THE
RAT
BROWNIES |
First and most importantly it should be noted that the creatures which make up the “Rat Brownies” are anything but a single tribe. They do not live in one place nor work together, and there are even huge differences in appearance. The reason they are generally grouped together under this one heading is only a matter of tradition and convenience; the other Brownie tribes have always used this title for those of their species who they no longer consider true Brownie. The main, and possibly the only conclusive difference is in the two group’s beliefs. For a long time these creatures were thought to be almost completely lacking in intelligence, or even to be mythical, but the more discovered about them, the more they are proving to have infiltrated most major cities and towns, and to possess the same capabilities as normal Brownies.
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Such it the animosity between "true" and Rat Brownies, that a large proportion
of both would like to forget the other exists. Lost or never found when modern
Brownie civilisation was being rebuilt,
they now live fragmented into dozens of bands scattered both in the sewers
underneath major cities, and in far off forgotten corners of
Caelereth. Many of these bands are at
constant war, both with other bands, and with starvation. Shut away from the
world above, eating the refuse of the citydwellers, and in many cases inbred,
many of these bands have suffered from severe alterations of their physique,
rendering them hideous in various ways, different for each tribe. The spirits
they worship are spirits of nature, but they are the darker side of the spirit
realm, those which demand blood and death rather than those which revel in life.
Viewed as savages at best, most Rat Brownies have little contact with other
races or even with other Brownie tribes.
We actually know quite a lot about the various tribes, considering their seeming
abhorrence of contact with outside life. This can largely be contributed to
Milken Brownie scholars who have developed a
fascination with the history of their own race. The Rat Brownies may seem a
small part of that, but they are widely thought to provide a vision of the past
since cut off from the modernisation of most of the "true"
Brownie tribes. Whether their languages
are actually a preserved from of really ancient
Browniin (as the scholars
hope) still remains to be seen.
Appearance.
Rat Brownies are notoriously hard to discover and therefore it is likely that
there are other groups out there which we still don’t know about. However, those
groups which are discovered often become the subject of some serious research,
or at least of some serious extermination attempts, and therefore the few types
which are known about are fairly well known. On the other hand, most of the
information has to be based on the research which has taken place in
Milkengrad, unclear sightings by
various nightfolk, and the descriptions of bodies caught in traps or by guard
dogs. The different types which are actually known to exist differ so radically
that it is almost certain there must be many more yet undiscovered. So far only
five select groups have been clarified, greatly helped by accounts of the
attacks led by Arxxt the Bold during the
Year of Darkness. This year was something of an awakening to the population of
Santhala, as the inhabitants realised just how many of the creatures lived
beneath their feet.
The groups do not include one tribe but rather several, which is rather strange
considering how distinctly the groups can be identified and split. This is
simply another piece of proof in support of the theory that their strange
variations were a punishment during the Birni
era (see History). A tribe itself can normally be classed under one of these
headings, as most classes possess distinct, obvious characteristics.
The main Rat Brownie types are listed below:
Mud Rat Brownies
Mud Rat Brownies is the name given to Rat Brownies who live deep under cities
and towns and shun the light of day. Some groups underneath
Milkengrad are rumoured to spend all
their time underground, never needing to venture out even at night. From a
report by the Milken scholar “Gratcha Swath“:
"Mud Rat Brownies have lost just about everything that makes
Brownies distinctive. They look like
little mud-brown parodies of other races, having eyes, hair, and skin that no
longer match in colour, ranging from black through to light, sandy browns. Their
bodies are strangely warped and rather top-heavy, with powerful shoulder muscles
and backs from grubbing around underground. Large, dark eyes of a brownish hue
are darkened further by thick brow ridges and something about them is far closer
to the dark spirits they worship than to the rest of their race.
They walk upright, although hunched over, all the time, and are often a little
taller than true Brownies averaging 15-16
nailsbreaths rather than
14-15. Of course their larger build makes them seem even more intimidating and
one can easily see how they became the subject of so many horror stories. The
intelligence in their eyes and the smooth assuredness of their movements gives
them an air of unshakeable confidence which
makes them far more terrifying than a wild beast."
Faded
Rat Brownies
Faded Rat Brownies are among the strangest of sentient creatures.
Brownies belonging to this group are
blind, but seem to be strangely good at finding their way around. The natural
pigment in their hair, eyes, and skin has all faded to a pasty white as well,
although the reason for this is unknown. The excellent navigation is thought to
be partly due to their excellent hearing, but it is more than that as they seem
to be able to detect inanimate objects in their way too, like rocks or the edge
of a cage. Even if they were not in fact fully blind but still had some
sensitivity to light, it would not account for the uncanny way they manoeuvre
themselves around their surroundings. It has been suggested that they navigate
like bats, who manage to avoid objects and
even locate the tiny flies they eat without even the tiniest glow of light.
