BIOLOGY: Physically speaking, Nem are almost identical to humans anatomically. The possess two arms, two legs, a head, skin, hair, eyes, a nose, and everything else you would expect from a human, and it's all arranged and proportioned as you would expect. However, one of the biggest and most noticeable differences is their height. An adult Nem will be around 3'4-3'5 in height, and no taller. Nem have large, expressive eyes(though not large to a disconcerting degree), which are invariably either yellow or red in coloration. These eyes possess excellent night vision, but during the day they are slightly worse than a human's. Nem have black hair and very pale skin, their extremely pale skin tone due to their nocturnal lifestyle. Because of this, their skin easily burns in the sunlight and requires coverage to avoid damage during the day. Nem tend to be lightly built, though for some reason teenaged to adult Nem possess rather wide hips. Nem are rather lacking in physical strength, but they tend to be quite agile and swift, making for remarkably fast fighters and archers. Due to their small size, Nem are unfortunately vulnerable to poisons to a greater degree than larger races. This includes alcohol, Nem are notoriously lightweight drinkers and are quick to pass out from drinking. While it is possible for them to conceive children with larger races, female Nem are not built to bear larger offspring and will not likely be capable of carrying an interspecies child. Males cannot grow facial hair.

CULTURE: Nem are a nocturnal, desert-dwelling race built to handle the hot temperatures of the Southern deserts. Their lives revolve around the night, at least in their native home, and as to be expected this means that they sleep during the day. This means that they naturally shun the sun, and this is reflected by the antagonistic and vengeful nature of their sun deity, Yrrah. Yrrah, to the Nem, is a massive humanoid being wreathed in flame with a gigantic whip. This whip represents the pain of the severe sunburn Nem suffer in the sunlight. Yrrah is scorned, and the only worship he receives are charms placed to keep his heat from homes. However, the chief deity of the Nem is Ila-Nem. Ila-Nem is a night goddess and an important part of the Nem creation myth. To them, she appears as a beautiful Nem maiden dressed in the finest of clothes and wreathed in the glow of moonlight. Her name is a contraction of "Ila-Zenniso-Netuyem", which translates to "Ila, Great Goddess of the Chosen Night People". Indeed, the name of the race is derived from this contraction, Nem being a shortened version of "Netuyem". Every Nem City or village possesses at least one shrine to Ila-Nem, cared for by the Nem religious leaders, "Iylah/Iylayu", or priestesses. All iylayu are young and female, ranging from early teens through to around thirty years of age. They live in the shrine and care for it. Each shrine has at least three iylayu, and many of the larger shrines possess more. The biggest may have ten or more iylayu tending to them. While most iylayu depart from the shrine at thirty, the most devout remain behind and become siri-iylayu, a higher and more authoritative iylayu. A single iylah can become the supreme leader of the Nem religion, the Uthur-iylah. There is only one Uthur-iylah at a time, in accordance with how Lia Arahas was but a single Nem girl. Also due to the importance of Lia Arahas, Nem religious leaders are all female. There are many other deities based around various objects and concepts in the Nem religion, but none hold as much importance as Ila-Nem.

In terms of government, each Nem village or city is run by a Council, known as the Tras-Rulah, composed of a variety of figures, from distinguished farmers to former members of the guard, in order to represent interests from all over the settlement. Members of the Tras-Rulah are elected directly by the group they belong to. For example, someone wishing to represent the guards would be elected by the guards, while someone wishing to represent farmers would be elected by farmers. Both male and female Nem can be represented on the Tras-Rulah. The only members of the Tras-Rulah that are not elected are the representatives of the village or city's shrines. In this case, the oldest siri-iylah and two iylayu she has hand-picked represent the shrines and even relay decrees from the Uthur-iylah. The size of the settlement dictates the size of the Tras-Rulah. Villages and cities are mostly autonomous, but when an especially great or important decree is made it can be communicated to other settlements.

