Noxcess

"'They may seem intimidating and strange, but I assure you that in reality there are few more predictable than my kin. However alien their ways may seem, most Noxcess seek two things: to uphold our oaths and to ensure our species continues on.' - Lord Commander Zy Ravenheart, founder of the Golden Lance"Far beneath the sands of the Er'ac'sen desert lie the Wells of the mysterious Noxcess. Countless caverns built around underground rivers mark the sprawling subterranean domain of the strange and alien culture of albino men, digging away at the tunnels as though the rest of the world didn't exist. To an outsider the Wells can seem like a chaotic mess, with people moving in all directions and haphazard walkways ensuring no space goes unused. To foreigners the traffic is a writhing mass of pale bodies rushing to and fro about their daily business. Noxcess, however, can see the true beauty in said mass flowing through each other in an almost rhythmic synchronicity. When dealing with the surface, they often seem to have a very disconnected attitude towards things, and are unable to step back and take it in from an outside perspective.

Noxcess suffer from an old curse; they are unable to give birth to female children without rare bloodline showing up. Due to this, they have only 2 women in their entire race, and so seek to mate with other cultures to birth them children and continue their race. As such, Noxcess near worship women, but not because of any gender stereotypes or sexual lust. Noxcess have little concept of gender, just those who can give birth and those who cannot. A Noxcess who can give birth is titled a Mother, and is treated as a near deity. Whatever their sexual preference, almost every Noxcess seeks to find a woman to bring back to the Wells and reproduce to continue their species and, if they are lucky, produce a Mother.

Over many years the Noxcess have integrated with the other cultures of Haven, taking willing women back to the Wells to have children with them while being pampered and treated with the utmost respect. As many did not have women of their own race available to them, and near 75% of Noxcess will never have the chance to even bed a woman due to the sheer number of Noxcess, the palefolk who couldn’t settle for the company of men would become desperate and many would turn to brothels. However, It wasn’t long before this taste for women of other races gave birth to stereotypes and hurtful urban legends that they would kidnap women or rape them, or that they steal young girls back to their wells while their mothers lie asleep. These rumours have kept the Noxcess reclusive and mysterious, for many cultures are simply uncomfortable having them around and shoo them away from the above ground areas.

Art:
When it comes to art, the Noxcess are famous for 3 forms of it. These being their cave murals, said to tell stories as intricate as any written work; their Echo-Singing, a form of singing designed to use the natural echoes of the caverns, and though they don’t sing often, when they do its in celebration of a major event, such as a queen’s birth, the mourning of a queen’s death, or the Night of Tenebration; and lastly there are the Drums of the Deep, war drums that they play in these caves, where the beat and reverberations are so strong that they can travel underground through the caverns and tunnels for miles and miles.

Appearance:
Noxcess are humanoids with nearly white skin, their hair color can be any colour but are more commonly either very dark or close to white. They have red, tribal-like marks all over their bodies. These marks are not tattoos, they are magic in nature and origin. Clothes are usually of little concern to Noxcess when underground, they are usually shirtless with simple linen pants, leading even stronger into the impression of waves of pale writhing flesh instead of individuals. When traveling or above ground they use heavy hooded clothes and plenty of layers to keep their skin and eyes out of Sol’s light.

Trading and Commerce:
Money means very little within the Wells themselves, many Noxcess relying mainly on a barter system. However, since other races value currency, they use Notes when dealing with surface dwellers. This outside perspective on currency leads many of the Noxcess to be poor with money, as they grew up knowing little to nothing of it. This, along with the many stereotypes given to the Palefolk, causes most Noxcess who leave the Wells to end up as vagrants or wanderers. The primary exports of the Wells are the waters they dig for and the gold dust they find that they sell to the Sheana in exchange for some temporary women to create new Noxcess with. They also trade this precious mineral to traders for livestock to replenish their own underground. It is said that the Wells make the best bread in all of Haven, and it is another major export, along with local specialties such as mushrooms, candles, and smithed goods.

