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About Oretcht'ke
Ruler: Kherus Morgwi, the Shadowlord. Aka Ker of Shadow, Kurr Morgri, Kera Mhozri dya Shrodak.
Followers: The Children of Shadow. Aka Shadowwalkers, Orechkin.
Oretcht'ke is not like the realms of the other Lords of Light and Darkness. Dissimilar to all but the Deadlands, the Shadowland is a spirit realm--its existence is the cause of shadow spirits, not due to the work of the god himself. It is the only realm that does not rely on the deity's presence or a proxy to function; even the Deadlands require Necrotis' oversight. As such, it is manifestly different than the other realms, because it has to cope with its' ruler's frequent and lengthy absences.While this allows Kherus Morgwi to act in person at full power outside of the realm, and also leave it for any amount of time, it takes a bit of a toll on mortal occupants. Shadowblooded and unblooded Orechkin alike can not stay in the Shadowland indefinitely. Depending on constitution and will, a 'blooded Orechkin can stay in the Shadowland (or visit constantly) for between a month and a year without ill effects, while an unblooded can remain for a week to a few months. Prolonged stays can cause vitamin deficiency due to lack of sunlight, but the primary reason is that mortals are simply not designed to exist entirely in a spirit-realm. Visitors at the end of their healthy limit will become pale and listless, lose their appetite and fall into deep sleeps that can become comas if not corrected. Avoiding the trend is easy: spend twice as much time in the material world as in the shadow world. Symptoms fade within a few days in most cases, though some who fall comatose and are not immediately brought back to the material world never awaken.
Also due to the nature of the Shadowland, Kherus Morgwi's followers never qualify as priests despite their fervor of worship. Kherus Morgwi does not command the realm itself; it is allied strongly with him, but it does not belong to him. [This is one reason why the demonlord Dys was able to successfully evict him in the Age of Beginnings.] Kherus Morgwi can not grant spells unless he is on his throne, and even then he chooses not to, preferring to intercede directly. Shadowblood works as a Birthright, and Shadow agents must rely on eiyets and on each other.
Arriving in Oretcht'ke is not easy for those not of shadowblood. For those within the Shadowwalkers (sometimes called the Shadow Cult though they insist that they are an organization, not a cult), a shadowblooded associate can open the way, but sorcerers or strangers who wish to access the Shadowlord's domain must deal with its creator-spirits: the eiyets. Bribery sometimes works, as does being a child or desperately needing protection. Still, the eiyets can be fickle. Petitioning the eiyets merely requires finding a place that is always in shadow (such as a basement) and praying to them out loud--an offering is optional but preferred.
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Areas and Layout
The Winding RoadUpon entering the Shadowland, a particular vista is presented to everyone. The shadowwalker finds itself standing at the beginning of a faintly glowing white road, perfectly smooth and of no mundane material. The path is three feet wide, and to either side of the strip there is absolute nothingness (the Eiyensuri, the stuff from which the eiyets form). Behind the adventurer, the white strip ends in equal nothingness. If one is curious enough to try to peer under the road, it will be quickly obvious that there is nothing supporting it at all.
Ahead, the white road can be seen winding toward a great construct that seems to be hanging in space at the center of the realm. It is spindle-shaped, as if a sphere had been pinched at two sides and stretched until the middle became cylindrical and the ends developed points. Across its surface is a strange patchwork of squares and squiggly lines, indecipherable from far away. Around it, the blackness of the realm is suffused with a muted ochre glow.
Moving toward the spindle, the white road begins to slope upward and twist around, and even curlicue insanely. Daunting as it may seem, it is impossible to fall off of this twisting path; wherever the feet are planted is the level point, so that it is possible to walk on either the bottom or the top of the road without fear of falling off. Thousands of other white roads come in from equally crazy angles, making equally crazy patterns in the darkness as they descend to the surface of the spindle.
