Brund

Like humans, the Brund were created by the magi when they were forced to leave Miranda by the gods, thus creating the Age of Man. Physically muscular with thick layers of fat, the brund are well-suited to colder taiga and arctic climes. The course hair that covers their bodies can give the illusion that they are bears from a great distance.

The brund physically differ from humans with a more robust build and distinctive brow ridge. A high and narrow nasal cavity makes them well-suited for cold and dry environments. Their eyes are slightly larger than a human and solid black, with no discernible iris. The jawline of a brund is similar to a human, except that they have an extra pair of canines. Unlike a human, the brund will constantly replace their teeth throughout their life.

A layer of fat and heavy hair over nearly their entire body keeps them warm in colder environments. The skin of the brund is a dark shade of black, while their hair tends to be white, silver, or blonde. An adult male will stand nearly 6 foot tall and weigh over 300 pounds, while a female will 6 inches smaller and nearly 100 pounds lighter.

The brund live around 60 years. Most children are single births; although twins and even triplets can occur. A woman will carry a child within her for nearly 13 months; although she will only show signs for the last three. For the remaining months the fertilized egg remains dormant. During the entire time she will eat nearly twice as much food and gain 80 pounds, most of it specialized fat lining her womb.

A brund baby will be nursed for the first 8 to 16 months of its life. It will reach sexual maturity around its 13th year and full physical maturity after 17 years.

Brund children are born at a rate of nearly 2 males to every female live birth. This means that most males will not have a chance to mate in their lifetime. This gets worse for young males in places where more powerful men take multiple mates.

It is physically possible for brund to engage in sex with both humans and the Majar; however there is no evidence of a live birth from these rare couplings.

The brund typically can be found in small tribal gatherings controlled by the most physically powerful and dominating males. Brundswag, a barbarous nation in the region known as the Endless Snows upon Miran is the largest community of brund that exists. Fully 700,000 brund live within its borders with the remaining brund scattered in small villages across the world.

There are no known sub-species of the brund.