Introduction:
Squishlings are soft, flexible, highly adaptable sentient primates on Cresca. While Squishlings are scattered throughout the world, they were once most concentrated on the continent of Ashkara as a people known as Bronzelings. The Bronzelings ran a thriving empire that covered much of the modern-day 32-Fold’s territory during the pre-split era. Unexpectedly, their empire broke apart into fragmented micronations, each of which would later be conquered by the Scalekin.
Origins & History:
Squishlings are known for their ingenuity, determination, adaptability, and resilience under great pressure. On the continent of Ashkara, the Bronzelings developed advanced steam technology that powered much of their civilization. They were a people well-versed in the arts of music, claymaking, and the fine arts. They relied purely on their own strength and intellect and worshipped no deity throughout their territory. Bronzelings had warm-bronze skin, dark or navy-colored hair, and often dark eyes. During the pre-split era, their capital was located in what is now called Aether’s Rest, a state within the 32-Fold. It is theorized that this is where the Squishlings race originated before spreading throughout the globe.
The Birth of a New Phenotype — The Paleing:
When the Scalekin pushed in and began conquering large swathes of territory, the Bronzelings were decimated not only by their use of dark magic, Ebonrift, but also by their diseases. The Bronzelings’ medical technology was insufficient to heal them, and as a result of their empire collapsing a century prior, much of the knowledge that could have saved them was lost after the fires of revolution had finally cooled. Once the Scalekin had conquered much of Ashkara, they had an insufficient amount of Bronzeling slave labor to clear out the rubble. The other species available, such as the Nibblewing settlers and native Hoofadoodles to the south, were putting up heavy resistance in the form of guerrilla warfare and insurgencies, costing the Scalekin manpower and resources.
Additionally, the Bronzeling slaves were not well-adapted to the cold climates of their old territories, leading many to perish prematurely before their work even began. To solve these problems, the Scalekin formed a temporary council composed of their most powerful mages, whom they imported into their new territory. The council consisted of 12 members, and over the course of 12 years, they performed various experiments on several dozen Bronzeling slaves, with their hungry empire desperate to solve its worker shortage. In the end, the council was able to create a separate phenotype of Squishlings engineered to be resistant to the cold; however, they were not immune to it. They were completely immune to the sicknesses and diseases the Scalekin brought with them.
All of this was made possible by using the Bronzelings as a template. They were called Paleings because of their fair-to-white skin. They had various hair and eye colors. Within 50 years, the worker shortage was solved, and the Paleing population rapidly boomed. The Bronzelings were placed in labor camps, mostly within their territory of origin, which is now referred to as Aether’s Rest. The labor camps were guarded by disposable familiars summoned by amateur Scalekin mages.
Sablelings:
Approximately two decades after the formation of the country of the 32-Fold, large groups of Squishlings began washing ashore in the state of Ashenport from nearby shipwrecks. Those who were still alive were rehabilitated and immediately absorbed as citizens. However, these Squishlings were unlike the Bronzelings or Paleings. They had much darker skin, with hair similar to that of the Bronzelings. Their eyes were rich in color. Some historians suspect that their ancestry traced back to the original Squishlings who journeyed out of the continent of Ashkara.
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