Þeþarans
Hrenic: Iklog /ɪːkhlɔk/, íklog /iːkhlɔk/
The Þeþarans1 are diminutive, rodent-like people who inhabit the central Múlíat Mountains in southern Dragonía. Þeþaran societies emerged around 33.000 years ago, and throughout history their territories have intersected to some extent with those of the various other peoples found in the mountains, most recently the Ázelans, Hrens and Kúxes, though since Þeþarans spend most of their time underground and only come to the surface at night, encounters with outsiders are uncommon.
When they occur, it's usually with either Hren or more rarely Ázelan hunters, with the former sometimes raiding Þeþaran tunnels during famines.Society
Þeþarans are divided into a number of communities spread across the mostly arid central part of the Múlíat Mountains, each centered on an underground settlement lead by group of elders who are responsible for a variety of tasks, both mundane ones related to expanding the settlement and food distribution as well as religious ones such as funeral rites.
The Þeþarans1 are diminutive, rodent-like people who inhabit the central Múlíat Mountains in southern Dragonía. Þeþaran societies emerged around 33.000 years ago, and throughout history their territories have intersected to some extent with those of the various other peoples found in the mountains, most recently the Ázelans, Hrens and Kúxes, though since Þeþarans spend most of their time underground and only come to the surface at night, encounters with outsiders are uncommon.
When they occur, it's usually with either Hren or more rarely Ázelan hunters, with the former sometimes raiding Þeþaran tunnels during famines.
Appearance and abilities
Þeþarans resemble our world's common mole-rats, being covered in soft, brown or grey fur with black and white markings on the head, with short but strong limbs armed with sharp claws, and massive incisors used to dig tunnels with as well as for self-defense. They mostly rely on their sense of direction, smell and touch to navigate and socialize, as their hearing and particularly sight are poor.Society
Þeþarans are divided into a number of communities spread across the mostly arid central part of the Múlíat Mountains, each centered on an underground settlement lead by group of elders who are responsible for a variety of tasks, both mundane ones related to expanding the settlement and food distribution as well as religious ones such as funeral rites.
Culture
Cuisine
Roots, both fibrous ones and taproots, form a significant part of þeþaran diet, along with various other plants gathered on the surface during nighttime as well as bones, and invertebrates found underground. Communal meals occur twice a day, with elders distributing carefully measured portion from the food stores to ensure that all inhabitants get an equal share.
Religion
While each settlement has its own specific religious traditions, all of them share certain concepts which are common to all þeþaran communities, such as the veneration of spirits associated with water and vegetation, the importance of communal eating and related ceremonies -usually in the form of circle- or chain dances- and funerals.
The lattermost are quite similar across their territory, which involves making a niche into one of the tunnel walls, placing the dead within it and then filling it with dirt. The dead are never buried or left on the surface, as this is believed to attract evil spirits that live there.
1Original icelandic: Þeþarar, singular: Þeþari.
Origin/Ancestry
Southern Dragonía
Geographic Distribution
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