Esuriit

*For information on this race as an adversary in campaign mode, see Esuriit Enemy Types.*

## Description & Physiology

Woolly, barb-backed bugs with faces like skulls. Their kind live underground in a eusocial hive where their Queen decides the physical form and function of each individual. Biological castes like Drone, Mauler, Lobber, and Doorman all look and act different but belong to the same species and share intentions. Currently there is some debate as to whether or not they possess free will, as individual Esuriit, while smart, are not keen on answering questions and appear to rely more on pheromonal orders than thoughts. Their innate drive to obey their Queen is so strong that their bodies seem respond automatically to her commands, moving on their own accord without either the consent or care of their minds- precisely which is the case is hard to say.

Regardless of what role their monarch has in store for them all Esuriit start life as soft-bodied larvae hatched from eggs. These *crubs* are pale, fleshy, maggots comparable in size to human infants and are similarly helpless. They rely on care provided by Drones for the earliest part of their lives (believed to last about one month), after which point they harden into sessile pupae. It is at this point that their intended castes become apparent, as certain morphs take longer to metamorphose than others. Exactly how each individual's caste is predetermined is not yet understood, but it is known that the Queen decides and does so before eggs are laid, not after.

Regarding the Queen almost nothing is known for sure. Lesser Esuriit speak of her in the absolute highest regard, somewhere between a mother figure and a goddess, but do not describe her in full detail, presumably to protect her secret interests. They are all adamant that she is not to be bothered by outsiders under any circumstance, save for when she herself requests an audience. Only a handful of human beings have ever laid eyes on her (all members of the royal family) and have said scarce little of their encounters other than that they were "tense" and that "the Queen is a shrewd negotiator".

## Culture

From what has been observed by the surface races the Esuriit hive is extremely utilitarian. They do not craft tools or sculpt architecture, at least not in any traditional sense, and build almost exclusively from a single material, a fast drying paste created by mixing freshly chewed soil with saliva. Their constructs are all very simple, sturdy, and are generally regarded as ugly. Most of their creations can be classified as either pillars or bridges, being used primarily to reinforce underground chambers and optimize travel times between points of interest. Esuriit "homes" are the simplest structures of all, little more than hollowed out spheres of earth lined with soft bedding material. Most individual Esurites do not have homes of their own and instead live in large communal domes made to house dozens of their caste.

Not all Esuriit share these conditions, however. There are also, it is said, the elite: honored individuals who attend the Queen directly and provide services like grooming, feeding, guarding, and mating. These special Esurites live in elevated pod-houses that are not built, but rather grown, and are rooted in only the most fertile soil near the Queen's lair. They are made from a particular type of fungus called *Buellok* which grows stems as tall as trees and leaves behind clusters of room-sized spore pods after reproducing.

Fungi are actually the backbone of Esuriit civilization. While some can be hollowed out for housing and lookout posts many more service the hive as sustenance. Esurite farmers take particular pride in the health and importance of their cultivated mushroom forests, which grow sparsely in wide fields that stretch acres and are patrolled by guards. Such mushrooms are a staple of the Esurite diet and are supposedly nutritious enough to feed whole cities all by themselves. Smaller and more colorful forms are cultivated for their flavor and medicinal effects. Poisonous and parasitic fungi are not kept for any reason, not even warfare, as the potential threat they pose to their hive is evidently deemed too great to be worth the risk.

As numerous and beneficial as these domesticated mushrooms are, however, they are not the only food the Esuriit eat. They are omnivorous, after all, and are very well equipped for acts of predation. Their meat of choice is *Yche*, a juicy, iridescent steak harvested from the bodies of detrivorous mites that grow almost as big as cows. *Chyrme* (also called "slop slab") is another favorite meal that is considerably harder to come by- the giant worms it comes from are not fully domesticated and can be quite hard to unearth. Regular earthworms, fly maggots, and other soft-bodied invertebrates more familiar to humans are also kept in captivity but are raised for their agricultural benefits, not as food.