Possibly the only people who know how they do this are the Morjualerons, a group
of dwarves who tame
bats and use them to send messages across
the continent. Unfortunately the only nugget of information which could be
gleaned from this group is that the animals make small squeaky sounds,
apparently called “chits”, and somehow this helps them. Even the
Vale Brownies who work very closely with the
Morjualerons making the “Singspeaker” (a machine for helping them listen to
these noises) were very reluctant to share their knowledge. Particularly, as
they kindly pointed out to this researcher, as the information was to be made
available to whoever would like to read it.
On the other hand, several things support the squeak-theory – firstly that the
Faded Brownies almost always sit down to talk, and are all but silent at any
other time to allow their high-pitched squeaks to be heard with the minimum
interference. They often wear long flowing capes of some sort, which appear to
be used as a basic signalling device whilst on the move. These are normally made
of a heavy leather, to provide the benefits whilst not flapping around too much.
Staffs are also fairly common, but only carried by those in charge. The
vibrations of one of these hitting the floor as the leader walks sends a subtle
but perceptible signal to the others of where he or she is, and they can follow
the sound without having to talk or hold hands.
Twisted Rat Brownies
Twisted Rat Brownies can be distinguished from the others by their strangely
animalistic appearance. The tiny creatures look almost completely like
rats from a distance, having a covering of
dark, tufty fur across their backs and walking rather hunched, often even
running on all fours. However, they possess elongated fangs which protrude from
each side of their mouth. Of all the Rat Brownies they are the ones who are most
often found in traps and communicate by a series of grunts and body language
rather than speech, and so it is thought that they have lost some of their
ability to reason as well.
Strangely too there is a marked difference between the male and female Twisted
Brownies. For example the male Brownies’
fur starts on their heads and reaches to around halfway down their backs, whilst
the females’ tends to only cover their head and shoulders. The males are also
slightly larger than the females, around the same size as true
Brownies. Females are one or two
nailsbreaths smaller when
standing, so 12-14
nailsbreaths. The fangs are also noticeably larger in the male of the
species, almost reaching the bottom of the jaw.
Field
Rat Brownies
Field Rat Brownies are easily the most commonly spotted, because, as their name
suggests, they do not hide below ground. They possess the same strange variety
of skin colours as true Brownies,
although there are noticeably more greens and browns, and far fewer blues and
yellows. They are regarded as vermin by most farmers as the little creatures
will happily steal anything they can; grain, sacks for bedding, even small
livestock. Being quite intelligent enough to get around most forms of
protection, they can become real pests and hard to get rid of. They are
unfortunately often confused with groups of the far more sociable
Auhu’o Brownies, which only shows the
farmer’s ignorance as although they look very similar, their habits are
completely different. Like other Rat Brownies they regard other sentient beings
as their enemies, whilst the Auhu’o will
hide from them, but never seek conflict.
Shadow
Rat Brownies
Shadow Rat Brownies are mentioned in far more myths and horror stories than they
are in actual records, and so the truth about them is far from the general
population’s belief. They are not in fact able to melt into shadows, nor can
they disappear or make themselves invisible. They are simply all a dark, pure
black with black hair, even black eye banners. The rest of their skill at hiding
is purely practice; they live off whatever they can steal and so if they do not
steal they perish. However, Shadow Brownies do have one remarkable feature. Each
of their hands and feet end in extremely strong, curved claws which can be
retracted back into their skin. These allow the light little creatures to get a
really good grip on a surface, and can climb almost anything from tree bark to
rough stone walls. They are distinguished from the Twisted Brownies by their
intelligence and lack of hair on their backs.
Other
Sightings
Unfortunately it is impossible to give a full list of Rat Brownie tribes, due to
the plethora of legends and stories which feature them, at least in the culture
of other Brownies. There are rumoured to
be bluebark groups who actually live underwater, tiny pygmy
Brownies no bigger than a
human thumb, and even a group of green,
plantlike Brownies living deep in the bowls of the Vale. The problem is that it
is impossible to disprove the existence of these probably mythical tribes
without searching the whole of the area they are rumoured to live in.
Some
trappers even report finding strange tattoo-like markings on Rat Brownies they
have managed to catch, although noticeably never on Shadow or Twisted Brownies.
