Eadarling
The Eadarling are a race of Frog-like fae that can be found throughout The Gates. Croak is supposedly a member of this species.
The Spiritual Travelers first encountered this race (aside from Croak) as a group on Nurend 17, 308 when they entered The Daytime Village of Aotri. They celebrated their escape from the swamp with some Measan's Chardonnay until nightfall while some of them took the local customs into account and prayed at the statue of Aotrom.
Fun Fact! Eadar is Scottish Gaelic for "Between" and if you say it kinda fast it sounds similar to "either". So, Eadarling is a Betweenling, and the name sounds like Eitherling which is in reference to their Amphibious nature.
Basic Information
Anatomy
While Eadarling vary greatly depending on the individual, they do have certain consistencies that unite them as a race. Each Eadarling is a humanoid and human-sized frog-like being. They are amphibious like regular frogs and capable of not only switching between aquatic and terrestrial, but also switching between their humanoid form and a regular frog form. In addition to this, their race is even further amphibious by way of their two very different cultures which exist on top of each other depending on the time of day.
Dorchar Eadarling usually have duller, darker colored flesh with the occasional neon accent depending on the individual. Due to their love of bright lights in the dark of night, they tend to dress in very bright colors or in darker clothes with additional neon accents. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Aotri Eadarling usually have brighter colored flesh with dark spots and tend to dress in muted, dark colors to show off their love of the darkness and shade that can be found during the day. Like their Dorchar siblings they come in all manner of shape and size.
On Daulok 07, 308, Kaswink discovered something with the help of her Resonance Eye. The eadarling and their buildings don't seem to give off any sort of resonance. Unlike everything else in the world that has some sort of resonance, the frog-like creatures and their structures were all absent when looking through her special eye. They seem to just be pieces of the day, or made of light, or something else...it's unclear. While they don't have any resonance or their bodies are created through some other means, they do still bleed and need air, food and water as evidenced by Croak and the Croak-like person beneath Aotri.
On Daulok 07, 308, Kaswink discovered something with the help of her Resonance Eye. The eadarling and their buildings don't seem to give off any sort of resonance. Unlike everything else in the world that has some sort of resonance, the frog-like creatures and their structures were all absent when looking through her special eye. They seem to just be pieces of the day, or made of light, or something else...it's unclear. While they don't have any resonance or their bodies are created through some other means, they do still bleed and need air, food and water as evidenced by Croak and the Croak-like person beneath Aotri.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Dorchar Eadarling diet is largely alcohol based with snacks such as dried or fresh insects. There are some late-night diners that serve frog-based cuisine like the aforementioned insects as well as mice. There is a particular brand of Wine that Dorchar enjoy as it comes from a similarly named establishment that can only be found in the Night Cities of the Dorchar: Sgìth’s Pinot Noir which is brewed in Sgith’s, a fine dining establishment, but is sold throughout the Dorchar Cities.
Crickets a la Creme - An appetizer served at finer dining facilities, surprisingly delicious! The Crickets are sauteed in oil, spirit salt, white pepper, garlic, and fresh lemon juice. They are then transferred to a plate and topped with an expertly applied drizzle of creamy sauce made from Coconut Milk, ginger, and a very soft and pungent cheese made from Mountain Goat milk.
Fried Crickets - A less time consuming dish, fried crickets are usually seen on menus at late-night diners, pubs, road side pop-ups and the like. They’re an appetizer, and some are cooled and packaged for later consumption as snacks.
Fresh Insects- To save space, many insects found in dishes here can also be purchased fresh to either cook with on your own or to consume in a more natural way.
Mealworm Ambrosia - A salad made with mealworms, seasonal fruits, and some form of dairy topping such as whip cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, or even sour cream. The easier, cheaper forms made from basic whip cream or cottage cheese and easy to acquire seasonal fruits are usually seen on menus of diners, though more elusive fruits could be used to jack up the prices at fancier establishments.
Creamy Locust Risotto - An entree prepared with fresh Locusts that are pan-seared in truffle-butter with Ulunor’s Hair mushrooms. Rice is cooked in a separate pan with truffle butter, then boiled with a mushroom broth until it is fully reduced. The seared Locusts and Ulunor’s Hair mushrooms are then incorporated along with fresh in-house made Mountain Goat Mascarpone. The dish is then plated along with a slice of toasted garlic bread and topped with the previously removed hairs from the mushrooms as a garnish. Typically served in fancier establishments.
Locust Melt - Locusts are first grilled and seasoned before being cooled and incorporated into a mixture of chopped onions, celery, dijon mustard and mayo. This mixture, known as Locust Salad, is then placed between two slices of toasted bread and melted cheese of either the establishment’s prerogative or the customer’s depending on the location. Served in most late-night diners and some roadside pop-ups may also specialize in incredibly customizable versions.
