The Erithreans:---The Basics-----------------------------------------
The very basics:Erithreans: Rock- covered, 2m tall humanoids. Poor eyesight, electromagnosense- o.
Lived in the Deeps, a nightmare world, deep underground where rock turns into magma, until they were ported here by their god. Understandably unhappy with this. Slow breeders, small communities.
Eat rock.
Erithreans are a race of tall, strong humanoids, with their most notable characteristic being their thick rock covering. They average at a height of slightly over two metres and a shoulder width of around 60 cm. They have exceptionally well developed musculation, intended to easily carry and maneuver the heavy loads they live with.
Erithreans have poor, almost non- existent eyesight, as they have lived most of their lives in near- darkness, and no sense of smell. On the other hand, they have exceptional hearing. They also have an extra sense, that of electromagnetical changes in their surroundings, enabling them to sense living things, mineral veins and such nearby, as well as giving them a powerful form of remote communication and a built- in compass.
The Erithreans worship Machinatus the Hidden, their creator god and general all- around diety. He is generally linked to the elements of fire, stone, shadows and speechcraft, although he, like any god, has his own side projects and hobbies.
Erithreans are ranked into four castes, each one signified by a specific syllable group at the end of each member's name and the number of syllables before the group. More on this later. The castes are mostly meant to differentiate the different professions in a community, and as such a higher caste holds little power over a lower one, although some ancient traditions persist. More on these... later.
Religion is not a great factor in Erithrean society, although the highest caste includes priests in it's number. This is mainly due to the average Erithrean not having much time to worship amidst surviving amidst the carnivorous fungi and such that populate the Deeps. With this new environment, who knows? Maybe they'll all become fanatics, or not!
It's in the title. Erithrean technology is quite basic in nature, the only things noteworthy being their ballistae, their scorpions, their elaborate pumping systems and other such relics of 'the good old times'. More on these... later in this post.
If you've read these, you have a basic grasp of the Erithreans. Good for you! Now for...
---Advanced-----------------------------------------
Physiology:Let's start from the head and such.
Erithreans have a very short, stumpy neck, nearly invisibe if one doesn't know of it's existence. The mouth is also concealed well into the rock surface. It is a large and wide mouth, and when open, it reveals row after row of diamond edges, used to chew ingested rock material for easier congestion.
Interestingly, the mouth only opens very little when the Erithrean speaks, which is necessary when one lives in molten rock. When the Erithrean uses Speechcraft magic, more on that later, the mouth does not move at all.
Erithreans have no visible nose on the outside, and even under the rock surface it is shrinkled up and useless. Not much to say on that, then.
Erithreans have two eyes, as normal, although they are rarely used and are covered by thick double eyelids, enabling them to see even weaker than normally if they want to, but protecting their eyes somewhat. Their eyes are not their main sense, however, which has interesting effects on their psyche and the way the see the world.
Inside the head is the inner ear and the sensory organs responsible for their electromagnetic senses. Erithreans have no earlobes, either, these having been eliminated over generations of being covered in rock. The inner ear, however, is very sophisticated, and enhanced with magic to grant the Erithreans great hearing even with the dampening effects of their rock surface. Their main hearing happens through their feet, something I will revisit later on.
I don't have much to add about the electromagnetic sense that wasn't handled in the basics, except that the organs that enable it are located near the inner ears.
The Erithrean brain is quite unremarkable in size or structure. It is like any human brain, except refitted for the slightly larger Erithrean body.
Erithreans have no body hair, in case you were wondering. Just thought I'd note that.
Erithreans have an unique gastrointestinal tract. The esophagus is covered in a small rock surface, to prevent melting in case the Erithrean swallows magma or other such substances. From the esophagus, there are two routes. The other leads to the stomach, as in a typical body, whereas the other takes dangerous substances to a rock- covered second stomach, where it is taken care of. The stomach is filled with very potent acids and bacteria, breaking down any rock types the Erithrean swallows. Interestingly, the stomach cannot handle most oganic compounds, and if it were to receive any, the Erithrean would go into a state of paralysis until a strong impact, lots of time passing or other such effect revived him.
From the stomach, the now liquid food is taken through an intricate system of intestines, after which extra stone material is deposited on the skin as a protective surface through many small pores. I will not type of this subject any more, for it will otherwise risk going into the realm of squick.
Erithrean bones are more durable than the typical mammalian bones, as such is required when one carries rock armour an inch thick. They are also more heavy than normal. Erithrean muscles are also large and heavy, although the consume more energy than typical muscles and as such Erithreans tire quite fast. On the other hand, they have preternatural strength and recuperate very fast.
Erithreans only have three fingers, a thumb and two others which have each been formed by the melting together of the rock cores of two normal fingers. Should the rock be removed or reshaped to allow five fingers to exist, the Erithreans could quickly learn to use five fingers, although there would be troubles at first.
The feet are wide, to allow the Erithreans to better swim in the Depths, but not too much, so that they do not hinder movement on land.
No Erithreans has ever died of old age, although that doesn't tell much of a race with an average lifespan of sixty years.
The psychology of the Erithreans is quite similar to a human one, albeit with some differences.
For one, Erithreans cannot, by nature, lie, although some ancient philosophers and sages have allegedly been able to. Lying has always been extremely destructive to the communities, with little to no profit to the individual, so Erithreans have never 'learned' to lie. Erithreans also experience the world very differently than humans, as their sensory systems focus on different senses. Of course, I'm way too lazy to RP this properly, so they'll think in a typical human way.
