Graaf, Kaivaa and related things

Because MOLE PEOPLE.

Now I remember a thread awhile back, in which an anthropomorphic race of moles was discussed; I won't dig that up. My idea here is for a demihuman species- two, actually.

Graaf

Graaf are a subterranean demi-human race that have physical traits and lifestyles of moles, and are often simply referred to as “the mole folk”. Their physical characteristics include small, beady eyes, a flattened nose surrounded by long sensitive whiskers, strong arms, their fingers ending in powerful shovel-like claws, and fur in various amounts over their bodies. They also commonly possess short, flattened tails as well- otherwise they look mostly human, standing about four and a half to five feet tall. They are very shy to surface-dwellers, and commonly live their whole lives in seclusion from the other races beneath the ground, digging tunnels and working as a society to expand their villages. Most of them are not very technologically advanced, but they have uncanny knowledge about the underground, and the expertise to dig tunnels beneath hazardous zones without drawing too much attention to themselves. Despite their poor eyesight, graaf are remarkably efficient hunters, able to tell the slightest vibration in the soil, or above, move through the ground at a great pace, and grab their prey. Everything they find, from worms to insects to tinies that they don't eat themselves, they store in hidden 'larders' as a food stock for the community. Their saliva contains a toxin that has a paralyzing effect, allowing them to easily catch and store prey for later in these chambers. This has a slight effect on beings their own size, but wouldn't paralyze a human. Because they aren't very widely well-known or understood, there are tales that they drag humans underground to eat later. This is a false claim against the majority of their kind, as graaf aren't a very aggressive race, but for their larger cousins, the kaivaa, it is true.

One can tell just how efficient diggers they are if they are foraging near the surface, as they will leave a trail of raised ground as they quickly dig, and noticeable mounds where they pop up above ground. This is a telltale sign they are in the area, and makes pinpointing and retrieving them by a predator from above that much easier. They do not normally venture to above the surface unless it is imperative that a scout sees if a possible threat lives above the ground.

Despite their limitations above the surface, graaf are very much sought for work, by smugglers and travelers wanting to safely get through a zone, and even the mining operations at the Ascarlin Mountains seek their expertise.

Their main threats come from subterranean predators, such as tonorions, tunneler worms and elementals.

Graaf face:

Body:

(sorry, can't draw)

Kaivaa
Based on the star-nosed mole

These are the graaf's larger cousins, commonly about thirty-five feet tall. They have many of the same features as graaf, with a few differences. Kaivaa have a surrounding of super-sensitive, fleshy tentacles around their nostrils, obscuring most of their face with what appears at first to be a strange-looking mask. Their claws are also proportionately larger than a graaf, being more clawlike than handlike. Kaivaa are some of the fastest-eating predators, taking only a fraction of a second to recognize and consume potential prey. This is because their claws aren't good for grappling, and are rather unwieldy, causing the kaivaa to rely on striking out quickly for their meal. They can squeeze down a human-sized prey easily enough, and have sharp teeth if chewing is necessary. If you fall into their 'food catagory', you can bet you'll disappear in the blink of an eye. They are solitary, normally having a permanent underground lair, and stick to that territory unless food is scarce. Their lair often has tunnels that extend far underground, and often into bodies of water, in which they also hunt in.

Since their saliva has the same paralyzing traits as their smaller cousins, they use it, when they are already full, to incapacitate prey, which may include a human that curiously looked into the kaivaa's lair, for storing later. Their eyesight is even worse than those of the graaf, though they have no need to depend on vision. The tentacles on their face, 22 in total, are used both as a sensing and grappling organ, that can both pinpoint the location of and grab prey, forcing it into their mouth, holding, or feeling it. They may look quite strange, but for a blind race, appearances don't mean much. It is possible for them to remember a face, which involves using their facial tentacles to feel the contours of the face, and make an accurate mental depiction of them.

They most commonly hunt underground insects like their smaller cousins, but won't pass up anything small enough to cram into their mouth, which includes graaf, who normally try not to encroach on a kaivaa's hunting territory. Though a smaller predator compared to other giants, one should be very careful of venturing near their lairs, lest disappear in a flash! They commonly feed on underground insects.

Kaivaa face:

What a cutie, eh?

Kinda scary, but cute.

I find the Graaf a bit cute. But with the addition of tentacles on the face, the Kaivaa seem like some kind of spawn of Cthulhu. I like it!

Pendragon wrote:

Kinda scary, but cute.

Pretty much what I was aiming for

DeviantDiscordian wrote:

I find the Graaf a bit cute. But with the addition of tentacles on the face, the Kaivaa seem like some kind of spawn of Cthulhu. I like it!

Well thank you . And I suppose nightmarish, tentacle-faced giant mole-people do invoke a Lovecraftian sort of vibe, eh?

Nice and original design ! It's an interesting race you imagined here

Karbo wrote:

Nice and original design ! It's an interesting race you imagined here

Thank you, glad to hear that.
I was worried people would be set off by the odd design. ^^;

Adding an idea I had awhile back to supplement one of these races.

Graaf, not usually very magical in nature themselves, have some difficulty hunting and defending themselves against creatures that are very magical. As such, they have domesticated a creature that lives in the underground as well- something they refer to as a Kinhyr.

Kinhyr
Size: 3'
Threat: Low

About the size of a large dog, it is an insect that superficially resembles a tonorion by its black chitin armor plating and sharp digging legs. It may actually be a cousin of them, but is clearly an adapted prey species, and is omnivorous. Like many of Felarya's insects, kinhyr do exude an anti-magic aura. In form they are more akin to a short millipede or pillbug than the centipede-like tonorions, and when they sense danger they will wrap into a tight ball. They are good diggers though, and their ability to be trained makes them invaluable to graaf. Their wild counterparts travel in groups, digging out of the ground in pairs to feed. If the others below sense danger, they will dig up to the ones above ground, which would have wrapped into a ball. Those above ground roll over to and fall into a newly-dug hole leading to an escape tunnel; all of them make it down to safety. This works well with domesticated specimens since if a kinhyr senses that something is coming towards their graaf master above ground, they will dig up to them, making an escape to a tunnel much easier. Kinhyr have been known to try to go after such beings as fairies without order, however, so accidents do happen even if you are a magical being that is friendly with the graaf. Interestingly, kinhyr emit a clicking sound that may be a form of communication.

I was inspired a bit by Ryla's pet Skittles for the concept.