## History

The underground hollow that the Esuriit call home, Agartha, is an utterly isolated and self sufficient system that has no doubt existed below the surface of the mainland for millions of years. It is not known when in Luenra's history the ancestors of the Esuriit first moved in or developed into a sapient race, but considering their current level of intellect and the apparent age of some of their older cities it seems fair to reason they may have been active as far back as the Age of Fire. The races of the so-called "surface world" did not discover them until much later.

First contact occurred two human generations before the Age of Aether officially began, when the great grandfather of King Jerrich, the renowned Thirteenth King of Avalon, approved an elaborate mining expedition in the southwest region of the continent. There, at the site of one of the deepest caverns uncovered, several spelunkers fled their posts raving about "skeletal monsters". So far as the general public was aware this is was where the story ended.

A second party escorted by armed guards and royal scribes confirmed the presence of "giant ants the size of wolves, ghastly to look upon but skittish, nervous, and dumb". Initially thought of as simple animals, the only concern the team had was whether or not it would be cost efficient to remove them from the mine. It was observed soon after, however, that the insects had a special propensity for gathering and, quite unlike any wild beasts, were willing to offer some of what they unearthed in exchange for items of relative equal worth. When word of *this* reached the royal court, plans changed.

The Thirteenth King employed the Esuriit and issued a private decree that stated they were to all be treated with respect by the royal court of Avalon and their contracted laborers. Everyone involved with the matter was sworn into secrecy under punishment of death, as the King suspected the general public would not take well to an alliance between men and "monsters" and might even call for war. The move also had significant political benefits, as future contributions made by these new secret allies could make Avalon appear mightier than it truly was.

Trade between the hive and the kingdom opened fairly quickly and with no blood shed, but it was not a simple process. Communication proved to be a major obstacle in the early days of the alliance, as while Esurites *could* be taught speech they lacked the vocal chords to recite it. They had no concept of written words (which were not especially effective in the dim torchlight of the mines anyway) and could not express their native language to human beings as it was chemical in nature. A new code had to be invented, a series of clicks, pauses, and scrapes that could be executed as easily by human tools as by Esuriit mandibles and claws. This method became the new standard and is still used today, even by Esurites talking to one another!

Terms and payment came next and were much easier to sort out. Simply put, the Esuriit had no interest whatsoever in financial gain. Their society did not employ the use of currency and the precious gems and ores so coveted by humans had next to no value to them. They wanted only what could benefit the hive directly and so agreed to work for food and water only. This suited the King just fine and so both parties prospered for the following two generations. The Kingdom of Avalon amassed fabulous riches, an excess of forging metals, and a powerful reputation while the Esuriit hive feasted on unprecedented bounties that raised their quality of life and allowed them to expand and multiply more than ever before.

## Special Abilities & Mechanics

* **Signal** - Releases a pheromone mist that requests aid from allied Esurites. Its exact effect varies by caste.

* *Castes* - There are four distinct morphs which the player can control throughout their campaign, all of which can be switched to at any time by pressing a direction on the d-pad. Pressing the same direction multiple times cycles between individuals of the same caste.
	+ ***Drone*** - (up) The default morph available in every level. Drones are usually the most numerous of the player's units and are the second smallest and weakest of the four castes, having high mobility and attack speed but not much else to their advantage. Their light weight and hook-like claws do allow them to move with unhindered speed on walls and ceilings, however. Their Signal draws all allied Drones to their current location, useful for crowding enemies or interacting with the environment.
	+ ***Mauler*** - (right) The primary combat unit of the Esuriit army. Maulers are much bigger and tougher than Drones, having the most attack power of any caste as well as a 25% damage reduction when hit by projectiles. They're not quite as numerous as Drones and move slower, especially on walls and ceilings. They launch their pheromones as an arcing projectile when they Signal, sending all Maulers to attack a designated target and temporarily making it 15% weaker to their attacks.
	+ ***Lobber*** - (left) Esurite forge-snipers who regurgitate streams of liquid metal. Extremely brittle, they are the smallest and weakest of the castes by far but make up for it with incredible range and attack. Their molten shots not only ignore enemy armor but also grow incrementally more powerful when they feed on armored enemies! They have even better climbing speed than Drones and are quite nimble. The Lobber Signal orders all Lobbers to stop, including the one currently being controlled, and provides the player with a temporary aiming reticle; press circle or square and all Lobbers will open fire simultaneously on the reticle's target.
	+ ***Doorman*** - (down) The largest and least numerous of the castes, the Doormen are the shield of the Esuriit army. Covered from head to toe in heavy armor, these slow moving brutes take 30% less melee damage and are impervious all to ranged attacks. Their Signal works similar to Lobbers, stopping all Doormen and giving the player an aiming reticle. Pressing circle a second time will send all Doormen except for the one the player is currently controlling to the location they've marked and orders them to form a barricade, hunkering down and temporarily becoming immobile and invincible. These Doormen will maintain their position until the Doorman Signal is used again, or if the player approaches them (with any caste) and presses triangle to interact.
	+ *NOTE:* While some levels *do* provide reinforcements or infinite Drones, players *can* Game Over in most levels by losing all of their units!

