Chapter VII - The Shuddeni

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The shuddeni are a subterranean race, living in underground cities far below the surface of Avendar. Shuddeni appear as extremely thin humanoids with ashen gray skin, absolutely lacking in all body hair. Most distinctive about the shuddeni, though, is the complete absence of eyes. In the place of the orbs of the eye, shuddeni have nothing but a slight indentation of smooth flesh. Rather than seeing in the conventional sense, the shuddeni have some other way of detecting shape and essences.

Most of shuddeni culture revolves around life in their cities, which were originally formed by successful families, or Septs as they are now known, of shuddeni. In time, the holds of the Septs acommodated allies of the family, until they eventually became large enough to sustain themselves independent.

Today, shuddeni cities are governed by a ruling caste of priests, who maintain their power through the use of magic and command of the lion's share of the city resources. Shuddeni guard their cities with the aid of the chaja, a race of massive slaves. Shuddeni cities will occassionally ally themselves with one another, but bloody disputes have been known to erupt over matters of territory or itinerant raiding.

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Human contact with the shuddeni occured in the years prior to the War of Night, when mining expeditions in the Brintors revealed a passage to Yithoul, one of the largest of the shuddeni cities. After several initial ventures there met their end, the shuddeni established a gradual relationship with the Republic.

What the senate did not know was that these initial peace overtures were merely the first step in a massive shuddeni campaign of conquest for the surface world. Extending their power to certain groups not in favor under the policies of the Republic (Srryn and humans willing to practice forbidden magic among them), the shuddeni began to ally themselves with these factions.

When the shuddeni burst to the surface, they brought with them their most potent weapon -- the magic which drew on the negative energies of the void, binding demons and horrific plagues. The shuddeni had with them their savage chaja slaves, who formed the bulk of their fighting forces, along with their trained swordmasters, all wielding the dark blades of their kind.

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On the surface, srryn turned against the Republic, along with small pockets of human rebellion, particularly among scholars. The shuddeni boiled to the surface, rapidly consolidating a foothold in the Brintors and the northlands Once secure, the shuddeni conquest became a less rapid, if seemingly just as certain.

The humans and their allies began to fight in desperation, attempting at least a holding action against the shuddeni. The Republic's fortunes seemed to be taking a turn for the worse, with each step forward followed by two steps backward. The shuddeni, though, were not content for a lengthy and protracted war. They were eager to take possession of a land not denuded by the consequences of war. They wanted a swift victory -- and took steps to ensure it.

Drawing together the greatest archmages of the void, the shuddeni sought to create an immense nexus to the void. The gateway was to open for three days, to bring through and bind the largest and most powerful of demons, for use in one final assault on Earendam. The result of their Summoning, however, was not what they intended. Instead of an army of demons, they brought through a great host of ch'taren, refugees from an outer plane.

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The ch'taren, desperate to escape perceived threat, broke through the lines of the shuddeni, and fought their way to the surfaces with the aid of human slaves. Using the magics of spirit and their numbers, the ch'taren brought the War of Night to the swift end that the shuddeni had hoped for -- with a victory for the Republic and the forces of the light.

The shuddeni were defeated, but still a threat. Some shuddeni remained in strongholds in the Brintors, proving too entrenched to easily removed without considerable loss of life. The main shuddeni tunnels to the surface were walled off, preventing the easy passage of large bodies of shuddeni.

In the centuries following the War, the shuddeni took advantages of the weakening of the human Republic to cultivate a more favorable attitude toward them on the surface. Still feared, some shuddeni became known for their scholarly works, providing magical transportation across Avendar. Others cultivatedtheir reputation as exotic bards, convincing noblemen of the artistic merits of the bizarre shuddeni musical scales.

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In time, some shuddeni came to find permanent homes on the surface, still mistrusted but accepted as a necessary evil in troubled times. Below the surface, some shuddeni still scheme, plotting a return of conquest, viewing themselves as predestined rulers of Avendar.