The Nimura

Nimur A’than (elvish), Nimura (common)

Nimur A’than roughly translated means Spirits of Water. Humans have shortened it to Nimura.

The Nimura are a magical race from ancient legend that dwell in the depths of the oceans. The legends call them the protectors of the seas; Guardians of the deep. No human can say for certain that they have seen them. The reason being is that they are made primarily of water themselves.

It is said that in the deep of the ocean, where surface light is not so bright, you can actually make out the form of a Nimuran. Physically, they resemble humans in shape – a shape only made distinguishable by the faint glow their forms emit. The closer to the surface they are, the more difficult the competing sunlight makes it to detect them. The darker their surroundings, the more clear their features are.

Being made primarily of water, it is said that they don’t need to physically exert themselves to swim or eat. They can manipulate their own density to allow water to pass through their bodies while trapping nutrients found in the water. The Nimura control the rate at which water passes through them and can speed up the process, thus propelling them forward at high speed. It is said that they can rival the fastest ships under full sail in speed.

The primary method of speech for the Nimura is said to sound much like whale-song beneath the surface. It is also rumored that they are highly sensitive to thought and emotion and can communicate using those means. Sailors who claim to have been rescued by them insist that they could feel peace flowing into them long before they reached the surface.

By nature, the Nimura are believed to be peaceful. They have been credited for the rescue of many good and wholesome people. However, those with less-than-clear consciences have mysteriously disappeared beneath the waves, never to surface again, when their comrades insist that they were excellent swimmers.

Some captains have plotted the approximate locations of Nimuran colonies based on the stories of amazing rescues and mysterious disappearances. Pirates, thieves and smugglers tend to sail around these areas; rarely ever through.

Oil is the only known substance that is deadly to the Nimura. They can survive on land, but one has never been seen out of the sea. They weaken quickly when not in contact with the ocean due to evaporation. Complete evaporation would also mean death.