Chapter VIII - The Nefortu

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The nefortu make their homes in the caves and low places of Avendar, living away from the bright Avendarian days. The first real contact between nefortu and the surface began in the War of Night, when they were employed by the shuddeni as assassins and thieves.

With the victory of the light, the nefortu were quick to turn on their shuddeni allies, gaining respectability in hunting and driving the shuddeni out of the caverns nearest the surface. Noting the opportunity for profit in dealing with the surface, the nefortu established colonies and trade routes there, causing their people to flourish.

The nefortu, already a fragmented people, often lack any unified system of government or civilization. They are, however, almost universally crafty, and skill in deception or wit is often taken as a mark of respect among their people. Old religions, devoted to spirits of air and fire still persist among their people, though most now ascribe to more modern deity-worship.

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Physically, the nefortu are rather small, with heights usually near four feet on the average. Their bodies are slender and nimble, with leathery wings and bat-like faces augmenting their relatively frail strength. Nefortu prefer caves or dark places as residence, but some have integrated into Avendarian society as traders (or thieves!), and can be found in many of Avendar's larger cities.