Cultures

Acid Tribes

A variety of Mugats that had avoided becoming part of the Old Empire. The Empire, of course, did not take kindly to such a state of affairs. The name originates from the fact that, at one point, their population was reduced to a handful of communities trying to survive in the acidic salt flats of Mirror.

Adunids

Hulking beasts that resemble a cross between a toad and a gorilla. They are only bright enough to realize that they are not very bright, and to compensate for this through alliances of convenience with other species.

Beasts of Burden

The Beasts of Burden have their own name for their kind, but most other cultures don't feel the need to use it. Despite being fully sapient, they lack opposable thumbs and are basically cattle-shaped. Thus, the rest of the world is happy to see them as cattle.

Birrikans

Outwardly, a Birrikan resembles a ball of matted fur that sprouts a set of long, thin, spider-like arms. Each arm is tipped with a highly dexterous hand. They have the ability to survive in environments where most other sapients cannot. They are also known for their sense of humour, and an unusually keen sense of fairness.

Dream Thralls

Organ Rats who have over-indulged in the mind-altering substances of the Dreamer's Bog. At first, this results in mere addiction. In the later stages, the creature turns into a sort of highly suggestible zombie.

Feral Beasts

Same species as the Beasts of Burden, but either born in the wilderness, or having tasted too much freedom to ever go back.

Feverlings

Reminiscent of a cross between a rat and a parasitic wasp. They are agile, streamlined, and equally comfortable in water and on land. Reproduction requires a living host. The host is paralyzed and stored away, to wait while the larva grow inside it. The preferred method is to use land-dwelling creatures, and store them in pockets of air deep underwater.

Flesh Bandits

A sapient parasite. The tiny larva (still mindless at this stage) can be ingested, or crawl into a bodily orifice when the potential host is submerged in water. The adult form eventually fully replaces the head of the host, and takes over control of its body. Social standing is established by parents acquiring higher-status hosts for their offspring.

Gorgers

Bloodsucking ticks with wings. That is all.

Gurastis

The Gurastis are consummate predators. Resembling large velociraptors, they measure an individual’s worth in large part by their ability to hunt without the assistance of tools.

Hakkatas

These creatures are the product of the Old Empire's strict selective breeding of semi-sapient war hounds. They were meant to be living weapons to combat the Gurasti menace. The result was tough, vicious, and cunning. Over time, the Empire became so reliant on Hakkatas that when they decided that they wanted to be in charge, no one could stop them.

Ink Hounds

Most species come into the world by being born. Ink Hounds, on the other hand, are sewn together from parts. Some parts come from Urukon's counterpart to the cuttlefish. Others come from the counterpart to the shark. They are mostly sapient, but find it difficult to perform civilian jobs.

Irioxes

Imagine a giant serpent with long-fingered hands sprouting from beneath its jaw. They are strangers in this land. They tell many wondrous tales of their home across the ocean. At the same time, their apparent eagerness to resettle here makes one question how wondrous their homeland could possibly be.

Itshas

The Itshas are distinguished by their industriousness, their ugliness, and their ability to fly. The ability to fly is the least impressive of the three, as their stubby wings simply cannot carry them very far. They are unrivaled creators of useful devices and mechanisms.

Land Wardens

One of the engineered child-species of the Hasharn. Resembling armoured spiders, they were created as a mixture of labourer and enforcer. After their creators left, they tried to maintain order in the territories under their care. However, they could not stop the Mugats from filling the sudden power vacuum.

Leg Fiends

One of the engineered child-species of the Hasharn. Resembling giant centipedes, they were created to be fine artisans. After their creators left, they fell into a deep existential crisis that nearly caused their extinction. It is only recently that they have been able to regain control of their minds, and recover their numbers. They enjoy abstract sculpture, music, and wallowing in geothermal springs.

Lugus

Peace-loving agrarians whose main concerns revolve around the comfort of their burrows, and what to have for second breakfast. To escape conflict over a limited supply of arable land, they rely on an uncanny ability to grow food in places where others cannot. The ability to live both on land and underwater helps a lot.

Mugats

Numerous, industrious, and (until recently) the leading species of an empire that spanned most of the known world. The upright bodies of the Mugats lend themselves to comparison with the apes. In this comparison, the Mugats are more fragile, but also more sophisticated. The name is used to refer to both the species as a whole, and its most common cultural variant.

Night Apes

The Night Apes may have originally been Southern Apes, but have been dramatically shaped by life in the Night Forest. With no use for eyes, theirs have withered away into uselessness. In exchange, their hearing became incredibly keen.

Northern Apes

Same species as the Southern Apes, but culturally distinct. The upright bodies of apekind lend themselves to comparison with the Mugats. In this comparison, the apes are seen as large and brutish. The more peaceful and pastoral Northern Apes resent this characterization.

Organ Rats

Cuddly furballs that are curious, avaricious, unapologetically omnivorous, and not very bright. Placing one in a position of authority is generally a mistake.

Palace Lords

A variety of Mugats that once formed the ruling elite of the Old Empire. Back then, they existed in such isolation from their subjects that they spoke their own, separate language. After the Empire fell, the fact that the Palace Lords were the only ones with experience in running society has kept them in positions of relative power.

Pilgrims

Giant jellyfish that gain sapience after being infected by a particular parasite. Multiple parasites may share a single host. A Pilgrim with a single parasite has no concern beyond the mundane. The more minds in one body, however, the more abstract the thoughts. Having several may yield philosophers and visionaries. Too many yield a raving lunatic.

Poison Eaters

Organ Rats who have developed the habit of eating the poisonous flowers of Paradise. Instead of killing them, this turns them more aggressive.

Ra Rosh

Colloquially known as Sea Ogres. They are not nearly as dull as that moniker suggests, but are every bit as mean-spirited. They can comfortably spend large amounts of time on land, but prefer to make their homes underwater.

Sea Wardens

One of the engineered child-species of the Hasharn. Resembling spiders with flippers, they were created to be underwater labourers. After their creators left, they were able to maintain control of most of the habitable underwater regions in the known world. Their anatomy makes them unsuitable to travel onto land.

Southern Apes

Same species as the Northern Apes, but culturally distinct. The upright bodies of apekind lend themselves to comparison with the Mugats. In this comparison, the apes are seen as large and brutish. The more warlike Southern Apes relish in this characterization.

Sweetlings

A species of giant, ambulating, and carnivorous flowers. Their arrival in the known world is recent, with large numbers migrating from the wilderness to the south. They are typically attended by troops of semi-sapient pygmy apes who are addicted to the Sweetlings' excretions, and eagerly serve as surrogate hands.

Water Castes

Originally a privileged caste of the Old Empire. These Mugats were trusted to police the waters of the Empire. Fulfilling such a role required the ability to function underwater, which the Mugats do not naturally possess. To solve the problem, young children are implanted with a symbiotic organism to serve as a set of gills.