Rentw

I came across a strange landscape in the very eastern-most reaches of Yeg, I began noticing small slanted roof structures with flint windowpanes in the front. They peered up out of the ground and rocks like small periscopes, but had no houses attached to them. I had never seen these structures for myself but had heard about who they belonged to; the Rentw. I called out in the best pronunciation of their tongue I could manage and saw a round little face pop up through one of these windows, then another, then another. They began popping up everywhere and soon enough they had climbed out of their underground homes to investigate their new visitor. To describe the Rentw in one word, curious would fit nicely. Many of them babbled in curious excitement to each other, gingerly greeting me and examining my foreign clothes and trinkets. I tried my best to communicate with them in their home language, the words rough and the syllables sharp like the SHRuss dialects, which I've always found strange given their plump and smiley appearance. It was a real butchering of their grammar though, Rentw phonetics are fairly easy to learn as long as you know how to click properly, but their word order is nothing short of confusing for an outsider such as me. A particularly elderly individual came slowly walking up to me and grinned. She placed a hand on my shoulder and, with a carefully practised Yegrenn Root accent, said-

"Many here can talk your language, Miss Ahmegg. But we welcome your attempt. Come, have pinecone broth inside."

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Rentw take the form of the american Raccoon, with round, fluffy bodies and bushy tails. They have the trademark dark mask over their eyes and little stumpy legs. They come up to about 15 inches tall stood on two legs but tend to walk on all fours, rendering them about 7-8 inches high.

Biological Traits

The Rentw's ability to store a greater deal of heat in their fur and their thin layer of fat under the skin is a great advantage that allow them to last the harshest of winters through hibernation. More Ahmegg, Feng, Russ and Naag are killed by the winter chill than by predators and so they have prospered in their underground homes. Their bodies however are very flexible and can easily mould into a variety of shapes, squeeze into tight spaces as small as an Ahmegg.

Genetics and Reproduction

Again, you know what's going on here. Move along.

Growth Rate & Stages

The Rentw are born in smaller litters than other races (between 1 and 4) and reach adulthood around the age of 16. They are the only species that is known to hibernate for short periods of time during the winter.

Ecology and Habitats

Their main habitat is deep in the dense forests of east Yeg. But they also inhabit the Longhair and Shorthair isles. Their homes are dug into the ground with the doors and windows protruding from the surface. They decorate these homes heavily with very skilfully carved wood and stone and handmade furniture. Above ground they farm things such tree bark and root vegatables.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The diet of the Rentw is entirely herbivorous. They grow and eat waterside plant-life including reeds, various roots, sugarcane and pond weeds. Their jaws and teeth are very strong and so they can eat very fibrous and tough material.

Biological Cycle

The Rentw hibernate for about forty days in the the winter where families will huddle together.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Little is actually known about the social structure of the Rentw as they're so reclusive. However what is known is that their hierarchy is indicative of how much of their homes is above ground. The leaders of Rentw towns will have the majority of their house above ground, but several basement levels as well.

Facial characteristics

The Rentw have very wide faces with the trademark black mask that raccoons possess.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Spaced around the very eastern reaches of Yeg and the islands east of Hoolye, including Longhair, Tallhair and The Fractured Sister Islands.

Average Intelligence

The Rentw have similar intellect to the Naag but have not the resources to attain the same technological level. They are often skilled woodworkers however.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Rentw have one of the best sense of smells out of all the races of Haert.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

A common trait among Rentw names is the use of double vowels and double consonants. The use of these double letter indicates those skilled in a trade. For example, the name An means "Fir-tree" but the name Aan means "carver of fir-trees", showing that this individual is a carpenter.

Major Organizations

The largest settlements that the Rentw live in are about the same size as a small town. It is theorised however that they used to have much larger cities many hundreds of years ago, centuries before even the Giants disappeared.

Average Technological Level

The Rentw have a very quiet way of life, despite their knowledge of how to create and use technologies on a similar level to the Naag, and it is theorised that they gave such technologies to them many hundreds of years ago. In their secluded little villages however, their tools and weapons are in fact very simplistic, not bothering to embellish them with decoration like they would their homes, and they use stone carving and wood carving implements more than anything else, and are very skilled at doing so.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The Rentw dialects are complex and rough, involving many different tonal shifts and clicks that can convey different meanings. It has some similarities to the SHRuss tongue where it's syllables are sharp and vary in length and pitch. The Rentw actually confirm that the SHRuss language has been borrowed from them and was adjusted over time.

Common Dress Code

Clothing and weaving in Rentw societies are very important on a cultural level. Clothes are usually made from various home-grown silks and cottons, and very complex and detailed patterns are sewn or woven in. There is no segregation of colours or designs, for example to indicate profession or rank, but instead a well made set of clothing is a sign of great pride and the Rentw take very good care of them.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Its is widely known by the residents of Yeg and southeast Hoolye that the Rentw have been on Haert many hundreds, even thousands of years before any of the other races. It is unknown where they originated but they would have sailed there during the golden years when the Giants still roamed. Unfortunately their reclusive and more passive nature allowed them to be overrun by the Naag and the Feng-hait and the Russ and eventually the Ahmegg.

History

The Rentw are incredibly good at writing their history. Each town is known as an Ebb and villages are labelled as Kuls. As each town is fairly isolated from one another they typically have their own unique history and customs. There are far too many settlements to list the collective histories, but many of them have existed far longer than a lot of the oldest Ahmegg cities. The oldest of all of them is set in the southern spike of Longhair Island. It has been there as far back as seven hundred years before the first Rothmegg and the first Ahmegg set upon these islands. Though there is no prior written history to this time, it is thought that the Rentw were the original residents of Haert before the SHRuss, the Naag and the Feng overran the land and drove them to the finest points of Yeg and Hoolye. There are ruins found as far as north Kekeyahm and west Singhaid with carved texts written in glyphs very similar to the modern Rentw language.

Lifespan

65-70

Average Height

upright: 15 inches, on all fours: 7-8 inches

Average Physique

Round and "chumby" if that makes sense. Chumby (spelled Chmbi in the Rentw language) is a common complement to give a Rentw as it essentially describes them as friendly or "friend-shaped" as they believe round shapes to connotate friendliness.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Grey and black.