Geography:
The Noxcess were, at one point, one with the surface world. The Er'ac'sen desert was once a jungle, and the Noxcess were traders and miners whose prowess rivaled the Gemna. After the sky phoenix Sol crash landed in the Jungle, the Noxcess who were not burnt in the blast were trapped underground. Despite their efforts, they could not dig back up, and thus decided to settle in the darkness of their old tunnels. This was the birth of the Wells; an interconnected system of tunnels that lead to caverns where water was found.

The Wells are laid out like something of a Wheel, with the larger Wells (named Great Caverns) towards the central regions of the desert, such as the Noxcess Council's Seat of Power Candledeep (world-famous for it's wormwax candles), whereas smaller Wells towards the outskirts of the desert, such as the small Coldlight or Glowhold (famous for their bio-luminescent mushrooms). These Wells range in size and structure from massive ravine-like caverns with countless ramshackle bridges, tunnels, and carved out hovels lining it's walls, to the small caverns with sandstone abodes.

Most who learn of the Noxcess know and understand the Great Caverns, but few surface dwellers know about the Dark Zones. The true heart of the Wells lies in the miles of tunnels that go beyond the main city, referred to as the Dark Zones, as they are rarely lit like some of the central caverns are. These tunnels swarm with the poorer Noxcess; numberless pale bodies who live more like rats than men, kept in check by the Well Watchers, for even they fear to go too far into the deeper tunnels. Nobody truly knows how far the tunnels go, some legends saying they reach Zet'tallan himself, though others believe darker things lurk in places dug too deep.

Cuisine:
Living underground, Noxcess cuisine consists mostly of things they can produce without the light of the sun, such as meat, milk, and cheeses from their strange breed of eyeless goats known as Cave Goats, many varieties of mushrooms, and their vast selection of breads and pastries produced using the mush of a unique breed of mushrooms. Their bread is known across the world for it's unique flavour and large variety. As well, with their trade with the surface the Noxcess have developed foods known as tacos, in which they make spiced sandwich of sorts within a hard bread. Alcohol is not drank in the wells very often, as the Noxcess blood renders them immune to all disease, and this includes alcohol. However, they do brew a kind of alcohol for guests that is said to be pure alcohol capable of killing or rendering blind one without the desert's blood, as they do not understand the appeal of it beyond it's intoxicating effects. This immunity however has also given rise to a strange delicacy which consists of foods with specific molds or forms of rot cultivated on them.

Traditions/Holidays:

 * Birthings and Mournings - There is always a celebration when a Mother is born which is usually celebrated with plenty of food and copious amounts of singing. However, there is never more crying to be found anywhere upon Haven then the days when a Mother dies.


 * Night of Tenebration - Also known as the longest night, the Night of Tenebration is the one night a year Noxcess all come to the surface to celebrate within the moonlight and coldest night within the desert. They dance in the desert and they paint by the light upon each other’s bodies by the light of great bonfires, markings of their history, things that are important to them, and things that they hope to happen over the next year. Galaena’s Herald Luna also joins them for this celebration, touching the ground during the longest night of the year. She shares her stories and knowledge to the Noxcess and what goes on upon the surface, and in return they also paint upon her body for her to wear for the next year to come as well as participating in the activities. There are never are any paints of red or purple, however, for obvious reasons.


 * The Phoenix Games - A day of good faith once a year during the hottest day of the year (when the Phoenix Rises), the Noxcess offer water from their wells for free to anyone who needs it on the day of the Phoenix Games.


 * The Frost Feast - The Frost Feast is only known to the Noxcess due to their expansive network of scouts and vagrants. They are often unprepared for the harshness of the colder regions of Haven, and so the night of the Frost Feast (where it is customary to open your doors to any who wish to share your hearth) gifts many, if not most Noxcess away from the Wells, a share of another’s hospitalities. It is one of the only nights of the year where outsiders are allowed into the Wells, though even then under a close and watchful guard.

