Xikung
existing in the border lands between Lerinim and Zanarrol is a vast network of limestone caves. These caves, as well as the land around the openings, are the domain of the bat-infused humans of the Xikung, or "All-song".
Able to echolocate and so dwell in complete darkness, the locals nonetheless avoid the deepest parts of the caves, dwelling instead in half a dozen or so large city-caverns, mostly passing between them over the surface or a few well-travelled tunnels, with a few settlements scattered throughout their land. They are isolationist, wanting to be left alone to worship the strange gods that keep the deeper reaches of the caves as inviolable sacred territory. Even outside non-believers agree something strange, ancient and powerful lives below, though its nature is unknown.
Occasionally individuals have wings – either at birth, or developed later as a result of further bat infusion – and these individuals have their wing membranes ritually cut, to avoid the temptation to fly into the deeper caves.
Direct communication between cities is achieved by large orchestras in each, that continually play songs rich in meaning and emotion that can be heard throughout the caves, beseeching the gods and carrying individual messages as strains within the larger symphony. While the different cities vary a good deal, they do share some common architectural features - with no rain to shelter from and with keen hearing meaning walls give little privacy, roofs are nonexistent and walls are purely for defence and organisation.
Their cuisine is largely based around insect protein, cave fish, air-netted bats, and plants farmed around the cave-mouths. They export rich guano fertilizer to neighbouring areas.
Echo-archers: sorcerous warriors and hunters who are able to return their ammo to their quivers. this enables them to use fewer, more finely-made bolts and arrows.
Xikung - archery not a common profession? Mossy/"rainy" waterfall-side community (windy tunnel). Membranes for eg umbrellas made of bat wing, bone?
Like they might believe darkness = good, light = bad if they're used to low light conditions.Bright colours might be a symbol of bad luck. Darkness and the colours black and grey might represent safety, hospital-like services would use darkly coloured blankets (if they have blankets in their culture) as they know it reassures patients
xikung culture and privacy:
- With no real weather and most walls providing little privacy, thin screens of wood, bones, or fabric (generally unroofed) form the walls of Xikung private spaces, and much life happens in public communal squares.
- Strong social mores against overhearing things; rude as it may be to insult someone, it's ruder still to confess to having listened in. Similarly applies to things like overheard domestic disputes.
- For things that must be kept private, the most common approach is to use special abacus-like devices for composing messages to be felt or seen rather than heard.
- Alternatively, there are special soundproofed huts constructed at the edge of town for any to use, for private conversations or for quiet reflection.
- get rid of the echo-archers as a group - just for Onarx?
Geography
the cities:
- Lake under a collapsed roof – inhabit lakeshore, islands. A few waterfalls in and out, as well as ropes and tunnels to earth's surface. Produces fish
- Stalactite "cave teeth" - around a horizontal cave mouth, inhabited both inside the cave and out, "bat-fishing" from stations on the stalactites and stalagmites. Produces bats, guano
- Falls/pools: river plunges underground, emerging into large cavern where the flow spreads out, slows down, forms networks of pools w/ waterfalls between them. Canyon city is downriver. Produces fish.
- Canyon city: after the river slows down and spreads out, it occupies the bottom of a slope-sided canyon which is heavily inhabited.
- Deeps/flats: just a regular city on fairly level ground, deep in the caves. A holy site
- The narrows: a complex network of narrow, interlinked chambers, near the surface, which have been converted into streets/houses/etc.
Natural Resources
- Guano
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