Oinien

Oinien
Image
Plural	Oinien
Classification	Human
Homeland	Orinilure
Average Height	152 cm
Average Lifespan	90–120 years
Distinction	Nearly blind; echolocation
Language	Oinien
Factions	Orinilure Collective • Erden Monopoly

Introduction

The Oinien are a subterranean people of humans native to Orinilure, in northern Méniail. They live in cavern systems and underground cities within the Orinilure Mountains and the Irere Mountains, and are nearly blind, relying on echolocation in place of sight. They are divided between two states, the Orinilure Collective in the east and the Erden Monopoly in the west. The Oinien maintain and extend the Deep Roads, and about 50,000 of them live in the cities of the Arânzeni Confederation in Khamria.

Etymology

From the Oinien word oinilineu, "echoing voice".

Origin and Nature

The Oinien descend from settlers who landed in Gosterra during the Great Migration. In 150 ME a group of their descendants entered the Orinilure Mountains and the Irere Mountains and took shelter from surface dangers in the natural caverns of the ranges. Over generations these communities moved deeper into the earth.

Three Ascendant Spirits of Orinilure are held to have shaped them. Iriché, the spirit of desire and greed, shaped their culture and outlook. Kiyañ, the spirit of caves, is associated with the changes to their bodies underground. Oviyai, the spirit of sound and silence, is associated with their echolocation.

History

See also: Deep Roads

The settlers of 150 ME found passages left beneath the mountains by the Namuril and began to extend them. The period of expansion that followed is known in Orinilure and Khamria as the Age of Deep Roads (150 – c. 500 ME). The Orinilure Collective was formed in 230 ME to govern the settlements of the Orinilure Mountains.

After the Arânzeni settled the Baviare Vale, Oinien tunnels were extended to their settlements. They reached Lavierin by way of Gareag in 372 ME, and a second road to Lepigisțil opened in 431 ME. Many Oinien settled in Arânzeni cities.

In 440 ME the Collective chartered the Erden Monopoly to mine and settle the Irere Mountains. The Monopoly came to govern the western range in its own right, and the Oinien of the two ranges grew apart in custom and belief.

The Collective and the Monopoly went to war from 626 to 633 ME. The treaty that ended the war left the land between the two states, around the House of Iriché in the Orinilure Valley, as a neutral zone belonging to neither. Both states built the Treaty Forts along it, and the forts remain garrisoned.

Biology and Physical Traits

A Young Oinien Man.

Long habitation underground has altered the Oinien physique. They are nearly blind. In place of sight they have acute hearing and use a form of echolocation: from low-frequency clicks, the vibration of footsteps, and ambient echoes they form a detailed sense of their surroundings.

Their skin is pale to the point of translucence and gives little protection from sunlight. Exposure on the surface is hazardous, and most Oinien rarely go above ground. The Oinien are shorter than most humans, averaging 152 cm, and live 90 to 120 years.

Abilities and Osia

Oinien echolocation is the basis of their skill in tunnelling and mining.

Four paths of Osia are practised among the Oinien. Many who seek power or riches follow the Path of Iriché. Others follow the Path of Oviyai, seeking sharper echolocation and the ability to manipulate sound. Followers of the Path of Kiyañ manipulate the caves themselves, and their work is used in architecture and in building the Deep Roads. A significant number follow the Path of Yairan.

Culture and Society

Oinien culture is shaped by life underground. Without the sky, the sun, or the seasons, Oinien life follows the cycles of excavation, trade, and mineral production. Their philosophy regards desire as a form of striving and treats greed as a natural force to be understood and used rather than condemned.

Communal contribution is held in high esteem, whether through mining, engineering, artistry, or scholarship, but political power follows wealth. In the Orinilure Collective this is established in law: those who accumulate the most wealth in a year govern for the following cycle. The Erden Monopoly is a single chartered company that holds exclusive rights to mining and trade in the Irere Mountains and governs its territory directly.

Oinien cities are linear, built along the tunnels that connect them, and each settlement depends on the others for food, ore, or finished goods. The Irumi, a blind beast of burden, is used throughout Orinilure for haulage and farming.

Notable Settlements

• Orinilure City, capital of the Orinilure Collective
• Lirépiel
• Avilîché
• Aisembier
• Biulu
• Lirandi

Outside Orinilure, Oinien communities live in Gareag, in the Biașirisă district of Lavierin, and in the Oinien Quarter of Yacinsa.

Spirituality and Beliefs

The Oinien honor Iriché chiefly through mining and the accumulation of wealth. Kiyañ and Oviyai are also revered. Two Ancestral Spirits are particular to the Oinien: Biseri, formed from their reverence for the Deep Roads, and Mount Dombortisé, the highest peak of the Orinilure Mountains. Eliulien Iler is held sacred by the Oinien, as it is by the other peoples of Méniail.

Technology and Warfare

The Oinien are the foremost tunnellers and miners of Méniail and are known for metallurgy and for the use of geothermal heat and underground water. They maintain and build the Deep Roads in both Orinilure and Khamria.

Because they cannot keep watch on the surface, the Oinien have long hired foreign mercenaries as spotters. The practice is most established at Avilîché, the northern frontier post of the Collective.

Mythology and Legends

Oinien tradition attributes the expansion of the Deep Roads to the influence of Iriché. Biseri is said to appear to travelers on the roads as a guide.

Relations with Other Races

The Himojai, the native people of Orinilure, live peacefully among the Oinien and have few settlements of their own.

The Oinien are close partners of the Arânzeni. They trade with the cities of the Baviare Vale by the Deep Roads and carry out the engineering on the Confederation's stretches of the network. Disputes do occur: tensions with certain Oinien guilds led the Council of Lavierin to build the Ziplițic District in 640 ME.

The Oinien have little contact with the Mundari and regard them as savages. They have supported the Arânzeni against them.