Sun Goblyns

The time after the Great War was a dark one. When we fled to the mountain we didn’t know where we could go or if we would survive. We didn’t even know if there was a place to run TO.

Our tribe wasn’t accustomed to the cold. We had existed for generations wrapped in near-uncomfortable amounts of warmth, nestled within a vast desert. The only cold we knew how to handle were the desert nights, but that was nothing compared to the bitter, harsh freeze high up in the mountains.

Yet, it was the safest place for us to flee.

We lost too many during our trek, searching desperately for any piece of land that would sustain the life of anything that wasn’t a creature created to exist in this frigid, white hellscape we found ourselves in.

We hiked for what felt like weeks, but it couldn’t have been more than three or four days. Still, we lost at least three Goblyns to each day.

On what is believed to be the fifth day (for none of us could keep track anymore, the days and nights bleeding together with snow, grief, and bone deep cold), the leader of our ever-dwindling tribe set off ahead of us all, but never strayed more than 50 feet from our sight. He would call out when a path was unsafe, or lead us away from potential predators lurking through the brush.

He was our Protector.

The day that our salvation finally came is one that I will remember until I draw my final breath. We had reached the seventh day of our journey when the Protector had begun to climb the large hill that we had camped at the base of the night before. Once halfway to the top, He had called for us to follow, having confirmed that the path ahead was safe from danger.

He, of course, reached the top of the hill before the rest of us, just as the sun itself rose high enough to shine down upon us as well.

He let out a cry of pure joy as His form was silhouetted by the sun’s light, a sound filled with so much hope that it filled our exhausted forms with enough energy to run to his side with an excitement we hadn't felt since the times of peace we only knew through echoed feelings from our past lives.

The view from the top of the hill was breathtaking, looking down upon a beautiful valley filled with lush plant life, the snow and ice sparkling with an ethereal light under the sun. The surface of the hills surrounding, protecting, this valley were already fit with small caves and paths, mines left by a civilization gone long ago.

The touch of a warm hand on my own broke me from my trance. I hadn't felt a warm touch since our journey began. When I looked down, He had fallen to his knees, tears freely flowing down His cheeks from eyes that were now pure white.

The sacrifice for our salvation had been His sight and, what I would come to find out soon after, His life.

“Keep them safe.” He whispered to me in a voice so soft I had to drop to my knees in front of him to catch the words. As I did so, both His hands came to grasp at mine, impossibly warm in this snow and ice. “You will help them thrive. You will make a great civilization here.”

“Why me?” I couldn't help but ask, the words leaving me before I could stop them, feeling my own tears begin to fall. Why did this feel like a goodbye?

“Because you have the fires of survival in your spirit, and you care for your people with a ferocity that only a great leader can have.” His grip on my hands began to slip, causing me to grip tighter to keep them in place, “I was gifted a vision as I found this place and the Sun's Light took away my sight. The Sun showed me that YOU, Kel, are to be the one to lead this tribe to greatness.

The Sun has Chosen you, and it has Chosen well.”

With those final words, He collapsed into my arms as His final breath escaped as a puff of mist in the cold morning air. I gazed down upon our new home, our promised land, and drew a deep breath to swear my first oath as the leader of this place and disciple of the Sun.

“By the Sun’s Light that has blessed us on this day, I will do everything in my power to keep my people safe and help them prosper in peace until the day we can become Whole again. This I swear.”

Kel Solara, First Chaplain of The Sun’s Light

Origin Story

In the tumultuous times between the Great War and the beginning stages of the Age of Retreat, a small group of goblyns fled high up into a great mountain range, settling within its highest peaks where snow still fell despite the fact that the mountain itself is centered within a desert. For a time, this band of goblyns had a hard time trying to survive in this new environment, but over time improvised, adapted to, and overcame their struggles.
A major contributing factor for their survival came from the Sun itself, or so the goblyns came to believe. Their new home rarely saw darkness for more than 10 hours a day, and over time they came to discover ways to harness the Sun’s Energy for their own gain (and warmth). > Providing examples is a great way to flesh this out.
As their numbers grew, their culture started to transform into one of their own, and eventually they took on the name of Sun Goblyns.