Folklore & Cultural Figures:

 * The Depraved (“The Boogeymen of the Wells”) - Some sections of the Wells were not so lucky in reconnected with other Wells or making it to the surface, and it is in these lost places that the Depraved dwell. While the Noxcess's breeding problem is the result of inbreeding, the Depraved are one step beyond, being forced to feed on their own kind for food and slowing becoming more animal than man. They have been driven to the breaking point of sanity and beyond it by the suffering they endured,most of them rendered unable to see by light, able to see only in the darkness, as well as being bound to the oathmarks of their people without even knowing why or how. Sightings of actual depraved Noxcess are extraordinarily rare, and for the few that do find them they generally end up as food. The depraved that still remain lucid in their minds resent the topsiders and blame them for the strange marks that just started showing up upon their flesh one day, even though in reality it was a curse put on the whole of their race by the Phoenix. These creatures, though often used in legends as a sort of Boogeymen to scare children from wandering off to far, are entirely real and a true threat to any who get lost in the Wells. Though there seem to be things deeper in the Wells that even the Depraved fear, as they have been pushing up more and more.
 * Xevix the Undying and the Followers of Xevix - the long lived Noxcess. Having been not only a member of the Grey Wardens, a founding member of Fhazicorp, completed the trials required of councilmen, AND was the Proven Noxcess who represented the founder of the Golden Lance in the Trial of Zy Ravenheart, he had more than qualified himself for a position on the Council, and join the Council he did. He proved an endlessly useful addition, and many stories tell of his exploits solving issues through his uncanny mastery of death magic allowing him to speak with the dead. As well as his work on the Council, he also worked with those who had died to help them finish any unfinished business in this world and come to terms with their deaths. Not only do the many tales tell of his many exploits helping both the dead and the living, but also how he used his mastery of death magic and corpse preservation methods to survive to the age of 160, though it is said that past 90 he did not leave his seat on the council, and by the age of 110 he was but a shriveled corpse whom could still speak, doctors declaring him dead by all technicalities, only clinging to life through his mastery over death. However, like all beings do, he eventually passed away, leaving behind a large number of Noxcess death magi who vowed to keep up his practice of helping the dead move on. It is widely believed that after death he now serves as a servant of Psychopomp with ushering the dead into the afterlife, though nobody knows if this is truth or myth.

Military:
The Noxcess military is mostly made up of infertile men or Eunuchs, males who are born (or rendered) infertile and are trained rigorously by the generals and other soldiers to be fighters and guards. Though the military is one of the largest in the land, it lacks in variation. It has no cavalry, no siege weapons, it has only men. This is because they fight almost exclusively in defense, so they need an army that can fight well in the intricate tunnels of the Wells. It is said that the only time the Noxcess Army ever marches is when a Queen is taken, for she must be returned to safety. They march when the future of their race is at stake, but when they march it is a thing to be feared The Noxcess have also, however, developed other methods of warfare. Their morals do not align perfectly with those of the surface, and seeing as they are immune to diseases and poisons they do not frown too strongly on the use of biological weapons. In fact it is one of their go-to strategies, as it has no chance of backfiring and harming their own troops. (Mention Drums in more detail)

The Council:
The Noxcess follow a very strict social structure that has their “Council” at the top of it. In order to be on the council, you must succeed at trials held every five years which is used to determine the strongest, and wisest of their people. If there is a tie or multiple people succeed in the trials from one city group then they have a unarmed gladiatorial fight between the winners to determine who is the representative of their city. This is not a fight to the death, it is a fight of control where the victor is the last one conscious within the fighting ring who has not killed any of the other competitors. If one were to kill another fighter, they are made a eunuch and sent to guard the wells as this shows that the victor cannot be trusted to control their actions with women, and especially the queens, who they will have to sit alongside on the Council. The Council is typically comprised of one victor from each hollowed out city section, sometimes the same victor can be assigned for two or three large city sections based on need and population.