The marks are not like the normal blue or coloured pigments which are sometimes
seen adorning
human
flesh. Rather the pattern is raised from the surface, sometimes by up to two
grains, and often a dark
black. Mud and Field Rat tattoos tend to lie on the chest or back, whilst Fadeds
usually have them on the wrist, presumably because these
Brownies
are blind and must feel them rather than see them. The patterns are normally
simple and as large as possible, covering the whole of the available surface.
Coat of Arms/Sign.
There is no one symbol which is used by all Rat Brownies, and in fact it is
unknown if most do use one or not. The few which have been seen have mainly been
some kind of representation of the spirit or god which they honour most, or
consider the most important. The banners depicting it are often decorated far
more richly than the Brownie’s own
clothes, highly prized and well cared for. Marks can also be carved into a
Brownie’s skin in a crude form of tattoo,
or painted on entrances in whatever they can find to stain it with.
Territory.
Rat Brownies are generally found in the sewers and other underground spaces of
major cities, as well as being scattered all over
Caelereth above ground in small, seldom
discovered bands. They mainly inhabit places where there is daily (or nightly)
access to leftovers or some type of food source, but somewhere they can nest out
of sight. Unused cellars, or the remains of other houses which have been built
over as the years progressed are ideal. Natural underground caves, as long as
they do not fill with water during the
course of the year, are great for Mud Rat Brownies as they provide a good
habitat for the fungi which supplement their diet. All tribes compete with
city rats and
vilerats for space as well, so anywhere
that is suitable for them will also support Rat Brownies.
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Being extremely wary of humans, they are
very seldom spotted and so there are suspected to be a vast number of groups
which have so far gone undetected. It does not help that many people most likely
to spot the signs have no idea of what they are seeing, and have likely never
seen a Brownie before. Often sightings of
them are dismissed as large rats, or even a
vision of small, malevolent spirits.
On the other hand, climates which are known to be too harsh for other tribes of
Brownies to live happily are more than
likely going to discourage Rat Brownies too. It is unlikely that anywhere which
sees a covering of snow for more than a few days a year will be home to these
creatures, as it is certain that somewhere too sandy or rocky to dig a decent
burrow will be. There are known to be bands living under
Strata,
Nyermersys,
Milkengrad,
New-Santhala and even
Voldar, and it is very likely that they
live under almost every large city with the right climate. Most towns are
thought to have their share of Rat Brownies too, which at least help to keep the
rat population at bay, although it is
debatable which one is worse.
There also seems to be a difference in the conditions each tribe prefers.
Although Twisted Rat Brownies will etch out a living wherever they can, Mud Rat
Brownies tend to stick exclusively to sewers and damp underground caves and
supplement their rat-based diet on the
various fungi which live there. Shadow Brownies mostly survive from stealing,
and so live right near the surface, preferring an unused cellar or underground
storage area. Faded Tribes are often found living rather deep like the Mud Rat
Brownies, but noticeably never near the water,
so not in sewer pipes.
People.
These creatures seem to have almost no respect or care for other races, sentient
or not, and from what can be gathered they regard anything other than
Brownies with loathing and disdain. They
are quite happy to steal, kill and generally cause difficulty for anyone else,
making them hated and even feared by most who come into contact with them. They
do not seem to seek contact with other tribes, even other
Brownies, and when that contact is forced
upon them they are reluctant to make any effort towards communication. They seem
protective of their culture and language, and even though they are able to learn
basic Tharian, most refuse to teach others their own language or share beliefs,
myths and stories. It seems that the hatred that the majority of "True"
Brownies show towards them is mutual.
Although as intelligent (in most cases) as other
Brownie tribes, Rat Brownies generally
are lacking in education, never learning to read or make their own tools, living
and dying in ignorance. Or at least this is what is thought by the majority of
people who actually recognise their existence and sentience. There is some
speculation as to whether the Mud Rat Brownies at least have some sign of a
culture and system, and really it seems likely that the tribes have some sort of
primitive structure. All tribes except Twisted, for example, are known to
capture and train the city rat for
riding, as well as being able to survive far under the city without ever coming
above ground. Certain Field Rat Brownie tribes show a complex daily routine
based around the worship of their particular spirit, and Faded Rat Brownies have
developed ways of communicating so as not to interfere with their sonic
navigation. Tattoos found on some specimens even suggest some sort of respect
for certain members of the tribe, or perhaps some sort of hierarchy. Such feats
suggest more planning and capacity for logical thought than they have previously
been given credit for.
