Rikeans

Cooperation, Hospitality, Wisdom

“Weary from your journey, you find rest in the heart of Vrith Emnar. The City of Elnat will be your light.”

Race: Human

Location: Beneath the mountains of Vrith Emnar (Northeast border of Vindor)

Civilization: Single well-organized city ruled by a council of nobles, headed by a king.

Physical characteristics: Medium-brown skin, dark eyes, straight white or pale blond hair. Rikeans are often petite people, and their faces tend to be broad with high cheekbones.

Elnat, the impossible city beneath the ground, is a marvel of engineering by any standard. Streets, homes, shops, meeting halls, and more have been hand-carved out of the limestone, and the city comprises several complex levels stacked above one another.

No sunlight ever reaches the depths of these caverns, so the Rikeans rely on an artificial silver fire called thiilah that produces no smoke and no heat. The flame color is altered throughout the day to mimic sunrise (rose), mid-day (amber), evening (violet) and night (blue), but since the vast majority of Rikeans have never been above ground, the significance of the colors is lost upon them. With the innovation of thiilah, the Rikeans are not only able to light their city, but cultivate crops to feed their population. Running water is sourced from an alpine lake far above them, and it even includes a filtering system.

The Rikeans offer their city as a haven for refugees or weary travelers. Though they speak the odd Rikean language to one another, virtually every citizen is fluent in all of Vindor’s known tongues.