📁- Talk about the other races and peoples in the Reach, maybe? :D
The Compendium || Always Accepting
@dragmirc | @blckkheart asked for the races and cultures of the Greater Reach The Compendium provides...
These are just basic summaries on the list Those with larger amounts of information will be added into the main compendium to save space here
The Southern Corridor, that which directly connects to the Western 99, is not a very racially diverse space. Most of those who live or frequent this narrow stretch of land connecting the Western 99 to the Eastern Wall are human hermits, with a smattering of a few adventurous Molenoids and rebellious individuals of the common species from the Western 99. Generally, small gangs will use the space to lay low after catching the eye of any local law, but theirs is never permanent.
Oddly enough, those of the Greater Reach do not tend to inhabit the stretch, using it instead as a continuous road between South Pass and Gateway Cavern. In comparison to the sparse life found in the Southern Corridor, however, the Greater Reach is home to a vibrant diversity of peoples.
It's not uncommon, particularly in the Central Core System, to find a mishmash of the Reach's peoples in small spaces. Although humans and humanoids are fairly prominent, you can find just as many Coral Trolls trying not to trip over Flairmoles and the elvish alike. There is little emphasis on a person's race or species in the Greater Reach, an overarching culture of the hotpot of peoples being the judge of one's character than of one's species. While some may prefer the company of their own at the end of the day, it is up to preference more than it is social ostracization.
Humans are a very common sight, as they are all over Slugterra. Perhaps the only species that does not have any one strict territory, it's not hard to find them in all corners of the world. A diverse and friendly species, they adapt very quickly to their surroundings and sudden environmental changes, making them hardy and resourceful. Because of this, they are able to fill any niche in any community, capable of learning usually quickly what needs to be done. Their cultures are broad and diverse as they are, no one group being the same as the next. It's said they came from the World Above many millennia ago, a theory supported by the Elves of Durin in the long-lived records of their sacred exits. Although these are closely guarded documents, so who is to say what is and isn't true in that regard.
Elves are another common sight across the Greater Reach. Nearly as diverse as their human counterparts, they are defined by their tall slender frames, narrow faces, and long pointed ears. Although they are seen as aloof, those in the Reach are still polite and amiable if given the same. They have a strong bond to the raw natural world, capable of understanding the energies that coax life into places it was not previously more than some other species. They are characterized by very meticulous behaviours and are quite long-lived, so it is usually elves who are historians of archives. While elves do not have a set cultural homeland or territory, a faction known as the Elves of Durin protect the land around tunnels that are believed to spiral up to the World Above. They guard these places with their all, letting no one through their borders and into them for protection of both sides of the line. However, the occasional accidental intruder from Above is treated with a wary kindness.
Coral Trolls are a derivative Troll species, having evolved instead to live and peruse the vast coral forests of the Greater Reach. They are taller than some other species, standing at anywhere between seven and nine feet tall, but more slender in build than their Western counterparts. They have a purple-based complexion with brightly-colored eyes that match similarly-colored hair. They have four arms, aiding their ability to manipulate pieces from the coral trees with the dexterity of accomplished jewelers. Coral Trolls are best known for their artistry. Although they are still not a species to pick a fight with, they are best known for their ability to refine coral and will use it in fashion, accessories, and sometimes tools. They use the bioluminescent variety in tattoo inks, a common cultural trait among them, and most of their tattoos glow due to it. Hailing from the Great Coral Forest in the Central Core Region and commonplace across the Reach from there, they are a proud and honorable species, being intensely loyal to those they find worthy of it and equally as pragmatic.
