Dark Fantasy X Race Deep Dive: The Hyperboreans

Because Lomar is starting to feature a bit more in the threads of the CHAOS IN WAYCHESTER project, I thought it would be a good idea to start my new RACE DEEP DIVE project with the Hyperboreans, and explain how they're different than just exotically colored humans.

Because at first glance, that's exactly what they appear to be; humans who have a chalky grayish white skin tone, colorless gray or white hair, and even pale, silver-chrome eyes. But as with all of the demihumans in Dark Fantasy X, exotic appearance isn't the only thing that sets them apart from their formerly fully human ancestry; all of the demihumans are subject to some kind of curse, supernatural admixture or mutation, or other inflection point after which they are defined as no longer completely human.

The Hyperboreans, as their name implies, originally come from the far north, in a kind of strange climate anomaly where clement weather prevailed over the countryside. They lived in a variety of autonomous city-states, which had a variety of cultural, religious and other differences between them, although they also recognized their brotherhood as Hyperboreans. The entire land was conquered several centuries ago by one of the members of the Heresiarchy, supremely powerful sorcerers that have most of the advantages of both liches and vampires, without the weaknesses of either—and for that matter, with less humanity than either at this point as well. Jairan Neferirkare, the Soulless—a beautiful yet treacherous tyrant who put the Hyperboreans under her thumb for a century, but who's mismanagement ultimately resulted in the destruction of that realm, was the culprit in this particular case. The climatic anomaly that made Hyperborea livable was destroyed, and harsh, frozen weather came in. The society of Hyperboreans fought back against Jairan, and ultimately prevailed, although it was a Pyrrhic victory. Jairan fled but the land was unable to support the population that once lived there. Only a handful of hearty nomads; mammoth steppe hunters, still call this place home, and they are a primitive and superstitious rump of the former glory of Hyperborea, who worship a twisted memory of the Heresiarch as a goddess. Other remnant populations maintain ties to cults that Jairan still influences, but by and large, the Hyperborean diaspora from Hyperborea was fairly complete, and once outside of the influence of the benighted land, most Hyperboreans went their own way culturally. With the retreat of Jairan and the collapse of the climate in the area, savage Inutos moved in as well, driving most of what remained of the Hyperboreans either extinct or into further diaspora. 

Nobody truly believes that Jairan Neferirkare was killed; but her whereabouts have been unknown for many long years now, and most are hopeful that they will no longer have to worry about a reappearance.

However, all of the Hyperboreans were tainted by a curse that Jairan left on those who were so gauche as to reject her rule. Today, even in some circles, the entire race is called the Cursed. Like most demihumans, they do not speak of this curse to outsiders, and many do not know of its existence, or do not believe it if they have heard of it. In terms of the game (as opposed to the setting as a place for potential fiction) I'd suggest that unless a player wants to roleplay out the effects of this curse, that it be seen as not affecting PC characters.  I suggest, in fact, that they not affect major NPCs either, unless it's a theme or something that you want to explore deliberately.  I'd additionally suggest that if you needed a statistical number for how likely it is to occur, that number is quite a bit less than 0.1%.  However... there are considerably more than a thousand Hyperborean individuals so if this is something that you want to use for whatever reason, you can.  

This curse, when it manifests, takes the form of an uncontrollable urge towards cannibalism.  Nobody knows for sure how many Hyperboreans are cannibals (some primitive or evil subcultural entities engage in the practice culturally whether affected by the curse or not), but those who fall under the curse must consume human flesh, or they will slowly devolve into ghouls.  For the most part, the repast must happen once per month at the least.  Some Hyperboreans in Inganok suspect that their own people, devolved into ghouls, and then clawed their way out of savagery into lucidity again and are the origin of the vampires of Timischburg; although it seems unlikely that they would be the only source of such if they did in fact contribute at all, given that the land of Timischburg, especially Grozavest itself, has been laboring under a dark curse for far longer than the Hyperboreans have lived there.

