The Warrens

Long ages ago, when the power of the Hours began to collapse, a number of elves escaped into the vast underground that the Hours had excavated for themselves. These elves began to rapidly adapt to the darkness and the dangerous conditions there, even as over centuries the various things the Hours kept contained down there began to break out of their cages and fill the caverns with them. And whenever a new calamity would rock the surface, inevitably more refugees always came to them below. They call themselves Verumii, a word in the old Empyrean tongue.

Among ancient ruins in complete darkness, there thrives strange and alien life. The sun never shines where they creep, and wind has never blown. Light is as foreign to this land as air is to the gills of a fish, its introduction would gradually choke the unique lifeforms to death. And so it is hated by these creatures, and despised, and those with any sense know to keep their torches unlit and their lanterns covered. No matter how terrifying the dark may be.

The Warrens consists of places which have been tamed, and which remain untamed. Tamed places might not be so different from the familiar surface. It is where the Verumii lie, ancient elves who long ago fled the light to hide in darkness. Untamed Warrens are as inhospitable to natural life as the depths of the sea or the outer heavens. Sometimes in the darkness it is indeed bad air that one must fear, but just as often it is the denizens of the dark.

Warrenlings they are sometimes called, imitating the surface word shyling. Except that where shylings are often afraid to be seen, warrenlings will seek out those who stray into their territory. The division between tamed and untamed areas of the Warrens is often as simple as a fortified wall, and warrenlings are often challenging those barriers, threatening to break through to snuff out all light and life on the other side

Verumii

An ancient offshoot of the elven peoples, they were the first known colonists of the Warrens after the collapse of the Hours. They fled into the dark for the same reason that other elves fled to the north: to consolidate around places of great power, to try to preserve their civilization. As in the north, they succeeded.

Unlike the north, their social structure is much more decentralized. Instead of dividing themselves up into three ironclad castes, the Verumii divide themselves into different clans, and each clan is responsible for its own members. Only the clan elders are permitted to speak to those outside of their clan, except on special occasions.

Special occasions like marriages between clans, funerals, or any number of festivals within sight of the Elder Sea. The Elder Sea is a vast underground sea of blood that the Verumii worship, and which they all go into when their time has come. The sea is from what the Verumii derive their power, and is the artificial heaven into which their souls will pass when they die. And those who do not wish to enter the pool are hunted down by those who are able to walk in the Unseen, and lay claim to wayward souls ungrateful for the privilege of being returned unto the blood from which they came.

Their civilization is strange and would seem oppressive to those not from it. This is because it is oppressive, but those within the civilization lack the perspective to see that. The Verumii embrace the artificiality of life, knowing that the body is but a vessel for the soul, and the vessel is transient and mutable.

Magic which alters the form of one’s body is common. Verumii society is not literally genderless, but if one desire the form of a man or a woman or neither, it may be taken. An extreme form of punishment is to have one’s body shaped into the form of what would otherwise be an inanimate object. A chair, a desk, a club that is mended every time it breaks.

As one goes higher in the ranks of a given clan, the more easily they may justify ignoring or breaking the norms and laws of their society. And so it is that the elites of every clan trend toward a shared aesthetic that they consider a sign of being high society, elite, so on.

Golems

The Verumii are extremely skilled practitioners of golemancy. They are able to give shape to golems into which they imbue souls, and these souls are able to use the golem to influence the world. There are many different kinds of golems, each for their own purpose. A clan’s golemancers are under the strict control of their leaders, who keep them on an especially tight leash so that their influence over the golems is not used to undermine the leader’s power.

Inklings

Some consider it a specialized form of golemancy, some consider it a kind of warping, because it pulls on techniques from both and neither it is practically its own distinct magic. There is a kind of chattel common in the Warrens, a formless and shapeless creature whose form seems made up of a kind of ink. They will imitate the form of things nearby, but never take actions of their own. They do not move, unless they are not being observed directly.

These inklings are rare, and do not live long in captivity. But if one is able to capture an inkling and bring it back into the Elder Sea, they will be able to lay a soul into the body of the Inkling and the person within shall be able to use the unique form of the Inkling to their advantage, changing form as effortlessly as breathing.

Warping

What the Verumii call the same magic that the Makers capable of. Like Makers, only certain Verumii who have been given the power to do so before they are even born are able to perform the magic. Verumii use it for much more than just simple healing or altering the course of an unborn life, however. And while Makers are the leaders of the surface elven society, among the Verumii only one clan is led by a Warper.

Warren Traits

These are some of the traits someone from The Warrens may have.

Name	Description
Stealthy	This character is adapt at hiding, increasing their effective Cleverness by half again for all checks related to concealing themselves in the environment.
Runaway	This character is a former Verumii slave who managed to escape The Warrens. Their true name is known to the Verumii, and they are being pursued. They can raise any attribute of their choice by one, reflecting the nature of their life there.
Warrens Wayfarer	This character is adept at surviving and navigating The Warrens. They increase their effective Cleverness by half again for all checks related to navigating and surviving underground.
Verumii Trader	The Verumii need goods from the surface in order to thrive in The Warrens. This character is or was one such trader. They were not born with the Empyrean language, but they learned it and many details of Verumii culture through study.

Verumii Traits

To play a Verumii, keep the core two traits of an elf. Instead of choosing an optional trait from their list though, choose one from this list.

Name	Description
Clan Drizzt	Members of Clan Drizzt are able to see even in total darkness. However, their eyes are completely black. Bright light, such as the sun, is painful to them. In bright conditions, their effective Cleverness is halved.
Clan Baenre	Members of Clan Baenre are so nimble and adept at climbing that they are able to climb even the corner of a room where two walls meet. Their bodies are strangely thin yet strong, and fragile. Their effective Prowess is reduced by one.
Clan Ayindilar	The slave soldiers of Clan Ayindilar are considered disposable and easily manufactured. Their bodies naturally produce bony plates over their body, which will shed and regrow over the course of a few days when broken. They innately possess armor as hard as bronze with a value of 3, but cannot wear normal armor.