“Those alleging the Earthborn extinction have likely failed to account
for the tribe’s demonstrable efficiency in discouraging follow-up visits.”
– Excerpt from “Proceedings on the Existence of Prejudicial Populations:
Case Study — Earthborn” by Grand Librarian Hragan

Ask a Magonian about the EARTHBORN and you’ll get an entire encyclopedia of contradictions, footnotes and disclaimers.

Some insist they’re extinct, barbecued out of existence in the Flameborn’s search for exotic hors d’oeuvres. Others swear their grandmother’s cousin’s nurse once glimpsed a band of tiny, painted warriors darting along the snake-curved banks of the holy Bhujaga River, deep within Awesu.

The jungle sprawls as Magonia’s least recommended tourist destination, famous for toxic insects, fevered dreams, and its tendency to swallow visitors whole (bones and all). The wise stop at the tree line, convinced nobody survives their first picnic beneath its tangled canopy.

Only a handful of prestigious Fairborn scholars have managed to return from Awesu clutching artifacts (often with one or two missing fingers) that defy easy classification: miniscule poisoned spears, darts, carved bone jewelry and pottery fragments painted with bloody markings that appear in no other Magonian tradition.

Their notably frantic and incomplete reports describe six elusive tribes: Blue Barramundi, Red River Rats, Silver Skinks, Purple Pumas, Green Gibbons and Orange Olingos, each defined by distinctive markings and territorial claims that shift as often as the river bends, and usually over someone’s corpse.

After much debate, the enduring conclusion is that the Earthborn are extremely small, extremely hostile and disturbingly adept at making intruders disappear.

“It is advised that investigators venturing into Awesu pre-authorize an executor for their estate
and file all expected posthumous corrections prior to departure.”
– Excerpt from Directive 1723: “The Handling and Reporting of Earthborn Artifacts”
by Grand Credentialist Theidrun

According to Grand Librarian Hragan, long ago, before the era of famous feuds, the Earthborn lived together above ground in the vibrant jungle city of Pavitra Teela. Legend claims its shimmering structures were made of pure gold, though the truth proved less impressive when the hungry Flameborn giants turned up.

All that remains are ruins strangled by vines and the honeycomb of tunnels beneath; now a maze of scattered colonies and underground nests sheltering the fractured children of Souza. Of course, stories of tree-dwelling ambushes, Pangolox poison-tipped arrows and darts remain a favorite at any gathering where Magonians seek to explain missing relatives.

Hragan claims the Earthborn “Awesu Swarm” nearly toppled the Brackmire Bogpuppies in the original Whomp’Em World Cup semifinals, though records remain anecdotal at best. Defeat in sport proved kinder than their fate at the hands of the Flameborn, and today only fragments of their glory echo along Bhujaga’s banks.

The most persistent myth is that of Rohit the Mighty, an Earthborn name still whispered beyond the jungle. Magonian bedtime tales tell of his capturing of the legendary Hunting Kunka, the beast sleeping within Bandhana-Griha, the sacred ziggurat vault, forever guarded by ferocious Earthborn. Whether the Kunka is real or not, the legend is irresistible to parents hoping to keep their children indoors at night.

Foolhardy historians, adventurers and fortune seekers occasionally strike out for Awesu, hoping to discover the golden city,  witness secret rites, or perhaps glimpse Bandhana-Griha itself. Most return as ghost stories, if at all, or swiftly defeated by “jungle fever,” a suspiciously timed pitfall, or the sudden wisdom to turn back with limbs and sanity intact.

Also known as: Myrmekes, Hopi Ant People, Antlions

Patron god: Souza, the Mantilion

Banner: Souza’s Roar

Magonia region: Jungle of Awesu

Capital: Formerly Pavitra Teela

Legendary astra: Tenae, the Gladefoil — stolen by Leelee the Pirate Queen

Notable figures: Ganga the Wise, Rohit the Mighty, Rithvik the Mad, Biren the Betrayer, Gharib the Lost, Usha the Spirited, Subu the Loyal

Points of interest: Bandhana-Griha, the Sacred Vault of the Hunting Kunka; the Ruins of Pavitra Teela; the Bhujaga River

Favored steed: Hoproaches

Whomp’Em team: The Awesu Swarm (Whomp’Em World Cup I)

Inspiration and author’s notes

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