In Lomar, the practice of cannibalism is highly illegal, and those who fall victim to the curse are immediately proclaimed legally dead and are either euthanized, or locked up permanently if they are caught and their cursed nature is uncovered. The founders of Lomar originally came from the city-state of Zobna within Hyperborea, which was always the epicenter of resistance to the rule of Jairan Neferirkare. They are the most noble and civilized of the Hyperboreans even today, although they were also during the years that Hyperboreans still inhabited their homeland and practiced their native customs and cultures, and they reject the curse as being no more than what it is: a curse, although some other lingering populations wear the curse as a badge of honor of sorts.

Lomar borders the Hill Country, and the Zobnans of Lomar have friendly relationships, for the most part, with the Hillmen. A brisk naval trade passes between Lomar and the Hillmen cities of Cayminster and Waychester, as well as numerous smaller ports and stops along the shores of the Darkling Sea. The Zobnans have, in fact, adapted many customs from the Hillmen; they speak their language, they dress in similar (albeit sometimes exaggerated or even caricaturish) clothes to the Hillmen, and the majority of them have converted to Christianity and have adopted the cultural penchant for individualism and the sovereignty and sacred nature of the individual, although they don't really quite understand that concept the exact same way that the Hillmen do. All in all, Lomar is a success story of migration and establishment, and peaceful coexistence and syncretism with the Hillmen, many of whom are welcome to live among them within the city itself.

Here's a few sample Zobnans from Lomar, although some of them have traveled outside of its borders.

A city guard of Lomar, with a traditional maul as a weapon

A "shadow sword" manifesting her supernatural weapons as two hand axes.

A somewhat battered mercenary or caravan guard.

Some small number of Zobnan "revanchists" still travel on occasion to Old Hyperborea to hunt gnoph-keh or Inutos. Their dream of reclaiming their homeland is quixotic, but they persist in keeping an eye on the place nonetheless, which keeps the Inutos from spilling out, if nothing else.

A dignitary; one of the Councilmen of Lomar, most likely, a powerful body that advises the Lord Mayor of Lomar.

A sage from the Academy of Lomar. Possibly even a student of thaumaturgy. From the perspective of the Hillmen, the Lomarans are a bit too casual in their prosecution of potential witches and warlocks, although... in true Hillmen fashion, they just shake their heads and let them do what they do rather than attempt to intervene or lecture them.

Gnumus Silesus is an expatriate Lomaran, who lives in Dunsbury. He enjoys the warmer climate and the friendly atmosphere, so he makes sure that his business dealings on behalf of clients in Lomar keep him away from Lomar as often as possible. He's a friendly and welcome sight in most of Dunsbury, although his attempts to dress like a Hillman occasionally border on tragicomic.

Kimnor Rugova is another expatriate from Lomar, who travels with freelance Shadow Ranger Stefan Clevenger, and considers him his unofficial brother. He's got some kind of beef with something going on in Lomar which he is loth to talk about, although his exile from that city is self-imposed.

Ampelius Pictor is a Zobnan by culture, and he dresses and appears as one, but he's actually fallen into Nyxian cults and radical politics secretly. Which brings us to...

There is another group of Hyperboreans living in Lomar as well. They are a more recent addition, having moved en masse about a century or so ago. They hail from the old Hyperborean city-state of Nyx, which was hit much harder in the Pyrrhic wars of freedom that drove off Jairan Neferirkare, so they represent a much smaller population, but they are still a sizable plurality of the population of Lomar today; somewhere between 20-25%. (Hillmen and other non-Hyperboreans represent another 20-25% or so; Zobnans make up the majority 50-60% of the population.)

The Nyxians are not nearly so cosmopolitan as the Zobnans, and hang on stubbornly and in fact somewhat bitterly to their traditional ways as best they can, although attrition of younger generations who forego Nyxian traditions and assimilate into the Zobnan mainstream is a real issue. They dress all in dark, often prefer a savage appearance with strange shavings in their hair, tattoos and other barbaric cues. They often speak their dialect of the old Hyperborean language among themselves and resent having to use the common speech of the Three Realms. Few of them are Christians, and they malign that faith, sticking with their own ancient cults. Although illegal in Zobna, some of them practice cultic cannibalism in secret, and they often protect rather than surrender those of their number who fall victim to the curse of the Hyperboreans. 

