Goblinkin

"A promise is a gift your grandchildren pay for."

^{-Ancient Goblinkin Proverb}

Goblins were introduced to Dyrn shortly after Ciarellon wrought the first elves. Goblins, a race native to the Fey Realm, had clashed with Eladrin since time immemorial. The foremost of their warriors, a massive hobgoblin names Garoumish, broke a pact he had made with the Elven god Ciarellon. A war ensued within the Fey Realm and ultimately Garoumish lost his final battle with the Eladrin host. Garoumish had one eye put out, and the Eladrin were preparing to put all of the goblins to the sword when Garoumish's consort, Luthic, swore her own oath to Ciarellon - that her people would serve the Eladrin if the immortal elves would let them live.
In punishment for Garoumish's oath breaking, Ciarellon cursed the goblin people. They would forever be bound to keep any pact they made. With horror, Luthic realised she had bound not only her people, but all of their descendants into an eternity of servitude to the Eldarin.
In the intervening aeons, almost all goblins within the Fey Realm became Eladrin servants, workers, or advisors. Only a very few who renounced the worship of Luthianism were able to escape the curse.
Shortly after the world of Dyrn was formed by the Urdragon, Ciarellon wrought bodies for his Eladrin that they might explore this new creation. He summoned Eladrin souls and breathed life into the new bodies which awoke as Elves within Dyrn. Shortly after their genesis, the first high elves desired the company of their goblin servants and in the early days of the world, when the wildways connected the Fey realm to the prime material, they were easily able to summon their bonded goblinkin. But goblin physiology did not suit the jungle home the high elves had created. In the heat of the jungle Goblinkin were slow, their thoughts confused, their reactions blunted, and their lives cut short. In time the High Elves ceased using goblinkin as subservients, although the practice continued among the grey elves to the north.
Goblinkin found themselves particularly well suited to the arctic conditions of the far north and in time, a growing population of free goblins who had turned their back on Luthianism began to settle in and around the arctic lands.
The Dusk War brought about another great change for the goblinkin of Dyrn. As the elves waged war, first on the Unseelie court and their wild hunt and later on the other races of Northern Terrenos, the Elven aggressors employed goblinkin soldiers to aid in the war effort. One of their most powerful warriors, the goblin Maglubiyet, known amongst his kind as Fire Eyes, led his people in a series of powerful battles in the north. Clashing mainly with other goblinkin bonded to the Unseelie court and the newly arisen Orcish tribes rampaging through the Dyrnspines, Maglubiyet preached wholesale rejection of Luthianism and the rest of the All-Seeing Tribe. Instead he united the goblins in rebellion under his rule as a despotic warlord, seeking to carve out a place for his newfound followers within the material plane. Maglubiyet founded the Wicked Vales, leading his people to fortify the northern regions, before ultimately being killed in battle during the dying days of the Dusk War. Shortly before the Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand restored the Celestial Scale and barred access to the astralogium, Maglubiyet ascended as a new Goblinkin god, along with several of his most trusted warriors and advisors. In the process, Maglubiyet stole from Luthic, Garoumish and the rest of the All-Seeing Tribe most of their followers, the detities of the Tribe left to be sustained mainly by their newfound Orcish followers.
Within modern Dyrn most goblins now worship the Band of Maglubiyet, in particular within the Wicked Vales. While once blood sacrifice was practiced in his name, in modern Dyrn this is practiced only rarely, and mostly within the Vales, with token offerings made elsewhere instead. Fundamental Maglubianism remains influential within the Wicked Vales, where the goblinkin continue in their warlike ways, and for centuries the vales have been torn by strife. Outside of the vales, some goblins continue to practice Luthianism, with more worshiping gods of other pantheons, or swearing off worship altogether.

Goblinkin Physiology

There is much variance in goblinkin physiology, although since arriving within Dyrn they have stratified into three broad subraces - the tall and sturdy hobgoblins, the furred and lanky bugbears, and the more diminutive and lithe goblins. All three goblinkin races have in common their long, pointed ears. Skin colour varies, with skin ranging from green to pink to red. Eye colour as well is quite variable, with dark colours most common, including reds and yellows. Bugbear fur displays less variance, most commonly yellow, brown or red, but many bugbears display patterns of spots or stripes in their fur and these patterns are familial, with most nest favouring a certain pattern.
While within the Fey Realm their physiology seemed unremarkable, within the material plane many Goblinkin have developed adaptations that see them particularly suited to arctic conditions. The fur of the bugbear is well suited to the bitter cold of the far north. Goblins and hobgoblins store energy beneath their skin in the form of goblinfat, a layer of fat that is energy rich and highly insulating and contributes to their often greenish colouration. Well-fed goblinkin will appear more green; once their goblinfat is used during times of famine or fasting, they appear a mure muted green, grey, yellow or red. While both goblins and particularly hobgoblins can develop considerable physical strength, goblinfat tends to mask their musculature, in particular leading hobgoblins to appear barrel chested. Sadly, in times past, some other northern races hunted goblins like wild animals for their fat, which was prized as both a food source and a medicinal.
Goblins thrive in the cold, finding that even temperate conditions slow their cognition somewhat. Goblin ears are key to their thermal adaptation. In cold weather they are tightly furled against their heads to maintain warmth. In warmer conditions they will unfurl to radiate excess body heat. Goblins tend to live in tribes to allow them to huddle together in nests to combine body heat as well.
The curse of the oath breaker continues to haunt the goblinkin races, in particular those who continue to be faithful to Luthianism. For this reason, many goblinkin will refuse to make any promise or pact. While being a natural expression of their fear of once again being bound into servitude against their will, to others who do not understand the history of the goblinkin races, this has contributed to mistrust of the race. In truth, most goblins are very trustworthy and goblin nests teach their young of the importance of working together in the frozen north despite any apparent differences. A common goblin saying is: "When the snow falls, both sides of the forest look the same." A goblin ally is a staunch one indeed, but if they follow tradition they will not voice their commitment to you for fear of enslaving both themselves and their descendants. As a corollary to this, a goblin promise is highly valued, and can almost always be trusted.