The Melali are a race of sentient beings evolved by an ancient group of Zoarchs to the point of consciousness and development of a tarsi.  They are far less developed technologically than the Remnant or Alathaya, being only at the latter end of stone age technology for the most part.  Melali have a pale golden skin and large amounts of grass-like hair protruding from the top of their head.  They have a linnear mouth, large green eyes, five fingers, and thick knotted feet reminiscent of the roots they will eventually put out.

   They live almost entirely in tribes on the main or outlying islands of Moa'loli, although each individual tribe may be quite different than the others.   The tribal groups are categorized by shared rituals and often by dwelling type.  Unlike the other two races, especially the homogeneous Remnant society, the Melali tribes often war amongst each other, even occasionally within a tribe.  This is sometimes highly ritualized and more of a competition for resources.  Other times it is quite vicious and bloody (Melali blood is a clear pale green) and resultant in large amounts of hatred between tribes.  The Loapu are especially known for their aggressive raiders.  Melali categorize ages by special terms (see chart on right), which seem to be universal amongst all the tribes.  Additionally Melali reproduce asexually via seeds that are produced during the Old Growth stage, when fully mature Melali settle down in areas called Copses, literally putting down their roots and eventually growing and dropping seeds.    The gender differences seem to be nearly all visual, probably mimicking the Remnant who created them.

    Melali tribal leaders are called chiefs or chieftains, who are often supported by various gatherings of sub-chiefs and elders within the tribe, as well as tribal shamans who consort with the spirits of ancestors.  The Melali also honor the somewhat hermetic groups of druids who live outside the tribes in wilderness areas and commune with the vegetation they revere.

A Melali warrior of the Manianii tribe

Tribes-

Manianii - Occupying the center of Moa'loli, the Manianii are probably the largest tribal group, due to a set of ancient alliances among their peoples.  They live in longhouses made of woven plant fibers and subsist mostly by growing and harvesting resources around their settled villages.  Their largest city, and in fact the largest amongst any Melali, is Samara.  The greatchief of the Manianii, Uncheuay, makes his home here.

Loapu - The Loapu are probably the most feared name amongst the Melali tribes due to their raids on other villages and warlike nature.  They are a nomadic people, usually dwelling in large collapsible yurts and draw most of their resources from gathering and raids.  Thier traditional homelands are in the northlands and the north-central peninsula is entirely Loapu.

Poroani - The Poroani live in north-central Moa'loli, with a few smaller tribal offshoots extending into Manianii lands.  They are matriarchal, settled  agriculturists, noted for their careful cultivations of beautiful gardens.  They make their homes from clay and earth and built into the ground in rounded adobe structures.

Kalakaii - The only tribe to obtain most of their food offshore, the Kalakaii are master sailors and shipwrights.  Harvesting sugar kelp and other aquatic species provides most of the resources for this tribe, who often live in plank houses that house large amounts of people.

Pualolo - Living in domed wigwams of woven palm fronds, the Pualolo spend the rainy season in one place on the south western peninsula and the dry season in another.  They are primarily "hunters" and gatherers, with the rainy season in larger communities in more coastal areas and the dry in the jungle brush in smaller "lodge camps" of roughly 25 villagers.  The Pualolo are much more likely to train in beastmastery than other tribes.

Na'alisoo - The Na'alisoo make their dwellings in traditional chickee stilt house rising from the water.  Their lands in the far south east are more tropical than much of the rest of the continent and they have the least contact with the Loapu raiders.  Their use of aquatic resources is second only to the Kalakaii.

Melali Devotions and Spirituality

The Melali have a different view of the Aygeemya than the Remnant and Alathaya (whose introduction to the Aygeemya came from the Remnant via Kushi'Aweh).  The Melali see each Aygeema as the parent of the different forces in the world.  Thus the Aygeemya are Father Time, the Fathers Space, Father Fire, Father Earth, Father Light, Father Air, Mother Water, Mother Cold, and Mother Life.  Each allows their children to work in the world as spirits.  When Melali pass on into senesce after old growth, they become a special type of spirit according to whichever Parent they best served.  Like the Remnant and the Alathaya though, the Melali make use of the energies of the Aygeema in various ways, both as magical spells and great physical feats also thought of as spells.  Although all Melali are involved in their tribes superstions, rituals, and traditions, there are specific individuals who make great use of this magic and become a devotee of certain traditions.  The five Melali devotions are shown below.

Shamans - Capable of becoming part of the elemental spirit world of their ancestors, there is at least one who practices the way of the shaman in every village.  They are often healers and sages and bolster the spirits of their tribes with the spirits of ancestors or even possess friendly Melali to allow great deeds.  Shamans often wear large wooden or leaf masks, similar to those worn by chieftains, and carry drums and or rattles to channel their energies.

Druids - Druids often live monastic lives with other druids in the wilderness where they commune with the plants around them and protect sacred places such as ancient groves, copses, and elemental eyes and portals.  They are capable of summoning all manner of plants to their aid, shielding themselves, inflicting lethal damage, and quite often manipulating enemies to where ever is easiest for the druid to deal with them.  Druids carry a sickle as a symbol of their devotion.

Rangers - As at home in the woods and wilderness as most individuals are in villages, rangers make use of traditional axe staves as well as deadly throwing axes as they use their advantages in terrain to swiftly deal with opponents.  They are able to track through areas anyone else would find impassable and leave no tracks themselves.  Their deadliness, especially when unnoticed and at some range should not be underestimated.

Berserkers - Arguably the most common devotion, berserkers are often the greatest warriors in Melali raids.  They are quick and chaotic, their twin tomohawks whirling about in a savage frenzy as they leap from enemy to enemy, leaving nothing but rent bodies and destruction in their rapid paths.

Beastmasters - Studying and attracting all manner of creatures, beastmasters use their animal companions and the methods learned by watching them to become fearsome beings themselves.  Beastmasters call upon the spirits of the animal world to give themselves savage claws, powerful charges, perceptive eyes, and other features of beasts both great and small.