GREEPUL

Greepul are subterranean creatures of the earth, and forests. Sometimes called Earth Folk or Stone Spirits, they are elemental in essence, but not in form. They are flesh and blood.

A greepul is a small, cairngrom-looking being. Males and females tend towards similar heights although females are often lighter and more slender in build. Between 1-2 feet in height, and weighing between 4 pounds to 24 pounds, they are varied but small folk. They have proportionate limbs and although some have large heads most are also proportionate to their body size. Females are usually rosy-cheeked, round-faced, with tough, dark hair. Males are larger nosed, generally less round in the face, and always sport some form of facial hair, be it full beard and mustache, heavy sideburns, or a neck beard. The head hair is often receding, if not gone from males, while females never suffer this. Hair colour is always dark, be it black, dark gray, deep red, dark brown, or burnt orange. Even the ancient have dark hair, white or light gray hair is unknown among the greepul.

Skin colour is dependent upon the environment they were brought up in. Those that have lived all their lives deep underground tend towards almost chalk white skin, with a bluish hue in some areas. Those that inhabit the ground and hills are often similar in skin colour to serevmen, or a light tan in colour. Those that inhabit forests often have the darkest skins, from tan to brown, to greenish-brown. This skin colour is dependent upon their family and their location of birth. Greepul eyes are many colours, some beyond anything a serevmen may have. Blue, gray, green, mauve, yellow, brown, orange, copper, silver, or gold have all been known, and the eye colour seems totally random, regardless of their environment. However all greepul can see in the dark, and when in complete darkness they have nightvision, which turns their eyes white to those that can see colour in darkness. Their eyes never reflect light. Greepul are prone to eyeblight, an age or physiological effects from diet or habits can cause a clouding of the eyes which reduces their eyesight and can make them blind. When a greepul becomes blind, one of their other senses usually increases in acuteness considerably, the most common is their sense of smell, followed by their hearing, then touch, and finally taste.

Greepul senses are generally acute, their bulbous noses have very good olfactory senses, and their large, rounded ears are adept at picking up the smallest of sounds, especially echoes. they have short, reddish tongues, very good at picking up information from items they lick, and they claim they can tell the direction they are facing by licking the air, but this is probably one of many of their exaggerations or misleadings. their mouths are wide and full of strong teeth, although their diets often destroy these if they over consume certain sweetmeats or smokes.Their fingers are dexterous, their toes short.

Greepul, like cairngroms age differently to serevmen, in that they age quickly and then age much more slowly as they reach middle to old age. Typically a greepul live to around 180 Dodecates, although some rare greepul have managed to live past 300 Dodecates.

The table below gives approximations for age comparisons to Serevmen.

They live in communities of various sizes. Some live a life alone. For whatever reason an individual may decide they wish to remain alone for a time, or even all of their life. This is usually due to some event, or a life-long wish to study or seek some skill in some art or ability. A single family may set up residence in a new area on its own. A family is usually a dominant couple, with either their parents, or their young, and sometimes this can go on for several generations. A family can be anything from two individuals (a bonded union of male and female, or else two kin of the same sex) to several generations living together in one habitat, perhaps as many as 30 individuals (grandparents, parents, siblings, children, nephews and nieces, grandchildren, and great grandchildren are all possible combinations). Small groups are called Pits. Greepul Pits are usually only four to six families. Living a simple life as best they can. Pits are often created when an overpopulated community decides resources are limited, or living area is too cramped. Sometimes during a boon birth, the young leave to begin their own community. Medium-sized communities are called Cloughs, and these consist of multiple families maybe as many as 10 or more families, usually under one dominant couple. Large communities are rare, and typically only maintained by deep-dwelling greepul that are rarely disturbed. Large communities are called Doms and are generally divided into two or more Runs. Doms can have several hundred families which through bonding and agreements are placed in appropriate Runs. Each Runs is designed to be self sufficient, the Runs together simply make life more easy for the whole community. Should a disaster befall the Dom, such as an environmental change (earthquake, flood, invasion, disease and such) each Run should be able to flee and continue to survive easily. So no Run has all of any one skill, or resource. It is rumoured that there is another community size, even larger than a Dom. Legends tell of Kingdoms, where a ruler has under them thousands, if not millions of families. Perhaps another example of greepul misdirection, exaggeration, or pure fiction, a legend tells of a time when a greepul Kingdom ruled over a portion of the Stonedwell Mountains and another in the Kannat Mountains. This was many Cycles ago, if at all, and only old tales and songs mention it. No seer has ever seen into the past and found sign of these Kingdoms.

Generally greepul communities are led by a chosen, respected member of the community. Male or female, of any profession or age. They simply need to have the faith of the community behind them. Greepul are very trusting of each other, when matters of the greater concern are involved. Ironically, as hundreds of greepul would willing follow their leader's decisions concerning community actions and laws, they rarely trust an individual over trifling matters, arguing their point, even to the point of conflict, before sense comes to them and they settle amicably. To an outsider it seems ridiculous that the squabbling, scrapping, unruly behaviour among greepul society ever comes to a decision, let alone an agreement. Leaders of communities are often called Hegemons. Once elected they remain there until they remove themselves from position, or else the community feels they need a new Hegemon with a different set of skill sets or knowledge. Hegemon, rarely, are replaced unless death or great age and befuddlement takes them.

