Ma'Mal

The largest Country in Miridia, both in size and population, Ma'mal has the most varied climate of all the countries. There are at least 10 clans that call Ma'mal home. Inhabitants of Ma'mal are sometimes called Malians.

The Gaurdians

The great Shisa Dan (Dahn) and his mate Jin (Jeen) are the gaurdians of Ma'mal and are preset in it's seal. Two Shisa statues are present at the entrance gates to Ma'mal, as well as all entrances into the capitol. Some of the smaller villages and towns, especially in the Canid district have smaller versions of the Shisa pair in their squares. It is said that on the day Lupian died, and the Felids seized control, water flowed from the eyes of all the statues...as if Dan and Jin were crying for their people.

The Grand Elder

Before the fall of Ma'mal, Gabriel's tutor Shawn Lupian was the grand elder of Ma'mal. After Lupian died, Leonardo Pantera of the Felid clan was appointed the Grand Elder.

Canid
Members of the Canid clan are well-known for their loyalty and devotion to friends and family as well as their intelligence. After the fall, many of the Canid people were either killed, enslaved, or went into hiding.

Canin
This Grand-family includes the dog families, wolf, and jackal families.

Trevar Family: Members of this family all have different retriever breeds as their natural forms (the transformation they are born with).

Ex. Gabriel's natural form is a black lab.

Sounder Family: The hounds and hunters of the "Dog" families.

Terran Family: A tenacious group and excellent trappers. The head of the Terran family was a close friend of Gabriel's father.

Lupian Family: Members of this family have wolves as their natural forms.

Jakan Family: These are your natural-born jackals.

Tanu
A family heaped in tradition. These are excellent climbers and keep the legends and history of Ma'mal. As such they were one of the most respected members of the Canid clan. Akani Tanu tends the great statues of Dan and Jin and used wisdom to avoid enslavement of her family. Though his young grand-daughter is kept by the Pantera family as leverage and as a record-keeper.

Vulpa
A family of crafty individuals who include many of the foxes of the world. They are very intelligent. The remnants of the nomadic Brach family were adopted in.

Brach: A once great nomadic clan of shapeshifters who specialized in maned wolf forms.

Felid
A clan characterized by graceful strength. Once known for the plethora of dancers and athletes, now known mainly for the work of the Panthera family.

Therin
Panteras Family: These are your lions, tigers, and leopards. Leonardo Panteras is by far the most well-known member of this family.

Pardis Family: The rarer leopards such as the snow and clouded varieties.

Felis
Acino Family: A family praised for their speed, these are your cheetahs. They were once swift messengers and racers, now enslaved for not supporting Panteras.

Color Family: Silent killers, these "mountain lions" are as sly and seductive as they are deadly. The Color twins are devoted servants of Leonardo.

Lyn Family: A reclusive woodland family, they once helped protect the forests. They disappeared into the forests when Leonardo took over.

Sava Family: A varied family native to the warm plains of Ma'mal. Several species of cats are native forms of this family.

Domea Family: This are those that prefer domestic cats as their forms. As varied and adaptable as the domestic cats, they are the most widespread family out of the Felids. Because of this, many act as Leonardo's eyes and ears throughout Ma'Mal and the other lands of Miridia.

Ursi
Known for being extremely strong, but also extremely reclusive. They prefer to dwell in harsh, remote landscapes. Few have permanent settlements in these dangerous places, preferring to move with the seasons.

Ursu
Helio Family: The sun bears and a rather mysterious people. Most are said to be the wisest of the Bear people. Many devote themselves to lives of contemplation and peace.

Mari Family: Residents of the harsh tundras of North Ma'mal. They live a nomadic life, driving their herds of Ice yak.

Mela Family: The most widespread family. They range from the mountains down into the forests. Black bears and Brown bears make up most of this family.

Extinct Families
Ailur Family: Pandas. There are very few left and there hasn't been one born since the Fall.

Trema Family: These were the spectacled bears. There are no known shapeshifters with this as their native form.

Stelli
Often erroneously labeled thiefs, tricksters, and over-all dishonest. That is not the case for all of them, they they do tend to be slippery individuals.

Musteli
Taximel Family: The badgers.

Pallas Family: Skilled hunters.

