Demographics of Gordon Bay City

The demographic make-up of Gordon Bay City is principally concerned with its incredible diversity of sentient live, detailed below.

It must be stated in regards to the non-human populations that all commentary and statistics must be taken under advisement, with most details adapted from the GBC government’s own publicly published and tentative documentation. While it is almost certain that there are several, if not rather more, species now living within GBC not currently known to the government, be they small in number or extremely numerous, either due to their diminutive stature, intangible form to human eyes or remote location; it is also perfectly possible that certain species listed as distinct entities are in fact merely the same creature in different forms, with a number of known shapeshifters list among the thirty-nine species initially considered by the Non-human Registration Act.

Furthermore, the very names of most of these species are worthy of debate, with many given generic titles known to Candelariasians, and preferring to keep their own true identities hidden – a reflection of just how little their human neighbours know of the origins of these peoples even to this day, and their reasons for settling in Gordon Bay City.

Much of the information available in regards to the microstate, and presented below, reflects the comparatively brief period in which the country’s national football team competed internationally, and Gordon Bay City was therefore in the international limelight. As with Candelaria And Marquez, the state’s subsequent withdrawal from public life means that much detail may be out of date and should be treated with great caution as to its contemporary accuracy.

Humanity

Candelarian Gordbaysians

There is no settled demonym for GBC’s largest cultural community, with the equally accurate Candelariasian and Candelarian used interchangeably and neither providing an adequate distinction from Candelariasians living across the border. Terms such as ‘Candgorbs’ and the somewhat questionable indigenous Gordbaysian have tentatively been suggested, while even ‘Gordbaysian’ itself took several years to be formally and reluctantly adopted.

Whatever their designation, GBC’s Candelariasian population is largely representative of Candelaria as a whole; with a similar age structure, sex ratio and, for now, life expectancy. Though an accurate census has not be conducted since the establishment of the Democratic Republic, it is believed that approximately 7% of the population is from a non-white ethnic minority, with Afro-Caribbeans comprising the largest element followed by smaller Jewish, Han and Nepalese populations, though none are generally thought to represent a distinct social community.

Some 90% of GBC’s Candelarians speak English as their first language, with the city’s geographical proximity to Albrecht and coastal location attracting immigration from linguistic minorities including Irish Gaelic, Italian and Romanian speakers. Marquezian Spanish, though an official language of the country and spoken to a near-native level by a sizable proportion of the public, is never the less a first language for well under 1% of the Candelarian Gordbaysian population.

There are no figures available regarding religions affiliations, though GBC was believed prior to the invasion as having a higher than average number of self-proclaimed atheists or those likely to tick ‘non-religious’ boxes when given the opportunity. Christians never the less make up more than 50% of the Candelarian population, with Anglican church being the largest denomination – there are however Roman Catholic, Methodist and Nazarene churches in the city, though not all are believed to currently be in use and there is significant doubt of the future role of Christianity in the Democratic Republic owing to the antipathy shown towards it both by the Kolan and many of the non-human species. Islam, Judaism and Buddhism are negligible influences, with only one small pre-Queendom place of worship reported for each faith.

The small population of more recent human immigrants to GBC, mostly from Rushmore, is typically considered as being indistinct from the Candelariasian community, and in particular that portion thereof that opted to immigrate to the state in the years since the Beatrice event.

Kolani Gordbaysians

The Kolan’s social structure both prior to the arrival of Westerners and during their period in the realm of the Svartálfar can be gleamed in part from the make-up of their community in Gordon Bay City as well as the reports of politicians and other civic figures. However, there is no doubt that the reality of the Kolan’s life in the Democratic Republic differs considerably from their experiences in years past, and will continue to evolve in future months and years.

Most notably, the average age of the GBC Kolan at the time of the Democratic Republic’s creation was approximately 23, with the community including very few people older than 35 and a significant number of children (though few under the age of seven). Equally, Leohi’s followers were biased towards men and boys, who make up somewhere approaching 70% of the population, while the reality of the impromptu nature of the invasion and subsequent loss of the gateways has left a high number of orphans, as well as splitting asunder traditional village groupings. Community leaders and politicians from all groups are known to be highly concerned over the ubiquity of these inadvertent family breakdowns and the long-term effects on the mental health of Kolani individuals and their fractured society.