Locust Chili - The specialty of many roadside pop-ups, Chili, not just any chili but hearty, nutritious Locust Chili. This particular dish is served year-round by a select few pop-ups, but comes into season in Nurend and Daulok, the multitude of new pop-ups tend to phase out as spring comes into existence with Vorkalt. This chili is made from Locusts, be it fresh, dried or fried. If the Locusts are fresh they are seared in a pan with onions and any other vegetables that the chef might add. This mixture is seasoned and transferred to a large soup pan with previously cooked beans and tomatoes that had been stewed with lots of delicious seasonings and stock. After incorporating the main ingredients together additional seasonings, spices, and sometimes sweeter varieties will add sweeteners in the form of Marmalade, Molasses, and other additions.
Giant Caterpillar Roast - A giant caterpillar, roasted with vegetables of the chef’s choosing, seasoned with salt, pepper, minced garlic, thyme and spais. The Roasted Giant Caterpillar is usually cut tableside and served with a sauce made from the broth. Some restaurants will slice it thin and serve it on bread with the same broth sauce (french dip style), this is usually seen in late-night diners. When served as a tableside-cut steak it usually comes with a side of miso soup or a house salad.
Baked Caterpillar Casserole - A simple dish made of smaller caterpillars, bread crumbs, some form of creamy sauce, and seasoning to taste. Usually served at late-night diners and “homestyle cooking” restaurants. Many chefs will also incorporate peas, mushrooms, onions or other vegetables to compliment the flavor profile of their sauce.
Seared Spotted-Lion’s-Mane Caterpillar w/ Special Sauce - A particularly dangerous caterpillar if eaten raw or fully cooked… this delicacy is prepared at fancier restaurants where the clientele can afford the exuberant prices. The poison of this caterpillar is located within the soft exoskeleton layers that surround it. Removing the layers will result in the poison leaking onto and damaging the meat 100% of the time, and overcooking the caterpillar will cause the poisons to spread through its body and cook resulting in the flavor profile being ruined as well. The only way to safely cook them is to pass them over an open flame very briefly, just long enough for them to curl up and render the poison inert and trapped in the outer layers. As the caterpillar curls onto itself the outer layer splits in such a way that the poison leaks out into a ready dish with mayonnaise, garlic and chili oil. This mixture is then whipped until stiff peaks form and piped onto the caterpillar as a “special sauce” (Poison-aioli).
Aotri Eadarling diet is not as dependent on Alcohol as the Dorchar though they do still enjoy the more conventional morning and late afternoon beverages such as mimosas, Bloody Marries, mint julips, gin and tonics and so forth… That being said, they do have Cafes and other restaurants that you might find in the morning/throughout the day. There are also vendors selling whole ingredients and other items that they found in their farms or in the surrounding forest. They have a lot of similar recipes as the Dorchar and some unique ones for their cafes. Muckgrub Omelette - An omelette made with choice of cheese (or not, depending on establishment) with sauteed Muckgrubs locally sourced from nearby farms and marshes. A simpler menu item, though additional sauteed vegetables or other meats could also be added at the customer’s request. Usually seasoned with basic salt, pepper, garlic, and some establishments may garnish with dried herbs of some variety such as time, parsley or basil. Whirligig Beetle Savory Crepes - Savory crepe batter cooked up on a flat top and rolled around a Whirligig Beetle puree made from the titular beetle along with cream cheese, chives, salt, pepper, garlic, and garnished with paprika. Strawberry-Banana Crepe - A sweet crepe filled with rich banana puree gently folded with whipped crepe and lined with fresh strawberries, garnished with powdered sugar. Blueberry and Fly Pancakes - Hearty blueberry pancakes separated by, and topped with, a layer of fly and blueberry puree made from fresh cream, cream cheese, sugar and a hint of salt. They’re usually garnished with fresh blueberries and a still-living fly squirming for its life. Scrambled Firetrout Eggs - The Firetrout found the the Glass Aroyo of the Badlands swim through the sands leaving behind the glass that can be found nearby. Their eggs are usually collected by Citizens of Greed and brought to gourmands around the Gates. Considering the rarity of the eggs, this dish is quite expensive and only served when availability allows it. The dish prepared is usually scrambled eggs with a sharp cheese, spicy peppers and mushrooms