On the other hand, the Twisted Rat Brownies are known to be rather more
animalistic. They were the first to be widely believed to actually exist,
although the writing which caused this was just a few short entries by the Rat
Exterminator and Researcher Erron
Ratdweller. In fact, this observation from around 220 a.S. is thought to
have led to the long-standing misconception that all Rat Brownies were seriously
lacking in conscious thought, despite the other sources available which disputed
this. Sadly people have a habit of believing what they want to, rather than what
is backed by the best evidence.
“The animals were strange, oddly rat-like but defiantly not rats. Thinner and leaner, with slightly longer legs than arms. They moved sometimes on all fours and sometimes standing, squeaking away almost constantly at each other as if they were in distress. A fight suddenly broke out between two of them and they snarled and tussled like two dogs, raking at the fur on each other’s backs with clawed paws. The other two, smaller and balder, squeaked in agitation as the fight escalated, and then suddenly seemed to reach a point at which the tension was too high and bolted. The first two stopped almost immediately and backed away from each other, keeping their eyes on each other until they had both disappeared into the darkness.” |
The fact
that any of the bands of Rat Brownies have survived to the present day is a
mystery that has baffled scholars and sages throughout the ages, as history
seems to prove that Brownies cannot
survive for long outside of a protective environment of some kind. Generally
possessing debatable skill with weapons
or tools, illiterate and most often starving, Rat Brownies must be a hardy lot,
resistant to disease and pain from long exposure to them. They are considered,
among many, to be a classic example of how a civilized species can degenerate if
left to itself in a questionable environment.
Each band has its own language, seemingly unrelated to the languages of the
Browniin family. Various
archaic pre-Browniin
languages, most likely derived from recombinations of the original
Brownie languages, gradually developed
into the languages now used by Rat Brownie bands, and this link to the
Brownie’s mysterious past is one of the
reasons they have been studied by Milken
scholars. The members of each band generally have a familiarity with the basic
words of the languages of other bands under the same city.
Housing.
From what little information we have, underground Rat Brownies most often live
in abject poverty, building sprawling villages of rubbish alongside the stinking
streams in absolute darkness. Beneath the ground there is no
wind or rain or other elements to protect
from, so there is little need for any sturdy structure. Housing is built purely
for privacy and thus mainly from whatever is lying around and can be made to
stand vertically. On the other hand the Twisted Brownie camps spotted have
simply been a series of fires, thought to be one for each family, or family
group.
Field Rat Brownies need to put a bit more effort into the construction of their
houses, making them more often out of twigs and leaves in the branches of trees,
or burrowing into loose earth at their bases. However, structures are uniformly
simple and not particularly sturdy. They can be easily distinguished from bird’s
nests by the size as well as the lack of skill which goes into them. These
Brownies have been
found in old tarep burrows too, probably
after chasing out the animals or killing them for food. One group was discovered
inside some natural caves which were too small for
human or
dwarven use.
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Clothing.
Rat Brownies are not known for their fine fashion or skill with fabrics of any
kind. They have no woven or knitted materials unless they find or steal them,
and such things are hard to carry away. Thus they almost exclusively wear furs
and leathers, uncoloured and tied with leather thongs. Small pieces of fabric
which look or feel different from the norm are used as decoration. Beads of bone
are not uncommon either. Shoes, however, are almost unheard of. Perhaps the
constant damp of life underground simply makes them ineffectual.
Mud Rat Brownies are known to cover themselves in a series of furs, tied
together and onto their bodies with thick thongs. The clothes are not so much
tailored as strapped on, with new patches just slapped on top of the old and any
decorations tied on wherever the fabric is thin enough to take one of their
large, blunt needles. They seem to love anything coloured or strangely shaped,
and such items are thought to bring great luck.
Faded Brownies form the exception in this case, as they often wear long, thin
capes or cloaks. They still make these out of leather, but work it very thin by
scraping the underside of the animal hide until most has been taken off. It has
been suggested that these help the Brownies
to distinguish between Fadeds and other Rat Brownies as the strangely light
material is prone to fluttering around the creature as it moves.
Diet.
Studies on captured Rat Brownies have been unable to discover anything they
won’t eat. Hence it is thought that they will pretty much consume anything their
environment provides - leftovers from the town above, insects and grubs, small
mammals like rats and
mice, even fungi. There are some
scanty reports of Mud Rat Brownies farming small crops of
sulcho and
glowcap mushrooms, the second
providing a faint source of light as well as a food supply. Typically living
near the sewers, this group has better access to a range of fungi and moulds and
takes advantage of that. Perhaps their wider range of diet is the reason they
are somewhat larger than other Rat Brownies who live mainly on meat.
