Shi-Nek

Shi-neks are miniscule, timid undead that fear the day and only venture warily into the night. Dwelling in cold, frostbitten mountains, the shi-neks thrive in the eternal twilight of snow, clouds and ice. Formed from the fiery births of wendigo, they cower in the shadows of their cannibalistic progenitors.

Physical Description: Shi-neks are very small; a very real fear for them is being stepped on by larger creatures. Their lack of legs and grace on the ground gives them a sluglike appearance. Every shi-nek wears a mask when it comes into being, formed from ice and giving a resemblance to a face. This mask looks different on every shi-nek. Shi-neks form from the burned-off feet of humanoids that transform into wendigo. They have no biological sex, though they possess a gender identity.

Society: In the arctic mountains, the shi-neks build few cities. The wendigo would only destroy their work, so why build? That said, occasionally a community chances upon a cave large and defensible enough to support a large shi-nek population. For the most part, though, shi-neks live in small, tightly-knit communities. Most villages have their own small customs and social rules. One thing shared by all communities, however, is fear of the wendigo. The elk-headed spirits created the shi-neks, but care not for their creations and consider them to be delicious eating. Thus, any sighting of a wendigo by shi-nek sentries results in panic. Shi-neks are also magically gifted, and shi-nek spellcasters are welcome in all communities. Perhaps their love of group living comes from the fact that no shi-nek is created alone; every shi-nek is part of a pair of twins.

Relations: As discussed, shi-neks fear wendigo. Since they so rarely venture beyond their mountains, their reactions to other races are generally a mixture of caution and curiosity. They fear aasimars almost as much as wendigo, as most aasimars believe all undead to be abominations, making no exception for the timid slug people. Their attitudes toward most generally-good races is the same, though not as extreme.

Alignment and Religion: While undead, shi-neks are not evil creatures by nature, merely scared and weak. Shi-neks are almost always neutral. Those few shi-neks that follow the path of darkness are often insane, driven mad by wendigo but unable to become one by some quirk of magic. The scant few that embrace heroism are often coattail-riders, being rescued from wendigo by larger adventurers. These good shi-neks seek to emulate their new heroes, generally dragging their twin along for the ride. Shi-nek twins always have the same alignment. As far as religion, shi-neks tend to worship deities of knowledge and magic.

Adventurers: It is a rare shi-nek indeed that musters up the courage to leave the doubtful safety of the mountains, but those that do are either chased back home or become forces to be