Goblins
"First Found, Twice Forgotten"
History
The lore of the goblins is not well known, at least amongst the 'civilized' people. At goblin campfires however, ancient stories and myths are shared nightly, and tales of the Deep Night are some of the most requested.
It is said that the gods grew increasingly bored in their mostly barren, as they were all poor company to each other, and the primordial bugs and creatures did not make for good entertainment. And so they banded together to create the first of the sapient races: the goblins. Each god gave them their particular flavor and twist, to make them as adaptable as possible to the cruel conditions of the deep night, leading to the varied clans of goblins today: from the fishing goblins of the east coast, to the mountain goblins of the Snow Horn. From all the gods though, Kekorah, God of Trickery was the one who initially most favored the goblins and gifted them the most, as we can see from their great cunning and spirit.
As the gods expanded their domains and created more and more toys they could play with, the goblins fell out of favor. As Myrakka, Goddess of Darkness created the Drow in her visage, the remaining gods followed suit and intensified their labors to mark the world in their image. The goblins lay by the wayside, forgotten and viewed as the lesser of the Kin, a failed experiment.
With the passing of the ages, the troubles for the goblins only grew. More suited for the night, Seraphina, Goddess of Light's ascencion brought with it a much brighter sun that further pushed the goblins to the edges of society, to the dusk of forests and the darkness of caves. Other Kin shunned them, and the goblins had no home, no god and no place where they belonged. Taking pity upon them as they were also part of her domain, Nyssa, Goddess of Shadows approached Seraphina and asked her to gift the goblins with the means to grow from their simple beginnings and adapt to her sunlight. Seraphina agreed, and toiled with the goblin clans help to find a solution so they could finally join the other Kin, and end their turmoil.
However, this story did not have a happy ending for the goblins. For Seraphina, in her orderly wisdom gifted one of the clans with her most prized gifts: the love of light, law and clarity. This was supposed to bring the goblins closer to the peoples of the continent, but in the goblins eyes it did just the opposite. As the new clan emerged ,their behaviour and physical appearance was so different from a normal goblin, that it was hard to believe for the viewers of this miracle that these new Kin had ever been goblins at all. To the true goblins. this was viewed as a great betrayal, for it proved that even the gods believed that for a goblin to belong somewhere, they had to be anything but a goblin. This changed clan accepted Seraphina's gift and joined the remaining Kin in the continent, becoming the Halflings. The remaining clans spread across the continent to its edges again, and swore off any gods or civilizations.
And there they remain to this day with the exception of GearHold, where the goblins finally found a home, by clawing it and wresting it by force and shunning all gods and peoples who opppose them. They will find their own way, independently, and forge ahead using nothing but their wits and grit.
Now
Most goblins still live in small communities and clans in places where they are mostly left alone, spanning all continents. These goblins still view a goblin civilization as fanciful, and any goblin that lives in a city is viewed as arrogant and astray, having lost their gobliness in pursuit of becoming more akin to humans.
As Gearhold's infamy increases however, more and more goblins rally behind Ziggzot, Goblin in Yellow, feeling the pressure of the expanding human cities and the once again active ruins of the Forsaken Lands. The goblin migrations and increasing population size of Gearhold has not gone unnoticed, and support for something to be done about the "greenskins in the north" is increasingly vocal. Goblins are still viewed unfavorably by most, and as conniving and untrustworthy Kin. Viewed as the Old Gods' creation by the north continent, but as defectors by the southern continent, they are not usually welcome in any community.
Goblins are as diverse as the places they are found in
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