Yamari

The Yamari. The Kir-oi. The Mothfolk. All different names for the same cruel and malicious beings. They claim to be far older than the Hamanu. Given their inhuman and monstrous customs and appetites, it is likely that they share a fouler beginning than most Folk.

Physically, the Yamari are androgynous humanoid beings with smooth, powdery-white skin, coal- black hair on their heads, and giant, gauzy moth- like wings. Their lips, teeth, gums, and tongues are all glossy black, while their eyes are an uneven red-and-burgundy crackle. They are small-framed, with a body shape close to that of an Aurumel or Haarkeen child. They move with a disturbing, floating grace which is always accompanied by a desolate giggle or dreaming sigh, like one might murmur during a fevered nightmare.

The Yamari are also devoid of all sexual characteristics. Indeed, it is said the Yamari’s entire form is an expression of wanton desire. This would account for the Yamari’s second- most distinct feature: the faint crimson line that runs from the dimple beneath the nose to the sexless groin. Not merely coloration, this line in fact marks the Yamari’s true mouth. When the back of the Yamari’s victim is exposed, the line opens into a dripping maw, positively crowded with needle-like spines weeping with paralytic venom and absolute hunger. The length of the Yamari’s body is then pressed against its victim’s back as it plunges this rack of fangs into the meat on either side of the spine and, with a hammering gnash, tears the spine free of the back. A blood-curdling keening noise splits the air as the victim’s spine disintegrates in the haunted gut of the Yamari.

It is said that the winds of Zenith are a mercy given to the shard by grateful air spirits. For it is only the mountain-borne winds that deprive the Yamari of their ability to fly. The legends of the Yamari’s capacity to haunt the dark carry enough weight that most don't wish to test the truth of these stories.

The Yamari, having been evicted from the sky, are forced to live in the deepest tunnels beneath the mountains of Zenith, where the iron ore gives way to a terrible red stone that glows with the only light provided to a scream-filled maze, now called the Scarlet Labyrinth.