The Faded and Twisted are thought to live mainly on
rats, beetles and grubs, and the Shadow on
anything they can steal. The myrmex insect,
when it can be found under the city, is a particular favourite of the Faded Rat
Brownies and they often decorate their camps and homes with the pincers.
Otherwise common or
city rats form a large part of their
diet, the later also being used as mounts. Shadow Brownie bands have been known
to go for the mirjah groundbird
as it sleeps. They adore anything sweet, and will forsake a lot of their natural
cautiousness for anything sugary or honey-covered. In fact the best way to get
rid of an infestation is said to be to lace leftover
kao-kao and
doch nut cookies with poison and
leave them with the rest of the waste.
Field Rat Brownies are always found living near some source of food, be it a
village or farmstead or perhaps a particularly well-stocked stream. They, along
with the Shadow Rat Brownies, often rely on stealing to sustain themselves which
explains why they are spotted more frequently. They will take grain, eggs,
stored meat, even live chicks, puppies or kittens if they are not well looked
after by their mother. Like the rest of their race, they have a craving for
sweet things and have actually been known to launch attacks on
malise nests to get at the honey.
The recent findings of the Milken Brownie
Terrak Themal (see Researchers and the History of Research for more detail)
provided some new and slightly grisly information. He noticed that when the Rat
Brownies made a large enough sacrifice, the ones who were leading the ritual
would feast from the meat too. “Large enough”, in his words, could be defined as
“if, when the bodies had been burnt and the
fire had died down around them, there was anything left which looked
edible”. This at least shows that the creatures are not adverse to cannibalism,
although this one account does not mean that all Rat Brownies practice it this
way. It would be stupid to waste good meat when food is not plentiful.
Weapons.
Basic clubs and rough spears are generally
the extent of Rat Brownie weaponry,
fashioned from whatever material comes ready to hand. They don’t possess the
means of smelting or refining metal, but do collect whatever they can find from
the sewers or other waste pits. So weapons
are generally crude wooden spears and
strange-shaped clubs with the odd sharpened
human eating knife as well. These are typically covered in a poison made
from pieces of dead vilerat carcass.
The Rat Brownies seem to have found a way to preserve the venomous qualities of
the carcasses to make the substance practical.
After the attacks from the Rat Brownies in
Santhala which occured during the Year of Darkness, their tiny
weapons were a common sight.
Cat,
rat or dog teeth were found in clubs or as
decorative or possibly luck-giving additions to
spears. How the
Brownies managed to kill the larger
predators remains unknown, but then with a big enough group of them it is
probably possible. The likelihood of actually getting killed oneself whilst
attacking must be extremely high, but maybe this only adds to the prestige of
owning one. Ranged weapons are almost
never found on Rat Brownies, but then what would be the use in the small
underground tunnels and lairs. Field Rat Brownies have been known to throw small
spears at their foes. These are simply
sharpened splinters of wood, nothing fancier, although they can be poisoned.
Occupations.
As most Rat Brownie tribes are known to be fairly primitive hunter-gatherers, it
is not thought that they practice any division of labour other than someone to
look after the children when they are very small. However, there is one
particularly interesting report which came from a
Milken Brownie, “Terrak Themal” who actually managed to spend some time with
a Mud Rat Brownie tribe and return fairly unharmed. His story gives some rare
insights into the culture and life of these antisocial beings, and suggests the
presence of at least a couple of different jobs: a tribe leader and a religious
leader. The tribe leader was the one actually in charge of the decision-making,
but the others seemed to hold a lot of sway over the tribe’s willingness to
follow them. There was noticeably no division between the sexes, much like
"true" Brownies. All hands are required
to help feed the family, and as soon as children can be taught to take part too
then they do.
Government.
Rat Brownies are thought to be ruled and governed through fear of the dark
spirits they worship. The strongest Brownie,
or possibly the one who can sway the most followers to their side, will rule
undisputedly and the others will obey or be next on the altar. The specifics may
vary from band to band, but all information so far points to this type of tribal
rule. Hierarchies are thought to be strict and unforgiving, and this probably
suits there lifestyle very well. After all, the more people in charge of running
the proceedings, the less Brownies who
would be gathering food and other supplies or fighting to protect the colony
from other tribes.
There is no central government for the Rat Brownie race, nor any between the
tribes of one town or city. Instead they fight among each other, squabbling over
good hunting and housing spots. They are also known to fight the
sewer rats, as they compete with these
animals too. The only known alliance between Rat Brownies was led by
Arxxt the Bold in the Year of Darkness,
and that was only between a few groups in
Santhala. Tribes who spend a great deal of their time fighting against and
sacrificing one another are not destined for long term cooperation.
