Lashunta are a peculiar species of humanoids that inhabit both the Old and the New World. Although sighting one is relatively rare outside of their own cities due to the telepathic bond they share amongst themselves and their communal upbringing. The bond revolves around creating a heightened sense of unity and cohesion amongst the citizens that make up the Consolidated Queendoms of the Lashunta People.
Appearance
Lashunta can be easily identified by the pair of prominent, twitching insect-like antennae that sprout just below their hairlines and by their rather significant sexual dimorphism. Females tend to grow much taller than the males and have lithe, feminine forms, usually with comely and beautiful faces that rival even those of elven maidens. Males on the other hand are hirsute, muscular, and shorter than the females, being rather handsome.
Members of the race have elfin ears, rounded at the base which slowly taper to fine tips, and have a length of around 4-9 inches, which varies from individual to individual. Fragments of chitin-like armor can be found covering parts of their bodies’ shoulders, upper chest, navel, arms, and lower legs areas. Although nowadays it offers no protection whatsoever, being only a remnant of a probable evolution as metal-crafted armor became more protective and widely used. Otherwise, their bodies resemble other humanoid races in structure.
Lashunta in general have skin, hair, and eye coloration similar to those found in humans. Although any coloration in this range is possible, Lashunta slightly favor a more pale skin coloration, black or dark eyes, and red hues on their hair.
Government and Society
The Consolidated Queendoms of the Lashunta People are divided, at least in the Old World into three City States, known as the Trinal Amalgamated Citadels (or T.A.C.) when referred to as an ensemble. Each one of the City States holds a small amount of territory, which often contains small towns where the Lashunta live, away from the larger and bustling cities, which themselves can be divided into two parts: the underground sections and the sections above-ground.
The underground sections hold extensive tunnels that provide the Lashunta with water from subterranean reservoirs, farm fungi, hold stores and other amenities, such as housing, libraries, workshops, training grounds, etc., and can be used as bunkers in case of war, with them also having several forges and mining operations to harvest the rich metals and minerals of the ground.
Meanwhile, the areas on the surface of the city mainly consist of many round buildings, with a height no bigger than three floors, where a few civilians live. The surface also possesses usually large farming plots that support the populace by harvesting fresh produce incapable of being cultivated underground.
The three cities have a double set of walls that keep the populace safe in case of war, with these holding the barracks and training grounds for the small number of soldiers that patrol the holdings of the Lashunta, which compared to other kingdoms, are rather small.
Although their telepathic communication makes them extremely well-organized compared to other races, something that has made their relatively small armies a force to be reckoned with, as with sufficient training, their telepathic capabilities prove quite effective at communication, with males especially having great physical prowess that makes them dangerous at close combat, most Lashunta prefer to follow more scholarly pursuits. Many philosophers and academics constitute the files of this race, and indeed, quite a few explorers of the Lashunta are born not from a longing to travel, but instead, a search for ancient documents or information scattered throughout the world.
Besides this, the Lashunta are also quite gifted when it comes to engineering, managing feats of prowess (such as the complex network of tunnels underground), that seem impossible to other races (except perhaps, the Dwarves). They likewise find enjoyment in all forms of art, from sculpture, painting, drawing, music and storytelling, although the extent of their savvy with art depends on each city.
The government may be classified as a Constitutional Monarchy, where a few elected citizens assist the queens, of which there are two for each city, in taking the decisions for the betterment of their fellows. Each city is independent of the other and makes its own laws and decisions, although, in times of great need, the three cities ally themselves to overcome them. Each city, being independent, has different customs and beliefs that differentiate them from each other:
Termira:
The Termirans are the Lashunta that inhabit the northern areas that make up the Consolidated Queendoms of the Lashunta People. The tunnels of the city of Termira are the most extensive compared to the rest of the cities, holding little presence above ground. This stems from a strange, but incredible find made by the Lashunta of this area: an expansive, underground forest, where gargantuan mushrooms grew, alongside other types of fungi and plants especially adapted for underground life, which the citizens of Termira began to explore, and eventually, even build settlements in.
This caused their lives to be lived primarily underground, as they harvested the plentiful resources found in this forest. However, as a side effect, Lashunta from the City State of Termira have a much greater index of people affected with eyesight problems, that range from blindness to nearsightedness, in contrast to other Lashunta. This has caused them to eschew normal writing and art and instead express themselves through music and oral communication.
That said, the City State of Termira has one of the biggest libraries in the Old World: The Athenaeum Magnus, which holds the entire history and achievements of the Lashunta, alongside many tomes and significant items of many of the cultures, extant or extinct, in the Old World. And indeed, a great number of individuals in Termira are scholars that always are in the look for ancient knowledge from throughout the world, and indeed pay well to anyone willing to search for this prized information.
