The Underlanders (Historic Information, race is diffuse around Sulfur Shadow)

Overview from Dragondeep Timeline
~23800AR to ~30000AR Underlanders – Hidden from all for such a very long time, the Underlanders were heavily elemental-magic users who lived exclusively under the surface, and in particular loved the areas near the Sulfur Shadow. Though the area was always volatile with its rumbling and eruptions, normal heat and stone didn’t bother the Underlanders whatsoever. Only in the latter years of their existence did anyone else know of them, obviously the Necromancers were the ones to first view their society. Unfortunately they discovered the culture had all but hollowed out places below the Shadow, which rapidly filled with lava and superheated steam when it erupted again in 26500, killing many who could not escape. Many of those who didn’t die were rescued however, and along with several other species mixed in to the Necropolis population as well as scattered locales around the mountains. Underlanders still appear now and again; though some remain pureblooded, most are their dilute descendants.

Underlander Physical Description

Humanoid with reptilian looking features, they are warm-blooded, viviparous mammals. The hair that once covered their bodies now is in the form of chitin plating on arms, legs, spine, and head. They bear a tail, a pair of horn-like spines on their head, hands with three clawed fingers and one thumb, feet that have three forward facing, clawed toes with one backward facing stubby claw off their heel.

Males and females are largely similar but there are subtle differences in height, general size, and length of chitin spines. Males tend to be taller and with more narrow waists. Females are only slightly shorter but have a wider abdomen, longer spines on arms and head, and a longer tail.

They generally come in colorations of brown, darker shades of red, violet, black and sometimes a golden-yellow. Most Underlanders bear markings of some kind on their chitin-heavy skin, generally either a darker shade or a much brighter color contrasting with the rest of their skin. Though uncommon, further markings of mottling or spotting has occurred, and is considered not only exotically beautiful to them, but seems to coincide with a bit of stronger magic use.

Their specialized magic as well as the environment in which they live has made their bodies quite sturdy, but very specific. Their eyes are suited well to dark environments, tolerating only small flames and reacting poorly to open daylight. However poor their vision would be in broad daylight, it is spectacular in dim and dark environments. While they cannot see colors in complete darkness, they can detect infrared and a certain amount of piezoelectric energy. This allows them to locate fissures as well as pressure points in their stony underground environment. Their eye color is generally a deep shade of violet, very dark brown, or a rich red. Some communities which have a higher degree of different ores in their surroundings may have lighter shades or unusual colors, but it is hardly common.

Their ears are not externally visible save for a small mostly-vertical slit behind the jaw. Their hearing is not as good as a Human’s, but they can detect low-frequency sounds more easily.

Though they have nostrils and sinuses, their sense of smell is poor, and even if it wasn’t, it would be overwhelmed by the sulfur scent. Their tongues and sense of taste are of the same low level distinction. Their diets are quite bland according to any other race, but whatever taste they do have they seem to enjoy. Their teeth are designed for both sheering and crushing – similar to Human’s teeth. However theirs are harder and tend to be replaced naturally if broken and pulled. This goes for their bones as well, they heal injuries to bone very quickly, this is undoubtedly due to the amount of raw minerals they ingest on a daily basis.

Their sense of touch is almost hyperactive in some ways. Though their chitin covered skin seems indelicate and stiff, their ability to distinguish even minute grains of texture is impressive. Most Underlanders can tell the difference between ores based purely on their texture. And far from being over-sensitive in a negative way, Underlanders seem to truly enjoy sensation on their skin. Their fingers are stubby with heavy claws for digging, yet retain an incredible finesse for manipulation.

Physically strong, most Underlanders are capable of lifting two to three times as much weight as a normal Human, and can carry this weight for extended periods. Their musculature is very evenly balanced across upper and lower extremities. Because the females tend not to be doing such laborious work, their posture is often straighter, giving them the impression of being nearly as tall as their male companions, who typically have a bit more of a hunched posture.

Due to the conditions they live in, Underlanders rarely are found with clothing on – they prefer the warm caverns below ground, and only adopt any kind of covering when they are exposed to above-ground temperature ranges. When they do dress, it is generally with a variety of textures, based on ceremonial needs. (Furs or soft cloth versus coarser cloth or leather, for instance.)