Indeed, Nem settlements of all kinds possess loose connections to one another, connections mostly forged by the noterunners, or in the Nem language, the "Uradamaso". The uradamasyu are a set of skilled Nem, rotated monthly, who run messages from each Nem village to the next. They are skilled at surviving in the desert away from their homes. The uradamasyu are deeply respected by other nem, and enjoy fame and popularity in their homes. Despite not being an official part of the Tras-Rulah, an uradamaso carries some political clout due to the importance and danger inherent in their position. Between noterunning duty, they enjoy a sedate and quiet life in order to recover from the dangers they experience.

The harshness of the Nem's original conditions guaranteed that both genders were treated with equality, as everyone needed to contribute equally for survival. Now that conditions have vastly improved, this equality remains. The only example of inequality is the barring of male Nem from all religious positions. Water is highly valued by Nem, and they are excellent at locating it as a result. A deep well is dug in all Nem settlements, and there are a series of underground communal bathes. Shrines to Ila-Nem have their own bath for the iylayu. Communal bathing is valued by the Nem as time to relax and spend time with your friends and family. In terms of family, Nem rarely have more than two children, who are not allowed to venture too close to the settlement walls or outskirts as part of a superstition that a mythical "Child Eater" or "Kreshid" will devour them. Nem children are expected to be able to help their parents work upon reaching age nine, but for limited periods of time during the night. Nem children in villages are educated by their parents, but in some cities there are communal education centers. Nem are considered adult at age fifteen.

The Nem have limited military. However, their guards are highly trained, skilled archers who fight with curved blades(or rather daggers in the hands of larger races) at close range. The ferocity of Nem guards defending their home has brought down many a wandering scorpionman. The most honored of the guards are the Day Guard, or Uraluefas. Uraluefayu endure the heat and sun to keep Nem settlements safe during the day, and for this they receive a vast amount of respect. Nem do not have a standing army, and instead raise militias in order to defend their homes from danger.

Nem cuisine includes desert melons and a favored delicacy of Nem, the Sandcrab. Sandcrabs, known as "Tytufo" to the Nem, are a staple in the Nem diet, along with various other desert plants and animals. A favored method of preparation is to crack the body open and extract the meat, before placing it back in the shell and using the shell as a makeshift cooking pot. Of course, this is hardly the only method. Sandcrab meat is moist and soft. Nem dishes are often rather spicy, counteracted by a sweet, sticky paste created from various desert plants.

Nem are poor metalworkers, capable of working with basic metals but not forging alloys due to their small size and lacking physical strength. They have a healthy trading relationship with humans and the distant dwarves as a result, often exporting their glasswork. Nem glasswork is renowned for its excellent craftsmanship. Nem also import exotic foods in addition to metalwork.

Finally, not all Nem dwell in the desert. Some have traveled to mixed-race cities, taking small shrines with them in order to continue their worship of Ila-Nem. City Nem often work at night, or wear heavy clothing during the day to protect themselves from the sun and the relatively cooler temperatures.

TERRITORY: Nem dwell in the deserts to the South, on the Western Continent. They live in villages composed of circular white buildings and a small underground portion. The largest Nem settlements, great enough to be considered cities, dwell within large caverns in arid regions.

HISTORY: The Nem race began as scattered, nomadic tribes, who relied far too much on chance to protect themselves from the blazing, harsh rays of the sun. They were easy prey for scorpionmen, and life was difficult for Nem. Their numbers were low and it seemed as if they fell every day. That is, until they were united. A girl named Lia Arahas emerged, claiming to have guidance from Ila-Nem herself. She forged a path to stability and prosperity for the Nem, leading them to build their white villages and even their cavern-cities. To this day, it is believed that Lia Arahas is the living embodiment of Ila-Nem herself, and she is regarded as one and the same with the Nem's chief goddess. They met other races and founded trade with them, primarily exporting glass and importing metalwork.