Traditional caste system

Elements of their former structure do remain however, based around the Kolan’s traditional caste system. Within the halls and caverns of Svartalfheim, villages isolated only by relatively short walks between them and consisting of no more than a few dozen individuals appear to have been the norm, with each comprising members of all four castes, or ikai

The ‘eli’ila, or nobility, were the smallest but most powerful grouping who were considered the natural leaders of every village with their power thought to derive from their relationship with the divine. Aside from lower-caste priests, only they were permitted access to temples and believed to hold a direct line of contact with the gods and spirits. In wider society they were for a significant period considered subordinate to the Elders however, but in later years – particularly following the adoption of the faerie identity within the realm itself – regained their position of total dominance. As with the other castes, the nobility did not typically marry outside their social class, but were also notable for high degrees of intermarriage between close relations – something considered taboo among their social inferiors. A further difference to the other classes involved the perceived superiority of the male gender, with women typically playing a more subordinate role than was the case among their lower caste peers – with Leohi herself an extremely noteworthy exception.

The second ikai were the ha’aoa, whose numbers included priests as well as master craftsmen, teachers, genealogists, physicians, advisors to the nobility on financial, judicial and social matters, and various types of artists and artisans. Certain ha’aoa also bore responsibility for returning to the ‘human’ realm, while Elders drawn from the caste were frequently more directly involved with contact with Candelariasian governments and authorities than the nobility themselves.

Lesser craftsmen and laborers, as well as farmers and those responsible for the preparation of spices – an important role in a land where the staple diet consisted of the normally foul-tasting nalanakala – were considered the hele caste and, as commoners, comfortably represented the majority of the population. The status of the lowest caste meanwhile, the kali’ila, is somewhat less clear, but is believed to have included the slaves of the nobility and those responsible for gathering the nalanakala, as well as the mankolan. In the eyes of the highest castes, the kali’ila’s position in society was earned by their simple-minded nature and inferior intellectual capacity (in part through their frequent intermarriage with usually blond(e) ‘humans’ taken from Candelariasian society).

Modern social structure

What is clear however is that these structures have already faced considerable stress since the founding of the Queendom, and may well come to disappear altogether – or become imbedded in Kolani society as part of a less solidified, class-based culture – though for now those of the lower three castes appear to retain great respect for the wisdom of the nobility, including those younger than themselves.

In certain instances, the youth of entire villages opted to follow Leohi and have been able to revive their previous communities in Gordon Bay City, albeit in the form of one or more streets of separate homes for individuals or ad hoc family units rather than the communal living typically experienced by all members of a village aside from the nobles, priests and menstruating women. For the most part however, communities are being utterly reshaped along GBC’s streets and taking differing forms, while the developing nature of the Kolan’s occupations in the modern world – with only a certain percentage able to retain traditional roles in farming, weaving, carpentry and the likes – will likely have an even more dramatic effect. Unemployment is currently extremely high, and the government has been cautious thus far in encouraging the Kolan into low-skilled factory jobs and risk creating a permanently two-tiered society within the city’s human population, split along ethnic lines.

For as long as the impact of Candelariasian culture and media on the Kolan remains modest however, significant elements of their pre-invasion cultural heritage is likely to remain in place – from the continued respect for the traditional legal system and attitudes towards sex and sexual orientation, to traditional music, dance, the dramatic arts, clothing, sport – to a point, with football and the very notion of competitive games rapidly pervading Kolani society – and, of course, their religious ceremonies and faith in the gods and spirits.

Green Children

Following the defeat of Sam Mc O’Neil’s totalitarian rule over the semi-autonomous Candelariasian state of Green Island by C&M forces, the Morton administration in Albrecht was left to deal with a significant humanitarian crisis as a result of his misrule. In particular, Mc O’Neil’s apparent attempts to create a race of genetically enhanced superhuman footballers resulted in hundreds of children – from infants to teens – for whom integrating unnoticed back into Candelariasian society, on Green Island or the mainland, was considered both impractical and undesirable at a time when the country’s government was still attempting to suppress public knowledge of the former regime and its excesses, in addition to the continued maintenance of the Candelariasian Conspiracy.

