Deepwalkers (Old Lore)

''"The Asguri are two-faced creatures. On the one hand, their existence is the embodied praise to the expertise of our Bornweavers. On the other hand, they are the personified insult, the flaw of creation, which resists the correction since thousands of years. They are servants in mind and body, but masters in soul." ''-Ak Ägir Hementor Bor

Introduction
The Deepwalkers are a tribe of humans created by the Primordials as slaves and servants. After their fall, most of the Asguri, how they where called initialy, either mixed up with the local population or died. Only in Keith aswell as some minor dimensions, they where able to maintain themselves and create powerful empires.

History
"Be warned of the nature of the Asguri. Know that contempt lies in their silence, deceit in their weakness, and insidiousness in their cowardice. Know that their loyalty is born not out of adoration but out of selfishness. Know that their heart desires power and pleasure just like ours. Know that you can never fully master them." -18th teaching from the book Asrai Hementor

After the Great Sundering the Pratonians gathered all remaining prisoners and refugees the fleeing tribes left behind. With the help of Caldors Bornweavers, they created a new Born, using their own substance, the blood of some of the survivers and the bornenergy from the corpses of the great battles. It is said that the Bornweavers worked 40 days and 40 nights before finishing their Born atlast. They made the Asguri weak in will and body, a fast breeding race of servants for their arising empire.

Over the coming eaons, the Asguri spread. Not only across the islands of Eoam, but across almost all major dimensions. They made up the majority of the pratonian Empire, even though they usually mixed rather quick with the local human population. Suprisingly, this always corrected the flaw in their genes that makes them unable to produce melanin. But since their masters only trusted pale skinned servants, these mixbloods never really spread rapidly. After the Grand Incursion most of the Asguri dissappeared from the dimensions. Either because they got fully absorbed into other human tribes, or because they where murdered and purged in bloody crusades slaves freed from pratonian shuckles.

Kaith was the only dimension where they where able to survive and form their own empire. Kaith was free of other human tribes exept a few Jatger clans at the worlds fringes. It was in the endless cave of this mountainworld where they build up a new soceity. Secretly guided by the Garauth and their Faceshifters, they continued their ancestorial worship like their masters did, forming a cult around the dead. The Anstolh Matra, faith of motherblood and rotten flesh alike, guiding them through their dark caves and caverns.

Under Kaiths biggest mountains they fought a slow but constant war against the Krepantie, ghulish ancestors of their Pratonian masters and the Redlaf that dwelled in the deeper caves. Even though their fought their Servitors, the Asguri never came into a direct conflict against the Spectres in the darkest depts of Kaith.

It was during the second era that they even ended their war against the Shadowpelts and started a unstable collabortation with them.

Unlike other dimensions, Kaith was mostly spared by the War of Silent Sorrow. There was only a single Albic legion that invaded the vast mountains and caves. They build a fortress on the highest peak of Kaiths mountains, known as Snowsplinter. The Althen fought a single battle and conquered Ravinhold for six weeks before their Asguri captives burned down the city from within. At last, the Althen where cut off from their Bornsupply. Their remaining warriros degenerated to a viscious breed of Ghuls that terrorises the higher mountians and the caves under them.

When the Last Conquest arrived, the ensuing war was relativly short and bloodless. His army usually just made a devastating attack to weaken them and start negotiations afterwards. This worked surisingly well, making Kaith the first human empire that signed the Golden Contract. This way, the Asguri that where now named Deepwalkers, spread alongside the Dawnbringer crusades across most of the major dimensions.

Biology
''"There has never been a better servant breed. Faithful to death, humble and obedient. Weak in flesh, will and spirit. One must admire their complete devotion to their nature and the wishes of their masters." ''-Kranon Blackheart, Kreptanie Oldblood

The Deepwalkers are the smallest of all humans. Their skin is invariably pale and without any color except that of their blood. Their eyes are usuallly red, even though sometimes grey or blue. Their hair is snow-white, sometimes silvery and in rare cases (blood)red. Those with red eyes and red hair are known as Bloodwalkers and are usually favoured over normal Deepwalkers.

Deepwalkers have an increased body temperature and are able to control it by will. This allows them to survive even in icy cold weather, along with some well-distributed fat reserves that can hardly be broken down.

When Asguri are in stress or perform extremly exhausting activites aswell as facing a very cold enviroment, their entire body blushes and turns red within seconds resulting of the increased bloodflow.