Although they fought for their freedom against Jairan Neferirkare in generations past, and suffered more than most for their travail in that regard, their cult has been infiltrated from almost the beginning by agents of the Heresiarch, and they unknowingly work for aims that further her goals in ways that would see the Nyxians continue to suffer.

The political and cultural tension between Zobnans and Nyxians in Lomar has threatened at some points to boil over into riots, suppression, expulsion, or even genocide, as the two camps aren't really capable of living in peace; their goals are too incompatible. The Zobnans want to welcome the Nyxians as long-lost brothers, but the Nyxians all too often have no use for the Zobnans, want to see their way of life destroyed as an insult to Old Hyperborea, and feel that those who won't convert to their radical death cult need to simply be removed... one way or another. Finally after many, many years, some of the Zobnans are starting to wake up to the incompatibility of these goals with their way of life, and are starting to feel that the Nyxians who won't assimilate need to be exiled from Zobna, or put to death if they will not leave on their own, as the only way to preserve their own way of life for their own children.

In the past, these tensions have always managed to be tamped down by the Lord Mayor, the Councilmen and their representatives, but the root disconnect remains.

Here's a bunch of Nyxians. Physically they don't really look different than the Zobnans, other than that their traditional Nyxian dress is distinct. In spite of their militant traditionalism, however, the lines between Zobnan and Nyxian appearance have been significantly blurred.

A Guild Assassin, an ancient Nyxian custom. Naturally, it's illegal in Lomar, but it persists nonetheless underground.

A Nyxian berzerker

Even the most militant traditionalists have taken a liking to the fine quality Hillman weapons. This Carlovingian style sword is a common sight in Lomar.

This Nyxian is heavily accentuating his savage Nyxian heritage, with a traditional wave dagger, and a deliberately unkempt, barbaric appearance.

Shadow Swords were always more common among the Nyxians than among most other groups in the Three Realms, and they may indeed have been a Hyperborean invention, or creation of Jairan Neferirkare in the years in which she ruled Hyperborea.

If the Hillmen think that the normal Zobnan Lomarans are casual in their approach to witchcraft, the Nyxians almost embrace it. There's an interesting dance between the legal aspect of it (it isn't legal at all) and the ancient cultural occultism that is part of Nyxian life.

Another Nyxian warrior who plays up the barbaric appearance that is his heritage, although this guy probably functions relatively well outside of Nyxian society, and uses the cachet of his appearance  as part of his sales schtick as a mercenary.

Finally, there's a small population of secretive Hyperboreans who live in Inganok in Timischburg, who come from neither Zobna nor Nyx. While secretive and sticking to themselves, they also have lost most of their cultural distinctiveness, and aren't really any more secretive or unfriendly than most benighted small communities elsewhere in Timischburg. Their claim to fame is the mining of onyx from the Onyx Peaks, and fishing in the ocean and Ryazan Bay. They're also famous, among those who know them (who are few; famous maybe isn't quite the right word) for their pessimism and stoicism in the face of adversity. They seem to have been in Timischburg since before the coming of the Timischers, back when it was a different kingdom called Tarush Noptii. If that is true, then that suggests that they had already left Hyperborea before the collapse of that ancient kingdom; maybe even before Jairan Neferirkare arrived at all. This may explain their almost complete lack of any recognizable Hyperborean cultural traits, in spite of their obvious physical linkage to their distant cousins in the north.

Inganok onyx miner

And just for good measure, here's the description from the Dark Fantasy X rulebook. As I've developed this more detailed and nuanced description of the race, I may need to slightly edit this to be up to date.

Hyperborean: Racial affinity for Stealth, +1 to Athletics and +1 to Knowledge. These characters are exiles from long-lost Hyperborea. They have exotically pale chalk-colored skin, hair and eyes, and are altogether almost completely colorless. They speak in a voice that sounds like a rasping whisper. They mostly live in the city-state of Lomar, or in the forests even further to the north, but pressure from invading Inutos in their original homeland has caused more of them to be seen in the lands to the south.