As a result, a deal was agreed with the Makua administration to transfer most of the so-called ‘Green Children’, and where possible surviving members of their families, to the more accepting surroundings of Gordon Bay City. A third subset of humanity duly settled into Gordbaysian society – one comprising youngsters sporting wings, gills, additional limbs and many other altered physical characteristics both dramatic and more subtle. Despite pressure to the contrary, the Green Children were not deployed by Morton as part of defensive efforts during the Beatrice event nor, despite being a decade older, was this the case in the incident of November 2020.

Non-humans

Aigamuxas

Superficially humanoid in proportions and appearance, the aigamuxas – also known both individually and collectively as ‘mux’ – resemble very dark-skinned, hunched and well-built humans, and are typically dressed in colourful rags recycled from human use, or are nude. Otherwise, their defining physical characteristic is the species’ lack of light-detecting organs upon their heads, with their eyes instead located on the insteps of their feet. As well as leaving them inevitably barefoot, aigamuxas must therefore walk and run blind, getting down upon their hands and knees and lifting one foot in the air in order to see.

The lesser-seen females are generally shorter and fatter than the males, often to the point of obesity, and have been observed being fed directly by individual males as part of serially monogamous pairings. Little else is known as to their society and culture, which is typically seen by Candelarians and Kolani alike as primitive by human standards but which never the less appears to include a developed and democratic social structure, and a certain amount of modest artistry. The community – numbering in excess of seventy individuals – is located outside the city itself among the country lanes and areas of woodland.

Largely uninvolved in city life, they currently survive through hunting small mammals – principally rabbits, mice and squirrels, though creatures as large as foxes, domestic cats and dogs have been noted as mux kills – though a small number of individuals occasionally venture into town to beg for other goods, and one aigamauxa by the name of Kxa???i played international football for Gordon Bay City. The national government has expressed the belief that current way of life is likely to represent the status quo for quite some time to come, though certain business leaders have suggested a future in labouring or other low-skilled, manual occupations.

The species communicates between themselves via an as-yet undeciphered language consisting almost entirely of alveolar and palatal clicks but, despite their total lack of command of English or any other known human tongue, most individuals show a degree of understanding when spoken to directly by other species, including humans. Though males are often violent between each other, in the months that followed the establishment of the Republic the only reported incidence of a fatal attack on a human occurred during the Queendom era, since when they have appeared peaceable if skittish around most other species.

Alans

One of the more populous human-sized species, the alans are frequently listed alongside corrandonnets, gnomes, panotti, tikoloshe and thusser as being the principal representatives of non-humanity in Gordon Bay City, particularly among those communities seen to closely resemble their human counterparts in general structure, values and the intellect of the individual.

The community itself, comprising at least three hundred alans, resides predominately along Juniper Boulevard and the intersecting streets in what was previously considered the most salubrious neighbourhood in the town. Other nearby streets continue to house both well-to-do Candelarians and Kolani nobility, while there are upmarket shops and restaurants increasingly frequented by the new non-human residents. Most appear currently unemployed, but significant numbers have found work in the waste disposal sector while others still have sought and been offered employment alongside humans in various lines of work.

Physically, alans are typically between five and seven feet in height, with females slightly shorter on average than males. Both have dark, leathery skin with a thin coating of coarse black hair on their chests, upper arms and legs. Though lightly-built, their manner of perambulation is ungainly – typically involving shambling runs supported by the pair of large, bat-like wings sprouting from their shoulder blades in the manner of angelic beings of Christian symbolic tradition. Their faces appear contorted, covered in deep serrations and unappealing to human eyes; with small black eyes occasionally observed to flash bright orange, a perpetually open mouth with four pairs of oversized canines, and a nose twisted into two gently wriggling prongs of about an inch in length. Their long, and seemingly cumbersome, fingers and toes are attached at the wrists and ankles respectively, with hands and feet coming to dull points.

