Lands of Mirhne: Beastmen and Primal Cults of Mirhne

While Mirhne generally speaking doesn't have much in the way of traditional orcs and goblins, beyond the Low Men, some scenarios or turns of event may call for the need for some more 'proper' abominations cast in the rough shape of men should a Mirhne campaign advance beyond the initial setup and the veil slowly be lifted. There may come a time when darkness and madness covers the land and an ancient, primordial power truly awaken. However, it would be wrong to assume that the Fiends of Mirhne are the only ancient power to awaken. The age of madness, of beasts and devolution may come on day.

Overall there's not a whole lot to add about the Beastmen of Mirhne as they are conceptually quite similar to other infamous Beastmen of other fantasy works, albeit re contextualized when it come to their monstrous divine parentage and chaotic influence. Like the Fiends, the Beastmen are an 'optional' aspect to Mirhne should the campaign require slight retooling to add more fantastical elements.

The Primal Blood

Art by Leila El

It is the essence of nature, raw and bloody and terrifying. Nature is not a kind entity, collectively. It is violent, amoral and utterly opposed to the forces of civilization. Nature is the force of darkness, of the deep wild, of predation, destruction, reproduction and parasitism. It is an endless cycle, impersonal and vicious, which can only be harnessed or held at bay at the best of time. Some animals may be tamed, but most animals remain dangerous. Woods may be cut down but should nearby civilization fall, nature will retake its place and leave behind little of Man's work. Ultimately, nature is an uncaring primal force of chaos and not something beautiful.

In the many pantheons of Mirhne and its folklore, Nature and the wilderness very much has a life of its own. It is both an entity and some impersonal cosmic force which most definitely hold no mercy for humanity, especially in a land where beasts grow large, hungry and vicious. As doomsday may appear closer and closer and Mirhne is drawn toward ruins, there are cults which emerges. They are the resurgent cults of the old ways, of the old paths, when Man was ever so slightly closer to Beasts, before the time of bronze and iron. Not all of them are dangerous, at best they are but social misfit and warriors looking for a new spiritual purpose in an alienating age. Others? Well...

There is a power sleeping and fermenting inside Mirhne, which some say is the lost essence of Giants, of Titanic Demigods which existed as the connection between Earth and Heaven. Perhaps these two things are indeed the same or perhaps they are similar-yet-distinct phenomena. Either way, there is a corrupting power which slumbers inside Mirhne which the maddened have found and embrace. The Primal Blood which hold power over the ancient earth and the strength of the Gods which, they claim, mankind has rejected and in doing so has grown weaker. Those who embrace it are born anew and find themselves, they claim, to have become beloved by ancient goddesses of the wild and mighty and the adopted children of great Titan-Gods of forgotten ages. Strength, vitality and immortality is in their grasp. They enact great and terrible rites in the deepest and most forgotten places of Mirhne and through it are reborn.

Beastmen of Mirhne

The creatures called Beastmen are known only in myth, which are mostly lies and folklore. What is slowly awakening in the deepest reaches of Mirhne is something else entirely, the adopted children of sleeping Gods deep within the earth and of terrible mind-hives which whisper in the deepest forests the secrets of the universe. Beastmen are a living extension of ancient, dreadful Gods and monsters. They are their adopted children who have sacrificed their humanity and have been remade into thralls of these ancient powers. They gather in large bands, which are less like herds and more akin to an insect's hive in mentality and they slowly carve out domains deep within the earth with but rocks and teeth. They carve out the oldest and tallest trees. In the deepest reaches of Mirhne, they are building their power base. They are not intelligent creatures, not once the transformation has taken hold completely, but they are extremely driven and quite organized even if this may not appear as such due to their savage and chaotic way of fighting.

Chaos Spawn from Total War:
Warhammer.

Physically, Beastmen are closer to Teratoma Beasts than humans. Since the human form is mammalian (at least, initially before all the mutations occur), Beastmen of Mirhne tend to grow shaggy fur, claws and even horns, which are less like the horns of cattle and more crowns and plates of jagged bone which grows on their heads and shoulder. A vestigial tail, which humans have, has a tendency to grow. The end result is a creature which appears to be a cross between a man and a beast, but it is inaccurate to assume the beastial half of a Beastman of Mirhne to resemble any known animal. Great champions, which are said to be favored by their eldritch god-parents, possess a much greater amount of mutation and have transformed far beyond the normal human form, with multiple limbs: either as four arms, a centaur-like configuration or even wings.

While at their most basic they are 'monstrous humanoids', the Beastmen of Mirhne have received the favor of primal power and can often regenerate wounds in ways similar to a classic Troll and some particularly degenerate servants who have accrued great favor their eldritch god (if such beings even truly understand the concept of favors) have become massive, nearly unkillable juggernaut made of living cancer. Other disgusting abilities can include a toxic bite (from the accumulation of foul humour in their bodies and general lack of cleanliness), venomous pustule-sacs which can burn the skin or cut life short and even the ability to expel the toxins building in their bodies from the infusions of the Primal Blood. Given enough time to fester, Beastmen of Mirhne are a living laboratory of mutated flesh, new strain of diseases and various toxic byproducts as their bodies slowly break down, since mortal flesh was never meant to be so directly infused with their power. Given the results of human potential crossed with madness, these creatures exist in a state where they should be dead and yet keep on thriving. There are rumors of wretches, however, who are nothing more than slobbering masses of pus and goo which may or may not explode. Their existence is currently unclear.