Echren

Echren are a subspecies of humans created by [name] found in northern Essokyri and Filuro. There are two very different races of echren dubbed Frozen and Free.

Origins
Echren are said to be copies of Caewyth's humans. [name] admired them so much that he attempted his own. The echren he created were inferior to humans, smaller and weaker with a tendancy to brittle bones and chest infections. The only advantage they had over humans was their ability to withstand freezing temperatures.

They live in modest villages known as [packs].

Said to have ice in their veins, echren have an intense fear of heat and cannot or will not leave the frozen wastes of their home for fear of melting.

Frozen Echren
Frozen echren are found exclusively in northern Filuro. Over a thousand years ago a village of echren was said to be captured by the Frozen Men and the villagers used as slaves. Nearby echren villages relocated leaving the Frozen Men with only the single village for their slaves.

Over the years the echren changed. They became smaller and meeker with no sense of freedom. They were treated almost as dogs, bred for a purpose and bred to be loyal to their masters.

Frozen echren see no desire to escape their eternal servitude.

Free Echren
Free echren are those from other villages. Most migrated to northern Essokyri to escape the Frozen Men. Still weak and brittle the Free echren somehow manage to survive in the harsh frozen wastes of the north. They have a fierce sense of freedom and intense loyalty and refuse help from any other species, or even other echren villages. Free echren would rather starve to death than accept even the smallest offering of food from others.

Heading
Several villages have been bonded together under the rule of [name], an unsually large and strong echren. As their leader he has instigated a breeding program in an attempt to improve the species, where every echren needs to prove himself before being permitted to have children. These tests are not simply about physical strength, but intelligence, cunning and physical health.

Any illegitimate children are left in the snow to die.