Their reproductive organs are all internalized, males bearing a fully sheathed penis and the females having very little of their mammalian features visible. Females have a ‘lumpy’ looking abdomen pouch which expands with their offspring’s development. Two offspring are typical each cycle, while three or more have been recorded, and single births are rare. The offspring gestate for up to one year and are highly developed on birth. Nursing is done through pockets which fill with a nutrient-rich milk, slightly below the pectoral muscles – neither females nor males have nipples. Females generally bear eight to twelve offspring during their lives, coming into fertility on a regular basis but with lengthy gaps between cycles, and usually a twenty year gap after a normal birth. Males and females both become sexually mature around age 20, but rarely do either begin to produce offspring until they are at least 40.

Young are born with softer skin, their chitin develops as they grow. Gender is often determined by the length of the tail at birth, because both genders appear very similar at that stage. Children grow at a pace similar to Humans, experiencing stages of learning, awkward growth spurts, and finally a long maturity. The age of an Underlander can be determined by the length of their head crests and how many segments it contains, however since females tend to have longer crests it’s important to know which gender is being viewed, before making any assumptions about age.

Internally, Underlanders are very similar to any other given mammal: they have two lungs, one heart, a long and reasonably complex digestive system, and organs which do a variety of useful functions. Their digestion is aided by their consumption of minerals, and they can seemingly tolerate what would be extremely spicy foods due to the calcium in the very walls. They are rarely sick, but this may be because they are not often exposed to diseases found in the upper world.

The main causes of death are crushing, exhaustion, and old age. Females tend to outlive the males by almost twice, though this is more a social issue than a physical one, as a male given the same lifestyle as a female would certainly continue to live, and a female made to labor as the males do would exhaust herself soon. Underlander females live from 250 to 300 years, while their male companions often fall short of the 200 year mark.

Underlander Social Systems

Underlanders are led and controlled by females, while the physical labor and most work is done by the males. Most families have a single, elder female who has several daughters and often further generations. Their mates and assorted male offspring, while not particularly segregated, are usually in service to these females and usually outnumber them by 1.5 to 1. Since there is a slight disparity between the males and females in quantity, it’s reasonably common for one female to take several mates, and equally common to have a family that has a few females sharing a number of males.

Love and relationships among Underlanders is quite unlike other Humanoid species. They show a strong loyalty to their chosen mates, but do not necessarily mate for life, or for any reason other than to procreate in some communities. Attachments and friendships form among family groups, and jealousy is a rare but occasionally deadly emotion. Since males are essentially property to the females, bargains can be made to ‘trade’ mates if they are already established, in cases where an emotional attachment has been made outside that family unit. Keeping the peace is far more important to the matriarchs than any petty squabbling that may occur regarding who has the prettiest mate or which clan member fell in love with some other community’s male.

Most mating partners are found by matriarchs for their daughters, but because there are more males than females, there can often be ‘one for mom, one for me’ arrangements – a female is not relegated to only those mates which her mother chooses for her. When matriarchs differ on opinions (‘I don’t want your daughter having my favorite boy’) the community leadership may be brought in to arbitrate.

Education is run by the females, but is offered to both male and female young. In general the education level among Underlanders is equitable to Humans in most cultures up until around young adulthood. After that point however, the females are usually given preferred further education, while the males are expected to labor or serve.

By the time a female reaches young adulthood, she is required to pass testing for whatever chosen field she has interest in entering, and upon passing them can begin forging her own territory or continue to live with her family. When a male becomes an adult he is able to effect the same changes in his location and grouping, though the matriarch always decides what happens to her male young and can override his decision if need be.

The difference between male and female intelligence is negligible, however through thousands of years of social training, the males are both more compliant and subservient to their females. Males often have their own groups, adults without mates are generally found in communal living arrangements of from 4 to 20 individuals. There have been occasional male-centric communities, though even those tend to be more equitable than dominating to their females.