Though they are easily capable of flight, as well as hovering for significant periods of time, most alans appear to prefer hanging upside down when at rest, which lasts for much of the day and night with the species most active during twilight. Their passion for jewellery and bejewelled objects is self-evident upon either encountering a lone alan or passing down Juniper Boulevard, where almost every dwelling bedecked in gold items and other valuables apparently brought to the Candelarias from the alans’ previous home. Common to both genders, this interest has psychological significance – with individuals observed to grow increasingly tetchy to the point of violence if denied physical contact with gold of a sufficient carat for a lengthy period of time. Most alans cover themselves in rings, chains and even small crowns and tiaras whenever possible.

Their appearance and this quirk aside, most Gordbaysian humans enjoying regular contact with the alans describe them as affable and sociable neighbours with a genuine interest in local pop culture and sport – with the striker known as Alan (the community refraining from using personal names between themselves in favour of familial or geographical identifications seldom translated into English) arguably the GBC national football team’s most recognisable player, and once a professional with Tenderville United of Nethertopia.

Alans in GBC are also known for their interest in human reproductive waste – including menstrual blood, miscarried foetuses and the placenta – which is believed to play a role in the species’ own reproductive system. Such young alans as are seen in public are almost entirely human in appearance rather than resembling their parents, save for eyes with large pupils and that lack irises. Though the alans themselves decline to be drawn on the matter, it is generally assumed that the species adapts their young’s physical form to fit in with their contemporary surroundings but, at least as of the dawn of the Republic, it was unknown whether these children would take on the form of adult alans during, for example, puberty, or if they could be expected to retain a human appearance into adulthood – suggesting, should this prove to be the case, that the adult alans’ own current appearance is likewise merely reflective of another species entirely.

Alven

Establishing accurate descriptions for the alven is currently considered nigh-on impossible, and even their identification as a single species may well be inaccurate. At least some of their number are certainly shapeshifters, though this would appear to principally be in the case of size rather than shape with the alven supposedly capable of shrinking to minute proportions or expanding into floating, iridescent, bubble-like lifeforms hundreds of metres in length.

Their preferred form however appears to be one either of complete invisibility or near-total translucency, with such a shape as can be ascertained being humanoid and typically standing at around six feet tall. They are seldom observed moving anywhere by foot, particularly outdoors, instead travelling gently through the air on gusts of wind or along the Caroline or smaller streams, and the community of an entirely uncertain number of individuals is believed to reside principally amongst the ponds of Byrum Park.

Nocturnal by preference, such leaders as they have appear active in public life and can be considered community organisers among the non-human population, being apparently keen to represent the interests of more timorous species – notably including the asrai – at Central Council meetings and beyond. One of their number, Jerralel of the Knapweed, served for several years as the country’s Foreign Minister. Otherwise, they are generally felt by humans to strike gently patronising tones during their rare dealings with them and where possible avoid contact altogether. Their own corner of Byrum Park has effectively become theirs alone in recent years, with humans (and certain non-humans) venturing into the park frequently finding themselves ordered by unseen voices (usually described as being ‘vaguely Nethertopian’) to tread more carefully or ‘please keep off the grass’.

Asrai

The asrai were the forty-first and, prior to the country’s withdrawal from international scrutiny following the Beatrice Event, most recently confirmed distinct species in GBC to be officially recognised as such by the state’s government, and next to nothing is known about their society, culture and numbers. The community exists solely at the bottom of Brophy Lake and the Caroline river that feeds into it, travelling – according to the single individual known to have had contact with government sources – to the Candelarias underwater to escape malign treatment in foreign waters.

According to this individual’s further account, the species can emerge into a moonlit night only once every century, and can survive neither physical contact with human beings nor direct sunlight upon their skin. Though the asral in question was around four foot tall and resembled a pubescent human girl (aside from green hair and webbed fingers), the appearance of the rest of the community is uncertain. They are, however, believed to be entirely female and of considerable age.

The asrai’s lake remains surrounded by barriers and patrolled by female human police officers at all times, with the species represented in the Central Council by the alven.

Bactrian camels

A large even-toed ungulate noted for its two humps.