The Mothers and Queens:
Women are so rare within the Wells, and so precious, that the Noxcess have people whose lives are devoted to nothing

but protecting a specific mother. Eunuchs are not fit to serve as Motherguard, for they have proven themselves unfit; only those trained from birth to have no interest in women or reproducing can serve as a Motherguard, and the tests to prove one worthy are much more difficult than the council trials.

The Queens sit separately all together in this social structure, yet are no less important. The only way one can be a queen, and thus have a say at any Council meeting, is to be a pure blood Noxcess female. They are treated as the most important and valuable entities in their culture and are elevated above even all other females, which with the Noxcess culture is truly saying something. There are usually never more than a few queens at any given time due to the still imperfect breeding that is currently being worked to resolve. The Queen has the ability to Veto edicts and tasks that the Council may want to impose, but has no more power than other Councilmen when it comes to proposing such things.

Well-Watchers:
The numberless Noxcess of the Wells need to be kept in check, and as such the Wells have no shortage of guards. In fact, the Wells are said to be the most heavily guarded places in the world, as they have only gone to war once and have no use for their army besides defense. The Well-Watchers are made up primarily of Eunuchs, for it is one of the few jobs a Eunuch can still attain within Noxcess society, and lowborn Noxcess. They vigilantly patrol the tunnels and caverns of the Wells and make sure that all is safe, from both outsiders and their own kin.

Eunuchs:
Within a culture where so few will ever get to reproduce, any crime that proves you do not deserve to carry on your line or that you are unsafe around women will likely result in castration as a punishment. It may seem harsh to other cultures, but to the Noxcess it is a way of weeding out the bad breeding stock to ensure that their future generations are better. The Eunuchs have very few choices in Noxcess culture for a career, and are for the most part restricted to being a guard (known as Well-Watchers), a digger, a soldier, farmer, or if eunuchs have proved their worth, perhaps higher positions within those orders (ie military officer, chief digger, etc).

Fathers and Communal Childcare:
As almost all Noxcess are expected to serve a purpose to the wells, and many of those jobs require leaving the Wells, most children are raised communally. Parents give their children at a young age to men with one of the most revered jobs in Noxcess society known as Fathers. They care for and raise the youth of their city section, often divided by region as to which father gets the children. This leaves Noxcess children growing up with little concept of a regular surface family. These Fathers raise the children for certain jobs, and are in charge of figuring out what vocation would fit each of them best and preparing them for it.

Noxcess History:
"'May the great Wanderer protect you. Even when the day is hot;May he show you the path to night.''Teyh te freht Kav'karron tukna eekhu, Iven nosa te vex sa tot; Teyh sha towa eekhu te kath toh vav.' - A Wellwatcher's Blessing in Trade Tongue then it's native Caveerna"

First Era (before year 0):
In the early days of the world, legend tells that the Noxcess were race of tanned traders who lived in a lush jungle, with interconnect to navigate the dense jungle, but when the Phoenix crashed onto the world, it burnt the jungle to sand. The only Noxcess who survived were sealed below the surface, leaving them trapped in the darkness. Generations went by, trying to escape from their many underground prisons, but they were only met with sand falling down to fill their upward tunnels. And so, they dug down in search of water, finding their reservoirs drying up, building underground towns around the subterranean rivers they found, and over time reconnected with other underground Wells and despite the grimness of their situation managed to stay hopeful that they would one day see the surface. Artifacts were even created to bring hope to the people, including golden masks made for the leaders to make them look confident, no matter how fearful they may be deep down.