Lina Family: Your weasels, polecats, and ferrets. They're are intelligent and quick individuals, though not characterized as being the biggest or bravest.

Lutri
Rivera Family: Members of this family dwell in villages along Malian rivers and provide the vast majority of Ma'mal with freshwater fish. These are your river otters.

Ocea Family: A sea-faring family divided between fishermen and a small branch of pirates. Consist mostly of sea otters. The fishermen provide saltwater fish as well as various shellfish and crustaceans. It's rumored that they have friends in Icthus.

Cetecea
A group that fled to Icthus after the Fall, before they acted as Malian ambassadors to Icthus.

Mysti Family: Known for being the best musicians in all Ma'mal. Many in Ma'mal miss their beautiful songs and compositions.

Odon Family: Consists of dolphins and orcas. Some considered them to be the most intelligent inhabitants of Ma'mal with most being scholars, scientists, and inventors.

Equus
Graceful, strong, and beautiful. These have strong familial ties, and value family over almost anything else. They are one of two completely vegatarian clans, the other being the Cerdae clan. The Bova family is also predominantly vegetarian.

Caba Family: Family encompassing the various breeds of domestic horse, most are farmers

Dolico Family: This tribal family is known for the intricate make-up and tattoo designs worn by individuals. Designs vary between family groups as wells as by age, position, job, and marital status.

Asina Family: Members of this family can be quite stubborn, rarely doing anything they didn't want to. Man of these were miners and smiths.

Feru Family: The most ancient family of the Equus family. Organized in tribes and famous for their story-telling.

Cerdae
Graceful, silent, and generally solitary. They are one of two completely vegatarian clans, the other being the Equus clan. The Bova family is also predominantly vegetarian.

Munta
Ticus Family: The only family to have tusks instead of antlers. They retain these tusks in human form. They are known for intricate weavings.

Vini
The rest of the ancient deer families, many of which were wiped out. Those that remain are shadows of the forests.

Caprei
Priol Family: The largest and strongest members of the clan. Most commonly serve as Rangers.

Odoma Family: Your typical forest-dwelling tribes. They are the closest thing Miridia has to elf-kind. They are healers and artists.

Simia
A versitile and varied group. The smaller ones can be quite impish.

Prosimis
Tarsis Family: The most impish of the group.

Gasca Family: Island-dwellers and the lemurs.

Placati
Calli Family: Marmosets and Tamarins. They are agile and talented in combat.

Cebi Family: Common tree-dwelling family. This are your tinkerers and explorers, curious by nature.

Mindae
Pan Family: Very intelligent and strong.

Rilna Family: The biggest and strongest family in the clan and most often employed as gaurds and peace-keepers.

Pon Family: Full of ancient wisdom, the members of this peaceful family rarely venture from the tree-tops of their island home. They rarely trim their hair once they reach adulthood, though for the men it is mainly their facial hair that they don't trim.

Chirops
These predominantly nocturnal peoples live in cavern systems and tunnels throughout Ma'Mal.

Pteros
Vulpt Family: Encompasses all flying fox species of bats.

Nectin Family: Renowned for making an addictive drink out of nectar.

Rouse Ramily: Wide-spread family of fruit growers.

Echos
Pira Family: These are your vampire bats. They raise heards of mountain goat for their blood, selling what they don't need.Their colonies are close-knit with the whole colony taking care of an orphaned member.

Noustrelli Family: This family speciallized in gathering insects. They've come up with popular dishes.

Noctili Family: This family lives near subterranean lakes and ponds, catching the fish that live there. They are considered the hermits of this clan.

vesper Family: A family known for raising small flocks of flightless birds like chickens and guinea fowl.

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Verri Family: Civets relatives

Herpe Family: A family immune to nearly every toxin. They use this ability to create antidotes and antivenoms to help others.

Cyon Family: The raccoons of Ma'mal.

Phesta Family: A family given a wide berth, they take the forms of skunks.

Raffa Family: Even in human form they are rather tall individuals, with the shortest being between 5 and 6 feet tall.

Hyae Family: A group of ruthless individuals with a matriarchal hierarchy.

Bova Family: Family of strong, sometimes stubborn, but over all peaceable individuals.