When the spindle is very close, it becomes evident that the pattern of squares and lines seen from far away is actually clusterings of rooftops and streets as seen from above. The white road curves as it descends to touch the surface of the spindle, letting the adventurer down on one of the streets of the spindle.
back to top The SpindleThe spindle is like a miniature planet, just enough to hold the main town and Kherus Morgwi's city--which also bears the name Oretcht'ke. For the most part, the spindle-town houses the race of Qar.
The entirety of the spindle is paved in cobblestones and lit with wrought-iron street lanterns, which burn some unknown fuel to produce the orangey light that infuses the realm. The Qar homes are square in all ways, rarely more than one story high, of grey stone. Gargoyles abound.
Following the cobblestone paths along the surface of the spindle, a traveller is certain to eventually find him or herself standing before the Gates of Oretcht'ke. Forged solidly of some black metal, the gates are etched with the weird patterns of Qar writing and stand a good thirty feet high, overtopping the wall they are attached to by about five feet. They end in jagged spikes, but the most intimidating thing about them [in the Age of Beginnings, at least] is the bleached-white dragon skull that hangs at their center. This is the skull of the Shadow Dragon, a deep dragon once possessed by the demonlord Dys and used to take over the Shadowland for a short period of time. The body rests in the Deadlands, but the soul resides within the skull; ever now and then, red coals will burn in the empty eye sockets and the great jaws will gape wide as the dead dragon imparts some curse on passersbelow. [Prior to the Age of Beginnings, the gate is unadorned.]
No one enters through the great black gates. Rather, there is a smaller door in the wall next to the gates; the polite Qar gatekeeper lets all shadowbloods and agents through, and will ask the business of unescorted strangers. If it sounds reasonable, the stranger is allowed inside; otherwise, the eiyets come out.
back to top The City and the ThroneWithin the walls, the City bustles. Barracks and apartment buildings fill the area, housing Eiyensuriel and those mortal followers that choose to hang around. Taverns proliferate, and the alcohol is free by the glass--bottles and kegs do cost money though, as they can be transported and sold outside of the Shadowland. Several market squares and many private shops operate at all hours, lit by orange lanterns. Hundreds of warehouses stand full of goods marked for delivery by the Office of Distribution.
Beyond the city of grey stone and black metal looms the Shadowlord's palace, a jagged and chaotic expanse of reflectionless black, the stuff of shadow itself. Entering through the wrought-wire gates brings the visitor to a dark parody of a formal garden, all the topiaries and the flowerbeds full of overgrown black blossoms and vines. The cobblestones give way to smooth black tiles, which line the path into the castle proper.
The interior opens up immediately into the Shadowlord's court, walls going straight up to a half-dome ceiling a good fifty feet high. Stalactites hang off the ceiling like huge black icicles. The walls and floor are like polished obsidian, reflecting the light of the low ochre-colored lanterns that line the walls. The room is a half-circle, with a huge black throne dominating the straight wall; the spikes at its top nearly reach the roof, and the seat could fit six Oegar seated side-by-side. Black pillows lay in heaps on the throne itself and spill across the ground below it; when the Shadowlord calls his court into session, he sprawls there in his throne with his ministers seated or equally sprawled on the pillows at his feet. When he is not, the pillows are neatly piled and his ministers conduct all business standing, before the throne.
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Organizations and Hierarchy
The RegencyThe Regency is a loose organization of Eiyensuriel and first-generation Shadowblooded who cycle the duties of leadership and judicial administration regularly. Since Kherus Morgwi is rarely at home--and when he is, he hates to work--the Regency covers for him. They operate out of the Throneroom, though none of them ever sit on the throne itself. At any given time, the Regents ruling Ker's realm consist of five Judges, plus a Recordkeeper from the Office of Oversight. At least one Judge is always a Shadowblood.
back to top The HospiceAn organization composed entirely of Eiyensuriel, the Hospice is run in the center of the Spindle itself. Its purpose is to quarantine any Shadowwalker infected with a contagious disease. Due to the freedom granted by shadowwalking, a single Orechkin could spread illness to all parts of the world in a single day; thus the eiyets have been taught to detain any sick visitor and transport him or her directly to a pocket Hospice. Injured Orechkin or those dying of incurable ailments or old age are also referred to the Hospice, though they are usually placed in the Hospice Hall on the Spindle's surface.
