The Gols

The world was bigger than us where we lived before. We were underfoot and forgotten, so when the mountains howled that fateful night and we cowered in our caves, we locked arms in circles around our children. Outside our small homes, we hummed and chanted prayers against the maelstrom. There came a point where we were louder than the chaos, and, emboldened, we chanted louder and louder, until exhausted, we fell asleep. We awoke to a world where our brothers no longer overshadowed us. We awoke to a world where our children would not be crushed, like the insects we once were.

— Yermolai Grim the 1^st

Appearance

Monstrous is often the first word that comes to mind when describing The Gol. Demonic is a close second. Hailing from the highest mountain peaks and deep under the earth, The Gol inhabit the places most would dare avoid, and their appearance is equally fearsome.
Their faces accommodate a slightly snouted look; Their nose and mouth is like that of a wolf's muzzle with dog-like nostrils and a feline-like bridge that crests the center of their face. As if to accentuate this, The Gol's ears are deer-like, and while normally pinned back along their skull, they may move them and point them as they choose. from there down is the slightly elongated jaw of The Gol, which accommodates more teeth, namely two separate tusks that curls and fans out the sides of their mouth; these tusks are more present in females than males. Another instance of sexual dimorphism, is that the dual horns that cap The Gol's crown are much longer on the male than the female; these horns however come in a few forms; some are pronged, other spiral, and even more still curl in odd shapes.
Symmetry is often lost on the Gol and of the tusks and horns mentioned, may Gol have extras which give them an eldritch kind of a look, but was simply for survival from the time before the cataclysm. Since then, many Gol no longer have tails, cloven feet, manes which adorned both male and female figures, and long, thick claws where a Taran's nails would be. Some still enjoy these features, but they are reminders of a grim past.
Palette-wise, The Gol can vary in color, often taking on patterns like that of animals; Stripes, spots, splotches, rosettes, with under and overtones on the short fur that covers their body. Most notably, The Gol are red in color, but have shades that desaturate into slate grey, or brighten into blues and purples. Their eyes match this, often amber in color which shines out in the dark. As many have come to live near The Gol, their faces have been likened to masks with how colorful and expressive they can be which helps lessen the idea that they are monsters.

Personality

The Gol are a peaceful folk despite their outward appearance. Often choosing lives of seclusion, their reservation conceals their emotional depths. The Gol are unique in that they feel like emotions as physical sensations; when they feel revulsion, they might feel nauseous; when they feel joy, they get "butterflies"; and when they feel deep sadness, they grow inert and weary. Most Gol seek to hide these physical reactions to their emotional state, thus why most of them prefer to be reserved; most of them understand that their psychosomatic reactions are not experienced by other races. But this additional depth to their emotions has made it easier for them to describe how they are feeling to other Gol who have had those same physical reactions. In this way, having empathy is not then just the ability to accurately interpret and comprehend another's emotions; it is like being a doctor for them, as well, able to diagnose and name feelings based on complex physical sensations.

Civilization & Geography

The Gol, subterranean or not, maintain access to the earth around them by creating elaborate and intricate mines and labyrinths both used for excavation and living space. The resources gained from these efforts as well as the space are greatly valuable to The Gol, who have developed cultural carving practices to make use of excess materials. These cultural artifacts and the raw materials are exchanged for technologies to help them remain isolated and safe.
Due to their fairly cautious and reserved nature, The Gol can seem cold toward strangers outwardly, but The Gol are not without any sense of hospitality-though this is done out of a sense of obligation to their philosophy rather than out of the kindness of their heart. As such, The Gol most frequently come into conflict with more sociable races--the Vespid, Simmias, and some Tarans, though Tarans are given a pass as they are one of the main sources of trade.
As noted, The Gol largely rely on trade in order to maintain their current quality of life, and The Gol require lands and space to mine in order to maintain their relevance in their trade agreements. This has created a rigid economic system akin to feudalism, that are separated into three castes: laborers who locate and refine raw materials, those that manage and bid for additional land and expansion, and those who oversee expansion and the defense of those areas. The lattermost caste, landowners, are a ruling class of monarchs and are bound by a constitution to their people to follow strict laws in regards to trade, exercising absolute authority, etc. What makes this system different is that they utilize a series of guilds that support the laborers. These Guilds function as a middle class between the elite land managers, and the royal land owners.

Common Names

As historically clannish folk, The Gol's naming conventions remain fairly simple but with a focus on lineage through lineage through association. The Gol has a personal given name, and then take the personal names of their mothers and father, and finally the personal name of either their grandfather or grandmother--or both--depending on who is alive at the time. As should be noted, The Gol do not have surnames, as they trace their lineage along families and place no significance on family lines, but the people themselves. This is a reflection of the race's guiding philosophy--more on this further below.
Additionally, Gol do not use gendered naming conventions. Any one name used for one of them can be used for all of them.
Common Gol Names: Munden, Osomiut, Kazllu, Castaqusvet, Alpmir, Davllu.

Heroic Calling

Most of The Gol are fairly reserved and and remain isolated in their communities. This helps limit contact with outside forces, and allows them to practice their philosophy without gaining the attention of the unpredictable universe. Those that do leave their communities and become heroes may do so to help their faltering town, to fight against an overarching threat, or preserve the natural order of their world. Rare is The Gol who seeks fame and fortune.

Magic & Technology

The Gol are very much aware of the existence of magic, but did not often tamper with it for fear of bringing down the wrath of the universe around them. As such, not many of The Gol are mages or even magicians, as they are firm believers that by using magic, the person ties themselves to the whims of the universe. While some Gol positions require magic in present day, these are seen as that person performing a sacrifice for the good of their people. Any one can perform this sacrifice or can tie themselves to magical practices, but it is met with solemn looks and concern. Even so, most Gols have it in the shape of their souls to become starcallers and, most infuriatingly to the Gol, conduits. Perhaps this is the way in which their creator god seeks to take back control of their race; thus far, their efforts have been for naught.
Due to this disinclination toward the arcane arts, much of The Gol society does not integrate magic into their technologies, and having been fairly clannish in the past, did not have many technologies to their name. When the Gol first interacted with the Tarans, the Gol traded their resources and prowess in mining and subterranean knowledge for the Taran's technologies. As a result, the Tarans and The Gol remain close allies.

Religion

The Gol, as a race, do not actively practice any religion on the majority. Some may be drawn the the faiths of other religions, and some still might worship the creator god of The Gol, but very few attribute dogmatic religious practices to their own daily lives. Instead, The Gol use a philosophy which guides them spiritually and socially, known as serenity.
The Gol have a concept of an fickle but balanced universe where favor can be gained and lost. Several things influence whether favor is gained or lost, but it depends on the "mood" of the universe at one time, which is thus not able to be divined or known by any mortal. So instead of attempting to gain a divine favor with a force they cannot predict or control, the Gol instead focus on things in their environment they can control or otherwise affect, namely themselves and the attitude and works they do; this is the foundation of serenity.
Serenity itself has gone through several phases which focus on emotional modality--how to express it and if it should be expressed at all. Many of these variant tendencies arise from concern on their effect on the universe and the wish to control the universe, but peace must be made with this idea, according to common practice; the universe cannot and will not be managed for the Gol themselves were never its caretakers. What they do take care of is themselves, and they can potentially invite positive experience and good will their way through he way they carry themselves and the works they do.
It should be noted that there are many cynics who would entirely disagree with these practices, and even the Gol may abandon this philosophy in favor of a more "realistic" approach, but doing so often cuts the Gol off from the social experience of serenity, a key component to Gol civilization.