There are also rumors that they seek especially perceptive individuals with good vision, to help them with cataloging and translating text into sound, by employing clockwork recorders. This has not been verified, however, and the Termirans’ reclusiveness makes it difficult for even the members of the other cities to know more about Termira.
The current ruling Queens of the Lashunta are known as the “Waxen Originators'', with their names not publicly known. It is said that their skin is as pale as the moon itself, and that they guide not only through words, but also through example, as they have tasked themselves with recording a comprehensive history of the Lashunta for the benefit of the generations to come.
Nasut:
The Nasuta are peculiar amongst even their own kind. Although they greatly value art and philosophy, in ancient times holding great philosophical proceedings in open-air theatres, nowadays they hold rather radicalized, warlike views that encompass unity through might. The citizens have been imprinted with military views since their childhood, which state that they are the strongest amongst the Lashunta, and that showing off their combat prowess through expansion is the best way to show their humanoid cousins and fellow Lashunta of their perceived power.
The Nasuta have developed their war-like tendencies due to their troubled history and the influence of a particular famous (or infamous) philosopher-Queen of the Nasuta: Zelkara the Sanguine. Indeed, Nasut has served as a buffer zone between Kalot and Termira, and the rest of the Old World. However, this also meant that Nasut managed many diplomatic dealings, and while many were successful in creating bonds of friendship, others attempts had less success.
Indeed, Nasut began to have problems with the small power of Vilvena, whose borders ended up meeting Nasut’s, and with it, an attempt at peace was made. However, by that time, Nasut had become a rather heavily monitored, police state, under the rule of Zelkara the Sanguine and her fellow queen, Tremara the Insightful. This caused them to send spies into Vilvena, which ended up being discovered, and they attacked. This caused the Duchy of Vilvena and Nasut to enter into a bloody war, which cemented Zelkara as Tremara had an accident that led to her demise (sources say this was planned by Zelkara to maintain absolute rule over her people, but the speculations stop here).
Although Vilvena lost a large amount of territory, which was promptly appropriated by the Lashunta, Nasut was unable to continue her war against Vilvena, and thus, they decided to reach an armistice.
To recoup the losses they had gone through, Nasut asked for assistance from their fellow cities, Kalot and Termira. The ruling Queens of the two cities felt it was fair to punish Nasut recklessly starting a war with a superpower, and refused to provide aid. Nasut didn’t take this well, entering a bloody civil war with both, which ended up with a truce when Zelkara was ousted finally and the new Queens attempted to make reparations. The military-fueled machine of Nasut never stopped, however, and there are fears of conflicts arising again as many support the manifesto of Zelkara the Sanguine and many old commanders occupy positions of power in the council.
Due to Nasut’s military history, their army is well organized and trained, with service necessary to gain citizenship ranks. Their cavaliers are especially famous, due to their telepathic capabilities which allows them to function almost flawlessly in combat. Besides their military prowess, Nasuta are also proud artists, creating sculptures and paintings which they value greatly. Also, although philosophical debates have taken a step-back, many records remain of many different views on the world and their own origin, alongside a few scattered philosophers themselves.
The current ruling Queens are Generals Servena and Harala, respectively. Amongst the gossip that can be heard from inside of the heavily policed state of Nasut, is that the population has not yet recovered from the great losses in life that they took during the Civil War they experienced. And as such, are in a precarious position that the two Generals seek to manage. How, however, is still unknown.
Kalot:
The Kalotia are a proud people, and it is said that Kalot is the oldest city founded by the Lashunta. Although this seems to be true, no true records remain of the earliest stages of settlement made by the Lashunta. In any case, the Kalot nowadays hold areas of great strategic value, as they maintain most of the harbors and ports in Lashunta territory, with few being held by Nasut. Like their sister city, the Kalot are scholars, although instead of preserving knowledge, they are more interested in creating and developing new technologies and items, to better their lives.
This extends to also bettering themselves. Indeed, the Kalotia have sought to employ alchemical and magical means to extend their lives and keep themselves healthy, having a great amount of medical knowledge that they seek to expand in the near future. There is also the fact of a few scientists employing Alteration and other means to change their physical appearance or augment their skills. Although this is carefully regulated, lest problems arise, most are content with making minor changes to their appearances, like modifying their hair color or giving themselves a few less or more inches to their height, although more extreme modifications are provided under special circumstances, such as the war with Nasut.
In this conflict, a few units of soldiers were modified willingly as the Nasuta army threatened with overrunning an inexperienced Kalot and Termira, and thus became the “Metamorphos”. The Metamorphos special squads soon became elite troops and were an important piece in managing a truce between the Nasuta and the two other cities, as a precise surgical strike into Nasut managed to bring the Queen and many of her trusted allies down, crippling the leadership and forcing Nasut to accept the conditions of the other two cities.