Since staying too long in the Shadowland can be toxic to 'blooded and unblooded alike, each Hospice patient is assigned an Eiyensuriel, who is in charge of nutrition and any physical therapy required but can also warp the patient into the material world whenever necessary. The Hospice keeps several safehouses empty and clean for this purpose.
In addition, the Hospice also runs orphanages and schools for young 'blooded and Orechkin. Some of these facilities are in the Shadowland, but most are in the material world, in safe and isolated places near Orechkin communities.
The Hospice workers are not healers; few Shadowblooded learn any sort of arcane art in their lives, and the Eiyensuriel are restricted to the skills and magic they knew before death. However, the sterile and stable environment coupled with attentive care, good nutrition and exercise serves to ease the trauma of illness if not mend it.
back to top The Office of CollectionRun equally by 'blooded and unblooded Orechkin, the Office of Collection governs both theft (whether Orechkin or eiyet) and harvest-requests.
Eiyets are obsessive kleptomaniacs. The Office of Collection keeps an up-to-date record of every item that enters the Shadowland in the hands of an eiyet (due to a team of Eiyensuriel bookkeepers and their trained eiyets), and is tasked with retrieving those items earmarked as 'hands-off' and sending them to the Office of Distribution to be returned from whence they came. When dealing with Orechkin, the Office of Collection registers individuals as Agents and records the monetary value of anything brought to and resold within the Shadowland. It also records tithes and donations.
Tithes (and offerings, which take place outside the Shadowland) are money or items given to the eiyets. While tithes are not obligatory, individuals noted to be collecting lots of money off of fenced items will be gently reminded of why they can make such easy profit.
Donations are money, items or services offered without promise of compensation either to fellow Orechkin or to Collection and Distribution projects. Donations and tithes weigh against profits when the Office of Collection attempts to determine if a Orechkin has been derelict in his or her community responsibilities.
Harvest-requests are made by individuals or communities in the material world, whether Orechkin or otherwise. In their most common form, they consist of simply tying a black ribbon around a fruit-tree limb or on a post by a farmer's field. Eiyets--who watch most of the world except for warded places--invariably notice such markers within a day or two, and inform the Office of Collection. After verifying that the ribbon is there on purpose (either in person or by inference), the Office of Collection authorizes several of its Officers to organize harvest parties. Sometimes this involves hiring unaligned laborers from other areas and leading them--blindfolded--through the Shadowland to the place that requires harvesting; these laborers are always paid, whether in coins or in harvested goods. At other times, a full team of Orechkin will undertake the harvest.
Harvest-requests generally come when perishables are not selling quickly enough or crops can not be harvested for some reason. They can be as small as a jug of milk or as large as a noble's entire farming estate. Orechkin or their hired laborers will do all the work required to harvest the food; then, depending on the judgment of the ranking Officer, most or all of the harvested goods will be removed to the Shadowland. These count as donations, and entries are made in the Collection book in the name of the original crop-owner; they are assigned eiyet-surveillance or sometimes a Eiyensuriel until the Office of Collection feels that the debt has been paid. If the crops or a portion thereof are resold, a percentage of the profit is returned to the crop-owner through the Office of Distribution.
Harvest-requests are also regularly made by Orechkin when they stumble upon fruiting bushes or trees in unowned common land. The ranking Officer assigned to the harvest judges how much to take and how much to leave for wildlife.
The Office of Collection co-owns most of the warehouses with the Office of Distribution, and passes its completed assignments off to Distribution. Before a materials assignment can be passed on, it has to be verified pest- and pestilence-free by Inspection Officers.
back to top The Office of DistributionAs the latter partner of the Office of Collection, the Office of Distribution sees to doling out the money and goods that Collection garners from its sources. It also fills ribbon-requests from unaligned mortals, including protection-requests.
The Orechkin support and run many charities through the Office of Distribution, from soup kitchens and hostels to humanitarian rescues. Through donations from both within and outside the ranks, they work to provide shelter and food to those in need as well as their own folk.