Erithreans are not a very magical race, the only true magicians being rare in number and situated in the highest caste. All Erithreans, though, handle the basics of stone magic and speechcraft magic, with varying skill and strength. Stone magic is usually used to morph rock, typically of the Erithrean itself, enabling the Erithrean to quickly prepare blades onto his arms if trouble emerges. Speechcraft magic enables the Erithrean to understand the basics of the speech of other races, and respond... somewhat. Translation errors may occur, especially with those of weaker magical powers.
A powerful Erithrean magician may send waves of rock unto his enemies, envelope them in fire, cover them in darkness and commune with them as if he were one of them. All Erithrean magic, though, requires that the Erithrean touches the target in question, rendering it somewhat less useful as a direct offensive weapon and more of a handy tool.
Erithrean magic is actually prayers to Machinatus the Hidden, although in practical use it works as normal magic does, save for the restriction of touching the target.
The Erithreans were created by Machinatus the Hidden on their homeworld, where they inhabited the Deeps as wild beasts for a very, very long time.. Eventually, the race achieved sentience and gathered into groups, then tribes, and, finally, nations. Like any self- respecting race, the Erithreans then lapsed into infighting for millennia, until they were united under the rule of Unumkandenatus the First. Thus, the Erithreans entered their first Golden Age, and they prospered well despite the dangers of their home. Many new sciences were researched, and a bold plan to invade 'the Surface', as it was called. It was in this time period that took place the great tales, such as Rolf the Slayer, Kranatis and the Seer of the Seven Stones, and all the technologies that the Erithreans now guard, trying to keep the last fragments of old wisdom from fading away.
The First Golden Age ended abruptly with the sudden and devastating swarming of all types of beast of the Deeps. The cause for this was never found out, although many blame strange gods and sinister fiends.
After this, it took a couple hundred years for a new idea to spread amongst the Erithreans, one of small communities, quickly moving from the face of a threat, surviving and slowly increasing the number of Erithreans. At first, it looked like this idea could save the Erithreans, as the settlements were relatively successful. However, as their number and size grew, problems arose, namely that of oxygen. You see, even Erithreans need oxygen, if only trace amounts. Oxygen, however, is only supplied to the Deeps by the nefarious Carnivorous Fungi, which disables magic around it and eats flesh. The communities were forced to take amounts of fungi with them and lock it somewhere safe, throwing it wild animals from time to time to keep their supplies of oxygen up. This stopped the settlement from using magic, though, leaving it vulnerable to attacks of wildlife. Also, should the prison they kept the fungi in ever break, the settlement was doomed to an agonising death.
Slowly, the numbers of the Erithreans dwindled, and it seemed they would soon become extinct. The god Machinatus the Hidden, however, interfered, sending his avatar Machinatus the Pure to save his people. Machinatus the Pure, covered in diamonds, gathered the few surviving Erithreans, who numbered fifty, and brought them to the surface world, considering exile from their home far better than death. The surface was, to them, a surprisingly cosy and hospitable home, and they would have thrived had it not been that the surface of that particular world was also the scene of the Fourth Battle of the Gods.
There is not much to say about BotGIV, save for that the Erithreans made friends with many new races, and many bitter enemies. Machinatus the Pure was given great artifacts of power by a strange god, Katyn, which he treasured greatly.
After that, well, they were teleported here. Not much to add, really.
Erithreans fight in four main groups of arms:
The pikemen fight in well- organised phalanxes.
The swordsmen and the macemen, each wielding two- handed weapons, fight as skirmishers, protecting the flanks of the main phalanx.
The scorpionmen shoot the enemy from afar with their giant crossbows that lean on their shoulders.
In addition, the Erithreans employ their gigantic ballistas as both field-, siege- and defense weapons, magicians to morph the terrain favourably and cleverly placed traps.
As mentioned previously, Erithreans arrange themselves in four castes according to their professions, although the caste system has little effect on normal life, and it is mostly regarded as a cute relic of the First Golden Age.
The lowest caste, signified by the '-atos'- suffix and one syllable before it, consists of the basic civilian mass that every city is abundant with. They are typically covered in granite or other similar stones, as they can rarely afford any better.
The soldier caste, '- atis' with two syllables, covers itself in iron and is the Erithrean military. Only the ballista users are taken from other castes, typically the '-atos'.
The caste of the inventors, skilled craftsmen, scholars and other highly valued people is the '-ates' caste. They are typically rich, and can afford steel or similar as their covering.
The last caste, the highest caste, is the '-atus'- caste. The '-atus'- caste is that of the priests, mages and other such ruling class members.
An Erithrean of a caste two or more higher than an Erithrean of another caste does not, theoretically, need to greet the lower- caste- Erithrean. Also, should they do so, they should add "although the caverns are misty" to the end of their greeting. Nobody knows why.
Erithreans are very loyal to their communities, and treason is an unthinkable offense. Erithrean punishments, however, are not very severe, as settlements could not afford to lose valuable Erithreans. Mostly they consist of public humiliations and ostracizing, with the occasional beating thrown in. These punishments are rarely used, though, for most Erithreans are amazingly docile and psychologically stabile., merely shedding a figurative tear (Erithreans are, of course, unable to cry) where any normal person would lose his sanity.
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Topic: Battle of the Gods V (Read 27587 times)