Production/Trade.
There is thought to be no trade at all among Rat Brownies, or very little, but
then it is impossible to know for certain what goes on between different
underground tribes. Seeing as their languages differ so much from one band to
another, regular trade does not seem likely. Underground bands lack the
opportunity to get the materials required to produce anything worth trading, and
the majority of Field Rat Brownie bands must use all their energy to keep from
being wiped out by predators. It is however possible that there are some tribes
aboveground that do produce, having found some way to hold predators at bay.
Natural Resources.
The Rat Brownies are not known to mine, fell wood, or take advantage of their
environment in any such way. Thus their most valuable resources are things they
can eat and the things made by other races which they find or steal. The animals
which frequent their patch, or the plants which grow there determine how rich it
is, not the minerals or timbers.
Holidays, Festivals
and Observances.
The following small text was found in the religious writings of the Llaoihrr
Scholar “Ll’eh SpiritFriend”. The scroll dates from around 880 a.S., so the
information is rather out of date now, but it has largely been found to be true,
if a little melodramatic:
"Rat Brownie festivals are uniformly gruesome, and generally involve the sacrifice of Brownies or other bloodletting. Rat Brownies live in terror of the dark spirits of the deeps, including some creatures living in the depths which are perhaps best forgotten, like the móh'sýs and other creatures of ancient evil. Unending wars between rival tribes result in an attempt to capture members of other bands to use to appease these bloodthirsty spirits." |
Rat Brownies are known for their bloodthirsty religious rituals
and in fact share one belief with “True”
Brownies. This is that the dark, underground spirits do not celebrate life
or want to help it, but rather seek control over it. The difference is that the
Rat Brownies try to appease these forces by making sacrifices to them, whilst
the “True” Brownies trust the spirits
they worship to keep them at bay.
On the other hand it is doubtful whether Rat Brownies have any special
celebrations based on the time of the year or the circle of night and day.
Almost all tribes spend the majority of their time underground where these
things are virtually meaningless and often hard to judge. Stories about them
throwing large festivals with many sacrifices after a successful battle are more
likely to be true. They seem to consider sentient beings better altar-fodder
than rats or other animals, and so having a
lot of Rat Brownies from another tribe for sacrifice would be a logical reason
for celebration.
Researchers and the History of Research.
Although it may seem strange to have a tribe (or selection of tribes) who
need to be actively researched, the Rat Brownies prove to be one of them. The
uneducated masses generally believe them to be nothing more than horror stories
as it is, and only those who have come into contact with them or the research on
them realise the extent of their intelligence and culture even now. The myths
and legends about them are often far more prominent than the facts, and it is
sometimes difficult to distinguish where one ends and the other begins.
The most noted researcher of these creatures is the
Milken Brownie Gratcha Swath, whose writings are far the most complete of
any about Rat Brownies. Her first passion was for language and the history of
language, particularly that of her own race, but this quickly led to
investigating the best living record of these languages, the Rat Brownies. Her
fascination with them grew from there, and quickly became the main focus of her
research. She was the Brownie who finally
provided conclusive evidence that the Rat Brownies had not lost capacity for
sentient thought, although this had been suspect by some less reliable sources
for some time. But then who believes a farmer who swears there are miniature men
waging war on his grain store, or the every-day rat-trapper who tells of the
weird little clothed beings he discovers now and again? When Gratcha began her
research, she actually found a considerable wealth of people ready to give her
the information she was looking for. Tales and descriptions were easily
forthcoming, although they naturally had to be sifted for accuracy.
For a period of about ten years the tiny
Milken took to
travelling around Mid-Sarvonia speaking
to whoever she could find. This possibly earns her the title of
most-well-travelled Brownie in the whole
of Caelereth, and she is probably one
of the only to have ever owned a full-size
Centoraurian mare. Gratcha
had to hire someone to control the beast, but she also had a special saddle
commissioned which stretched backwards onto the
horse's rump. Here was a small covered
space where the
Brownie could
sit and finish recording her findings on the move. Thus almost none of her
writings were written in the same place, which goes some way to explaining their
disorder. You can still distinguish the villages and parts of the towns she
visited by their unusually friendly approach to
Brownies and
the unfortunate yet unwavering belief that our race drink only warm goats-milk.
This seems to have been Gratcha’s favourite beverage, although for the record it
is not a common preference among other
Brownies.
