Traitors of a Long-Lost Cause

[Wensleydale]

This is my campaign's version of the Maenads... suggestions? Thoughts?


Crystalskins

The Crystalskins are an almost psychopathic, emotion-filled race who take their name from the living crystalline layer just beneath the epidermis of their skin.  

Physical Description: Crystalskins are a short people around the size of an average elf, but a more physically powerful one. Whilst skillful in the arts of war, the 'Maenads', as they have also been named (see history, below) are more suited to one-on-one combat than full battles. This is due to their extremely high levels of emotional chemicals produced by the natural crystal layer beneath the epidermis. This same layer glitters under the right light, giving the race their name, and vibrates when they become angry.

Personality: All Crystalskins are extremely calm and composed. This is the only way they can hold back the intense tides of emotion beneath their skin, and it's said that if any 'Maenad' released himself from this bind, he would lose control completely.

Lands: The Crystalskins reside in their homeland to the far East, beyond the Trollblight and the Xevorti lands.

Political Groups: Crystalskin warriors are all bound to honour the Binder, whose temples are the leaders in Maenad civilisation. The Binder's strict path of honour and law holds every day of the year except for the three Feastdays, Gamenta, Morvri, and Tatha. On these days the Maenads perform their wildly emotional dances, ritually scar one another, and enter a powerful and screaming emotional state. Each Feastday is a wild mass of dances, orgies, breeding frenzies and feasts. Any who has grown used to Crystalskins on other days would be shocked to see a true feastday.

Languages: The Maenad language (Maenad being their own term for themselves) was once, many hundreds of years ago, a direct mix of elven and sylvan. Now, however, it has diverged and developed so wildly that only someone capable of speaking archaic elven and sylvan would be able to guess at one tenth of the words, nevermind speak it fluently. It has its own, flowing alphabet that is partly elven but mostly of their own devising. Most also speak Xevorti and Orc.

History: The History of the Maenad race is one of betrayal and war, but also of love. It is said that several hundred years ago, Fey walked among the elves as if among their own kind, and procreation was common. Orvrin the Elfking was married to Maera the Feyqueen, and they had four children together. However, Maera had the fickle nature of all fey, and cavorted with many other men. When the four children heard of this, they were extremely angry. The eldest brother confronted their mother, and it swiftly came to blows. However, the mother was easily the stronger of the two, and so he was sent off horribly injured. His second brother confronted the mother afterwards, but he too was cast out a broken wreck. The sister and brother, however, were not fools, but they could not discover an answer to the problem. Thus, the wise Hagqueen came upon them.
Hags are disturbing, ugly creatures, and this one was no exception. They are also cunning, and conniving, but wise with it, and the Haqqueen was the most disturbing, ugly, cunning, conniving and most importantly the wisest of the lot. She told the two that to defeat their mother, they would need to concieve children between the two of them in the crystal cave. Although incest was illegal among the fey courts, their hatred for their mother was strong. The sister had many children, and all of them were born with a layer of crystal beneath their skin. They grew swiftly, and became strong, powerful individuals. They knew their mission, and there came a day when the Feycourt met and the Feyqueen sat at the head of the room. The newly created race fell upon the court mercilessly, killing any who got in their way, until the eldest reached the front and cut down the shocked queen. With her dying breath she named them 'Maenadi', 'Kin-Slayers'. But the Queen was not unavenged. The Hagqueen's repayment fell upon the Maenadi, and suddenly all the anger originally directed towards the Queen burst out hundredfold. They slaughtered all in their path, their anger combusting them and making their crystalline skin crack with its power. Along with the anger came other emotions... hate... love... desire... and the Maenadi fled from the homes of their ancestors, across the Daemon Wastes, and ended their journey far away in their now-homelands. Since, they have developed their own language and culture and learned to keep their emotions in check. This time was known as 'the Great Anger' or Il'huavin'Ortr in the Maenad Tongue, and has left deep imprints on the history of the Xevorti humans whose ancestors populated that area.

[SDragon]

"maenads"? live in the east?

do they go lobster fishing?

[Yair]

Impressive!!  Are they still removed from the world?

[Epic Meepo]

I'd have to say that the backstory of the maednads seems a bit forced. The reactions of the characters to marital impropriety seem blown way out of proportion; unless they are highly unstable, I can't fathom how they could judge incest and matricide to be reasonable courses of action.

[SDragon]

I'd have to say that the backstory of the maednads seems a bit forced. The reactions of the characters to marital impropriety seem blown way out of proportion; unless they are highly unstable, I can't fathom how they could judge incest and matricide to be reasonable courses of action.

yea, reading that over, i kinda agree. its less dramatic, but it would be easier to accept that the father was just...

yknow, fey-hungry....

[Tybalt]

In a way I couldn't help but think of a race described in "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy", the Silastic Armorfiends of Striterax, which are described as being so hostile that if placed in a room alone they will eventually beat themselves up.

However they'd be interesting as a cursed and doomed race, which I guess you were striving for?

[Wensleydale]

I'd have to say that the backstory of the maednads seems a bit forced. The reactions of the characters to marital impropriety seem blown way out of proportion; unless they are highly unstable, I can't fathom how they could judge incest and matricide to be reasonable courses of action.

It should be taken with a grain of salt... it's more of a myth thsn truth, although the creation of the Maenad race was the reason for the elf/fey split.

[SDragon]

i still kinda want to know if the maenads from the east hunt seafood....

[Wensleydale]

i still kinda want to know if the maenads from the east hunt seafood....

*nods* of course they do, stupid.

[SDragon]

i still kinda want to know if the maenads from the east hunt seafood....

*nods* of course they do, stupid.

dont you mean "ayuh"?

[Wensleydale]

i still kinda want to know if the maenads from the east hunt seafood....

*nods* of course they do, stupid.

dont you mean "ayuh"?

Precisely.