The gfnuur, commonly called darklings, were a fey race native to the wildlands that later became the Feywild. They were originally common, being one of the major constituent races of the area's native races, and became the ancestors of numerous later humanoid races. Although outwardly tough and unfriendly, they could be a very uninhibited and frolicking race, sometimes even seen as childlike in their humor and trickery.

History

The gfnuur were native to the wildlands that preceded the Feywild. They lived in and largely under the cover of large self-grown mushrooms, building small shacks there. Most settlements didn't grow much larger than a couple thousand citizens, but the darklings wee nevertheless the most numerous race of the wildlands' outskirts. They were also a relatively proactive race, dealing much with gods and experimenting with various magics themselves. They gave rise to the khuzdur long before the start of the Celestial Wars and later also offered their bodies to a god to become the svirfneblin. In the Feywild, however, they were gradually displaced by the mūyn'ell and later the faelings, until by the time of the Dictation, only about half of its surface population was gfnuur.

The darklings, in concert with the faelings, were the two most numerous races to accept the Court Pact and subject themselves to the rule of the Seelie Court. Centralized control never came to be, however, and the gfnuur remained scattered and independent. Because of their inability to see or even walk in direct sunlight, they had a distinct disadvantage to the numerous other races that were diurnal but had excellent darkvision, too. Eladrin especially repulsed them, until only few small villages lost in the middle of the wildest woods remained.

Thereafter, most darklings associated with the Gloaming courts, forming their own without an actual archfey as leader, the Gloomlight Viscourt. It was decentralized, and each village chose their best sorcerer as parson, who was the community's representative for darkling visitors and attended Viscourts whenever they were held.

Biology

Physiology

Gfnuur were known for their stubbiness; in fact, they were the parent race of essentially all small humanoids. They had relatively thick limbs but not much strength to go with this muscle mass, instead relying on the traditional nimbleness of fey. They had grey, light brown, or bronze skin, black or golden nipples, and golden eyes with fully black irises. Their fey ears were very stubby, but they had excellent echolocation, although they couldn't well distinguish multiple sounds or hear from large distances. Their voices were rather high-pitched but also raspy and not very loud. They had bulky noses and much stringy hair, covering their head and cheeks. Their eyebrows were also very bushy and prominent, although they didn't have a large forehead. Their eyes were relatively large and could be very intense despite their blackness.

The most notable trait about them was their inability to deal with sunlight. Their eyes hurt badly when looking at it, even if it was just reflected light. Additionally, if their skin was exposed to direct sunlight, it very quickly caused sunburns and then started turning to dust, causing great pain. Accordingly, they were nocturnal creatures.

To compensate, gfnuur were inherently magical. Beyond an usual assortment of fey spells, they could cast a number of unique ones, such as enchantments that could give small passive bonuses to items, ways of creating tiny pocket dimensions and altering space, and spells that dealt with light and darkness.

Reproduction. Gfnuur reproduced sexually and were hermaphrodites, with the ability to turn male (growing a penis) or female (growing a vagina) when necessary. They did not wean their babies with body milk.

Culture

Despite their obvious distaste for the sun, no gfnuur actually lived underground, even though they could have easily gone into the Feydark. Instead, they raised large mushrooms under which they could build small houses. Some even hollowed out trunks, using dimensional magic to slightly increase the size of rooms. They rose at twilight and returned to sleep before sunrise. These gfnuur settlements, often called groves, had a continuous mushroom canopy. The sides often had either thick growth or a lasting mist from nearby water sources or other natural origins to stop sun rays. Some villages were even built in ravines or other dips in the ground, but this was not considered a good location.