Sun Goblyn Blindness

When every Sun Goblyn is born, they have fully perfect vision. Once a young Sun Goblyn reaches early childhood (typically around 5-8 years), they begin to slowly lose their ability to see in darkness. By the time a Sun Goblyn reaches adolescence, they are unable to see in any space darker than a shaded spot under a tree without increasing difficulty. By adulthood, it is very rare for Sun Goblyns to be able to see anything in any light darker than when the clouds cover the sun during the afternoon.
However, in the case of the Alchemists (and other such powerful Sun Goblyns) their timeline for losing their darkvision is much faster as they more frequently have direct absorption of the Sun’s rays via their eyes. Typically, a Sun Goblyn becomes an Alchemist during their adolescent years, and by early adulthood will have lost vision completely in at least one eye, and cannot see well in any environment without sunlight.
Inversely, those cursed by the Sun’s Light for their worship of Baulk will regain their darkvision, but lose the ability to handle any light brighter than that of a lantern at night. Sunlight especially can cause them intense pain and discomfort, and as such will typically wear some sort of blindfold or light protection if they dare to show their faces aboveground.

Alchemy

Over time, Sun Goblyns had to develop ways to defend themselves from potential enemies as well as natural predators on the mountain. Through toying with various minerals, metals, and other such elements they gained through trade or collection of resources provided by the mountain. Through this experimentation, Sun Goblyns began assigning meaning and abilities that could be gained from these substances like they did with the Sun and Gold… and thus, Alchemy was born.
Sun Goblyn Alchemists are revered among their kind (as not every Sun Goblyn is an alchemist) and are considered the most powerful among them through their more direct connection with both the Sun’s Power and the various elements and spirits associated with their science.
A truly powerful Sun Goblyn alchemist can be identified by complete blindness in one or both eyes. When this full blindness does occur, it is not uncommon for these alchemists to pour a concoction of their metallic element of choice into one or both eyes. They believe that through this process, the properties the metals embody will be more directly and permanently absorbed into their system. This practice has evolved over time (such as making solutions that can be administered through a dropper), but many alchemists choose to continue with the tradition of the old method.
The recipe for this specific concoction is a closely guarded secret. Only the highest tier of Sun Goblyn alchemists are allowed to prepare the solution (and as such are the only ones who know its ingredients).
The Ultimate Goal of Sun Goblyn Alchemy:
- Sun Goblyn Alchemists share similar goals as the humans who adopted their practices do, such as the creation of gold and purification of both metallic elements and the Self. However, the Ultimate Goal for Sun Goblyn alchemists is the reunification of the pieces of their souls that have been chomped by Baulk.
- These Alchemists believe that through this reunification, they can then return to their True Goblyn form in combination with their newly found power from the Sun.

Obsession With and Worship of The Sun

Sun Goblyns do not worship the Sun as if it is a deity, but instead an incredibly powerful celestial figure that grants a fraction of its power to those it chooses to grant them to with its Light. Over time, this has developed into an obsession for Sun Goblyns.
The belief is that to properly absorb the Sun’s Light, one must let its rays in through the most direct line to their soul: the eyes. Yes, this means that they often stare directly into the Sun (or other such things that contain the Sun’s Light or reflect it, like lightning or the deflection of rays off of snow and ice).
Besides direct absorption of power, Sun Goblyns will often implement the Sun’s Light into their potions and alchemical preparations by letting them sit in direct sunlight for a certain amount of time, and/or add gold to these concoctions due to its association with the Sun. They will also collect reflective little trinkets, most popular being handheld mirrors, as they “can hold a piece of the Sun’s Light, even if only for a little while”.
As Sun Goblyns believe that the Sun chooses those who are worthy to bestow its Light unto them, the light blindness that affects the worshippers of Baulk is considered to be a rejection from the Sun’s Light due to the corruption in their souls. This has led to these betrayers of goblyn-kind to be shunned by their people and live out the rest of their lives in caves or abandoned mines scattered throughout the mountain. When they do dare to show their faces aboveground, they will wear sheer blindfolds, veils, hoods, or other such items to protect their eyes from the sunlight.

Looking Like a Sun Goblyn

Sun Goblyns are still, at their core, goblyns. They do, however, paint their green skin with different colored paints imbued with various elements and chemicals to grant them extra power, abilities, or defenses from outside forces. A common example of this is using red paint to prepare for a fight, as the color red is associated with fire, the passionate emotions and unique fury needed in battle.
Typically, Sun Goblyns will choose a collection of colors to represent the elements they feel most connected to (ex: red, black, and gold). These colors vary depending on personal preference of the goblyn, and some will choose only 1 color while others can even take on 4-5.
A surefire way to identify a Sun Goblyn alchemist (most of the time) is the metallic paint around one/both of their eyes, sometimes forever solidified from where it had dried dripping down their skin.