All materials forwarded from Collection to Distribution are first compared to the priority requests-list. If there happens to be a deep famine in Hjaltar, a high percentage of all food but the most-perishable will be routed there; some is always kept in reserve in case of sudden catastrophe elsewhere. Very small requests are always filled immediately out of the reserve--for instance, a starving family in another area that lays a black ribbon in the bare cupboard is likely to find a small amount of food there within a few hours, no matter the current state of the rest of the world. Very perishable items are routed straight to market in the Spindle.
The Office of Distribution is thus obligated to regularly send its own Officers out into the material world to learn what problems are happening where. Orechkin from all kais are welcome to report. When great disasters strike civilians, the Office of Distribution brings relief supplies automatically and anonymously no matter the place or people, unless another deific organization is already working on the problem.
When there are no outstanding requests for perishable goods, the foodstuffs are routed to Orechkin charitable organizations. Surplus beyond that is put up for use by Orechkin merchants and businesspeople in the Spindle--for example, the distillers that turn slightly-off fruit and grains into the free alcohol so popular in the City's taverns. After that, Orechkin can petition the Office to release small amounts of surplus for resale in the material world. The Office of Distribution keeps a constant account of regional prices, and fixes the minimum and maximum prices for resale; a percentage of the profit on resale is expected to be returned to Distribution so that they may give it to the original crop-owner. The Office of Distribution also asks that resellers in towns allied with the Orechkin pay appropriate import tax.
Distribution also receives protection and rescue-requests. While it has the power to assign eiyets and Eiyensuriel, it does not directly involve itself in combat operations, so if a protection-request looks to be truly dangerous, the assignment will be forwarded to the Office of Enforcement.
The Rescue division of Distribution has a small group of Enforcers directly attached to it, allowing it to go into action immediately upon receiving a request. They are known to free slaves and kidnap-victims, rescue sailors from sinking ships and children from burning buildings (though the latter is difficult and dangerous, and sometimes deadly), and liberate political and religious prisoners from any philosophy and faith.
The Office of Distribution will do supply-drops even into plagued areas, though in those cases they will only push supplies through the shadows. They can not rescue people from quarantined towns, as much as it may pain them; the eiyets would eject or kill any sick non-Orechkin brought into the Shadowland, depending on the nature of the illness.
back to top The Office of OversightConsisting mostly of Eiyensuriel, the Office of Oversight is responsible for reviewing all completed assignments of the other organizations. It also controls the archives of the Regency through the Recordkeepers. Overseers are expected to be above the politicking that can sometimes break out between organizations, as well as to be able to deal with any Orechkin who want to alter their records for some reason.
back to top The Office of EnforcementLess of an Office and more of an on-call thug squad, the Enforcers can usually be found acting as bouncers for the rowdier City taverns when not on a job breaking some idiot's kneecaps. They serve as the organized policing body of the Shadowland, and are kept in line by the few Oversight Officers assigned to keep tabs on them.
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Policy
ViolenceKherus Morgwi is a surprisingly pacifistic deity, and he requires his followers to adhere to certain codes of conduct should they decide to enter into a conflict. First and most important is that they never personally harm or threaten a child. This law is the most strictly-enforced, though it rarely reaches the Offices of Oversight and Enforcement; the eiyets themselves operate as judge, jury and executioner in most cases. Kherus Morgwi permits the eiyets to imprison or slay his followers and kin partially because he agrees with the action but also because he can not actually stop them. The Shadowland is made up of eiyets; Kherus and all his people are only tenants.
Second is that they not instigate combat. Orechkin are allowed to defend themselves, but making the first strike when combat is not yet inevitable is heavily frowned-upon. Extenuating circumstances are sometimes accepted, but this is considered an extra black mark in any violence-related incident.
