Night Goblyns

"We are the Gobbs under the world.

The Children of Rashmish,

Forever hungry, Disciples of The Bad Bad Bad.

We are the eyes that shine in the darkness

The nightmares of dwarves and rats.

Shield gnawers and chain biters and stone devourers

We are the blood and bones of Madness itself

The howling, the rabid, the poison, the rage,

Demons of the Eternal Darkness

WE ARE NIGHT GOBLYNS" - Fanatic Rublilax war speech

History

The Night Goblyns were started by a goblyn Khadine named Rashmish who led her tribe underground to escape the ruin at the end of the war with the gods. Rashmish was a True Goblyn, which means that she was alive before war began and survived through it from beginning to end (her soul was intact and undamaged by Baulk). She was one of the first Khadines, meaning she was tested by Skribbit himself, when he was still a mortal goblyn. During the war she made her way to the Elven afterlife and stole the eyes from their weaver of fate, leaving it blind and granting her foresight. When Rashmish returned from the other world, she had visions of Neb being killed by elemental beasts, of Sifu being cursed and changed, of Skribbit, burning in rage and streaking across the sky, and of Reth, chained and condemned before the other gods. She rushed to the goblyn stronghold to find that these were not just visions of the future, and that the first three had already come to pass. She finds Reth, who is preparing for the final attack on the gods. Reth realizes what is going on with Rashmish's visions and forbids her from telling him his own fate, but instead tells her to use her visions of the future and do what she thinks is best for the survival of the goblyns. Filled with bitterness, she watches the great goblyn army march away to their doom, before leading her own tribe down deep below the mountains, to survive and grow strong.

Defining Traits

The Night Goblyns descend from Rashmish and her tribes. It makes sense that other goblyns would have fled beneath the mountains over the years and joined the Night Goblyns. They are not a different species from normal goblyns, but have a different culture. They wear hoods when above ground because they hate the sun and it is painful to their eyes, since they live their lives underground. They have a love of psychedelic mushrooms. Over the years if they eat too many of these mushrooms (and who wouldn’t) they can become dangerously insane or unstable. They wear the checks and dags (triangles) because they eat so many mushrooms, that the lines of everything begin to blur. So checks and dags are so that you can tell where the edges of the goblyn are, and that they are therefore real. They are still goblyns, but with a different history from surface goblyns in that they never grew weak or cowardly.

Looking like a Night Goblyn:

Overall Black clothing but accent colors are common
- "Nothing makes Black look more Black than Not-Black"
Checks (Checkered patterns adorning the edges of clothing)
- Interchangeable with Dags
- Commonly Black & White but other colors exist
Dags (Spike patterns adorning the edges of clothing)
- Interchangeable with Checks
- Commonly Black & White but other colors exist
Symbols of Moons (See Bad Moons), A lone Eye, Low Babel Text, Mushrooms, and Teeth.

Acting like a Night Goblyn:

Night Goblyns tend to be practical for impractical/unrealistic reasons
- EX. They drink water to avoid running out of urine
Night Goblyns don't count higher than 5(Figh).
- If you cant count it on one hand, it is 6(Ahsah).
Night Goblyns don't distinguish right from left (or vice-versa)
- Note: This does not make them ambidextrous
  - they recognize that some things are more comfortable with one hand than the other.
Everything and everyone is delicious
Glowey = Food
Shiney < Glowey
Shiney > Not Shiney AND Not Glowey AND Not Food

Physiology & Culture

As all goblyns are the same (they have the same souls, They all go through the River of Souls and get chomped by Baulk, etc.) their actual genetics do not differ all that much and calling them a sub-species would be wrong. Physically the only differences come from side effects of their diet, which mostly consists of different fungi that they cultivate underground, and other Night Goblyns. As a result they have an over developed constitution to the many things that end up in their mouths and stomachs, and having a very well developed immune system. This does not however, stop them from carrying many different types of diseases and viruses, making them quite poisonous to almost anything else that tries to eat them.

As a general rule, many monsters value precious stones and metals or "Shinies". Night Goblyns tend away from this in favor of glowing objects. Fireflies, bio- luminescent fungi, Fire, Wurm Blood, Brightstone, Stars, basically anything that gives off light that isnt the sun. Members of the Bright Eye Tribe poses the breeding recipe for a special strain of mushrooms that make the skin of those who consume them glow.

Fanatics

Fanatics are the ultimate disciples of Rashmish and are the embodiment of rabid insanity itself. The most potent Madcap Mushrooms are reserved for them and they act as leaders both spiritually, as well as other night goblyns knowing not to be in front of them when they get "that look in their eyes". They traditionally wield giant balls as symbols of the Obellys

A story tells of Fanatic Nanakk who carved out the underground city of Pandemonium with his bare hands in a frenzy of madness. Muttering in tongues and giggling maniacally, he wove goblin majik about him. The majik shaped the stone around his rampage and parted rivers of magma in his path until he reached the top of the mountain, breaking a hole in the ceiling, revealing the crescent moon. Nanakk's eyes wide in wonderment, like a moth drawn to a flame, he fell from the height he had created and splattered on the floor of the city he had carved.

