Kumenza

The Kumenza are an unusual race of grey-skinned Serenza that appeared in the early 3rd Age as a byproduct of Jalenga tricks and experiments. They are the only race that is able to be produced artificially, but they have also been proven to be biologically compatible with every race so far apart from the Arakos and the Wakuda. Because of their large pointed ears and their dark grey skin, they are often nicknamed "dark elves" despite having blood and origins from nearly every other race on Mencu. They primarily inhabit the country of Shahar-Eka.

The Jalengan (and now Kumenzic) term for someone who has had a Kumenza made of them is Kuelez. In layman's terms, if the Kumenza is the "clone", then the "original" is the Kuelez.

Origins
The Kumenza came into being after the Jalenga decided they wanted to try their hand at creating a race of sentient humanoids. They were vastly successful in this regard with a couple of notable exceptions. Because the original "templates" were existing individuals, the first Kumenza were vastly varied by racial traits, but much like most other Mencuans, race was not something they considered to be much of a barrier between relationships, and so the Kumenza became "mixed" in this regard.

The only caveat was their colors, which in comparison to any of the other races (including Arakos and Wakuda) is strikingly unusual, and as such they were (and still sometimes are) viewed with a touch of suspicion. Much like how the appearance of the Jalenga triggered the 2nd Age, the advent of the Kumenza heralded the 3rd Age in turn.

181st Age
While many Kumenza lived in the lands of the Jalenga alongside their creators, some of them attempted to start a country of their own, which has been sacked and rebuilt many times, often in different places. Hindered generally by stigma or by a lack of numbers, they have been driven out multiple times, only to come back in greater force and choose a different parcel of land. The 181st Age, however, marks one of several times when the Jalenga themselves have stepped in to give them their own country from their own lands--and this time the Kumenza cling to it.

It was also in this age that Zivia Severa Vizori rose to the Jalengan throne, and the age when King Ajun Vizori declared war against the rest of the world. While his personal reign of terror did not last long, the people excluding the Kumenza rallied behind Zivia instead, and thus the bulk of The Great Jalenga War began. The Kumenza remained neutral in this war initially, but there came a point when even many of them turned against their old masters to strike the Jalenga down. The final year of the 181st Age was also the final year the Jalenga existed, The Kumenza, however, lived on.

182nd Age
The 182nd Age was the first time the Kumenza were without their revered creators, but the Kumenza continued on as normally as any of the other races, albeit in slightly more seclusion (barring perhaps the Arakos and the Shinzoka). As of the events in the The Crest of Zabutur series, they are actually one of the most advanced and prosperous cultures on Mencu.

Language
Kumenza embrace the Common Language much more than any other race, primarily because of their origins of a myriad of different races. However, it is not uncommon to see Kumenza that know multiple languages, especially artificially created ones. While they often have an edge due to their origins as autonomous clones of existing individuals, natural-born Kumenza seem to have an innate talent of picking up languages with ease, and so linguists and polyglots dot the Kumenzic landscape. They also excel at the Zaderic languages for the same reason: because of the involvement of the Jalenga.

Religion
Much like their languages, Kumenza have vastly differing views on religion due to the amount of variety that exists among these individuals (despite the uniformity of the colors of their hair, skin, and eyes). However, most Kumenza also revere the Jalenga the same way other races revere their creator deities. Since the Kumenza are the only race that lack said deities, they instead revere the Jalenga, since they were the ones who created the Kumenza.

Biology
See Also: Natural Kumenza & Artificial Kumenza

Because of their origins, Kumenza vary greatly in appearance even if they don't vary too much in color. However, a lot of them, particularly the natural-born Kumenza, tend to reflect a lot off of the physical builds of elves (Zukuren), which historically coined the nickname "Dark Elves" for these grey-skinned individuals. The nickname has stuck over the ages.