Third, and followed strictly both in weapon choice and combat style, is that a Orechkin take care not to shed an opponent's blood while fighting. Lifeblood is particularly forbidden; Orechkin do not make living sacrifices and are heavily discouraged from killing. Breaking kneecaps and similar nonfatal beatings are acceptable. Enforcers are trained in a variety of nonfatal combat techniques, which they are authorized to teach to any Orechkin who wishes to learn. Common Orechkin weapons include saps, clubs, plain maces, tonfa, blowguns, crossbows, staves, parrying daggers and garrotes. Martial arts and submission-based wrestling skills are also encouraged.
The no-kill policy extends to all intelligent naturalized humanoids. This means that it does not cover Discordant demons, white or mist wraiths, or physically corrupted Infernalists and other demon-cultists. Monsters and animals are not protected by this law.
Fourth is that the shadows must not be used in any act of violence against an intelligent naturalized humanoid except for the purpose of escape. The exception to this rule is if the opponent is a priest or other power-wielding worshiper of another deity. In that case, the Orechkin is permitted to call for help from eiyets, who will decide for themselves whether to aid the Orechkin.
Violence on Oretcht'ke is not tolerated. Depending on the type and level of violence, sentencing can go from fines and labor to permanent confinement or exile.
back to top TheftWhile the Shadowwalkers are often known as the 'thief cult', Orechkin in general are not thieves. They count many thieves as under their protection, but if an individual is not willing to submit to the authority of the Regency, stay nonviolent and aid the philanthropic works as possible, they are not considered a true Orechkin. Some few of these outsiders are permitted to pass through the Shadowland on occasion, but for the most part they only have contact with the kais.
Unauthorized theft through the Shadowland by a Orechkin, whether from another Orechkin or a non-enemy outside the Shadowland, is punishable depending on the specific infraction. The Office of Oversight holds a master list of individuals and businesses that they consider 'fair game' for any thefts; outside of that group, any stealing by a Orechkin must be done without the aid of the Shadowland. Kherus Morgwi does not frown upon nonviolent crime, but is very displeased if one of his people simply sticks a hand through shadow to snatch an item. Such random acts give the organization a bad name, and are regularly punished.
back to top DesertionIt is possible to leave the Shadowwalkers, whether born to it or a convert later in life. The Orechkin do not endeavor to control their fellows' lives beyond the few conduct-laws, but people who decide they no longer wish to be a part of the organization have a few options.
For non-bloods, leaving the organization is simple. A simple declaration of desertion--delivered to the Office of Oversight or simply left at a kai is sufficient to have the ex-member removed from the roster. While ex-members can find shelter at a kai in desperate times, they are generally turned away and sometimes snubbed by their former comrades. They are also put under surveillance for a period of time--usually not more than a month or so--by an Eiyensuriel Oversight agent. This is to make sure that they do not talk overmuch about the Shadowland or the location of kais. If the ex-member does not make trouble, the agent is recalled after the surveillance period and no further action is taken.
If the ex-member does try to spill Orechkin secrets, he or she tends to vanish unexpectedly while in a dark place and return shaken and quiet--if at all. Orechkin do not execute their former comrades, but they have been known to relocate them to labor camps or unpopulated areas as punishment.
As for the shadowblooded, their leaving is mourned as the departure of a relative and every attempt at reconciliation is made. Should the shadowblooded insist on departing, they are banned from traveling in shadow except in dire need. If they do enter shadow for any reason, eiyets immediately imprison them for trial by the Regency or treatment by the Hospice. A dangerous shadowblood is neither executed nor exiled; he or she is imprisoned within the Spindle in a 'cell' similar to a Hospice quarantine until reconciliation or death.
back to top For-Profit EnterprisesThe Office of Oversight permits the use of the Shadowland as a transit path for for-profit enterprises as long as some portion of the profit is tithed. Businesses whose end-destination is within the Shadowland are not required to tithe, but all others are.
In addition, Oversight and the Regency authorize certain kais and occasionally individuals to run protection rackets on non-allied governments and organizations. (Kherus Morgwi has a standing agreement with his siblings and most other recognized deities to not interfere in their sanctums, and most sanctums are deifically warded against eiyets anyway.) The racketeers are in charge of keeping other Orechkin from snooping on the particular government or organization and collecting the payment for the service, as well as discouraging eiyets from stealing items. An Eiyensuriel from Oversight is generally assigned to the racket as well, to make sure that the Orechkin in charge are not turning around and selling information to a third party.
