Little Lion Man
A Lynarian Knight. Wearing armor forged from fallen star-metal the colour of gold, they alone stand against the flesh and bone necromancy of the witches. For meteorite-metal is pure and cannot be re-shaped with words.
The Lynarian came from two different people both preyed upon by witches. The Lahaka were dark-skinned with an empathic connection to giant cats. A Lahakan child would be paired with a lion of the opposite gender at birth; they would protect each other for life. The Lahakan could sense what their familiars sensed. The great cats could see the spirits of the dead, which was why the witches always sought out the Lahakans – a witch’s ghostcloak was useless against lioneyes.
The Tynir wove their dreams in star-metal. They were nomads who journeyed between fallen stars to add to their stores. A Tynir blade would never know rust or corruption by magic. Despite their impenetrable natural defence, the Tynir were practically blind in any sorcerer’s battle. And eventually, they would have to take off the armor. The witches knew this and ruthlessly exploited this weakness when it suited them.
The two people knew their survival depended upon banding together. Their numbers had dwindled to so few, tribe members had trouble marrying someone who wasn’t a second cousin. They forsook their separate identities and became the Lynarian. The lions could track the witches and golden star-metal naturally repelled magic. Eventually, the hunter became the hunted. The sorcerer’s war went badly for the witches. The Lynarian were lead by Xing who was later revered as a saint. Their victories ushered an era where urban centres could actually thrive without being run down by witches searching for fresh bones.
Eventually, the witches formed a council lead by Lun. Lun laid down stiff rules and prohibited boneflesh necromancy in favour of wax and wicking. They chose instead the secrets of wind, water and starlight. The Lynarian recognized this change, and despite their deep (and very natural) distrust, they permitted small covens to exist in their cities. For witches possessed one unique skill no other people in the land could replicate: they could repel and seal bey demons, the fell face-dancers from the dark cloudsea that clothed themselves in the skin of children and loved ones. However disliked, it would end civilization to burn every witch. For as the cities grew, they became delicious glittering beacons for the monsters that lurked beyond the dark cloudsea.
Years and years later, the Lynarian and the witches had somehow managed to preserve their uneasy harmony. Their union would eventually save them. The dragons from the Eastern Ashmarch were a brutal conquering race by nature, but they did not desire a fight with two races that had spent the better part of several centuries perfecting magical warfare against each other. The dragons stayed clear of Lun Xing, the city of falling stars, for they knew their fire would be met with unwavering resistance.