Ithrabbi

Amphibious humanoids of the depths, dwelling near Zephasia. They are related to the Ithrabbi slaves of the ancient Neptultchi. In Bahuna, there are two species, saltwater and freshwater ithrabbi. It is doubtful that the two species can interbreed. The saltwater ithrabbi live in the West Turtle Sea and pay homage to their overlord in Bohktuh Yure. At present, they have few dealings with the Zephasian humans living on the coast. In the deep interior of the tropical jungle of Bahuna inhabit the freshwater ithrabbi who are shorter than the saltwater ithrabbi.

Bahunan Ithrabbi

The Ithrabbi race persists in the depths of warm waters and the heights of continental shelves. Ithrabbi are amphibian humanoids who worship the god, Tsalöyigg, the “Getcheeha Q’lö,” the hermaphroditic propagator of their race in ancient times. Their race is believed to predate humans on Asdar and once was numerous and horribly powerful. The advancement of humans and other races brought the Ithrabbi into decline over a period of the past millennia. In their bulbous and domed dwellings hundreds of yards below the surface, the Ithrabbi maintain a dark and eerie existence, consuming strange delicacies of the sea, practicing foul and unspeakable rites, and communing with their lethargic devil-gods.

An Ithrabbi appears vaguely humanoid with a heavy, rubbery hide dimpled with small bumps the size of a pea. Their colors are green, brown, dull red, and sometimes greenish yellow or combinations thereof. They have four webbed limbs and two sail-like fins that emerge from the sides of their torsos which help them swim and navigate in the waters. A smaller dorsal fin sprouts from their backs. Ithrabbi can eat seaweed, but prefer the flesh of undersea creatures—humans and other surface-dwelling creatures are considered rare treats.

Ithrabbi cannot see, but only can sense varying degrees of the brightness of light. They communicate by releasing and sensing chemicals produced special glands located on their heads. This form of communication does not work effectively outside of water where the range is only about 3 feet. Beyond the distance of 3 feet outside of water, Ithrabbi can only communicate basic ideas which are %50 likely to be misunderstood to some degree or another. Underneath the waves, the range can vary, reaching as far as miles away. The original message, though becomes increasingly garbled with the passage of time and distance from the ‘speaker.’ Despite the limitations of their scent-language in air, all Ithrabbi have extremely keen senses of smell, even on land. Their hearing is also rather keen. Ithrabbi can fight as effectively in total darkness as in light and can readily discern vibrations felt in the ground or the floor—being able to tell the weight, speed, and general direction of what makes the vibrations.

Generally three kinds of Ithrabbi exist. Bane Ithrabbi—the greatest portion of the dwindling Ithrabbi race—are of any evil alignment—though most are chaotic evil. They are still suffering the effects of an ancient curse that weakened their ancestors and brought their civilization into near oblivion. A Bane Ithrabbi, if exposed for an hour or more to sunlight and the atmospheric pressure of the surface, will change into a yishazoi—a debilitated mutant form of his species. Noble Ithrabbi are particular individuals and often their offspring who have developed resistance to this curse. There is only a cumulative 1% chance per hour, up to 10%, that a Noble Ithrabbi exposed to both sunlight and surface atmosphere with be transformed into a yishazoi. Noble Ithrabbi can be of any evil alignment, but most often they are lawful or neutral. The most rare of the Ithrabbi is the Quaestor Ithrabbi who are always lawful evil. Quaestors are introverted monks—mystics of the Ithrabbi race. They are totally immune to the curse of transforming into a yishazoi. While they do not rule, they work behind the scenes of the Noble Ithrabbi, endeavoring to advance their strange and alien cults and promote the propagation of the decaying Ithrabbi race. Quaestors are priests of Tsalöyigg and some have magical abilities also. A yishazoi is the mutant form of an Ithrabbi whom the surface atmosphere and sunlight in combination have cursed. A yishazoi is a grotesque mass of amorphous, rubbery flesh, speckled with warts and relying upon 2-7 pseudopods with which to move. Yishazoi eat anything alive which it can put into its small mouth-like openings. Although they can swim and breathe water, yishazoi do not usually last long as they typically come about their new states on the surface, where their odd form is not suited to prolonged survival. In their dark domed palaces and caverns, Ithrabbi employ deep sea creatures as domestic beasts.

Pytharnian Ithrabbi

The arrival of Ithrabbi to Pytharnia fell within very ancient times. The eldritch dragon folk, the Neptultchi, brought the Ithrabbi as slaves to Pytharnia around 4300 AS in the event known as the Coming of the Neptultchi.

See Also

• Gishak