Orechkin are also permitted to accept solicitations for surveillance work, but only from known allies of the Shadowland. The organization reserves the right to cancel and refund the fee at any time.
Work channeled to a Orechkin through Oversight will come with a percent of the fee as salary. Work solicited from a Orechkin directly is expected to end in a tithe of part of the payment from the Orechkin to Oversight. Orechkin found not reporting jobs, not tithing at all (tithing a small amount is permitted), or taking jobs from unacceptable sources will be treated as thieves.
In addition, the Offices of Oversight and Enforcement are authorized to accept reports of violent or dangerous behavior from surveilled subjects and transfer them to the Cult of Nemesis as assassination jobs. These assassinations always come with precise stipulations: the victim must not bleed, must not be killed in a shadowed place, and the collateral damage must be kept to an absolute minimum. An Eiyensuriel is assigned to follow the assassin on the job. Eiyets have a tendency to swarm Nemesite assassins who do not follow the stipulations, maiming and sometimes killing them. Nemesis has traditionally considered this to be an acceptable punishment for failing to follow the terms of a job, though Kherus Morgwi prefers to lodge a complaint rather than have the assassin killed.
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Denizens
ShadowbloodedAll of Kherus Morgwi's direct progeny plus those of subsequent generations that bear the marks--black irises and ink-like birthmarks ranging from tiny and inconspicuous to huge and quite obvious--and the ability to cross into the Shadowland are called the Shadowblooded. They are considered to be the upper class of mortals involved in Orechkin affairs, and often exhibit 'noble-like' snobbishness when dealing with the lower class of common Orechkin worshippers.
The Shadowblooded do not live completely in the Shadowland, since even they can not tolerate the spirit realm for too long. However, they also can not fully tolerate the material world; light in particular gives them problems when they are exposed to it for too long. Depending on their generation of removal from Kherus Morgwi, they are weakened by and can even take injury from direct sunlight and magical light. Normal light sources are not sufficient to hurt them, but can blind them. Thus, they tend to operate at night and leave the daytime operations to their full-mortal cohorts.
All first-generation Shadowbloods are female, due to the fact that Kherus Morgwi--as a divine being and not having an actual gender--does not have an appropriate genetic code. The shadow code is basically a duplicate of the mother's genetics, creating a child that is a type of 'shadow clone' for lack of a father's input. Subsequent generations have the normal ratio of males and females. Shadowbloods are not permitted to interbreed until after the fifth generation, when the shadow-marks are generally quite faint. Only a few Shadowbloods of more than 50% shadow exist--these being the product of a first generation daughter's successful seduction of Kherus Morgwi. Those products are also always female, and quite...strange.
Though this sets up something of a matriarchy, social hierarchy in the Shadowland is fairly egalitarian once past the first generation. All of Ker's grandchildren are favored in his eyes, not just the girls. However, non-blooded women are shown more favor than non-blooded men, because they can potentially bear him more heirs if they are willing.
back to top EiyensurielThe Eiyensuriel were Shadowblooded while alive, possessing Kherus Morgwi's direct lineage. After death, each Eiyensuriel awakens to the service of their progenitor. They look the same as in life, with the addition of a pair of huge black wings. When under extreme duress, the darkness will bleed from their eyes and wings and darken the rest of them so that all is black. Though they are usually confined to the Shadowland, they can return to the material world for short periods of time at night, or in very dark places, or when the way has been paved for them by eiyets. They are the brains of the operation while Ker is away, which is most of the time.
back to top EiyetsThese curious spirits are thought to be born of avaricious thoughts made in the shadows, which could explain why there are so many of them. The Shadowland is almost entirely made up of them; everything originating within the realm is formed of eiyets, and is a solid stable item only for as long as the eiyets care to stay in place. The Qar seem adept at coaxing them to stay 'asleep' and thus useful, but due to the difficulties of wrangling them, they tend to import building materials rather than building entirely from eiyets.