Gratcha’s sources were many and varied, but her friendly and businesslike
demeanour did lead her to speak with two notable names: Yeun the Ereshian, a
Ximaxian Scholar and
Leifloff Sjungnarr
from Marcogg. The first of these had only
come across the Rat Brownies in passing, and not in his own city either. He
often travelled with a pack of intelligent
Ximax rats and spoke of a time when
he had been in Voldar, visiting family,
and a night when the pets had drawn attention from a very strange group. His
account, recorded in note form in Gratcha’s hand, probably helped her discover
something about the way the Faded Brownies navigated.
Leifloff Sjungnarr
on the other hand, had actually written something himself about a troop of Field
Rat Brownies he had spotted actually hunting butterflies. Of course the avid
butterfly-lover made sure they didn’t bother the insects again, giving himself a
chance of a better look at them too.
Possibly some of the most complete studies (the findings of course mentioned in
Gratcha’s writings) took place in the city of
Strata at the beginning of the Age of Blood. Rat Brownies were officially
discovered living under the town in 854 b.S., considerably earlier than most
places in Sarvonia. However this
discovery did not cause the outcry it probably deserved, mainly due to the
outbreak of the War of The Blood only 48 years later and the political tensions
which led up to it. With the fear of attack running rife throughout the city,
the Brownies were shown no mercy either
and any Rat Brownie which showed its head was exterminated. Some must have
survived, as there are certainly several groups living there now, but it is
thought they retreated further underground or simply stopped using any spaces
large enough for a human to get down. There
were also a few which were captured for study. As
Brownies were fairly unknown that far
from Milkengrad and the Vale, cruelty
towards them was not really an issue, which led to some seriously detailed
findings.
Unfortunately the period was far from stable and the Rat Brownies were just
another enemy in the War of Shadows. With no-one to care for these writings they
became dispersed and most are now irreplaceable. A few references to the
research live in books and other documents, but all the originals are no doubt
lost forever. However, what is mentioned has provided a base for more recent
research in Milkengrad.
Historically-minded Browniefolk started
the research trend mid 700s, and the Rat Brownies living there have never been
so watched and studied. This is what led Gratcha to travel elsewhere in her
search for knowledge: she knew that not only the creatures living in their own
city should be of interest.
One very lucky break for the researchers came in 1666 when a small
Brownie who had previously been thought
dead returned after almost a year of absence. Although obviously shaken and
thought by many to be out of his mind, Terrak Themal seemed to have spent the
time actually living amongst some of the deepest Mud Rat Brownies in the city.
The details which were extracted from him are easily the most in depth reports
on life, culture and hierarchy which exist today.
History.
One of the great mysteries is how Rat Brownies actually became so different from
“true” Brownies. Traditional theory says
that it was a punishment for turning against the nature spirits worshipped by
two-thirds of the Brownie race, and that
these spirits have made them strangely animalistic to mark their decent from
grace. However, certain Brownies question
the logic in this idea, most notably those from
Milkengrad
who themselves worship the elven High
Goddess Avá rather than the traditional
spirits. It is reasonable to assume that if their “decent” has not caused them
any lasting harm then it couldn’t have caused such a change to the Rat Brownies.
There is a far more likely reason, or at least one which is thought more likely
by the scholarly types. Records from the Birni
era are all but gone, but we do know that members of this civilisation had
amazing control over life magic.
It is possible that the Rat Brownie Tribes were originally groups of
Birni Brownies who fell foul of the political
upheavals and were classed as criminals. As punishment of their wrongdoings they
were not only banished but also had their very structure warped by the
life magi to mark them as
unsavoury characters. So their fall from grace was not so much with the spirits
they worshipped but with the
Brownie society.
They were given certain animal traits as a mark of their exclusion and a sign
that they had been thrown out of civilisation. Of course this would put the
formation of the bands in the Birni Era
rather than after it in the Harsh Years.
This idea is supported by the strange pattern of similarities and differences
between bands. It is quite common for two Rat Brownie tribes living in the same
city to look nothing like each other, and yet another tribe four
furlays away is close to
identical. It seems very likely that there were a set number of different animal
traits used for punishment and groups who were brought to trial together all got
the same deformation. It’s even possible that the particular transformations
went in and out of fashion as the years passed.
However, this idea does not explain the change in religion and mode of living
which defines these scattered bands; an argument which is often brought in
defence of the traditional theory. It was most likely a reaction of the banished
Brownies themselves, after all they had
been officially stricken from the Brownie
civilisation, which at that time could have included their religion. Set adrift
and believing the spirits to now be against them, it does not seem impossible
that the mutated groups turned to the only spirits who they thought would now
take them in and protect them: the darker, evil ones. Moving to
human settlements and living off their
refuse might have been the only way to survive. Sadly, there is little proof of
this, as we do not know how people were punished in the
Birni Kingdom, nor their views on religion
or civilisation.
