Silek¶
The Silek are the goblin-demons of the Fifth Age, "a result of experimentation and breeding during the Hollowing Period by the archdemon Bhaal". By the Proturan period they are the most populous race in the known world, a caste society of warlocks and scavengers that holds "regions of the Underdark", sails the Rift in airships, and strikes the surface kingdoms from the north (S025, S024). Humans call them Guhvils; the name they take for themselves is the one Bhaal gave them, Silek, "which means 'Chosen' in Goblin" (S025).
Also called: Guhvils, Goblin-Devils, Goblin-Demons (S025, S024, S005).
Origins and name¶
"The Silek are a result of experimentation and breeding during the Hollowing Period by the archdemon Bhaal. They became known by most other races as Goblin-Devils which evolved into Guhvils... despite technically not being Devils (which were composed only of those demons loyal to Asmodeus). Needless to say Guhvils do not refer to themselves as such" (S025). Their stock is the goblin, whom they call cousins, and their demonic blood sets them apart from every other people of Terrun (S025).
Biology¶
"The Silek are well-adapted to dark conditions with excellent hearing and darkvision. Their vision is poor in well-lit environments and as such, surface Sileks tend to be nocturnal. Most Silek civilizations span regions of the Underdark. Sileks prefer meat but are omnivores capable of eating almost anything, including insects and rotten foods. They have no sense of smell and their near-immunity to disease removes the need for any kind of cleanliness or basic sanitation." They live shorter lives even than goblins, "between 25 and 40 years", reaching adulthood at eight to ten. "Silek are naturally immune to most disease and Blight damage. Their demonic blood also grants them considerable resistance to magic and magical damage types" (S025).
Strains¶
A Silek is not born of two parents. "A genetic lineage, Silek are born into a strain by a bloodmother created by Belos. Each Silek of the strain is identical, and they are only identifiable to one another through tattoos and jewelry. There is no sexual distinction among Silek, they are all asexual. Weak strains are wiped out, while strong ones prosper. Powerful strains keep their bloodmothers hidden and imprison or hold hostage the bloodmothers of subservient strains" (S025). A strain whose bloodmothers are destroyed is finished as a people, as happened to the Vuuric-Strand (S010).
Religion¶
"The Silek have a singular religion: Belos (Bhaal). This religion dominates Silek life and politics. It's priesthood is filled with Warlocks and Mithis magic users that also make up its ruling class" (S025). Their values follow from it. "The Silek strive to please Belos and offer him (and his demons) the thing they desire most, mortal lifeforce and freedom from the Abyss. The displeasure of Belos is harsh, even harsher than the Silek's themselves." They strive for power "over other Silek, over their surroundings and over the other races", plotting against one another to raise their own strain. And they share their god's hunger for knowledge: "The Silek scour ancient ruins, collecting artifacts and relics and building libraries of knowledge dedicated to Belos... They have been known to execute large scale raids on fortified positions with tremendous losses to secure a single powerful magical object in the hands of other races" (S025). Shamans, the Fae casters, "are considered heretics and outcasts (though still exist in some places)" (S025).
Society and castes¶
"Silek society is organized around a caste system with some mobility. An intelligent Silek can expect with loyalty and effort to be promoted to the highest castes" (S025).
| Caste | Who belongs |
|---|---|
| Ruling (Silek only) | "Essentially members of the Silek nobility", seen "as the direct representatives of the Silek God"; only the most intelligent are admitted. Its sub-castes are the Council of Belos ("the absolute rulers of the Silek", organised at local, regional and national levels), the Priests, the Warriors and the Scholars of Belos. |
| Common | Ordinary Silek "involved in day to day activities such as agriculture, warfare, scavenging or burrowing". |
| Confederates | "'Friendly' non-Silek races that are part of the Silek nation": goblins, orcs, trolls. A confederate may hold any caste but the ruling one. |
| Horde | "Less intelligent creatures... treated and managed as laborers"; the feral among them are "kept in conditions not much better than most civilizations keep their livestock" and used as "disposable cohorts in scavenging and raiding operations". |
| Enslaved | "Enslaved enemies and criminals. These are used for labor, ritual sacrifice and food." Valuable slaves such as Duergar smiths "are given some leeway with their living conditions, but are still handled very harshly". |
Technology and craft¶
"The Silek are very clever, but also very sloppy. Their short lifespans lead to an impatience that does not lend itself well to grand or detailed creations. Despite these challenges, they are well known for their diabolical, if short-lived, contraptions and inventions. As the inheritors of many dwarven halls and relics, they have reworked and repurposed old dwarven technologies for their own purposes." They make "nearly exclusive use of slaves for stoneworking or woodworking", prefer dwarven or duergar slaves for metalwork, and take "a purely minimalist approach to crafting". "Some say that the Silek don't build things": they find what they need "in the ruins of past civilizations". They sow little and scavenge much, keeping animals "(and slaves in a pinch)" (S025).