The bridges, the mass of the Spindle and the throneroom itself are made up of eiyets, constantly trading places with each other. There are enough eiyets compacted in any of these 'sleeping' places that 99% of them can flee a structure before it will weaken.
Eiyets usually stand about three inches tall and appear as little black imps made entirely of spikes. Their eyes are tiny black beads. They can travel through shadows like any Shadowwalker, and tend to follow them in profusion. They are hard to detect when in 'sneak' mode, rather like small shifting shadows, and they use 'sneak' mode a lot: their favorite thing to do is steal any sparkly that catches their beady eyes, and hide it. Half a Shadowwalker or Eiyensuriel's work is putting back the things an eiyet stole. When eiyets get frightened, they often glomp together and meld to become one huge eiyet; they also do this to give Kherus Morgwi a portal through which to manifest when it becomes necessary for him to do so in a difficult place.
While most eiyets are fully shadow-spirits, some are partially what the ancient Ruen referred to as 'shaidaxn': spirits of children that died before being named. While some of these are taken by Necrotis, those that die by violence or neglect and in the darkness are taken by the eiyets to join their ranks. They are playful and greedy and difficult to keep in line. Though they have no memory of their brief lives, they are instinctively aggressive toward those whom they see abuse children. These are the 'enforcer' eiyets, who appear and act exactly like any other eiyet until confronted by abuse.
Eiyensuriel, if destroyed by some method that does not utterly obliterate them, will fracture into a few dozen eiyets. These eiyets will be confused and disoriented for the first few days of their existence, and will meld back into the shadow realm immediately if not stopped.
Eiyets are accepted as spirits by other spirits. Because of them, Kherus Morgwi is regarded dubiously by Halci's spirits but without hostility, unlike the other Lords of Light and Darkness.
back to top The QarThe Qar are native Halion creatures presumably driven from their material homes at some time in the past and given refuge in the Shadowland. They do not discuss their racial history with outsiders. These creatures have four faces, four hands with seven fingers (five central fingers and two thumbs, one to either side), and four feet. They stand approximately 5' high, and are masters at construction, organization and crafting of all sorts. Some also serve as universal fences for any being that needs to trade away stolen goods quickly; their storehouses, buried deep beneath the surface of the spindle, are legendary in their wealth.
back to top UnhodreiThe Unhodrei (singular: unhodrel) are of medium height, reaching to about six feet, and are bipedal, but beside that there is little normal about them: their skin is covered by black scales except for the chest and stomach area, where the scales are white; four arms grow from each shoulder, each with two hands and each hand with six clawed fingers; four heads grow from the neck area, flatly reptilian and mouthless with huge black eyes; a great gaping maw opens in the chest, at the center of the white area. Unhodrei are speechless and relatively stupid creatures, grunt troops; they attack by grabbing the enemy and dragging it close until the central maw can close around a part, then rip with claws and teeth.
The Unhodrei were created by the demonlord Dys during his reign over the Shadowland; they do not exist before the Age of Beginnings.
back to top The Bathol'rahThe Bathol'rah are coldly intelligent and devious. They tower over the other denizens of the Shadowland, often reaching eight feet in height. They are painfully thin and white-skinned, with long, veiny arms. They have no mouths, just shadows under the skin where a mouth would be; unlike the Unhodrei, they do not have mouths on their chests. They only have thin black slits for noses, and their eyes and ears are missing in the same way as their mouths: just dark impressions on white skin. Their hands and feet are lengthened into talons, and they walk on the balls of their feet; their bodies are sexless, with dark impressions mottling the skin over their stomachs. It is known for a fact that their hearts are not where human hearts are. Their blood is black and thick. They are fast and wicked with their talons, and do not seem to require food. They wear rags of black material, just enough to drape the sharp angles of their forms. Like the Unhodrei, they were created by the demonlord Dys while he ruled in the Shadowland; after he was thrown down, the survivors submitted to a blood-oath of loyalty to Kherus Morgwi.
back to top Other Denizens
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