Underglade (Faction)

Underglades are undertides and maren endemic to the Rootbed. Their founding sect split from the main population some time after the creation of guardians. Underglades are found in bodies of water throughout the western Labyrinth, especially in the deep rootbed near the Nature/Earth coast.
== Origin ==
A sect of kin once sought to swim so far and deep as to escape the traitor-god's song entirely. They wound along the western coast and found fair currents in the north, warm and rich. And when they dove to their favored depth, they heard a new song, so strong and sweet that they sought it out at once. It came from somewhere past a wall of rock, but the rock was hollow; a few, heads and backs armored, threw themselves against it. The rock crumbled away and the sea rushed in with a fury. Once the roar died away, the song returned, even stronger and sweeter than before.
They followed it, and it led them to caverns as dark as the deepest trench, but the scent of the water and sound of the rock was muffled and thick with plantlife. There was enough for all and more and they, famished from their journey, ate their fill. And once they were sated, they burrowed into the silt of the floor, which was as soft as a sunbeam, and slept all their aches and worries away.
Once they'd their fill of feasting and resting, they chose from their number a few of their swiftest swimmers, so that they might inform their kin of what they'd found. But they found their way sealed, walls now reinforced by roots stronger than stone. They threw themselves against it again and again, but soon realized this was the song at work; they raised lamentations as loud as they could, but all had joined in celebration of the bounty, leaving none outside to hear. Though they never found an exit, they did find a new god and She, as is her Nature, gave them purpose.
This story, as passed down by generations of underglades, matches with reports of a flood in the western rootbed. It seems their ancestral sect breached an area weakened by expansion. Internal tunnels were collapsed to prevent the floodwaters from rising above the initial chambers, though the area they flooded was still quite large, enough to support their full population. The region was considered lost at the time, with no knowledge of the Behemoth's external seal. Removing the collapses to investigate would have been disastrous regardless, as the area had pressurized against the seals. Contact was established after a new settlement reported hearing singing through the walls. As is typical for the rootbed, news of their discovery propagated only as far as was necessary to include them in the Cycle. Due to their enthusiasm, this required only the development of pressure-regulation tools like grown bulkheads and airlocks, with weaker analogues already used in some of the more flooding-prone regions.
== Schism ==
It's important to note that, unlike the population found in the Deep (where undertide specifically refers to dragons), "Underglade" is used to refer to both dragons and maren. However, not all dragons and maren from the initial population are underglades. "Underglade" replaces "Undertide" (lit. replacing Tide- with Glade- in the context of a parent-god) and was adopted after a schism.
For information on the schism and the history of the population leading up to it, see Spears at the Throat of God (Faction).
== Physical Attributes ==
Maren have adapted to survive lower pressures than their Deep-dwelling cousins, though they rely on pressure compensation to avoid nitrogen sickness during rapid depth switching. They've retained other trench adaptations, namely those that assist them in the cold and dark. Bioluminescence is common.
Dragons are typically stockier and broader than Deep-dwelling undertides, with wider jaws and larger eyes. Dragons may sport additional tendrils that aid in tunnel movement, boney "thorns" along their wings used for out-of-water anchoring, enlarged gullets, and similar adaptations, though none have becomes so widespread as to be considered standard. 
== Role ==
The underglade are experts in managing and navigating the rootbed's waters. The Labyrinth's rainfall requires a sophisticated system of canals, aqueducts, reservoirs, and similar to avoid flooding out portions of the rootbed. As these join and drain, they create waterways far less numerous, but typically deeper and more violent, than the ones found in the gladeveins. Their depth and scale make lighting them virtually impossible, their frequent low ceilings make above-water navigation inadvisable, their general lack of shores or "islands" (outside the occasional jutting rock) unfit for finding purchase for takeoff, and their temperatures remain low year-round.
Underglades are well-suited for these challenges. Draconic underglades will often carry passengers, while maren underglades use grapples, pressure suits, and spools of bioluminescent thread to map out feeds. They also use waterways to create new reservoirs. Dragons can work as "living buckets" by taking advantage of their gullets. By working in concert, they can create new "outposts" for their maren kin to operate from. After a period of re-oxygenation by introduced plants, maren can more properly cultivate these reservoirs for longterm use. They also cultivate slower-moving waterways, capturing runoff nutrients that might otherwise be lost, as well as providing light by way of things like bioluminescent sponges.
Draconic underglades may choose to inhabit a reservoir as part of an adoptive clan, where they act as fishers, stewards of filtration pools, MCs for rainy season festivals, etc. Due to the narrowness of some tunnels, such decisions must often be made before a full adult size is reached, and may become irreversible (outside of breed-changing magic) as they continue to grow. Those who don't inhabit reservoirs often nest in the deepest reaches of the rootbed, where their maren kin are most comfortable. These flooded tunnels extend far to the west along the Behemoth's roots, so much so that, from time to time, an underglade is born to the Earth element. Once understood to be blessed by the roots themselves, such dragons are still considered to be extremely lucky; loved as equals and children of the Gladekeeper, they're also naturally talented excavators who spread the rootbed ever further and deeper.
As a recognized part of the Cycle, underglade archivists have established a moniker for their people: trogloxylem.
== Culture ==
The same instincts that once made the maren and undertides kin serve them well in the rootbed. As they make their homes in regions that are otherwise inhospitable, the underglade is rarely drawn into territorial disputes, and their abilities are too valuable to risk offense. With an abundance of internal friendliness and an absence of external pressure, underglades are welcomed virtually everywhere. Though usually kindly to a fault, they do have some quirks. Most obviously, they tend not to speak kindly of the Tidelord, and also tend to be enthusiastic (sometimes too enthusiastic) about their adoptive god. This extends to the maren, albeit to a lesser extent, which makes for mutual dislike with other schools. They also love sharing their home and culture--usually wonderful, though they occasionally forget that hurtling through the waterways at top speed in complete darkness can be alarming. They also may fumble around guardian dragons; where Deep undertides can be cold and distrustful towards their "replacements", underglades (especially dragons) may overcorrect, treating them as a collective "little sibling" stuck dealing with their maker's issues.
Music and sound are a cornerstone of their culture. They craft gongs tuned to frequencies that travel well through water, which they'll leave, submerged, in grottoes that their network of caverns and canals can access. Each in an area is tuned to a specific chord. When sounded, someone will swim over to check things out. It's considered good manners to ring more often for conversation than trade or transport, and best manners of all to share a song when they arrive. Their voices are best "tuned" to be heard underwater; submerging your head to listen is a mark of appreciation. They tend to be fascinated by coatls and banescales, often expressing some regret that neither breed endures dark, deep, cold places all that well, since there's no better place to appreciate their kin-choir. They also tend to sing to one another, and are experimenting with ways to transmit sound along the Behemoth's roots. Such performances are considered open to the public.