Before the start of the Milken research, Rat
Brownies (when anyone thought of them) were considered nothing more than
intelligent animals, degraded beyond any form of sentience. They were a
cautionary tale for Brownies everywhere
of what would happen to them if they failed to worship the spirits properly. As
they were not considered to be sentient, Rat Brownies were not unheard of as
pets or live conversation pieces. Their bodies were found occasionally in traps,
but more often mangled in the mouth of a dog or
cat. They were seen as rather
clever vermin, and hunted or poisoned as such too. In a fair number of places
this is still the case, as a farmer will brook no-one stealing his crops,
sentient or not, but it is now noticeably uncommon to have them as pets. It is
unknown whether this is in fact a mark of people realising their intelligence,
or if the creatures’ uncooperative, sometimes vicious behaviour has simply made
them worthless in this field.
Myth and Legend. Please note that this
section is not a collection of stories from within the Rat Brownie tribes, but
rather what other people believe about them. The former will only be possible
once we learn to actually speak and communicate with the Rat Brownie Tribes
themselves, something which sadly is still in the beginning stages at the time
of this report. Most of these stories are of
Brownie origin, simply because the number of
humans aware of the Rat Brownie’s presence
has never been particularly high. Even when they are mentioned in
human tales, they are often mistaken for
clever rats that are far bolder than the
norm. These seem to appear considerably more often than, say, intelligent
mice or vicious rabbits, which does
suggest that some of these tales can be accounted to them.
This particular Llaoihrr tale is told to small
Brownie children as a warning of
what will happen to them if they don’t pay respect to the plants and animals and
their spirits.
Ehei’s Mistake. Long ago, when today’s trees still nestled
in their seed cases, there lived a
Brownie maiden by the name of ehei. Ehei was a pretty little thing,
always catching the remarks of other
Brownies if she was out helping her mother. She had the most amazing
leaf green hair, which seemed to sparkle with new spring life at any time
of the year. Her parents would have been very proud of her, if it wasn’t
for one little thing. |
A similar tale tells of a little male
Brownie who does not look after the rat
which drives the machinery he uses to grind grain, leaving it without
water and
not feeding it properly. The rat dies and the spirits turn him into an
unintelligent half-rat half-Brownie
as punishment. As his family no longer has
a rat to help them, and he can no longer contribute to the other tasks, he ends
up working in its place.
Milken Brownies have many horror stories featuring Rat Brownies as the things
which hide in corners and jump out when you are walking alone down a dark
alleyway. They are considered all the more dangerous because of their
intelligence. If the culprit of a crime is not known, it is almost always blamed
on Rat Brownies, particularly thefts or violent attacks. “He’s a
Rat” would be
applied to someone who is thought to be involved in dodgy dealings and is so far
getting away with it. On the other hand, “twisted” can point to someone who is
thought to have something wrong in the head. Often this is someone who is
dangerous because of this defect.
The horror stories feature all kinds of Rat-Brownie-Like beasts. Each real type
seems to have its own exaggerated version made more fierce and terrifying in the
process. Twisted Brownies are warped by magic, constantly changing form,
flickering between Brownie and all kinds of other animals. Some have
wolfish
fangs, some the long, movable tail of a
cat, some are the strange yellow-green
of a vilerat. The stories tell of Faded Brownies with a psychic ability to
sense where their victims are, sometimes reaching up to three of four
strals.
The black Shadow Brownies are even better at remaining unseen and can literally
fade from existence at will. Mud Rat Brownies are huge looming monstrosities
with eyes bulging from their heads. Their strength allows them to crush their
victims in one easy stroke. Thankfully these myths are very far from ever being
found out to be true.
Then, of course, there are the tale of other types of Rat Brownie groups which
have not yet been confirmed. A particularly interesting one tells about
plant-Brownie creatures, with branches instead of hair. These are actually far
more likely to be young drasil than a type of Rat Brownies, which might mean
that there are a few of this species hanging on in secluded areas of
Sarvonia.The idea of pygmy
Brownies was more than likely started by a sighting
of a group of Brownie children, although it is not impossible.
Water-dwelling
tribes are also unlikely, but not implausable.
In short, the Rat Brownies are a strange, mismatched tribe, grouped together by
chance and habit rather than any striking similarity. Maybe one day they will
become more a part of society, although it seems doubtful they will ever be
willing to help it.
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