Oh yeah, the shiners.
So in @returntoregalia's podcast, they address early on something I've been turning in my head. How deeply have the humans impacted destroyed the natural balance and cultures of the underland?.. The synopsis of Gorger calling himself king being found strange and Ripred making a whole bit about it and the crown thing.
And... Isn't it weird that COINCIDENTALLY every species we actually hear about/that interacts with humans regularly and lives around them/ or seems to speak english as a species regularly, is organized in a way the humans acknowledge and respect? Having a king or queen and set borders? The shiners clearly aren't made for it if photosglowglow and Zap are the most peaceable of them and they want to kill each other and everyone 24/7. They are not a species made for cohabitation. Family dynamics or parenting. They're just not. CRAWLERS are. Their quality of life DOES NOT benefit from a society or social arrangement. So WHY Would the shiners make borders for their whole species and claim to be an organized civilization?
Well...
The Regalians were english colonizers. Genocidal awful people. Let's not forget the diggers. Or their constant warring with the gnawers just because they aren't like them and won't let them steal every life sustaining resource for themselves and do not want to associate let alone bow to them (OBVIOUSLY) And slave owners. That was also a part of their culture before they came down to the underland.
Did the Regalians try to enslave the shiners early on?.. Very beneficial. Ethics isn't in the equation for the Regalians. The shiners likely held out as best they could, but their ONLY option would be to band together and mimic what the humans did to take the target off their backs. The Fliers certainly did it. The gnawers did it. Crawlers. Spinners.
When the humans arrived they wanted to destroy everything for the sake of 'progress' and 'civilization.' They saw every race as wild beasts to be tamed and controlled. So everyone who didn't want to end up like the diggers had to conform as not to be treated like a potential fur coat or beast of burden.
The history of humans and fliers bonding and allying is absolutely way more sinister and one sided than the modern Underlanders recall in history.
The Shiners only tolerate each other and have a facade of human societal structure and offer services to the humans to stay out of cages.