Pratonian reign
Under the reign of their Pratonian masters the Asguri populated the majority of their cities. Even though there where those who served in the palaces and armies, most Asguri never saw one of their masters in their entire lifes. Their society was extremly seperated from the pratonian and the Asguri where beliefed to act peaceful to one another, never causing any kind of problems and following any order without resistance.

Even though each Asguri respected and even feared their pratonian masters, seeing them as gods, they cared little for the established order. Since the Pratonians did not care for their inner organisation and the Asguri where not allowed to form any kind of offical lead, they often succumbed to criminal soceities. Even though the structure of these varied in each city, the Asguri usually formed cartels with a few rich individuals, living a decadent life while the majority served as poor workers and often induldged into forbidden activites like murder and the consumption of intoxicants.

Cities of Kaith
The majority of the modern Asguri, over 80 percent, life in the great cities of Kaith. Each of these city or Pasrat is a state of its own right, ruling over a territory of caves and caverns aswell as a part of the outer surface. Exept for constant trade and temporal alliences, these cities have little contact with each other. The only organisation that unites the Asguri and is somewhat trusted (besides the Dawnbringers) is the Anstolh Matra.

The most important organisations in each city are the syndicates. They fufill the role of bigger families and can controll all kinds of aspects of city. They are usually associated with a disctrict and organise the important buisnesses there. A Asguri syndicate is usually run by a single leader or Ura/Uron, which represents his syndicate and controlls all members that belong to it. He is able to judge each of the members aswell as organise local raids and attacks against those who displeased him, as long as they do not belong to another syndacte. The leader usally also decides which of the member is allowed to breed in order to produce the strongest children, a tradition that goes back to the reign of the Pratonians.

Each group of Asguri is allowed to found a syndicate. Its political power depends on their influence and wealth. Usually a city has between 3-6 bigger syndiactes controlling hte most important parts aswell as several dozens or even hundreads of smaller ones that are closer to gangs then actual organisations.

The city itself is run by the cartel. It is usally located in the middle of the city and its main purpose is to gather the syndiactes, assign districts and makee the most important descisions regarding diplomatic relations and the general wealth of the city. Each Uron and Ura has a seat in the cartel even though the more wealthy ones are clearly privileged. Besides that the cartel functions as the main market, the court of justice and the armory of the entire city.

The Great traditions
There are three major traditions that make up the Asguri mentality and originate from their creation after the Great Sundering.

Lathrea Vari
Lathrea Vari or Perfection of the flesh (Pure flesh dircetly translated) is one of the most importance teachings of the Asguri soceity. Based on the teachings of the Suthla Matra the Asguri believe that women are the gates of life just as the men are the gates of death (usually). For that reason Asguri soceity often assigns women to the role of mothers and men to the role of warriors, based on the teaching of their pratonian masters. This is the foundation of what is commonly known as the Anstolh Lathrea, the cult of flesh.

Following the ideas of this philosophy, the Asguri do not choose their partner for love or lust but for the sole purpose of effectivness. Once a Asguri comes into the right age, either the leader of his syndicate or the leader of their family will decide a fitting partner. Together they raise between one and three children before a new partner is assigned to them.

The main goal of sex for the Asguri is to breed the strongest of children for their next generation, a mentality they inherited from their time as slaves. Next to the Asguri nobility who generally wishes to have the strongest and smartest children this lead to a caste like system where people are breed to serve certain profession. In most cities there are long traditions of families that only work as blacksmiths, weavers or alchemists. They only breed with other members of these professions and the better one is at their respective art, the better his chances for a partner or even multiple ones.

This divides the soceity of the great cities and the only way to free oneself from such a caste is to gain a rich and influential position in the local cartel. The main castes are:

Highbloods, who represent the nobility that has the best chances to gain important positions. They are usually born into rich and strong families and respresent the peak of human evolution in the eyes of their city.

Palebloods, who make up the majority of the Asguri and are usually dedicated to a professions.

Hotbloods, or simply warriors, a unique breed of indipendant fighters that guard the cities and serve as soliders of their city. Unlike others, they are not allowed to breed with other castes. Such a attempt will be havily punished. This lead to a extremly decitated and strong group of warriors.

Dirtbloods, the lowest regarded class in the most cities. They are usally the children of prostitutes, warslaves or the outcome of a forbidden love. Dirtbloods are seen as weak and unworthy, as vermin plaguing the lower parts of the city, cheap figthers or just people born to be sold.

