Goblin

The average goblin

Goblins are an all-male humanoid race who inhabit the snow-capped mountains of the Edam Range in northern Craveland. They are known for their short height of 3½ ft and their ability to project a vortex from their mouths, which allows them to swallow people and objects whole from a distance. Goblins use this ability in order to acquire slaves for the afterlife, as is mandated by the Tome of Swallow, their religion's holy book.

## History

### Ancient history

With the dawn of Craveland, humans decided to migrate across the world. Dozens of caravans traveled across the land, some finding ideal locations and establishing settlements. One such caravan, comprised of 2000, reached the Kel Mountains and climbed it until they located a mostly flat plane halfway up. Satisfied, these humans settled down and founded the city of Kelak in the year 88. Several neighboring cities were founded by these settlers over the years, until they united to form the Kingdom of Kel with Kelak as their capital. Ruling over them was a King and Queen, who held equal authority in all matters.

### Year of Pain

By 247, the Kelan population reached 32,000. That same year, an artificial earthquake was generated by mischievous teenagers in the city, who had gotten their hands on Solium jewelry and were eager to experiment. This earthquake caused a massive avalanche that devastated the kingdom, killing thousands and disintegrating their economy. Rioting, bloodshed, and looting became a constant problem for Kelans. The teenagers who caused this catastrophe were murdered by an angry mob in front of their families. Most magical jewelry was destroyed during this violent period, so that no one could recreate this disaster in the future.

The year after, a vision came to all Kelans in their dreams. The vision promised them that, if they were to practice cannibalism, then a Golden Age will arise. Eager to return to normalcy, they did as the dreams told. They fed several miscreants to their King and Queen whole, and as promised a Golden Age did arise. Their cities were miraculously rebuilt. Their societal problems vanished. Their happiness soared and their discontent plummeted. To keep their golden age from ending, they would feed a live human to their King and Queen every day, whether they were criminals or innocents.

### Rise of cannibalism

Preachers soon demanded that everyone engaged in cannibalism, to ensure that prosperity would never leave their kingdom. Kelans became compulsive cannibals, refusing to eat anything other than human flesh. Several individuals attempted to put an end to this using peaceful debate and then violence, but were apprehended and devoured publicly. The Scroll of Taste became the holy scripture of theirs, which of course advocated for cannibalism.

The Golden Age lasted until 413. The Kel Mountains erupted, spewing lava everywhere. Their cities were swallowed by the lava and their golden age reduced to ashes. Of the 60,000 inhabiting their kingdom, only 500 escaped alive. The King and Queen were not among the survivors. The Kelans who survived left the mountains and traveled to nearby cities. Refusing to leave their cannibalistic ways behind, they formed a cult known as the Tasters of Flesh. Their cannibalism alienated everyone they encountered, forcing them to leave shortly after entering a new city.

By the end of that year, the Tasters of Flesh had built a ship and sailed away. Their two month journey led them to the uninhabited Edam Range, where they settled in the caves of the snow-topped mountains. Over the next 50 years, their numbers dwindled to 300, with only the men remaining. However, in 465, the Tasters of Flesh had discovered a field of Bairnings on the western side of the mountains. They quickly impregnated themselves with the flowers and their population swelled to 2,000 by 521.

### The First Schism

In 477, they left their cramped caves and began to build the massive city of Avkelak near the peaks of the mountains, in honor of those who had died in 413. It was during their construction of Avkelak that they discovered Capacite. After some experimentation, they discovered that they could swallow objects and even people whole by generating a vortex from their mouths, which is much easier than eating a person piece by piece. This caused some controversy among the Tasters of Flesh, for half of them did not want to give up their cannibalistic ways. Tensions grew until a schism emerged, with a man called Kaz Remuru forming the Initials, the faction dedicated to preserving cannibalism, and a man called Azel Eten forming the Heritors, the faction dedicated to casting aside cannibalism in favor of swallowing people whole. This schism lasted ten months, with the Heritors achieving victory because of the advantage of Capacite magic. As punishment, every Initial survivor was swallowed until none remained.

With the schism over, the Heritors crowned Azel Eten as their King. He oversaw the reconstruction of Avkelak and helped found the Church of Vore. The Scroll of Taste was replaced by the Tome of Swallow, which stated that swallowing people whole was necessary for the afterlife, because Vorenites would ascend to godhood upon death and therefore needed slaves to cater to their every desire.

### Mutation

In 725, the Labiles sent out transparent mechanical birds carrying bags of Labilium dust. Once these birds entered a city, they would drop small amounts of the dust all over the place and leave once their bags were emptied. This dust then entered the bodies of residents through inhalation, absorption through the skin, and ingestion. Over several years, this dust mutated their DNA until they were no longer human.

By 1100, humans ceased to exist, having been succeeded by several different races. The denizens of Avkelak mutated into the Goblins. Their noses shrunk, their ears swelled in size, their height decreased to 3½ ft (1.0668 meters), their jaws can be unhinged, and they lost two toes and one finger on their hands and feet. It also merged the Capacite jewelry with their bodies, permanently infusing them with its magical power, allowing them to generate vortexes without the need for jewelry. Succeeding generations are born with this power.