Nabri
General description
Nabries or darklings are very rare race above ground, but underground they are much more common. Typical nabri is little over 1.5 meters height and weighs about 30-40 kilos. They have black skin and have accustomed well living in complete darkness. Nabries have stooping backs and in humans point of view they have very faulty posture, but this is natural for all nabries. Limbs are bony and sinewy and long if compared to body. Fingers are long and end up in long and sharp nails. In humans point of view nabries are very ugly looking. Face is very narrow and bony and mouth is wide extending almost from ear to ear. Ears are large. There is many rumors and jokes concerning wide mouth of nabries. Most known saying probably is what mother says to a child, if child is grinning and twisting his face: "If you keep on twisting your mouth, it will rupture wide like darkling's mouth." Nabries have small slightly orange colored eyes and normally eyeball is covered by eyelid so that only pupil is seen. Nabries have pug nose with large nostrils.
Nabries have very keen sense of smell and it is said that nabri can nose like the best tracking-orc. Auditory sense is also very good, but the sense of sight is very weak, although their eyes are very light sensitive and can sense even the slightest light flickers, though without perceiving the shape. Sensitiveness to light is also reason for the fear of sun that usually is so strong that it could be called light-phobia. There however is many rumors about nabries wandering above ground in daylight. When going above ground, they cover their eyes carefully and try to avoid to be seen. Nabries avoid sunlight and won't go above ground without a very good reason. Most common reason to go above ground is seeking of slaves, which is normally done in night-time. Life expectancy of nabri is about 30-40 years.
General personality
Nabries are regarded to be mean, selfish and cruel among the races living above ground. Validity of this belief is not sure. It is, however, true that nabries are very active and their mind is very varying, which can give impression of selfishness and even cruelty.
Wide use and bad treatment of slaves tells also about the cruelty of nabries. Nabries have no sympathy toward any slave.
Clothing / Decorations / Architecture
Generally nabries wear light clothes and favor short boots and loincloths and sometimes also cloaks and robes in colder conditions. Usually all clothes are made of leather or braided of the moss and lichen growing in underground caves. Used leather is taken from giant rats, bats or snakes. Snakeskins are usually taken from dùsen snakes, which are 7-10 meter long constrictors living underground.
Amulets, lucky charms and different jewels are popular among nabries. It is common to wear necklaces made of teeth or bones taken from victims slain in battles or forays.
Housing / society
Nabries live in large underground caverns and usually even deeper than deep dwarves. Nabries can be encountered all around Meln. The caverns nabries inhabit are often made by some other smaller or larger race or nature. Nabries themselves pick up the pick only in rare occasions to mine some metals and to make some minor changes to their caves. It is also known that few nabri societies inhabit mountain passes and caves close to surface, but these are very rare.
Nabries normally live in clans of about 50-200 members. Clan is usually led by somehow the most powerful nabri. Usually leader is the best warrior of the clan. Revolutions and minor civil wars are common and clans sometimes even war against each other.
Livelihood and Economy
Nabries casually trade a bit with deep dwarves. They exchange their very strong gubra alcohol and slaves captured above ground to dwarven metal and stone equipment. Nabries hunt underground creatures for food and other utilization, collect different mushrooms, mosses and lichen and manufacture weapons of those metals they sometimes mine. Almost without an exception they use slave labor at every work. Nabries use different sized metal pieces as money, when they are not exchanging goods.
Relationship
Nabries have very little hereditary matters. Sometimes father's name can be added to a son's name and mother's name to a daughter's name, but this only casual and common only when parents are known. Nabries might sometimes live in so called common law marriages.
Language and penmanship
Language of nabries is mhbur, which has got much impressions of the deep dwarven language. Mhbur has no writing.
Religion and religious festivals
Nabries worship god called Shar-Goinha, which apparently is Sagoin. Nabries don't have any actual festivals for Shar-Goinha, but after some remarkable war victory they usually celebrate and sacrifice prisoners for Shar-Goinha. Shamans represent the Shar-Goinha's greatest power of decision in their own society. Shamans also often sell small amulets and lucky charms to other nabries.
Myths and Legends
Nabries don't have any actual myths or legends. Greatest stories usually are stories about the latest battles or successful slave forays made above ground. Nabries have very strong belief that Shar-Goinha had created the world, but any story don't tell anything about it.
History / Comprehensions about history
It is commonly believed that nabries are by-product accidentally born during creation of another (probably deep dwarves) race and therefore nabries don't have any actual meaning or position in Meln and its history.
Technology
Most developed equipment that nabries have are either robbed above ground or bought from deep dwarves. Nabries themselves can barely forge metal. Stone, copper and iron items are most common among nabries.
Military / Common weapons and techniques
Self-made weapons of nabries are quite primitive and are mostly made of stone, copper or in rare cases iron. More developed weapons have other than nabri origin. Nabries favor clubs, spears, swords, fighting claws and axes. They don't use any armors or helmets only shields sometimes. Favored tactics are usage of surprises and superiority. When fighting, nabries fight like maniacs and the more convinced they are about the victory, the more furiously they fight. They often have also few shamans among them in battles. Shamans cast courage among their fighting comrades. When fighting underground, nabries use different kind of traps and ambushes more than open attacks.
Attitude towards other races
Nabries hate, despise and fear most other races. Giants and especially cave giants are greatly feared and nabries think them to be the embodiments of hate of Shar-Goinha. Nabries trade some with the deep dwarves and think them to be almost as their equal. Humans, other dwarves, elves and paladri are hated and they also usually hate nabries especially due the slave forays. With orcs and goblins nabries have now and then had pacts and alliances, but also wars and battles.
Magic
Nabries are not capable using any magic. Commonly taken nabri-shamans believe to possess divine powers as do other nabries believe shamans have, but this is not true. Shamans often brew strong and stunning drink from small and rare Ghuerar mushrooms growing deep underground. This drink causes hallucinations and illusions, which shamans believe to be straight connection to Shar-Goinha. None of the gods of Meln won't admit nabries to be their chosen people and therefore won't either grant them any magical abilities.
Intelligence and other abilities of nabries are not good enough for learning, assuming and controlling wizard magic.
Other
Nabries like halfling flesh above all other food.
Written by : MoR, Cirdan
Translated by : MoR
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