Subminians

-A Stonemaster

-A Priest

-The Stone Shrine

Overview

Subminians (also referred to as Submins) are short, incredibly rotund beings covered entirely in fur which may range in colour from dirt brown to a dark gold to a rusty red. They are almost never seen without their traditional cone-shaped steel helmet. Like the Nimbusians, only female Subminians have hair - all males are bald. However, unless they have their helmet off, it is extremely hard to distinguish between the two. Subminians are always clothed in some attire, always of a metal of some kind - priests are the only members of their race allowed to wear the vests and robes made out of Gruncau leather - a sacred animal according to Subminian lore.

"..and when the other Beings laid out their plans for the world, the eldest and wisest of the four, Manzang, Earth incarnate, stood and proclaimed, "Let us bring to life our children, who will carry our legacy." Pyraxa, the youngest and most brash, Fire incarnate, asked, "Where will we take them?" And then Manzang said, "There shall be children above, and children below, and the children below are mine forever."
- Manufacture 2:5-7, The Book of Four (Subminians and Velosian holy writ)

Language

The official language spoken is "Subminian". This tricky language is often considered incredibly difficult to pronounce or spell among other SW'ians, and very few non-Submins ever learn the language because of this. Also, due to the heavy consonants that are involved when speaking their traditional tongue, SW Common-speaking Submins have very gruff voices, heavily accented and rough.

Society and Settlement

Most Subminian communities are underground, and indeed it is where all Submins feel happiest. Cities are built below the surface, deep in caves, volcanic trenches and inside mountains and hills. Due to their no-nonsense nature, Submins have a rigid system of society, comprised of nations and one's purpose within that nation, as outlined below:

Nation; a Subminian nation is usually comprised of one or two citadels, more than likely close together, i.e., within the same cave system or mountain range. Some nations only have one citadel within them.

  • King; every nation has a kanz, or King, which is the hereditary ruler of the people. However, he is usually flanked by an elected stonemaster (explained below) in order to respect the wishes of the common people.
  • High Priest; each nation must have a High Priest, or mandurkang, who directs the race's religion of Manzang within that nation, and supervises the other Priests. However, there is also a Very High Priest, or mandurdurkang elected out of all of the other High Priests, who supercedes all of the nations and effectively controls the entire religion. This Very High Priest must reside in solitude, in a secret chapel buried somewhere within the city.
  • Citadel; a Subminian citadel is a settlement, whether small or large. Within the citadel are various personalities dedicated to the wellbeing of the citadel or nation as a whole.
    • Stonemaster; the Stonemaster, or hedhoncho is the citadel's elected representative, and is effectively the mayor, supervising day-to-day affairs. He is also called upon as the local magistrate to settle disputes between Submins, or punish law-breakers.
  • Priest; a Priest of Manzang, or mankang, is the citadel's preacher and takes care of the local chapel. Sermons are usually held every day.
  • Gearmaster; the citadel's Gearmaster, or hednerdz, is widely regarded as a great asset to the community - without a gearmaster, all of their Subminian inventions would eventually cease to function without his or her constant tinkering with them. Subminian technology is, to say the least, volatile in certain aspects, and having someone who can tell you when to run and when to fetch some water is always handy. His assistants are referred to as Gearlings or garnerdz.
  • Oremaster; an Oremaster, or hedching, is the citadel's chief of mining and construction. It is the oremaster who decides if a Submin's house or another ore tunnel is to be built. He also supervises all of the ore collection within the region. His miners, or Orelings, are called garching, and they do all of the work.
  • Metalmaster; a Metalmaster, or hedmanz, referred to by above-grounders as a blacksmith, does all the metalwork within the citadel. Because this is a taxing job, he's allowed to have assistants known as Metallings or garmanz to help him out.
  • Guard; a Guard, or grunz, is an enforcer of the citadel's law. Every single settlement has its own rules and regulations, and they are rigidly enforced. They're usually never without their orange helmet badge and pike. There is no guard captain; the guard forces of every citadel are always very democratic in that respect, but there's generally someone who bosses everyone around in order to prevent chaos.
  • Trademaster; the citadel's Trademaster, or hedmunz regulates all trade going in and out of the settlement, and usually looks after the docks or the gates. Merchants and ship captains are usually called Tradelings or garmunz.
  • Beermaster; a Beermaster, or hedshpinz, runs and owns the local tavern. After a hard days' mining or herding gruncau, afterwards it's often best to down a pint of ale and forget about it.
  • Bonemaster; the local Bonemaster, or hedhurtz, is the citadel's doctor. Trained in the medicinal arts, he is usually the only one in the settlement who can help if an earthquake happens or an idiot miner caves in a whole seam.

Station; a Subminian station is a transit point, whether small or large. It is different from being a citadel because it does not have any ruler as such or any claim within any one nation. It is simply a trade location between two or more nations, and links both using an amegar - the Subminian underground train. Though, it does manage to have most if not all of the jobs listed above as belonging to citadels.

  • Stationmaster; the one who looks after the running of the amegar station is called the stationmaster or hedshazar.
  • Trainmaster; the trainmasters, or hedamegar, drive the frighteningly-constructed advanced trains, the amegar, through the rock tunnels that connect some nations.

History

The Subminians as a race are believed to have originated under Velothi Island, in the extensive volcanic cave system known as the Sharman Caves (or to the Submins, Sharmanz-Ganchang - 'the Old Country'), thousands of years ago. They shared a partnership with the more technologically advanced Velosians, who also resided underground for the most part. When the Velosians disappeared through unknown causes, the Subminians decided to explore the wider world, and built colonies in the eastern half of what is now SW City. These colonies expanded to form nations, and remained a secret for quite some time, until a chance discovery of the race in Shannon Cove unearthed thousands of years of history.

Religion

Manzangism. The Subminians worship the god Manzang, who they believe is the most powerful of the four omnipotent Supreme Beings (Manzang, of Earth; Pyraxa, of Fire; Nimbar, of Wind; and Irenia, of Water); this is a belief they shared with the Velosians, although the Velosians preferred Pyraxa over Manzang. His teachings are all derived from certain sections in the ancient tome of the Book of Four, which is treated as a document of historical events rather than a merely interesting hypothetical treatise on the nature of the universe (as most other living SW'ians view it). Shrines to Manzang are found everywhere, in Submin settlements and in Velosian ruins, such as the Stone Shrine in the Sharman Caves.