Maraloi
This legendary race of men, or possibly spirit folk, ruled the Northern Wastes in millenia past. They were tall and fair and wielded powerful, alien magic. They used weapons and tools of bronze because iron was poisonous to them. The Maraloi (which means, “ancient lords” in Pazruk) were the particular foes of oni, ogre magi, and lesser humanoids, and managed to keep the upper hand until iron was introduced into common use in the Ama Basin. It is not known whether all of the Maraloi were slain, or if they departed, or if they became assimilated into human populations.
The Maraloi figure most prominently in the legends of the Pazruki, since ruins and relics of the vanished race are so often discovered in isolated valleys of the Koryaz Mountains. Among the Pazruki, a child of exceptionally light compexion or (most unusually) fair hair, is said to have the mark of the Maraloi. It is taken as a portent of great promise for magical ability.
