Reclaimers
During the Enslavement small enclaves of goblinoids, humans, and orcs remained free. In these communities, people known as Reclaimers worked diligently to preserve the cultures of the enslaved races hoping that when their people regained their freedom their cultures could thrive once again. Reclaimers also often hid within elven and dwarven cities as slaves. Reclaimers during the Enslavement followed strict rules to prevent linguistic drift, memorizing languages and cultural traditions with meticulous detail. Any apprentice unable to meet the Reclaimer's standards was not allowed to carry the Reclaimer mantle. So vital were Reclaimers to the hope of eventual freedom that several times during the Enslavement entire enclaves sacrificed themselves to save the Reclaimers from their communities. Needless to say, the elves and dwarves paid high bounties to anyone who could bring proof of a dead Reclaimer. Over time free enclaves and groups of slaves went to great lengths to hide the identities of Reclaimers and many who were captured managed to later escape. The legends of Reclaimers maintaining language and culture served as a powerful motivator and symbol of hope during the Enslavement as subsequent generations of slaves clung to tales of free people maintaining cultures they could only dream of. As one might suspect, the tales told about Reclaimers were often embellished, attributing them as possessing many exaggerated or fabricated powers and abilities that would one day lead to freedom for their peoples. While often overexaggerated or untrue these stories offered hope to the hopeless and gave Reclamiers near-mythic status, especially among enslaved populations who never encountered a Reclaimer.
In the post-Enslavement Era, Reclaimers act as cultural custodians and historians whose post-Enslavement access to magic and high social standing has given them power that more closely aligns with the powers they were rumored to possess in past eras. Because of the Reclaimers, cultural differences are a relatively new occurrence for goblinoids, humans, and orcs, while among the longer-lived elves and dwarves cultural and linguistic shifts and differences always moved at a much slower pace. The Reclaimers had mixed success in their efforts due to so many deaths, and some misinterpretations over the ages. Also, the Reclaimers have long debated about how quickly they should reintroduce certain cultural traditions, while others deemed no longer relevant, for example, early humans have begun to form enclaves where males were asserting dominance, closer contact with orcs and goblins had begun to make these ideas unfavorable when the Enslavement began and most post Enslavement cutures are mre egalitaian.
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