* *Feeding* - Health pickups *will not spawn* during the Esuriit campaign. Health must be recovered by feeding directly on the bodies of enemies, which is done by pressing triangle (interact) over corpses. How much health a meal recovers varies depending on the size of the enemy, but be careful: not everything is edible!

## Interactibles

* *Chasms, Pits & White Water Rivers* - Gather Drones to short stretches of impassable terrain and press triangle to form living bridges for other units.
* *Deep Water* - Gather Drones near bodies of deep water and press triangle to form living rafts for ferrying other units.
* *Roots, Ropes & Cracked Walls* - Sic Maulers on soft or otherwise vulnerable parts of the environment to destroy them.
* *Cracked Pillars & Bridges* - Order Lobbers to open fire on areas with weak supports to make them collapse.
* *Cave-ins* - Order Doormen to form a barricade by collapsing walls to temporarily support them.

## Stat Ratings (Age of Aether, averaged)

* Movement speed: **2nd** Best
* Swimming speed: **4th** Best
* Jump height: **3rd** Best
* Unarmed attack: **4th** Best
* Damage resistance: **2nd** Best

## Turret

* **Spitting Spire** - A crude earthen tower built to house Lobbers. They open fire anytime enemies draw near, chipping away health en masse with their molten projectiles. Their Spire has openings on every side and can shoot in all directions simultaneously, but its range is fairly limited.

## In the Age of Aether

Human-Esuriit relations were already deteriorating when Jerrich made his move. He had never liked their kind, nor the fact that so many of his predecessor's greatest achievements had relied on them. "Avalon is already strong enough to stand on her own", he would always say. Then the Godbreath was uncovered, and he and his men set about perfecting Aeromancy... it was all the excuse he needed. Under his order the alliance between Agartha and Avalon was silently dissolved, all records burned, and the old mines blasted shut.

The Queen would not have been so roused if Jerrich's betrayal were merely an insult, but unfortunately for her and her subjects it was more akin to a death sentence. They had grown accustomed to their new way of life- over reliant perhaps, but comfortable, and safe... but more importantly, there were reparations to be made.

The alliance between the Esuriit and humans had provided many spoils, yes, but not without a cost. Their success had come too quickly, been made too recklessly. The upper tunnels were crumbling from the weight of their two hundred year occupation, from axes and claws and black powder blasts. Food and water were growing scarce, the soil poor and overworked, and the caverns that had once felt so spacious were now miserably cramped. The people of both lands *had* received, but only Agartha had given. Only Agartha was suffering.

For the first time in Esuriit history the Queen ordered an invasion of the surface. The quaint and stalwart halls of her primordial homeland could support them no more. This was not the future she had wanted, not the path she'd wanted her children to follow, but the humans had made this war unavoidable. They had given her only two choices: either rise up now, or be forgotten. And she would *not* be forgotten.

## Trivia

* The Esuriit are a combination of two different mythical ants: gold-digging ants and ant-lions.
* Their Legends, all monsters from European folklore, are the adopted leftovers of Avalon's past. Originally guarded and revered by *humans*, they were all cast aside once King Jerrich learned he could create monsters of his own that could be controlled directly by Aeromancy. The Esuriit Queen empathized with their rejection and took them into the hive eager to use their strength against him.

## Gallery

Drone icon.Mauler icon.Lobber icon.Doorman icon.