Variag (Races Help)

The Variags are a mysterious people from the far-off land of Khand, a place almost equally unfamiliar to those beyond the Sea of Rhun. Despite being friendly with both the Easterlings and the Haradrim, they rarely venture beyond their own lands or seek to expand their empires in the same way as their ambitious allies.

Called to serve Sauron in his war like their neighbors, some of them now march with the Dark Lord's armies against Gondor where their mystique only makes them that much more fearsome and unpredictable. While generally no larger or stronger than the average-sized Man, it is said that their nimble fingers and ability to withstand punishment allow the Variags to serve as potent elite troops when employed as thieves or warriors. Regardless of their task, they prefer to work in units of their own kind and perform their duties with a quiet efficiency.

The variag speaks a tongue of the same name, although it is almost never heard abroad, even in the lands of their allies.