Goblin Lore - ZeFlux

## Conclave Entry on the "Goblins"

The green-skin race that has been collective dubbed "Goblins", has inexplicably risen from the depths of Iaddithis to now harass the lifestyles of the people of the surface. While not too much is known about their current status, there is some writings that depict these green menaces and their servants the have at their disposal. Through old dwarven tomes, a race: "Helions" is mentioned to have similar attributes to the modern "Goblins" we now have to contend with. Due to this similarity, the Conclave has decided to label all Goblinoids and their familiars as the Helions.

## Classification Helion Subtypes/Subspecies

Due to the wide array of observed types of Helions, many scholars have taken some time to classify the Helions into separate subtypes, as can be seen below.

### The Common Helion

The average Helion stands at a height of one meter, but do not underestimate these small balls of malice. While alone, the Common Helion may be a push over for a man with some experience with a sword, but in a warband, they can be deadly. With good communication between those with clubs and the archers, these warbands of Commons can do a good number on even experienced fighter--especially when one is not paying attention.

### The Patriarch

The head of all perceived Helion raids and attacks on settlements have been led by a "Patriarch", which can be argued to be a sort of Warlord for the band of Helions they lead. Compared to other Helions, the Patriarch is the tallest green-skin as he is double the average height of regular Helions as the Patriarch stands at 2 meters tall. It is undetermined as to explain why they achieve such a height, but it does show their dominant role over their subjects.

### The Abyssal Mage

The next category of Helions are the Abyssal Mages whom have adopted the magics of the abyss in order to inflict pain upon their enemies. As a mage, they are able to wield various magics, but specialize in abyssal magic which have malicious results; from eroding stone and rotting life to raising the dead, the Abyssal Mages will do what they must to survive. With this mentality, these Mages are likely to abandon warbands in order to save themselves if raids go poorly.

The Abyssal Mage can be easily pointed out with their staffs and their crudely made masks that hide away their malformed faces that have been corrupted by continual usage of the magics of the Abyss.

### The Minions

Thanks to the Abyssal Mages and their arcane magics, they have been able to summon undead Helions and experiment upon lifeforms to create contorted creatures.

#### The Skeleions

The first documented minion of Abyssal Mages are the Skeleton-Helions, or "Skeleions" for short. Simply put, they are usually Common Helions, but in an undead form. Due to not truly being "alive", they are immune to certain forms of trauma, but the preferred means to defeating them is through blunt weapons and tripwire traps.

#### The Minotaurs

While not being a Helion traditionally, as they are not a green-skin, Minotaurs are an abomination created by the Helion race through the usage of Abyssal magics on a captured human and a wild bovine. The end result of this experimented unleashed the brutal monster that Helions try and usually fail to maintain control over. Due to the immense strength and innate durability of the Minotaur, they usually break free from the reigns of their respective "creator" Abyssal Mage and rampage the warband's encampment and various settlements nearby.

The one caveat noticed by those who fight against these monstrosities is that while they may be extremely strong and durable, they seem to collapse after some time and perish. While the reasoning for this phenomenon may not be discerned as of yet, many hypotheses have been proposed that believe the Minotaurs have no means to keep themselves nourished due to their deformed nature externally and internally.

## The History of the Helions

According to some ancient tomes there happens to be an ancient race called the "Lilliputians". These texts describe these folks as fair-skinned men of a short stature who were magically inclined. The Lilliputians saw to explore all the avenues available to them in the field of magic in order to improve their society.

However, this mindless pursuit of progress led to their eventual downfall, as some began to tamper with Abyssal magics that were not meant to be wielded by mortals. Despite the attempts of the Divine Smiths, the Lilliputians continued down the path of their slow decline in to madness, insanity, and eventual corruption.

The Abyss’s “gifts” of entropy and stagnation had stripped the Lilliputians of their humanity and willingness to follow in the light of the Divine Smiths.

Over many generations, their fair skin and facial features of the Lilliputians began to shift towards a sickly green while their noses and ears grew more exaggerated. Their flowing, long hair would be traded for patchy and bald scalps as the Abyss’s magics finally consumed them.

While consumed by the magics of the Abyss, they had gained a sort of pseudo-immortality as their short life spans were quadrupled and gained a better grasp of corrupting the natural order of life established via the Divine Smiths.

After several generations of these changes, the original Lilliputian society was destroyed as the new corrupted Lilliputians killed off the majority of those who opposed the Abyss’s magica.

The corrupted Lilliputians would come to call themselves the Hellions, or the Troublemakers, as they sought to end the reign of the Divine Smiths over the realm of Iaddithis.

The Divine Smiths saw this new corrupted race with contempt, but brushed them aside as they assumed that they would burn themselves out by tampering with the Abyss. The only Smith to keep a constant eye on the Hellions was Alsi, as she saw these troublemakers as a threat to the established order.

In time, Alsi’s fear would become reality as these upstart Hellions would begin to wage war against the other societies and polities in a war of extermination.

The Hellions would at first use wave tactics to overwhelm and destroy smaller settlements and peoples. But overtime they’d hit walls, metaphorically and literally as the simplistic swarm tactics would not break the defenses of more organized societies like the dwarves & ancient humans.

In order to break the status quo, the Hellion arcanists managed to experiment with the Abyssal magica to tamper with life and the world, which gave birth the Skeleions and the Minotaurs. For some time, these new twisted entities wrought havoc upon the world of man.

As towns were put to the torch by the Helion hordes, Alsi was able to obtain the help of the other 3 Divine Smiths in order to bring order to the madness brought to Iaddithis. By various means, the Divine Smiths and mortal forces were able to cull the majority of the Helion onslaught. As a result, the remnants of the Helion horde sought sanctuary deep down underground in dark & damp caverns--which is where they were once confined to until recently.