Flairmoles are a derivative species of Molenoid found predominantly in the Greater Reach. They are typically shorter than other species, their tallest only reaching upward of four and a half feet tall, and squat and rounded in build. They don't see very well, most of the species being partially blind or having some form of ocular degeneration. Even with glasses, which are a prevalent aid through their society, they see poorly. They do have hyper-sensitive touch receptors, however, and they can 'see' through vibrations felt in their hands and feet and through their starburst-shaped noses; the 'flair' that gives them their name. Flairmoles are overall a very diminutive but polite species. They are typically bashful in behaviour and quite generous besides. Visiting a Flairmole den, carved out of the living rock of the caverns in the Reach, one can expect the utmost hospitality, even despite the awkward clumsiness of their host. It's not hard to find these dens, as they are almost everywhere there are walls to tunnel into. There are even rumors a few colonies have managed to tunnel into the Northern Wilds, though no one has proof. Although they do not look it, Flairmoles are among one of the stronger Reach species. They are not only capable of lifting three or four times their own weight, but also digging through solid rock. The Engineering Corps was founded by a clade of Flairmoles and it still operates with them at the forefront to this day, performing everything from carving new tunnels for roads and routes to keeping the infrastructure they make clean and clear of the Reach's constant almost-aggressive attempts to swallow it whole. After all, no one knows rock and dirt quite like a Flairmole and of that trait, they are dutifully proud.
Manticores are an isolated species who come from the Eastern Corridor region. Manticores are about average height for your standard humanoid, their tallest standing at six and a half feet and the rest being anywhere between five and six when upright. They have distinct primate features, with flat faces and long limbs with thumbs on both hands and feet. Their bodies are covered in rusty-red hair, trimmed near the top of their heads and plaited down their back in intricate designs that show which family clan they come from. Their tails are chitinous, large stiff segments locked and layered together that equals an individual's height and ends with a large venomous barb. The tails do not move fluidly, but rather clackle audibly and stiffly into place, usually held diagonally across their chests to show they mean no harm to others. Although Manticores will default to physical close-quarters combat when provoked, they have been known to sling slugs by using their tails as carefully-controlled catapults, snapping the segments fast enough to bounce slugs to velocity when necessary. The use of the tail barbs are always the last resort to them. Manticores are a proud species. They believe in the art of showing one's intent through actions and hold others to that standard. They are decently friendly -if a bit standoffish- with other species and cultures in the Reach, though travelers are not very common outside the Eastern Corridor, where their native caverns are. However, one can always count on them for help when it comes to learning and understanding how to better their slinging ability, as they are incredibly in tune with the over-abundance of energy in the Reach and understand the balance one needs to achieve for better control and harmony with their slugs.
Dwarves are a common humanoid species found all over the Reach. They are believed to have come originally from the Western Wall, perhaps in those regions of heavy volcanic activity, though they are so widespread otherwise that they are not concentrated there any longer. Dwarves are characterized by their shorter stature, only standing at tallest five feet tall. They are stout with sturdy heavyset builds, broad shoulders and stances alike. They are very adept engineers and architects, found most commonly in both beast and blaster forges as well as a huge part of the Engineering Corps that keeps the Reach running. It is said that what Flairmoles cannot achieve, Dwarves certainly can. Dwarves are proud to the point of feigned arrogance, though they are also socially friendly. Their very straight-forward sense of humor can be taken as rude, though they mean no harm with it. Dwarves are, at their core, honest and loyal and anyone who can get used to their brutally-honest takes on the world will have a friend for life.
Gnomes are one of the greater mysteries of the Greater Reach. The smallest of the native species, Gnomes barely reach up to the average human's knees at tallest. They are an odd bunch, wearing what looks like tattered cloth cobbled together over hair-covered bodies that are typically drab in greys and browns. No one has ever seen or recorded what the body itself actually looks like. The only features distinguishable on them are large hands and feet and a pair of glowing orbs of eyes. They have a human intelligence and sapience, capable of communicating with other peoples of the Reach fairly easily. When not being directly addressed, however, they tend to grumble about, making odd almost feral grunts and growls. Gnomes are very isolated in culture. They do not branch out and they do not deviate from that which defines them. They are an industrious species, constantly seen moving about wherever they are, and are surprisingly social even if only with themselves. It is uncommon to see a singular Gnome anywhere, as they generally come in companies of three to six outside their settlements. Their settlements, simply called Holdts, are little shanty towns Gnomes erect for themselves near the established towns and city-centers of other races. They busy themselves sifting through trash and refuse for things that can be refined and sold, seen in constant movement moving these treasures back and forth in a positive symbiotic relationship with the area they have taken root in. It should be noted, however, that although Gnomes are a generally peaceful bunch, hurting one will bring the wrath of the entire Holdt it is a part of in a swarm of vengeance and large pointy teeth. As it is, people tend to simply leave them be unless necessary, if only to avoid this one odd tic of their species.