Another story tells of Fanatic Rublilax and Fanatic Shazzit who in a siege of the Dwarf Mountain fortress of Era'bon waded into a platoon of Dwarves handcuffed to each other, using only the other as weapons in a spinning flurry of iron chain, green skin, and rabid rage.

Cannibalism

Cannibalism has become a staple in Night Goblyn society as they see it as absorbing the power of the fallen, as well as ritual showing they are not afraid of Baulk's hunger that they will face upon their own reincarnation. It is considered a great disrespect (and waste of food) to not eat a fallen night goblyn. It is considered a sacred burial rite to be consumed by their kin.

Often pairs will form among them, and it is considered very rude to eat another goblyn's partner before they are finished with them (i.e. members of pairs will get first dibs on each other)

Red Smiles

While most Night Goblyns condone cannibalism as an act of defiance to Baulk, there are some splinter groups known as "Red Smiles" who eat other Goblyns in an act of prayer to him. They are ostracized from the other tribes and any known are to be killed on sight as they do not wait for a goblyn to perish in battle to start their feast. Not attacking out of hunger, but out of reverence to their Cannibal King. If a Night Goblyn is known to be a member of one of these splinter cells, a standing order is to not consume them, but to bury them. Other Night Goblyns see this as giving Baulk all of their essence in revenge for their service to him. "If they like Baulk so much, let them meet him and learn the hard way"

"Praise Baulk"

Alphabet

Many aspects of goblyn life had to be adapted to their new home underground. One significant thing change is the goblyn alphabet and writing system is different. Due to the complications of recreating the goblyn characters on stone (which, at first, was all they had to write on) a new alphabet evolved overtime. Commonly called Low Babel and the old alphabet grew into a revered holy script used only by a Witchdoktor or a Fanatics. The language stayed the same, but the script changed.

Low Babel takes inspiration from its father script Babelspeak (I'm working on this- Rumble) as well as the rhunic style of Dwarves, whom Night Goblyns live in close proximity to (and war with constantly). It includes 32 letters and can be written and read either left to right, or right to left depending on the facing of the letters. Due to extra letters being added for specific sounds many words change spelling and are, more often than not, shortened.

(If you want to write in this, talk to Rumble for the key and instruction)

Pandemonium

The Great Goblyn Temple City of Pandemonium is found in the main cavern of the Mountain, Moon Below. Hollowed out by Fanatic Nanakk in a fit or rabid insanity, the cavern holds the sprawling city that covers every inch of rock on the floor, walls and ceiling. In the center of the cavern, held in gravitonic suspension, resides Da Ruk Rashmish (The Eye of Rashmish, one of the fabled Obellys) which gives off a faint light in the darkness. The very top of the mountain is broken open from where Nanakk broke through, where the moon can bee seen shining on clear nights.

While it is mainly occupied by the three "Temple Tribes", it is used as the main gathering point of all Night Goblyns and almost all tunnels lead to it, if by some very roundabout route, Night Goblyns have trouble with straight lines. It is said you can reach anywhere in the world if you start in Pandemonium.

The Three Temple Tribes

Three tribes permanently reside and rule in Pandemonium, and while they agree that no one can exist without the other two, none of them have ever been on the same side of any of The Culling Wars (Coming Soon- Rumble). They each serve a purpose for their culture and the furthering of their people.

Bad Moon- One of the oldest of all Goblyn Tribes, they claim to be the first goblyns to follow Rashmish underground as well as claiming Rashmish to be a previous chief. The elders of this tribe contain within them all the knowledge of "The Before" and pass on the histories and stories of The Night Goblyn tribes.

They give council to the Bright Eye Tribe when searching for lessons learned, and forgotten to the past.

Bright Eyes- A tribe known and named for their glowing eyes and skin, they are the sole breeders of a strain of mushrooms that give them this effect. They are charged with directing other tribes in the direction of their future.

They take the histories of the Bad Moon and utilizing their wisdom to choose the path to the future with grand-master precision.

They take the warnings of the Whisper Tooth to help guide and navigate the forces and obstacles they might meet in the future.

Whisper Tooth- A strange tribe even among Night Goblyns, they are the sole users of the Obellys which they use to break the minds of their elders. When a Goblyn comes of age and proves themselves worthy, The Holy Eye is brought down from the center of the cavern and falls into their cupped hands. From there, the Eye Destroys their perception of time and shows them the infinite permutations and possibilities of the future. Most lose all control and collapse, losing consciousness as the sheer amount of "Memories" that consume them. Many never wake up. But the rare few strong enough to contain the sheer knowledge that the eye bestows are forever confused, never knowing for sure which future they occupy or when they are in their own life. It is not uncommon for them to be observed in one sided conversations, seemingly with themselves as they get lost exploring their own futures.

They breed a special mushroom strain to grant their elders extra focus when speaking with others or in battle.

The Obellys

After the Exodus underground, the goblyns began to worship the Obellys (the eye Rashmish retrieved from the elvish underworld) and much of their culture focuses on the eye that tells the future. The Obellys is currently held in the underground city of Pandemonium where its power is used to fuel the madness of tribal elders and insanity of the Fanatics that preside over it.

- "We can use them...like a child can use a firearm" -Tonberry on the ability for goblyns to use the Obellys