Socially, the women run their communities with a loose hand. Crime is extremely low but not completely nonexistent. Elections among the women are held infrequently or as needed, but generally the eldest (and still mentally firm) female will be looked to for her wisdom on any given conflict.

Possessions and housing are passed through matrilineal means, and as more territory is hollowed out by the endless toiling males, that territory is split among the younger females. When a matriarch dies, her eldest daughter generally takes her mantle and her possessions, while she can decline and allow her sisters to opt for splitting up the land or items and go their own way. Not every family remains close knit for generations, and not every female stays with her own genetic line – preferring instead to move in to unrelated quarters while finding mates. Those younger females are the ones generally getting the newest, but most outlying, land.

Jobs that are held by Underlanders include a variety of labor for the males, such as excavating tunnels, evaluating the safety and durability of any location, keeping areas clean and free of debris, construction and moving of items. In some cases, older males or those who have become too injured to carry weights are led to their females’ homes to serve less intensive and more intimate needs. Cooking and light cleaning are usually done by those elder males.

Females have a wider variety of commonly held positions, including magical and physical gemology, trade, law and record keeping, design of items, along with many artistic endeavors such as sculpting and writing. Females are exceptional at organizational and information skills, while males tend to be quite canny with carrying out any instruction no matter how specific.

Underlanders have an intriguing and complicated language, both spoken and written. While some Humanoids can learn their verbal language it is quite difficult for others due to the subtle low-frequency sounds they are capable of making. Their written language is equally complex, and relies upon numerous textures as well as symbols. Their system looks like a combination of Braille and cuneiform lettering, with an added dimension of ores or texture in the absence of certain metals, indicating inflection with ‘color’. Learning how to read this language is challenging at best, but for historians and artists alike, this language is widely regarded as both the most brilliant and beautiful throughout Dragondeep’s extensive history.

Records of each family line and events of their realm are kept in magically secured areas, and are publicly available for anyone to read and copy. Great care is taken to ensure the quality and accuracy of all these records, however sometimes mistakes or even purposeful deceit have made their way into the permanent halls. Since they often have duplicates, every few decades certain records are checked against one another for consistency. It would be all but impossible to truly rewrite their history, because of this level of redundancy.

Underlanders have no true currency or money, in the form of ‘riches’ that are commonly described by outsiders. They do have an extensive barter and bargaining trade within each community and with the outside world once they make contact. Foods and comfort items, as well as artwork and trinkets are traded by them in both their own halls as well as outside. Value is assigned on a personal and immediate basis, though anyone who has read their records knows how trends of one sort or another sweep the community now and then.

Since Underlander society is matriarchal, some other people may have issues with how things are done there. But they try to keep their society insulated from direct changes by outsiders – that said, they are not so insular or xenophobic as to avoid contact at all. Outsiders have made the mistake of assuming that the division of work indicates an amount of slavery on their part, however this is not the case, and slave traders have been among the only people driven out by the Underlanders.

In the later days of the Underlander culture, after the eruption of the Sulfur Shadow, interbreeding by necessity became more common. Crossbreeds which resemble their Underlander parent are always welcomed to their small communities. Through magical means, some strangely exotic pairings have granted lovers their fondest wishes, though often enough the more distant Humanoid pairings result in sterile children. They have no particular taboo about participating in sexual activities outside their species, but it’s easy to see that not every Humanoid or outsider culture accepts them due to their ruggedly unusual appearance. By the current year (41000), almost every Underlander has some form of other-breed relative in their family tree, but a few maintain a strong purity.

Until the eruption, very few Underlanders were known to travel at all, and even after then the survivors were apt to remain nearby their old caverns. These days they are known in any location with caves or extensive catacombs, and are popular among the Necromancers of the Isles to help with maintenance of the chambers of the dead. Their services as shapers and earth-elemental laborers are still in demand. Their relationship with the Jewel Witches is close, it is not uncommon to find an Underlander working with a Witch when locating raw materials.

Underlanders are not known for their ferocity in battle, in fact they have hardly ever had armed conflicts with either themselves or outsiders. However due to their innate elemental magic with ores and stone, with the right trade persuasion an Underlander shaper’s weaponry and armor can fetch a truly stunning price in the upper world. Given that their lands were dangerous to begin with, residing underneath the great Sulfur Shadow’s caldera and mountainsides, very few outsiders have ever been stupid enough to try taking it from them.

