The Hollowed

⚠︎ Content Warning: The following text contains brief discussions of stillbirth, disfigurement, as well as the skinning and utilization of hides.

W.I.P

The Hollowed, or Vacuumanis cavus, are a race descended from the failed experiments of The Nine Choirs, an ancient civilization that attempted to harness the biology of the Warden. The Hollowed are almost universally blind, navigate primarily through echolocation, and vary considerably in appearance, though they all bear some form of Warden characteristics. Over many generations of survival within the deep dark, they have developed a culture wholly their own, distinct from that of the civilization which created them.

Physiology and Classification

Physical variation among the Hollowed is extensive. Three terms are used to describe this range, each built upon the shared root Tskal, meaning marked or touched.

• Tskalvo refers to individuals present with extensive skulk coverage, exposed bone and horn structures, and a build closely resembling that of a Warden.

• Tskalen refers to individuals presenting a mixture of both extremes, and represents the most common classification.

• Tskalir refers to individuals that retain human-like skin and other features, with only minor or negligible skulk markings.

These classifications carry no social rank. A Tskalvo elder holds no greater standing than a Tskalir messenger.

The majority of the Hollowed are blind from birth, and a considerable number are born without eyes altogether. Stillbirths and physical irregularities occur at a much higher rate than what would be expected in another species of purely natural origin, reflecting The Hollowed’s artificial origin. They are unstable in terms of their population and health.

The Hollowed have a lifespan of 150-200 years.

Senses and Communication

Echolocation allows the Hollowed to perceive the outline, distance, and movement of nearby entities and objects, though not in fine detail. This sense must be actively engaged through vocalized clicks; it does not operate passively. As a result, an entity that remains silent and motionless is essentially invisible to a Hollowed.

Pallesthesia is a secondary, passive sense that allows the Hollowed to detect vibration continuously, including distant footsteps and other movements, without requiring active echolocation.

Individual recognition among each other rarely relies on echolocation at all, as doing so would be considered unnecessary and often exhausting to do constantly. Recognition instead depends loosely on scent and primarily click-signatures, a vocal pattern unique to each individual Hollowed and comparable to a fingerprint.

Spoken language among the Hollowed is quiet and directional. Each individual is capable of projecting their voice in a narrow, targeted cone, permitting conversations to be less intense on surrounding Hollowed, as their hearing is exceptional.

A separate system, referred to as click-song, allows for the transmition of compressed sensory impressions. This can be used to transmit near-perfect depictions of anything a Hollowed has ‘seen’ (echolocated), similar to a photograph being handed between individuals. It can only be done by very close proximity or physical touch.

Abilities

Physical prowess

The Hollowed are blind, and at times, may not posses eyes whatsoever. However, they have excellent hearing. Using echolocation and sensing the general tremors around them is how they get around from place to place. They are also much stronger physically than the average human.

Mental prowess

There is little to no difference between a stygian’s cognition and that of a human.

Magical prowess

The magical abilities of the Hollowed is currently unknown.

Miscellaneous

Characters

None currently.

Author

HotDogDobby