Denizens

Denizens are intelligent beings native to The Otherworld. They are magically-attuned beings who travel the realms, and are ruled by the deific being; the Supreme Magistrate Que'Naroth. Denizens are known for their obsession with bureaucracy and law, their restricted caste system, and their unparalleled magical knowledge.

## Description

### Appearance

Denizen clothing usually covers every inch of their skin, and they consider it taboo to reveal any more than this to a non-denizen creature. Because of this, their appearance beneath this was unknown for centuries. Nevertheless we now know.

Denizens are humanoid in shape, bone structure, and musculature. However, they have very dark bluish skin, and glowing blood, usually blue in colour. Because of this, their eyes and mouths also glow. Denizens lack noses or ears, and only have two fingers and a thumb on each hand. Their heads usually trail off into wispy shapes, which sometimes looks like flame, and is sometimes styled.

Beyond this, Denizen physiology is incredibly varied. Their number of eyes is variable, from one to five. Some Denizens even have four arms.

### Physiology

A Denizen’s body may mimic the form of one made from flesh and blood, but in fact they are created from pure arcane energy. This gives them a number of benefits, such as resistance to physical harm, but more importantly it prevents their body from aging. However, the constitution of their physical form is inextricably linked to their mental fortitude, which is one of the reasons they focus on law and organisation so fiercely. A Denizen’s body never grows old, but their mind does, giving them a rough lifespan of 200 years before they start to lose their grip on reality, both literally and figuratively.

## Background

Many centuries ago, a coven of seven human mages combined their magical power to create a huge artificial dimension. They named it the Otherworld, and became the gods of this new realm. They then created artificial beings of magic, who were named the Denizens of the Otherworld. Unfortunately most of these mages were not benevolent rulers, and treated the new life they had made as slaves. A few decades in, the Denizens rebelled, slew the human rulers, and took the Otherworld for themselves.

Yet their troubles did not end here. The boundaries between the Otherworld and other realms are thin, and they must constantly deal with invasions from other interdimensional creatures; such as demons, arcane entities, elementals, and worse.

### Society

Since conquering the Otherworld, the Denizens have built an efficient, stratified society, with a regimented caste system and a strict code of laws. This is necessary to keep their unstable world from falling apart, all Denizens must do their part, and lawbreakers are swiftly punished. Since the fall of the human mages, the Otherworld has been ruled by the Supreme Magistrate Que’Naroth, a being who is both the sovereign ruler of Denizenkind, and their patron deity. Beneath the Supreme Magistrate are the Najuuris Caste, the lawkeepers and judges of the Otherworld.

Denizens have a reputation for being highly litigious and bureaucratic, always following the rules to the letter. Though their society does encourage this culture, this is hardly representative of all Denizens; they have as much range of personalities as humans do.

However there are Six Laws in particular which most Denizens treat as sacred, the first Six Laws laid out by Que’Naroth. These laws mostly revolve around protecting the Otherworld, and keeping the structure of their society intact. Anybody who breaks one of these laws is cast out of their society and branded as a “Maletha”, a rogue Denizen.

### Relations with Humans

Many Denizens still hold a centuries-old grudge against humanity, for how they oppressed Denizenkind after creating it. It is a common idiom in the Otherworld that only one out of seven humans is a good person. This is due to the fact that, out of the seven mages who created the Otherworld, only one treated the Denizens with kindness.

Human interaction with Denizens is rare. Denizens sometimes cross the border to Coryphiel, but very rarely allow humans into the Otherworld. Of those Denizens who do cross into Coryphiel, most are either researchers and diplomats, or runaway “Maletha”, seeking shelter among humankind.