Athra Cadai

Ahtra Cadai or Power of Community represents the Asguri attitude to one another. As the Anstolh Matra teaches them, they value the majority over the indiviudal and beliefe no human is worth something for him or herself. This might appear contradictal to the strong and depraved nobles that lead their cartels and syndicates. Still no Asguri can claim importance to only himself, thus civil rights do not exist. Torture, murder and

☀arbitrariness

Slaves
Slaves are a important part of the Asguri soceity. Despite the Redlaf slaves almost every city uses, no Asguri can truly be enslaved or be deprived from his freedom for ever. Still no Asguri has a real right of independeance since the community is his master and judge. This means every Asguri can be sold to another organisation or forced to do a certain task while their leader is paid. No Asguri is save from that as even the leaders of syndicates are often sold to other cities in order to punish or kill them, should diplomacy require it. This is a important part of their soceity and their mentality as they dont understand the right of self-determination other tribes find so important.

Other cultures
There are a few Asguri cultures that have almost completly distinguished themselfes from their main soceity. They hold far less power over Kaith and are branded enemies of man as they never signed the Golden Pact.

Snowwalkers tribes
Snowwalker tribes, also known as Starseers and Shadowdreamers are a vast group of Asguri that left their caves for ever. They are organised in nomadic clans that wander the Snowclad Mountains. They are usually ignored, even though there is a constant conflict between the tribes and the deeper Asguri. Both of them see the Greenglads as holy. For the tribes they are especially important as they are their best protection against stroms and one of their main food sources. There are also many Snowwalker agents that sneak into cities to murder important Asguri nobles.

These tribes are loathed as they worship the Kenos, who speak to them in their dreams and guide their paths across the mountains. Even though these cults are far less macabre with their teachings and rituals they still perfrom the heartoffering and rites to weaken the worldwalls.

Deathseeker cults
Deathseeker cults are religious fanatics who follow the teaching of Sothla Necrach radically. They have abandoned civilisation and wander the caves in search of Anrath deep under them. They beliefe that if they find the realm of dead under their feet, they will ascend into eternal life there.

The majority of these Deathseekers come from the cities themselfes and are tolerated and often employed in Asguri armies as they do not fear death. There are also alot of tribes that where born in the caves and die there, living from hunting and fishing. These cults are extremly diverese and have never been really studied, it is only known that they have complex rites regarding the embrace of death at a certain age.

The few deathseekers that do not die in the upper caves or battles and actually reach Anrath below their feet simply choke in the great Garauth city and are taken to their temple where they are turned into unliving Faceshifters to return to their kin as saints.

Harbingers of Rebirth
The Harbingers of Rebirth are a special cult that originated from the Anstolh Matra. Like their cousins they life in great cities that even hold diplomatic relations and trade deals with the rest of them. They however life in old Pratonian citites. Their masters did not die or degenerate during the Great Incursion but layed themselfes to sleep in the cities temples. The cult worships the Great Sleepers and constantly wash and oil their bodies. They beliefe that they once lifed in paradies which ended due to the betrayal of lesser man (the other human tribes). When their sleeping masters awake, the world will and end. That is necessairy to restore their old paradise.

Outlander cartels
Even though the Asguri believe that Kaith is their true home and the only place where their souls can rest, they are one of the tribes that migrated the most across the dimensions. They did this mostly to seek shelter from confrontations with local syndicates or escape a poor and supressed life. Asguri that life in other dimensions always see themselfes as guests and never and naitive inhabitants as long as their blood is pure. Even though they try to immigrate and respect local cultures more then any other tribe, they are mostly despised for their deathcult and their criminal activities.

A Outlander cartel functions much like normal Asguri soceities, just in a smaller scale and far less open. The syndicates always claim the right to render judgement over their own kin and murder, maim or brand them open on the streets. The syndicates often lead local criminal activites even though they never claim offical political power over districts in outlander cities.

The Anstolh Matra only operates at a small scale in most Outlander cartels, even though each city with Asguri presence will have a small temple that stores their dead in traditional fashion. The biggest difference is all organs of a corpse are cut out after the death and wrapped into parchments that tell the tale of its life before bruning it and throwing the ash into the wind. This way the Asguri believe, will their souls be carried back to Kaith.