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The Grindylow are bizarre creatures, so obscurely hidden that most would probably label them monsters or myths rather than true xenians. They are usually only found in the Gengris, although occasional raiding and assassination parties venture further out.

Description[]

Grindylow are amphibious, euryhaline, eel-like humanoids with viper fish heads that seem to "swim" as easily in mid-air as in water, with great thick tails and "fistfuls" of teeth. They possess the ability to communicate with seemingly all forms of sea life, including salinae, whales, dolphins, and other, stranger creatures that live deep in the ocean.

Information[]

The grindylow reside in the Gengris, a well-defended and difficult-to-reach half-sunk island where they practice horrendous and puissant science-thaumaturgies unknown to other races. They are capricious and alien, but rare explorers of other races manage to reside among them for a time. By all accounts, they are viciously cruel and completely heartless towards the other races and perhaps each other.

Thaumaturgy[]

Grindylow thaumaturgy is alien in comparison to that practiced by other races, and seems to focus on various ways of interacting with and manipulating spaces. The thaumaturgy allows its practitioners rearrange the spaces around them, to travel with incredible speed, and even to hide in strange, out-of-phase angles that render them all but invisible to others. Grindylow magi are the primary practitioners of this art, although certain artefacts can allow others to use these abilities.

Through their thaumaturgy and with the assistance of groac'h familiars, grindylow magi are also able to send messages across the water, breathing out bubbles that slip through thaumaturgical vents and rise upward without bursting, until they reach the ears of the intended listeners.

Foci[]

In their thaumaturgy, grindylow are known to use foci, in the form of the preserved relics of their dead. One such thaumaturgical artifact is the Magus Fin, which contains the fin and essence of a deceased magus. Other foci include bone necklaces worn by the magi who lead raiding parties.

Culture[]

The grindylow worship a variety of ancestor spirits and godlings. Malachite chapels are the primary places of worship for the Grindylow, and entrance to the chapels is forbidden to outsiders. Grindylow are known for raiding ships that pass through the Gengris to obtain prisoners for sacrifice and experimentation.

In the Gengris, the grindylow make use of "limb farms", presumably relating to the production of tools and weaponry, and "bile workshops" where trespassers are ground down. Other notable features include "pabulum towers", which may be living spaces for the grindylow, and the "Algae Palace" - presumably a center of government.

Grindylow exhibit absolute trust among themselves; since they are unused to dealing with outsiders, the concept of secrecy is foreign to them.

Etiquette[]

Grindylow etiquette is opaque and largely incomprehensible to outsiders. Violators are spirited away, never to be seen again. Even traders and merchants who have lived with the Grindylow for years are not exempt from these consequences, which result from transgressions like providing insufficiently pure goods. As a result, trading with the Grindylow, although lucrative, carries grave risks.

Magi[]

Elite Grindylow Thaumaturges are known as Magi, or assassin-priests, and are revered as spiritual and military leaders. Magi use totems to commune with ancestor spirits and channel their power, as well as to communicate with and question the recently deceased. Magi are known to work with groac'h to send messages and wage war, although it is likely that they cooperate in other additional ways.

As leaders of grindylow society, magi are known to lead raiding parties in pursuit of fugitives and other targets. The most skilled magi are preserved after passing via magical artefacts, which are imbued with some of their essence in the form of a black, oily substance and a strip of their fins.

Trivia[]

  • Grindylow, most famously appearing in Harry Potter, are water spirits that feature in Yorkshire and Lancashire folklore as a way to scare children away from bodies of water where they could drown.

See also[]


Significant races
Xenians

Anophelii · Cactacae · Cray · Grindylow · Hotchi · Khepri · Llorgiss · Scabmettler · Vodyanoi · Hotchi · Hotchi ·

Ab-dead

Thanati · Vampir

Other races

Abnatural · Humans · Constructs · Dolphin · Handlinger · Menfish · Stiltspear · Strider · Wyrmen

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