears fur and large clawed paws in place of hooves, with a wide set of aurochs horns (if male) and a huge pair of argentinus magnificus wings giving it flight. The second prey form is more aptly an omnivore although it will only ever gain meat via scavenging.

As well as hybrids there is another class of Etjarutr who take the form only of the sėalaferok deer. An 8ft tall white deer that is held sacred in the sumric cultures, believed to be reincarnations of ancestor spirits. As such these individuals are held with high regard and divinity (except by the Mangeodge who hate them).

Exile from Meilvaru
For centuries after their conception the Etjarutr were regarded as monsters by the people of Meilvarestu, seen as an evil creature that lurks in the wild beyond the comforts of villages and houses. Treated like giant vermin there were occasional hunts to slaughter any nearby Etjarutri. Many Etjarutr had taken to living in Tavevi Sklazvi (the New North”), a large swathe of land which at that time was uninhabited by humans. There they could find some peace and acceptance amongst their own kin. This changed win 1640 when Aulei First King of Meilvarestu assembled a force of elite soldiers trained specifically for fighting large beasts. King Aulei saw the large empty lands to the north as an opportunity to expand his newly found country into. People generally avoided the area due to the large amount of predators plus the communities of Etjarutr that lived there. In answer to this King Aulei commisioned several Sumnė beast shamans to train his soldiers how to deal with large beasts, practicing by hunting down individual Etjarutri who lived in human populated areas. Once his men were ready he sent them north to expell the Etjarutr for good. His orders were simple; force all Etjarutr to move east of the Vjarukarnun Mountains or kill those who refuse. What followed was a short bitter war, known as The Cleansing War, ended by the exile of surviving Etjarutr out of Meilvarestu.

The survivors fled east and south into Măgalsjo Territory where they found a suitable land to live in. They settled along the wooded shores of the Lembijas Sea, with their territory stretching into the Bentz Steppe to the north up until the Gukmik Mountains.

Founding of Vinerolnu
Not long after moving to this area the Etjarutr came across the nomadic Sumnė, for indeed they were in Măgalsjo which is the territory of the Sumnė nomads. The Sumnė are distantly related to the Mangeodge and the Etjarutr, all descending from the first human settlers to the Malomanan continent and all speaking Sumro-Letaeric languages. The Sumnė had encountered the effects of the leraamu bug before, they even held such individuals as sacred an adorned them with wonderful painted designs. The Etjarutr did not know this and assumed that all human hated them (not helped by how culturally isolated Meilvarestu is). So the Etjarutr tried to hide their alternate forms around the Sumnė passerbyes in fear, but when their secret was found they were not greeted with hatred but rather with awe and admiration. The Sumnė shamans were especially interested in interacting with the Etjarutr, such so that it become a common custom for shamans to visit the people at least once in their lifetimes. Information of these people spread by the Sumnė to the Tuurluosm who live in the far north, themselves hybrids of giants and humans. Soon even Tuurluosm shamans made the massive journey south to visit these wonders of nature.

All the while the Etjarutr had lived in the area under the leadership of an individual named Asero but no borders had been set yet. When asked by a Tuurluosm shaman just where their territory ended and who ruled as king, many ideas of forming an official kingdom for Etjarutr were formed in beastly heads. Not long after Asero was crowned king and in the following declaration he set down the borders of this new kingdom.

''Aralejocg ameozi jacgiozi ac asatozi ab. Bleiko eovaci aruto ab, labvi jaruvi ac eomeju decjarasjalun dejonimriejocg Sumineju ac Tauruluoseju ac cgunjamarocozi. Gonsko eovaci marulozeju ab, labvo jaruvi ac eomeju decjarasjalun roluacejocg naucjarnu ratrenu jar Aulei Ratrei. So rolnu paljeiri caebocozi arutauli ac marulozli.''

''“We dwell in a fortunate and kind land. To the east flows the river Bleekȯ, a long arm with which we welcome the Sumnė and Tuurluosm and their blessings. To the west flows the river Goñskȯ, a long arm with which we fend off the wicked armies of Cruel Aulei. These rivers define our eastern and western borders. To the south is the Limbijas Sea whose water gives us salt and fish, the sea defines our southern borders. Beyond the green forests, our kingdom stretches over the Bentiz Steppe and is capped by the Gukmik Mountains which define our northern border. I declare our kingdom to be the Kingdom of Vinerolnu.”''

=Names=

The name Etjarutr the plural form of Etjarutri, itself an animate noun derived from the inanimate noun etjarutrri (“snout”). This is what the Etjarutr refer to themselves as. They have several names in other languages, each with their own connotations. Due to their bad reputation in Meilvarestu their names there are derogatory and paint them in an ill light; Elidejeicwim an animate noun derived from the transgressive form of the verb elidejeti (“to devour, to tear with the teeth”), and Atame an animate noun derived from the inanimate noun atamevi (“curse, terror”). Elsewhere they are viewed in a more flattering light as observed in their other names. In Old Sumrë they were called Töölnătü from töölna (“shapeshifter”) and -tü (“derives animal names”). In Old Tuura they were called Źuonbźibo meaning “our envy”, so called for the Tuuric people highly envy their fighting prowess.

=Language=

Preys and predators speak closely related languages, there is also a common lingua franca between them. The Sėalaferok speak their own language too. The Sėalaferok is mostly influenced by Old Sumrë while the predator language is mostly influenced by Old Tuura, prey language has lesser influences from both. The languages all descend from Old Mangeodge. The three languages all share the same syntax and similar phonologies but differ wildly in vocabulary thanks to the various influencers.