During the Golden Age, the Warring Four gods each created a race. Hextor, the god of tyranny and war, was the last of the Four to do so. He made the Gl'byn. The Gl'byn were large, fierce, aggressive creatures, which bred at a terrifying rate. They quickly swept across Tellure in an offensive known as the Gl'byn War (or, sometimes, War of the Races). An alliance of elves and dwarves were able to defeat the Gl'byn by unraveling the race itself, through the use of both magic and breeding. The Gl'byn were broken into goblins, bugbears, and hobgoblins. The magical repercussions of meddling with Hextor's creation was that elves and dwarves also split into their own minor subraces.
Hobgoblins are most similar in appearance to the original Gl'byn. Thought to have been hounded into the Underdark and extinct for centuries, hobgoblins were discovered again living far to South, in the dry, barren hills of the Invar Cargill. Having renounced their evil past, these hobgoblins call themselves Alvorin. (Calling one a "hobgoblin" is usually taken as in insult.)
Put bluntly, Alvorin culture is like a mix of Japanese samurai and Klingon (Star Trek). They are fierce, deadly warriors. However, honor and order is paramount. The most important Alvorin concept is maka. Maka has been translated variously as "honor", "oath", "teachings", "protocols of manner", "spirit of the people", "culture", and "way of life". One who does not follow a maka is a lamakan. Alvorin believe that all lamakan are like savage beasts and are unworthy of life. Occasionally, the Alvorin will recognize another culture's strong sense of honor as a makaneth, meaning a maka different (and so inferior) from theirs. But at least such people have some sense of honor.
Honorable Alvorin are buried in Taman Rasset ("place of rest"), the catacombs in the secret wadi of Suliwasi ("last, true refuge"). It is believed that, when In Goudam ("last times") comes, these Alvorin will rise to fight again. If the Alvorin are true, now and in these final dark times, Suliwasi will become Ain Rasset, an Eden-like paradise. In many ways, every Alvorin spends his days upholding his maka and preparing for this Suli Goudam ("final battle").
The Alvorin living in the lower Isundrus mountains have forsaken Suliwasi. Their maka is not so strong. Though they maintain a strong sense of community and honor, they prize individual achievement and personal glory much more than traditional Alvorin. Though they consider themselves makaneth (having only a different sense of honor), many traditional Alvorin consider them lamakan (having no honor). This debate is generally only theoretical, as the two groups rarely, if every, interact due to the hundreds of miles between them. For the most part, Makeneth Alvorin simply call themselves "The People."
The Makaneth Alvorin primarily worship Oriff, a god of mountains and the strength of the earth. However, their Oracle is associated with the original Alvorin goddess, Dulcaya, a goddess of law and fate.
Makaneth Alvorin all carry bladed weapons of a strange, metallic "black onyx". The source of this material is a closely guarded secret of the People.
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Last Edited: 08 Sep 2006 ©2006 by Z. Tomaszewski |