Two crafts they excel at. "Sileks are expert alchemists and fair surgeons. Goblin-draughts have been popularized across Terrun as powerful elixirs (but usually with significant negative side-effects). Sileks are especially good at using poison and disease as a weapon against other races as they themselves are mostly immune" (S025). And they are the masters of flight in the Rift: "Given the static and stodgy nature of the air, flying is considerably easier than on the material. Guhvils and some other technologists make heavy use of dirigibles (that would not fly on the material)" (S017, S002). Guhvil airships, corvettes and warships appear throughout the Rift, bombing enemies from the air; a captured Guhvil slave is needed to work a Guhvil cannon (S006, S008, S010, S011, S046). The bracers called Jumpers, which "allow blink like capabilities only in the Rift", are of Guhvil origin (S045, S046, S048, S049, S050). Their magic is "a unique form of Demonic Mithis (also referred to as Corruption magic or simply Demonic)" practised by the warlocks, witches and Daemus of the upper castes (S025).
History¶
The Silek are a people of the Fifth Age, and most of what is known of their wars comes from the north-east of Astia around Proturas.
The first blow fell on the Grotto's trading port of Myrgitta: "It was only a month ago that contact was lost with Myrgitta and it was assumed the Boreal Elves were responsible, though eventually reports confirmed it was a new threat: Guhvils from the North" (S002, S009). The same raids struck the Boreal Elves and the Kingdom of Lorsythe, "each time capturing many and taking them away to some unknown fate", and drove three bitter enemies to peace talks "in the hopes of negotiating at least a real peace or perhaps even something more coordinated against the Guhvils" (S004, S005). The talks ended in a Guhvil plague loosed by an arcane explosion and a Herald of Rot channelling "a green glowing wind" into a fissure held open by Guhvil warlocks (S006). In the Rift the Guhvils used stable fissures "as part of their road network" and kept outposts with docked dirigibles (S006, S008).
The Great Guhvil War of the 670s AL "is credited with ending the Lorsythian conflict before further damage was done to Proturas. It also led to a truce between the northern kingdoms, Proturas and the Boreal Elves in the east. Several critical battles were fought in the rift along trade routes controlled by Proturas. The war was relatively long and led to militarization of the many parts of the rift." The first Riftborn were made by Proturan warlocks in its early stages. "The war ended in a stalemate when Guhvil attack routes through the ?? Fold were cut off by Proturas." The reclusive kingdom of Alghert "fell to the Guhvils and many refugees spilled south into the other northern kingdoms or east into Proturas. Alghert itself was left a sunken swamp after a series of massive floods" (S107). A mercenary company of Proturas "was decimated in the battle of XXXX, A Guhvil incursion" (S074), and Lorsythe's enemies in the field included "a mercenary of ill-repute hired by Guhvils" (S077). In the campaign's present, "trade routes through the rift have had some limited success, but have been recently cut off by resurgent Guhvil attacks", and the Guhvils stand with the Elder Gods among the forces outside the city conspiring to destroy it (S076). Proturan patrols in the Skaelness Chain exist "to ensure pirates, guhvils and others don't form settlements here" (S066).
By the Proturan period the Silek head the list of the Fifth Age's major races, "presented in order of population" (S024).
Kritch Guhvils¶
The Kritch are a strain or nation of the Silek that the cultists of the Primal Union of Ter'Gaia tried to steer. Their intelligence notes read: "we have planted the appropriate information necessary to lure them into striking the Grotto and Boreal Elves. They have decided to strike Lorsythe despite seeming to have little reason to do so and our agents have not been able to provide reasonable answers to this question. Kritch bloodmother successfully moved, reserved for utmost need." The cult bought food, material and slaves from the Kritch (S010).
Vuuric-Strand Guhvils¶
The Vuuric-Strand are "tall, dark grey skinned goblins with large flat faces and flat triangular noses. Glowing yellow eyes. Known across the rift as mercs, craftsmen. Vuuric-Strand leadership/bloodmothers were destroyed about 15 years ago." Surviving Vuuric Guhvils serve the Primal Union of Ter'Gaia as its head of intelligence and the high priest of its fire temple (S010).
Gap
The Silek's "Notable Nations (Numenia)" heading was left empty, and no source names a Silek city, council or ruler. Where in the north the raiders come from, how many strains exist, and what the Silek call their own history are not recorded.