Second Era (0-1499 P.E.):
By the dawn of the second era, the surface had become but a legend to the Noxcess, a religion based around seeing it. The only method of telling time had been left to the devoted of Tanana, the old god of time, and many had come to deny a surface even existed.
 * The Noxcess Emerge (703 P.E.) - Due to shrinking gene-pools in their dark tunnels, they had been forced to inbreed, slowly creating a terrible genetic mutation making it near impossible to give birth to females, which drove the Noxcess to the level of desperation that would finally get them to the surface. In 703 P.E., a group of Noxcess led by a man named Zy Lightseeker finally broke the ground onto the surface above the later capital Well of Candledeep, leaving a labyrinth of collapsed tunnels and dead followers behind them. They were met upon reaching the surface by the Phoenix, but the race the phoenix saw was not the same as those whom were sealed away. These folk were pale, sickly, and burnt upon contact with Sol's rays. The phoenix took pity on them and made a deal, gifting the Noxcess magically pure blood that could resist all disease and poison, and could reproduce with any race to produce a pure-blooded Noxcess. However the Noxcess went back upon their side of the deal and to punish them the Phoenix cursed them with the Oathmarks, red marks that appear on their flesh whenever they make an oath, and painfully turn permanently purple upon breaking one of these oaths.
 * The War of Water (1376-1400 P.E.) - They sold the water and gold they aquired in their mining and tunneling to the other races in exchange for lending them women to reproduce with, but the Matriarchal Sheana of Clan Pera and Clan Uroc did not see it as fair for the Noxcess to force them to pay for water, and so they began sneaking in and stealing it. The Noxcess quickly learned of this and responded in the form that seemed most logical to them: As they were immune to poisons, they poisoned their own water so that when the Sheana stole it, it would poison the thieves. What they did not count on was the Sheana not testing it and instead bringing it home and giving it to their Clans, which led to a mass death of elderly and children. The Sheana were enraged by this and declared war upon the Noxcess, the other Clans of Sheana coming to their sisters' aid. Due to the Sheana using their golems and magical tattoo armour, the Noxcess's sheer numbers, and both of their resilience gifted by the Phoenix, the war lasted (though there were temporary armistices) for over 2 decades until a ceasefire was eventually called.

Third Era (1500-2019 P.E.):
Very quickly they built a rapport with the other races, though they all kept the Noxcess at arms length due to their strange ways and the quickly developing myths about them. Over time they found many
 * The War of Time (2019-2020 P.E.) - When the war of time broke out in Compass Rose, Councilman Xivex, the longest lived of all Noxcess (some say due to corruptions of death magic), as well as Queen Naeem, pleaded the rest of the Council to join in the war on the side of the Grey Wardens. However, as with every time the Council is forced to make an important decision, the Noxcess spent years debating what actions to take. By the time they came to a descision, the war had been over for an entire year. And the decision? To remain neutral.

Fourth/Current Era (2020-2278 P.E.):
They lived in a time of seeming paradise for a time, having 4 healthy and happy queens and people finally beginning to open their doors to the Noxcess after the example set by Zy Ravenheart, Xivex, and Meo Noakes that proved they could be trusted (to a degree). However starting 100 years after the War of Time, in a period of time that would come to be known as the Time of Mourning, the Noxcess faced a new hurdle that seemed to symbolize the beginning of their downfall. Generations passed and no new Noxcess women were born, and soon the 3 women they still had passed on, leaving them with no living Mothers They begun to believe they were cursed for not helping in the War of Time, and so sent out Noxcess in higher numbers and over further distances to try and birth a new Mother, but for 149 years they had no luck. But then a miracle occurred, on the 150th Year of Mourning during the Month of Songs, a Cultuni woman gave birth to a pair of female Noxcess twins.

Word and celebration of their birth spread across the land to every Noxcess on Haven and the Cultuni woman, Eira [Ee-y-ra], was treated with the highest honors that Noxcess could give. Many caravans of gold dust, candles, and other precious goods were sent to Tramontaine to thank the Cultuni for the mother of their Queens, and they honorably refer to them as "Eira-kin" whenever they have the chance to cross paths with the exotic mountainfolk. The Queens; named Imrie and Chaska, are nearing their 8th birthday during the upcoming Month of Songs. For the past 8 years, their birthday has brought month long celebrations for Noxcess across Haven as the search for future Queen-Mothers continues with renewed hope and vigor.