Miguel Santos. Accessed at their deviantArt page here
[Who doesn’t love shadow people?]
Taqriaqsuit
This thin person is completely black and featureless
except for his white, staring eyes and a thin slit of a mouth.
Taqriaqsuit are shy and retiring
humanoids native to the realms beneath the earth. They thrive in absolute
darkness, and the merest hint of light is painful to them. They are rarely
found on the surface except for on moonless nights. The eternal night of an
arctic winter appeals to them, and they are most common beneath polar lands.
Omnivorous, taqriaqsuit feed on the same variety of foods that humans consume,
although their diet relies more heavily on the fungus and vermin that thrive
underground.
Taqriaqsuit avoid conflict
with other races, preferring to flee from battle by transforming into a living
shadow. The one exception to their peaceful ways is with regards to the
undead—taqriaqsuit view undeath as an utter abomination and seek to destroy the
undead whenever possible. Clerics are highly respected in taqriaqsuit society
as a result. The society of the taqriaqsuit is based around small family units.
The eldest members of the tribe are typically deferred to, but there is no
centralized authority. Due to the anathematic nature of fire in their religion,
taqriaqsuit use predominately stone technology; those few smiths in taqriaqsuit
cultures are seen as dangerous (but useful) heretics. Taqriaqsuit build their
communities out of stone to defend against the horrors of subterranean lands,
and even the smallest village is more like a fort to human understanding.
Seeing the night sky is considered to be an important rite of passage for
taqriaqsuit youth, and it is on these pilgrimages that taqriaqsuit are most
likely to be encountered by surface folk.
The Night Mother and the Flaming Hate
According to taqriaqsuit
beliefs, darkness is the manifestation of love from the Night Mother, their
creator goddess. Her nemesis is the Flaming Hate, a burning demon that chases
the Night Mother underground during the day. The Night Mother is a neutral good
goddess whose holy symbol is a hand clutching a black disc and whose favored
weapon is the heavy mace. Clerics of the Night Mother have access to the
Darkness, Good, Healing, Protection and Repose domains. If using subdomains in
your game, clerics of the Night Mother have access to the following subdomains:
Agathion, Night, Purity, Restoration, Souls. The Flaming Hate is a chaotic evil
god whose holy symbol is a skull on a red disc and whose favored weapon is the
longsword. Clerics of the Flaming Hate have access to the Chaos, Destruction,
Evil, Fire and Sun domains. If using subdomains in your game, clerics of the
Flaming Hate have access to the following subdomains: Day, Demon, Light and
Rage.
Taqriaqsuit are found in Senksen, where they dwell in underground caverns to avoid the notice of the dragon-ruled humans above. In addition to their traditional faith, some are known to worship Cairan as they identify with that god’s similar dislike of the undead.
Shores of Swords 