Seureith Goblin
The dark warlocks and assassins of the swamplands.
"Our homes were weakened when they rose the water from the river that ran through our town and softened the ground into marshland. Many of them swam in from the river and dragged our people beneath it. I was as fascinated as I was horrified."Seureith Goblins are descendants of Wyld Goblins. They live in the swamps and marshlands of the Gheir'halmys rivers, Iys'myria, and see themselves as the protectors of the wilderness. To connect to the magic with the world, Seureith tribes build 'oramkoti' totems to siphon latent magical energies and worship Woad Spirits, former Elves who died after being subjected to a soul-sieve. The high warlocks communicate directly with the Woad Spirits, who offer them guidance and magical powers in exchange for their continued protection of the land. Seureith Goblins wield their powers to cause grief to a town or influential family who have done wrong to them, forcing them to endure misfortunes or outright killing them and using their body parts for other rituals. A tribe's warlocks are able to haunt their enemies with curses, spread diseases and conjure hexes, or reform the land their foes live on - justified by the fact that they are not destroying the land, merely changing it.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Seureith Goblins are short, pale green humanoids with white beady eyes and two long fangs protruding down from their upper gums. They have short, pointed ears that are often hidden under their long, black hair. Like their Kruhlmaak cousins, Seureith Goblins have long arms that go down to their knees, and claw-like hands. Seureith Goblins appear skinnier compared to other species of Goblinkind, though what they lack in strength they make up for in agility.
Seureith are amphibious and will lay in wait under water to ambush their prey. Their gills are on the bottom side of their nostrils.
Growth Rate & Stages
Seureith females are pregnant for two to three months, and often give birth to twins or triplets. Seureith offspring mature quicker than other Goblin species. They become children by the age of five (with the mental maturity of a seven year old), adolescent by the age of eleven (mental maturity average is around fifteen by this point), and adults by the age of sixteen (maturity average is close to twenty).
Ecology and Habitats
Seureith prefer wet lands such as rivers and swamps to hide in, and will build homes for their tribes along the bank or a river or a lake, or dig them out beneath the water. They hunt for prey either by trapping small fish in a long net or by dragging it with a Ueren under the water and drowning it. The water also acts as a natural barrier against their Elven enemies, by slowing them down and preventing them from giving chase too far down.
Seureith raids and hauntings start hidden under water. They will observe their enemies from hiding, choosing and/or picking off those that stray from safer areas, before moving in on their weakened targets.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Although the eating habits of a Seureith matches most other races (with a distinct preference to meat and fish), they will often kill and eat other races as well. Elves are considered a delicacy and can feed small families of three to five. The parts that are not eaten are used in the construction of ritual effigies or oramkoti wards to connect with the magical energies of the land and to contact Woad Spirits, used as components for their rituals, or turned into grotesque accessories often worn by warlocks or high warlocks.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Seureith tribes have an established hierarchy similar to a pseudo-theocracy of warlock leaders. The high warlock acts as both the leader and the diplomat between tribes. They are considered the most important figures in Seureith culture, as they maintain connections between other Seureith and the Woad Spirits they contact with their oramkoti. They delegate tasks such as concocting rituals and leading raids to other warlocks.
Warlocks beneath the high warlock are responsible for the safety of the tribe, acting as sentinels and, in times of war, lieutenants. Beyond warfare, a warlock's duties include evolving the tribe's doctrines to better suit current events and concerns of socio-political nature, such as where the next oramkoti should be placed and how to appease the Woad Spirits.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Seureith Goblins live where they can remain hidden under water. They have been reported moving beyond Iys'myria, even living in some parts beneath the distant seas.
Average Intelligence
It's difficult to tell just how intelligent Seureith are. Although their cannibalism of Elves is considered disgusting and primal, Cilithorian researchers believe that the Seureith have a fundamental understanding of the preservation of nature and the once lost art of spellweaving, although they are heavily reliant on their oramkoti totems, arcane materials, and body parts of slain enemies.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Seureith can echolocate in confined spaces (such as caves) or while submerged in liquid by concentrating and listening for movement.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
Seureith are known to connect with Woad Spirits through their oramkoti, but few people have witnessed the extent of this connection to them. Those sensitive to the paranormal and supernatural report seeing dark spirits appearing when a Seureith Goblin is close to an oramkot. In return for their protection of the lands they dwell in, the spirits grant their powers through these oramkoti, either by granting warlocks sight through the oramkot or by allowing its user to wield devastating power beyond their usual repertoire of spells.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Unlike other Goblins, Seureith names are different between males and females. While both genders often have names that use softer sounds, male names will usually have at least one hard sound in them, while females will not; however, this is entirely a preference to the tribe as a whole, and there are plenty of female Seureith with hard consonants in their names.
Seureith choose their tribe's name by looking for a unique element of their home ground as a sentimental representation of who they are. For example, 'Murk Dwellers' if they chose to settle in a swamp, or 'White Forest' if they live in a forest subject to constant onsets of fog.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Seureith speak Seureithan, a language that follows the conventions of Cilithorian Elvish but not their words.
Common Etiquette Rules
Seureith are expected to show respect to oramkoti wherever they go by repairing the wilderness around it. It is believed that the oramkoti are conduits for the Woad Spirits that protect and help the Seureith, neglecting an oramkoti will often anger Woad Spirits enough to viciously retaliate.
Common Dress Code
Many Seureith tribes design their own warlock robes and uniform clothing. A common design is the inclusion of a hood called a 'mavi' or a broad-brimmed straw hat covered in swamp weeds called 'daskat', both of which are commonly adorned with the tribe's symbol. Seureith also wear robes or leather armour. Clothing is always of the tribe's colours. For example, the Black Lake tribe's robes and mavi are dark blue and white, respectively.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Seureith are associated with the wilderness, and their very existence inspires fear in their enemies. When the need to pass through wilderness in Iys'myria arises, those brave enough are warned to not touch anything that looks as though it has been moved or altered.
