From Overview:
The mneumra are living vessels for the essence of those ravaged by plague. Drawn to sorrow and loss, they are precursors to the coming of disease and death.
The first mneumra was a true construct, though the process of its creation has been lost to time. The events directly preceding and following it creation are passed down to each new generation of mneumrae. In the distant past, a great artificer remembered simply as Father lived in a realm beset by an unnatural plague. His family succumbed to the ravages of the spreading disease. The last of his children, his youngest child, was the last, fading fast. In a desperate gambit to save his child, Father made a pact with powerful nature spirits. The essence of the rapidly fading son was bound with potent arcane and natural energies, funneled into a waiting vessel. This construct was Father's greatest work, a piece of unrivaled craftsmanship. The memory of the child was preserved as the body failed.
As a condition of the pact, Father was obligated to preserve the essences of as many other sufferers of the plague as possible. Over the following months, Father traveled the crumbling kingdom, fulfilling his pledge. Father’s vessels were limited, however, only able to aid the youngest sufferers. During this time the term mneumra was coined by the parents of the young whose essences were preserved. The name was a combination of the words for “memory” and “urn”. Father saved many before being forced into seclusion, being afflicted by the plague. As the disease scoured all life from the land, only the mneumra were spared, left to rebuild.
Since that time, the mneumra have wandered, drawn to the first signs of plague. They continue to honor the memory of Father, preserving the essences of plague stricken young, final remembrances of their passing.