Goblins are a mystery for a different reason. Although they are found in all parts of the Reach, their home cavern or territory is unknown to outsiders. They seem to prefer it that way. Goblins tend to wander in small groups all over the Reach, characterized by their ship-shod technology and cobbled cultural aesthetic. They are typically shorter than the average human, standing anywhere between four and four and a half feet tall. They have upturned noses and prominent tusk-canines in their bottom jaw and long pointed ears, with long limbs and longer nimble fingers. They come in an array of color combinations and builds, heights and quirks with sly smiles and a notable silver tongue to sell or trade their wares. Goblins are the 'snake oil salesman' of the Reach. They are classed as wandering traders of a sort, selling whatever they scavenge or trading for whatever they invent. They are a quick-witted fast-talking species, but adaptable and inventive. They have a good relationship with Gnomes, trading for bits and bobs from their collections, and have a decent understanding of base-level engineering. Although the Dwarves call them 'bubblegum engineers', meaning that they pretty much stick whatever looks right together and hope it does something cool. It's good to know going into a goblin trade that their inventions can either work amazingly well, or blow up pretty spectacularly. There is no middle ground. And absolutely no refunds. An oddity among their culture is being angry when confused with Kobolds, though they refuse staunchly to point out these Kobolds outside of insults, and so no one really knows if the things even exist.
Sirinfolk are a species of bird found strictly in the Northern Wilds. They are kept contained in the Northern Wilds and very rarely manage into the Eastern Corridor, much less the rest of the Reach. There are peoples in the Reach itself who believe they are a myth, a story of boogeymen told to frighten children into behaving, and for good reason. Sirin are much much larger than the average human, and still at least three times the size of the largest Coral Trolls on their own average. Their faces are flat with large black eyes, patterned after their marking type and full-body plumage, with sharp-edged hooked beaks lined in rows of circular teeth. They have functional arms ending in talons at the wrist of their wings, capable of walking on four limbs or hobbling about on two. They can move in swift and sinuous patterns, making the ominous sound of hissing feathers as they hunt. Drab plumages are more common -akin to sparrows, most owls, and hawks to name a few and known as just Drab- while brilliant colorful plumage is rare -similar to peafowl, parrots, and certain grouses called Brilliant. Plumage is not genetic among them; two Brilliant Sirin will almost always produce Drab chicks, while a pair of Drab Sirin may produce a Brilliant by chance. Sirin are not very sapient, and while intelligent, are fooled by certain types of object permanence. Drab Sirin are soldiers, wrapped in a series of hormonal shifts into something that functions like a hivemind. They move together when in close quarters with others, they hunt together, they act as one entity under the control of Brilliant Sirin. Brilliant Sirin are born with the knowledge how to manipulate and shift these hive hormones to tell Drabs around them what to do. What they do, is eat. Sirin are, by design, hyper carnivores. They swarm and they devour everything in their path. They have no known civilization, driven by their stomachs first and their feral instinct second. Only one Sirin has ever been sapient enough with other species to communicate, a Brilliant Quetzal Sirin dubbed 'Argos' by the defense of the Northeast Pass. He isn't seen much, but has been around a very long time according to records and shows no intent on mending the rift between his species and others. Despite being capable of intelligent conversation, he too functions solely on his stomach, as his peers do. It is the existence of the Sirinfolk the Eastern Corridor marshals -The Horsemen- are necessary, trained and honed to combat and push back any Sirin attempting to enter the Greater Reach through the funnel that is the Eastern Corridor. Because of their continued efforts and those of the Forty-Eighth Battalion from Babel of the Floating Isles at the fortress of the pass, the rest of the Reach thinks Sirin are stories to frighten children.