Oramkoti are also believed to be the mythological inspiration for totemic icons other Goblins may keep on their person. Allies of the Seureith, including Kruhlmaak and Wirven wanderers, are given a gift of a small oramkot, 'blessed' to channel a form of magic they attune it to. Although other attempts to recreate similar totems have failed, the first oramkoti is thought to be how totemic practice in other Goblin tribes started.
Seureith weapons are uniquely designed for each tribe, many bearing a unique sadistic element unseen by other sentient races. Seureith assassins and hunters make use of a double-pronged hook weapon called a ueren that digs into their victim's skin and allows them to pull them around - usually underwater - or painfully stretch and weaken the victim's muscles.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Each Seureith tribe has their own book of the dead called the 'Ezhrai'an'. The contents of which differ between tribes, and are created when a new tribe is formed. Seureith honour their fallen by bringing their bodies to a large body of water and performing the rites of the dead written by the tribe's high warlock. When their rites have been read, the body is put into the water. The rites of the dead are then read from the Ezhrai'an, and the body disappears beneath the water.
Seureith celebrate the coming of a new month by tending to the land around oramkoti. This is called the 'ora hi kocho', and involves tending to sick plants, offering food for animals, and fixing the oramkoti the tribe has placed. It is believed that this appeasement of the spirits will bring good fortune to the tribe. Desecrating another Goblin's oramkot is considered a heinous crime, as many are made in a time of need and out of respect for the Woad Spirits. Warring Seureith will often ignore oramkoti, and will even preserve them regardless of who built them. As war between Seureith is a rare occurance, tensions are often dispelled when respect toward an oramkot by their perceived enemy is shown, such as curing the flora around it, tending to a wounded animal close by, or adding Elven body parts to one.
Seureith Goblins also present gifts for many important occasions and events. However, the gifts are expected to differ depending on the event. Rare plants in ceremonial pots or beautiful stones are common gifts used for many occasions. Due to the use that the Seureith get out of Elves, they may also choose to present the remains of one when befriending other tribes or foreign (sentient) species (such as their blood in a sealed pot, a necklace of their teeth, or leather clothing tanned from their skin).
History
The Hunts for Seureith Goblins
The Wyld Goblins who became the Seureith once lived closely with the Cilithorian Elves roughly a century ago. When the Wyldinglands started suffering from the unknown corruption and the Wyld Goblins retreated with their most trusted confidants in magic, the Elves believed the Goblins were kidnapping their own. They began to hunt and torture those who remained in Oszmorthorn. Many of the survivors fled to the outskirts of Cilithoria, living in swamps, rivers, and caves as recluses. With their connection to the Wyldinglands cut, they began to morph into the Seureith over the course of the next hundred years.Discovery of the Woad Spirits
During this time, many of the proto-Seureith tried to re-establish their connection to the Wyldinglands by creating oramkoti using natural resources found around Cilithoria. By studying the effects of these tulpas, the Seureith were able to determine that the Cilithorian swamps were a hotbed for magical essence. Other tribes soon helped research how to create a phenomena that would allow them to channel the latent energies in the swamps, but it would be a Goblin by the name of Iosa of the Black Lake who would come up with the idea of using Elves who could use magic in the creation of oramkoti. Surprisingly, the usage of Elven bodyparts allowed the Woad Spirits that lived in the swamps around Cilithoria to materialize and communicate with the Seureith. The Woad Spirits told Iosa that they were once Elves who were put to death for following a new practice called the Thirian de'os Ellante, the closest concept of religion the Elves had. The reigning king, Ellochai Tseo'midas, who saw the practice as hedonistic narcissism, had them tied to a soul-sieve and severed their souls from their bodies. Iosa instructed the other Seureith tribes on how to contact these Woad Spirits, eventually creating enough that these spirits could remain close to the Seureith to protect them. However, the Cilithorian Elves retaliated in full force by destroying a dozen tribes. Iosa sought revenge, but was captured when her own Black Lake tribe was attacked. In her last moments, she tricked the Elves into putting her through a soul-sieve. Due to its effects, she returned as a Woad Spirit to erode the sanity of King Tseo'midas.The Fall of King Tseo'midas
The Elven king became paranoid, and was killed out of mercy one night when he tried to fight his way through his castle after convincing himself his husband was trying to have him assassinated. Meanwhile, towns all around Cilithoria were attacked by Seureith tribes wielding terrible new powers. One farming town had the ground beneath it soften and turn into marshy swamp water, while another was haunted by a vengeful Woad Spirit. The Elves believed that these events were more than circumstantial, and placed blame on the Tseo'midas family and the curse of Iosa's spirit. It is worth mentioning that these events were, in fact, circumstantial; the Seureith were getting revenge for Iosa's and the preceding tribes' deaths. Since then, it is believed that Iosa watches over all Seureith tribes, and is considered a matron entity for many warlocks and warriors.Historical Figures
Iosa was the first Seureith Goblin to make contact with the Woad Spirits of the Cilithorian forests. She taught the other warlocks how to create the oramkots that allowed them to do the same, and is considered the matron entity of 'knowledge of the unknown'.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Scientific Name
(Elven: de'os Seureith Ievernus)
Lifespan
100 - 150 years.
Average Height
0.6m - 1m.
Average Weight
35kgs. - 55kgs.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
The tips of a Seureith's snouts, fingers, and toes fade to black, giving off the impression they have frostbite. This has led many young Elves to attack them thinking they are in a weakened state.
Seureith are born with large birthmarks across their faces. Male Seureith markings are black, while females are born with a lighter hue in theirs.
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