Physical Appearance
Because of the artificial Kumenza and the racial compatibility with other races, Kumenza vary greatly in size, usually ranging anywhere from 4-7 feet in height, and from 40-200 pounds depending on what races they descend from. Generally, even Kumenza that descend from Dorenzu tend to have lithe, athletic bodies similar to the Zukuren. Kumenza created from particular races, however, tend to maintain many of those traits for generations.

The most prominent difference between Kumenza and the other races are the color of their features. All Kumenza have dark grey skin, silver hair, and red-orange eyes. Unlike Zaderic eyes, Kumenza eyes do not glow, unless the Kumenza is also a Zaderei. In this case, however, the subject's eyes and marking are blue. It is commonly believed that this ties in with the color of a Kumenza's blood, which is also a dark blue color instead of red, but is otherwise the same as the blood of any other race.

Lifespan, Age, & Population
Kumenza tend to live fairly long lives, with little to no difference known between the lifespans of natural or artificial Kumenza. Because of their more efficient systems, they tend to live slightly longer than most races, with many surpassing 250-300 years. Like all Mencuan races, women tend to live a few years longer than men, although with 200-year lifespans being a moderately easy achievement for the dark elves, these small numbers are not very significant.

Like many other races, Kumenza tend to fully mature around the age of 35 after initially hitting puberty around ages 13-14. This prime lasts into the 110s and 120s, and they proceed to age slowly for the remainder of their lives. Unlike most other races apart from Arakos, however, Kumenza tend to look somewhat less "elderly" in their older years (the silvery hair that never balds tends to help), although there are still telltale signs of age and maturity that increase with age.

Artificial Kumenza are a peculiar case. Since they are created rather than birthed, they take on the form of their Kuelez at the age the Kuelez's essence was extracted. As such, if a Kumenza was created of a 39-year-old individual, the physical result would be a Kumenza in the body of a 39-year-old. The oddity comes from what are referred to as the "stasis years", a period of time where their body does not age or grow. The length of this time corresponds with the age of the Kuelez, insomuch that a Kumenza created from a 74-year-old would have 74 stasis years before beginning to age again, while a Kumenza created from a 53-year-old would only have 53 stasis years before aging again.

Forms
Kumenza are by far the most complicated race to track in terms of forms. Physically, they can resemble any of the Kasil or Vartiz races (as well as Serenghe), although only certain individuals can transform, or even choose to. Instead they prefer to enjoy the heightened elemental and magical prowess, essentially gaining "the best of both worlds". As such, few Kumenza transform naturally, although there are plenty who use their enhanced magical talents to learn the arts of shapeshifting to various degrees. Because of their preference to remain in humanoid form, they are often unofficially referred to as a Kasil race, even though they technically fit into no category much like the Serenghe.

Artificial Kumenza created from Vartiz races possess the "purest" transformative abilities, inheriting whatever talent their Kuelez had. Kumenza created from Serenghe can still sprout their wings, although most prefer to remain in normal humanoid form.

Roles in the Series
Kumenza appear frequently throughout all 10 volumes of The Crest of Zabutur. While some have minor roles, many of them play prominent and even central roles, with at least one volume featuring a Kumenza as the lead character.

The Crown of Zivia
The first Kumenza seen in The Crown of Zivia are Princess Iona's retainers, Lux Calameda and Cadence Montoya. The most prominent Kumenza player in this volume, however, is a woman named Nevada, who works as a representative of Kumenzic interests across the remainder of Mencu. She is the one responsible for offering assistance to Leto's rebellion during the Elven Civil War.

The Crusade of Zulera
Nevada returns in The Crusade of Zulera to reprise her role from the previous installment. Also present are Kumenza of Arza and Dezna, as well as opportunistic Kumenza that fight for or against the vampires during the Renkida Vampire Crisis.

The Shadows of Shinzoka
Similar to the last two books, many Kumenza show their faces in The Shadows of Shinzoka, including one Eka-Koshu Aki Varada, who is notable for appearing in the books before his Kuelez.