Naming of Underlanders is a complex affair, like their speech and writing. Since they carry matrilineal power, females have lengthy descriptions of their family names embedded in their own. In general females have three often-used names: a title of their family line or location/community, the specific line they are from (which may be the same, but it is given a different inflection), and their personal moniker. Add to those in more formal situations their direct female ancestor’s name, the female’s profession, and the mates that she has taken. Males generally have a given personal name, and ‘of’ designators for their location, mate/s and mother. Sometimes females with strong family ties will share almost all their names with their sisters, with only their personal name and their profession being different. Mate-sharing is reasonably common among some communities, so their names may show many complex ties. It’s not taboo to call a female by her given name, but usually they like to hear at least the first three title/line/name.

The names themselves are often two syllables, sometimes three, rarely one. Their language is consonant-heavy, but their names carry many lighter vowel sounds. ‘Eechaenah’ ‘Draegal’, ‘Murr’, are such names. They can pronounce essentially any other Humanoid language and are also capable of learning some Dragonkin and other exotic sounding tongues.

Magic of the Underlanders

Like many Humanoid inhabitants of Dragondeep, Underlanders have the use of elemental based magic. They tend to keep to stone and earth based powers, though some display aptitude with fire, heat, and to a much rarer extent water or flesh elements. Both males and females display talent with elemental magic, and powers tend to run in family lines in both genders.

Males often use their mastery over stone to help them hollow out areas or form items, while females show a talent with location of gems or ores, and finer manipulation of single-element crafts. Talented shapers are often called upon for trade work.

Their level of ability, while strong, is not necessarily on a par with some other cultures. While every one of the Underlanders born does have some ability, there are generally twenty low-level individuals to three or four mid-range, and probably one hundred low-range to one very strong individual. This varies in more modern times based on the purity of the Underlander’s heritage.

There are no known spell-users among the breed, however many book-mages would love to know if they could learn it and with how much ease: their language itself is remarkable in its complexity, they reason it would be reasonably easy for an Underlander to memorize spells. There are also no incidents of true Psionics (according to the Jewel Witches).

While it is not unheard of for a single Underlander to have different types of Elemental magic, the only known cases are also those with the more exotic markings. It’s not really clear whether those markings are a genetic mutation or merely magical luck, or how they interact with the powers in use. Given that everyone has a power, the number of those with multiple abilities is perhaps one in one thousand or less. There is no direct correlation between an Underlander’s skin color and their magic power, except for those bearing markings, and even then the color itself does not seem to have bearing on it.

Underlander powers tend to show up during adolescence, and grow steadily as the individual ages. Thus, many elderly females are quite powerful, even if they cannot be said to be in that ‘high-power’ category when young. Magical accidents among Underlanders is extremely rare, even with young powerful individuals. Their magic is so well-tuned to their bloodline that it’s never been recorded.

Skills

Underlanders have a very specialized set of skills based on their education and profession. Every Underlander has to do something for a living, though their economy is hardly the pressure there. Socially, everyone is expected to contribute, and particularly the males are conditioned to work on request.

Females may choose highly difficult mental skills such as medicine, law and trade. Males generally don't do those professions, instead having mostly manual labor skills up to designing and building, tool use, and appraisal of items/locations. Anyone may have other skills such as barter, artistic talent, entertaining, and survival skills. Most Underlanders are skilled with traveling underground, mapmaking, estimating distances and thickness (of walls), and avoiding dangers in their environment. Those environmental skills are not much use outside their underground world.

Underlanders do not generally have any skills that thieves or warriors would use, though they do have weapons they're in use for hunting. Only if the individual has contact with the outside world, and has some other reason for learning those skills, would they be able to. Hunting and farming are completely different for Underlanders, as their animal prey are exclusively found underground or in massive cavern-lakes. Farming for them doesn't involve planting and harvesting, or the seasons. They can have swimming skills but don't float remarkably well, and don't use boats so sailing is only if they've got needs above ground for it.