Terúkans

Þrínic: Terúkil /t^hɛːruk^hɪːl/ , singular: Terúkíl /t^hɛːruk^hiːl/
Öþranic: Trúkeil /t^huːk^heiːl/ , singular: Trúkél /t^huːk^hɛːl/

The terúkans¹ are the predominantly goblin inhabitants of the country of Terúk in southeastern Ójom and surrounding region. They are currently the most populous and widespread goblin ethnic group in Jælondis and beyond.

Culture

Cuisine

Traditional terúkan diet is based on marine- and freshwater fish, marine mammals (especially hippocamps) and other seafood, mandrakes, turnips, onions and garlic, giant rat meat, mutton and frogs. The meat of giant rats is generally preferred over mutton, and while certain cereals are used in terúkan cuisine, especially barley, they are mostly used to make ale or savoury pastries and are regarded as part of a different cuisine than the terúkan one, namely that of the narúrtic dwarven minority who were traditionally brewers and stonemasons during the goblin empires of old.
Notable dishes include fried hippocampus with boiled mandrakes, pies stuffed with eggs and smoked fish, steamed salmon with berries and edible flowers, and rat meatballs with steamed turnips.

Terúkan cuisine by Lappalingur

Religion

Terúkan polytheism is centered on the fire goddess Tararúm and her son Þnúlax, the sea god Kolra and the culture hero Þnix -who the terúkans believe to be the son of Kolra-, though other deities and spirits are venerated as well, particularly in rural Terúk. Offerings of food, seashells and pearls are presented to the deities in boat-shaped vessels.

Warfare

Terúkans have long been renowned and feared among the people of eastern Jælondis for their fierce warriors, who traditionally rely on speed and high-quality weapons rather than heavy armour, and even high-ranking ones usually defend themselves with just a shield and either a kind of circlet or a conical helmet that covers the entire head. When they do wear armour, it's often a laminar one with a single pauldron large enough to protect the back as well as the arms, giving it a wing-like appearance.
As in many other goblin societies, historically, terúkan warriors were also feared headhunters, particularly during the empire of Onþók during their wars with the lowland dwarves in central Ójom, though this custom has since been restricted to duels between aristocratic families.

¹Original icelandic: Terúkar, singular: Terúki.