The head of each family is also respected. Again male or female, they are called the Head and generally decide important matters that may effect the family unit.

Typically greepul find a mate with the help of their parents, grandparents, or friends. Usually an individual's obvious liking for another is taken into great consideration when a suitable mate is being chosen for them. However, in some cases, pairs are bonded for other reasons. An aged, but respected individual maybe offered the much younger child of an other family, that has too many children of that sex, to help care and assist them until they die, whereupon the young widow (or widower) gains the home and treasures of the departed and may bond anew. Another reason for bonding is to unit two families that are struggling to increase their numbers, perhaps through a single sex offspring problem, or else through sterility.

Whichever way a pair is bonded they live their lives as a couple. The couple usually switches domination every few Pentawaeks to ascertain whom will be the best dominate, or should immediately one be more prestigious in status, they may well take dominance. Dominance is not a ruling over all other family members, but counts more like a chairperson. Having the final vote, or say, in disputes, or actions that may effect the entire family. they also represent the family whenever society demands a speaker stands for them.

Settlements are usually well concealed. They prefer underground settlements, or else settlements hidden in forests or hills. It is unknown for greepul to place settlements in plains or in obvious view. Greepul consider the beauty of an area important, and unlike serevmen would rather not live where they could not see the beauty once they have set up home. If they can they always work with the landscape, using it best to their advantage to keep them happy and often hidden as well.

Subterranean dwellings are much like smaller versions of cairngrom structures, although they refrain from great vaulted halls or massive collanated chambers like those of the cairngroms. They prefer humbler abodes, but interconnected widely, with many false tunnels to aid in storage and air current flow as well as confusing any would-be invader or trespasser. Entrances are heavily trapped or guarded, or both. Individual rooms are low, comfortable and on many levels, often incorporating seams of ore, gemstones, rock variation, or even water features. Underground they can be adventurous and try new designs and ideas.

Above ground, especially in forests or hills, they make sunken entrances, or build up the main habitation areas, but ensure they look natural and well hidden, a little like hethin. they make use of great trees in forests, adapt entrances and stores in water features, and generally make use of any useful natural commodity or feature for both aesthetic and pragmatic purposes. Occasionally a greepul may settle in a serevmen or other race settlement and then they build and live in buildings as the other residents do, but often ensure a secret, or hidden section is available to them, either under the structure, or else adapted to connect to their main dwelling.

Music is considered a luxury by greepul. They tell tales often, sing legends and histories only in their closest groups. As to musical instruments they make many unique and fine crafted instruments. To travel with, or if in wider company than just other greepul, they will use whistles, flutes, lutes, fiddles, small harps, bells, chimes, and a variety of mechanical instruments that are fundamentally based around the construction of a set of strings that are plucked by the turning of a drum or roller that has been preset to a specific set of notes and sequences. This enables the unskilled to participate even with no skill at all beyond the knowledge of when to turn the crank. They even have water-powered devices that can make musical sounds, either whistles, or strummed strings. These devices are often set at important or specific places, and when activated the flow of water triggers the preset tune. Similar devices are made that utilize the power of steam. Using a fuel, such as wood, or charcoal, the large cylindrical metal device takes a while to build up steam, but once activated the steam pushes pistons that drive other mechanical devices and thus activate either flutes, chimes, metal hammers on strings, or bells.

Almost all greepul songs are separated into two versions. One full of long verses of tales that include sensitive lore about their pasts or their lives, and another version which is greatly shortened, specific items omitted for the specific purpose to keep certain secrets from outsiders.

Manc is respected among the greepul. They are often exposed to it and many are able to wield it in one form or another. All forms of Mancer are available to greepul as a class. Greepul have some unique Mancers and lore masters of their own. Shooldray are a form of enchanter that can modify natural materials and substances by touching them and either combining qualities from each, or else imbuing one with mystical qualities. Similar to the cairngrom Majdara, the greepul Tentorc can use any natural substance and with it perform all manner of different healing or Manc-like abilities from twigs to soil, from feathers to blood. Only due to ancient lore are greepul considered master illusionists or druids. They have indeed had some of these classes that have made themselves famous, but it is not a speciality of the greepul towards these specific classes. Greepul never use Manc or a Lore to influence a device or construction when physical ability and craftsmanship can do it alone.

Lores are frequent among greepul. They seem to attract earth-based lores, such as earth, gem, stone, crystal, but also many plant-based lores such as plant or wood. They are open to almost any Lore, even necromancy, but this is rare. They often also have divination Lores such as clairvoyance, clairaudience, pyromancy and geomancy.

They are adept at all forms of fine craftwork if they put their mind to it. They love crafts of all kinds. Metalworking, smithing of all kinds, artistry, construction, especially of intricate secret passages or lifting devices. They are experts at leatherwork. A greepul is often in awe of a mastercraft that they have not seen before. It is partly due to their love of any craft that has made them such supporters of cairngroms, as both have an affinity for construction and smithing. the greepul often bring to the cairngroms the gift of crystals or gems, or intricate work of gears and levers, while the cairngrom brings to the greepul the fashioning of stone, metals, and an understanding of how the earth grows.

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