Hysen

Typical Hysen

When all is laid to ash, our fortresses will stand.

Born between thick, stony walls, Hysen are creatures of the dark and of the underground. While the sun does nothing to harm them, really, they're still clearly of another world: tall, lanky, and usually either pale-white or soot-black, they look like veritable moon creatures. In reality, their color has simply been bleached by millennia spent beneath the surface, preparing in paranoia of some grand disaster yet to come. They are famed for their astounding constructs and dwellings.

Their elemental affinity is to Terra.

Appearance

Taller on average than any other race, Hysen are skinny, lanky humanoids that tend to shrink from offensive conflict. They are positively monochrome / grayscale, and while one may assume that this makes their hair and skin bland, some say that it is impossibly dark or white. Initially, it was thought- rather rudely so- that the darker Hysen had been stained by the dust, rock, and soil of their underground abodes, but one look would tell you otherwise: they are painted an astral black or a stellar white, never as dull as an ordinary human.

Culture & Society

Hysen culture is founded upon defensibility and paranoia. Long ago, as the legend goes, Hysena- their Patron- explained a grand devastation would come many thousands of years in the future. Few details were given, and of what was given, almost all of it was lost to time. As such, only the general theme remains, pushing Hysen ever further underground into larger and larger stone bunkers, all in an attempt to prepare. Still, the commonfolk have since lost much of this fervor, and many now question the need to stay beneath the surface at all. Older generations tend to think the opposite.

Trivia

• Hysen are the leading cause of a stigma against magic in Rhyst. Many believe the prophesied disaster will come about as a direct result of magic use, though they are the minority.
• Hysen dwellings are absurdly secure, to the point that, even in their prime, the core of the Vaien race would often avoid attacking one to save casualties. That being said, the Hysen are historically hesitant to launch offensives.
• A generous portion of humanity is quite unsure as to where the Hysen "capital cities" actually are. They're hidden, and thus only those in-the-know might find them.