Aotri Eadarling diet is not as dependent on Alcohol as the Dorchar though they do still enjoy the more conventional morning and late afternoon beverages such as mimosas, Bloody Marries, mint julips, gin and tonics and so forth… That being said, they do have Cafes and other restaurants that you might find in the morning/throughout the day. There are also vendors selling whole ingredients and other items that they found in their farms or in the surrounding forest. They have a lot of similar recipes as the Dorchar and some unique ones for their cafes. Muckgrub Omelette - An omelette made with choice of cheese (or not, depending on establishment) with sauteed Muckgrubs locally sourced from nearby farms and marshes. A simpler menu item, though additional sauteed vegetables or other meats could also be added at the customer’s request. Usually seasoned with basic salt, pepper, garlic, and some establishments may garnish with dried herbs of some variety such as time, parsley or basil. Whirligig Beetle Savory Crepes - Savory crepe batter cooked up on a flat top and rolled around a Whirligig Beetle puree made from the titular beetle along with cream cheese, chives, salt, pepper, garlic, and garnished with paprika. Strawberry-Banana Crepe - A sweet crepe filled with rich banana puree gently folded with whipped crepe and lined with fresh strawberries, garnished with powdered sugar. Blueberry and Fly Pancakes - Hearty blueberry pancakes separated by, and topped with, a layer of fly and blueberry puree made from fresh cream, cream cheese, sugar and a hint of salt. They’re usually garnished with fresh blueberries and a still-living fly squirming for its life. Scrambled Firetrout Eggs - The Firetrout found the the Glass Aroyo of the Badlands swim through the sands leaving behind the glass that can be found nearby. Their eggs are usually collected by Citizens of Greed and brought to gourmands around the Gates. Considering the rarity of the eggs, this dish is quite expensive and only served when availability allows it. The dish prepared is usually scrambled eggs with a sharp cheese, spicy peppers and mushrooms
Civilization and Culture
Common Myths and Legends
Dorcha is an archfey/god/concept/something else? and an ancient, timeless frog-like being that the Dorchar Eadarling believe is the darkness found throughout their lives. Cool, calm, collected, and within the darkness there is opportunity to see beautiful lights you couldn’t see during the light of day. The Dorchar love these lights as they are only visible when Dorcha allows them to be… much like the Dorchar themselves.
Dorchar Eadarling and their cities only exist at night when Dorcha awakens and brings the dark blanket of a new sky over the land, blocking out the harsh light of day and bringing her children, the Dorchar, with her. The stars could be compared to the bright lights of a Dorchar City. As, from a distance, a Dorchar city may even be confused as just another part of the night sky. It is possible that the Dorchar and Dorcha are all the same being...though if this is the case it hardly seems to matter as each Dorchar is still their own individual personality with goals and hobbies and so forth. That being said, if something were to happen to Dorcha the Dorchar would be unable to come into existence again each night.
Dorcha has the appearance of a very dark brown, almost black, frog person with white speckles and very faint brown stripes. Similar in appearance to a Paedophryne amauensis. During the night she is size medium and is very rarely seen. In this form she wears a dark gown with long flowing bits of fabric draped over her shoulders, elbows, and so on, this fabric looks to be made of the night sky.
During the day she reverts to an ordinary, size tiny frog of similar description resting somewhere in the city.
Aotrom is an archfey/god/concept/something else? of the Eadarling. Aotrom embodies the ideas of warmth, energy, motion, loudness and light...though within this there are also the cool, dark moments that the Aotri have come to love as they are gifts from Aotrom much like the Aotri are gifts from her as well. Similar to how the Dorchar are all dressed in bright, sometimes luminescent colors, glowsticks, pinpoints of light and brightly colored skin from poisonous frog species, the Aotri have the appearance of darker, more drab and muted colors, favoring the shade and other forms of cool, quiet life. It is said that the Aotri come into existence as Aotrom wakes up in the morning, her light creating shadows which end up becoming the Aotri. Because their existence is dependent on her light, the Aotri could not come into existence if something were to happen to Aotrom. Aotrom has the appearance of a creamy white frog person with black eyes and scattered black spots. During the day they can be seen walking about the village or resting on a throne somewhere. They wear a white gown with sunrise-colored loose fabric draped over their shoulders, elbows and such. At night they are a size tiny frog of similar appearance, resting somewhere in the village.
Aotrom is an archfey/god/concept/something else? of the Eadarling. Aotrom embodies the ideas of warmth, energy, motion, loudness and light...though within this there are also the cool, dark moments that the Aotri have come to love as they are gifts from Aotrom much like the Aotri are gifts from her as well. Similar to how the Dorchar are all dressed in bright, sometimes luminescent colors, glowsticks, pinpoints of light and brightly colored skin from poisonous frog species, the Aotri have the appearance of darker, more drab and muted colors, favoring the shade and other forms of cool, quiet life. It is said that the Aotri come into existence as Aotrom wakes up in the morning, her light creating shadows which end up becoming the Aotri. Because their existence is dependent on her light, the Aotri could not come into existence if something were to happen to Aotrom. Aotrom has the appearance of a creamy white frog person with black eyes and scattered black spots. During the day they can be seen walking about the village or resting on a throne somewhere. They wear a white gown with sunrise-colored loose fabric draped over their shoulders, elbows and such. At night they are a size tiny frog of similar appearance, resting somewhere in the village.
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