Besides their tinkering, Kalot have also built the greatest and most complex buildings, both above and underground, amongst all of the Lashunta, a feat managed by their incredible architectural and building knowledge. Indeed, the Kalotia not only pride themselves on their capabilities for construction, but also in sculpting. Master sculptors are greatly valued amongst them.
The current Queens are known as Celessara the Soother and Alvemira the Intercessor, and are greatly loved amongst their people. They seek to bring Kalot and the rest of the Lashunta into a new golden age of discovery, yet rumors circulate of a pressing issue in Kalot, which the Queens are having difficulty addressing and keep to themselves and the rest of the government.
The Hodde:
The fourth holding of the Lashunta may be found on Achitar, unbeknownst to their fellows back at the Old World, and to many inhabitants of Port Prine and Cryll. They were born from an ill-fated expedition that sought to find new places for the Lashunta to expand towards due to fears related to available resources drying up eventually on the Trinal Amalgamated Citadels.
Selamar the Elucidator, about 200 years ago, a prominent philosopher of the Lashunta, argued that the Lashunta may eventually find themselves struggling due to resources drying up in the three cities, and so, he argued that expansion was inevitable and that it should be done as soon as possible, lest they were unable to secure it from the growing states of humans, elves and dwarves. Although the Nasut were willing to expand and consume their humanoid cousins, one of the ruling queens of the city of Kalot, by the name of Amara the Munificent instead suggested them founding a new colony.
And so, the Trinal Amalgamated Citadels united as one to construct an airship of great size, through both magic and employment of giant horned beetles to allow it to fly. This flagship was named “The Alata” capable of holding dozens of Lashunta explorers and possible settlers, and it was decided that Amara would lead the people that had volunteered to join the expedition from the three cities: Termira, Kalot and Nasut working together as one, and hopefully, bring new hope onto the hearts of the Lashunta.
What happened exactly was lost to time, but the airship apparently lost their way, until they eventually crashed on the opposite side of what is now Port Prine, in the plains of Achitar past the chain of mountains that divided the continent. Although many were lost in that fateful time, Amara managed to rally the survivors in order to rebuild their society in this brave new world they had found themselves in. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of these lands, the territorial hobgoblins, saw the Lashunta as easy pickings at best, and as potential rivals at worst.
Thus, a campaign was launched against the unprepared Lashunta survivors, that although having the advantage of being relatively well-organized due to their telepathy, were still no match for the warlike hobgoblins, which quickly overran their defenses, forcing them into the tunnels underground that they had begun to excavate in order to eke out an existence in the land.
Finding themselves under siege, with supplies quickly dwindling, and with the hobgoblins quickly gaining terrain, Amara ordered the construction of tunnels and chambers leading away from the main ones, which were to be sealed off after everyone could successfully evacuate, with Amara refusing to be the first, even after much insistence from her people, instead decreeing for the children and adolescents to be taken through them first, alongside a few scant supplies they argued would be necessary for their survival.
However, the hobgoblins proved to be a rather tenacious enemy, and soon broke the defenses of the Lashunta, and began to slaughter the expedition members mercilessly, causing them to, in a final act of desperation, to block off the tunnels that held the younger Lashunta, while a few of the adults were chosen to escape with them. However, the tunnels, due to their hasty construction, proved to be less stable than the Lashunta initially thought, and buried the adult survivors as they attempted to cross to the safe chambers they had constructed, leaving the young Lashunta stranded, but safe.
And as Amara the Munificent was felled by the hobgoblin horde, the Hodde were born, even though they did not know it yet. Instead of their more “civilized” cousins in the Old World, the Hodde has reverted to a tribal mentality in response to the dangerous environment they have learned to live in, rebranding themselves in order to better adjust. Having little knowledge of their culture or their heritage, the young Lashunta eked out a hard existence at first, learning once more how to harvest the fungi that grew in the dark and how to use it to create light, alongside learning how to fight in guerrilla warfare against the better equipped hobgoblins in order to obtain materials they could otherwise not obtain on the caves and tunnels where they began to expand.
The Hodde is composed of a hodge-podge of all the members of the three cities, they are much more heterogeneous than their fellows, in appearance, while having a more homogenous culture based on shamanistic magic which has been incorporated to the scraps they possess of how their society was like on the Old World.
The Hodde have become as a result strong and powerful warriors that although wearing mostly simple clothing, made from furs and vegetable fibers, employ the equipment they were able to recover from the expedition with great skill. Unable to recreate more complex pieces of armor and weapons, they have passed them down through generations, with the art of keeping them functional a valued skill amongst the Hobbe. Firearms, especially, are prized.
The Hodde tend to sculpt, paint, and sing to express themselves, and many have tattoos that depict important tenets, their history, and any and all significant achievements they have gained. These tattoos are made with bioluminescent ink created from a few species of fungi they grow, and due to many losing their vision significantly, certain techniques to create bumps and ridges on the skin have been devised, so as to include everyone into their history.
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