Though taciturn, GBC’s Bactrians are generally supposed to possess an intellect at least on a par with that of humanity, and the forerunners of the modern community – comprising at least eighty individuals separated into four distinct herds – were among the first non-humans to arrive in the Queendom. Members of the multiverse-spanning Commonwealth of Bactrian Camels would already have been at least dimly aware of the Candelaria And Marquez via the two countries’ involvement in international football.

Bactrians have a rich cultural heritage of song and sagas, and the population in GBC is drawn from a number of separate cultural, linguistic and religious traditions. Currently mostly living a subsistence lifestyle on the edge of the city itself, a number of camels have involved themselves in the transport industry and their leading political figures have expressed the desire to integrate the camelid population into human society in the long-term. Such individuals have become noted for their conservative stance on the presence of their fellow non-humans in GBC and opposition to the state policy of extreme multiculturalism.

GBC is now arguably the heart of the vast Bactrian diaspora, with the long-time Chaircamel of the Council-In-Exile of Bactrian Camels, Muuuughuurghh’ Ghuuuruughnuurgh, operating from the city.

Brownies

Typically standing at around twenty inches in height, with shaggy light brown fur covering most of their bodies and lengthy prehensile tails; the species referred to themselves as brownies upon their arrival in GBC, though their true origins must be taken under advisement.

Members of the species are able to turn invisible at will, and indeed appear to remain so in the view of many humans and human film and photography. Their numbers are entirely uncertain, partly since they choose to involve themselves in city affairs only during late summer and early autumn where they live separate lives living in human houses. The presence of brownies has been noted in homes across the Republic, both Candelarian and Kolani though not apparently of other non-humans, where their helpful and hard-working nature has been made abundantly clear to many a housewife. Certain individuals and families have reported themselves able to turn over the overwhelming majority of household work to their brownie for a time, after taking traditional advice to keep it fed with milk and small cakes, though attempts to involve them in fee-paying employment elsewhere have been entirely unsuccessful.

During other periods of the year, GBC’s brownies congregate in hidden corners of the Democratic Republic, especially around streams, where their noisy discourse can be heard by most passing humans. Other aspects of brownie society and politics are unclear, but they are known to democratically elect their representative on the Central Council.

Candelas

In official documentation, this particularly elusive species are formally known as candelas, but remain informally known by the more familiar terms of will-o’-the-wisp, Jenny-with-the-lantern and hobbedies.

Though visible as the soft, flickering lights traditionally associated with the will-o’-the-wisp phenomenon, hanging low over their preferred modern habitat – GBC’s coastal marshland and inland bogs – the creatures have no qualms about making their presence felt in the city itself. There, their form is of bright spheres of pale yellow light usually slightly smaller than a football, which progress (usually on overcast mornings) through the city’s streets individually or in pairs, at a slightly faster tempo than human walking pace. Colloquially, they are classified as ‘travellers’, since they are usually seen on the move, travelling towards an uncertain destination for entirely unknown purposes – seldom stopping and usually returning to the marshes after an hour or two spent in the city itself, leading many to suppose that they simply enjoy the company or exercise. They send representatives to Central Council session and other social occasions, but decline to communicate with humans.

It is entirely uncertain whether their spherical form represents the creature itself, some form of travelling device, or bright lights carried by smaller flying life-forms.

Chonchon

Another flying life-form, though equally reticent to converse with humans despite their obvious willingness to spend time in their company; the chonchon resemble tanned human heads, covered in bright feathers rather than hair and possessing stubby forelimbs with talons protruding in place of a neck. Otherwise, the creature’s most obvious feature is its large ears, which it uses for flight and can be twisted to flap vertically or rest horizontally for gliding.

Active principally during night and moonless evenings, they are nevertheless noted occasionally during their daytime when they can be seen stealing food from unattended market stalls – though the boldest among them have been known to approach humans and other species for sweets and chocolate.

In general however their diet is carnivorous, consisting of small insects and ground-dwelling mammals – though they have been observed tackling bats and even owls – and spend the majority of their time asleep in the grounds of St. James’ Church in the outskirts of the city centre, which has largely been abandoned to their use. Though many have questioned their classification as a ‘non-human’ species rather than as a bird or animal, their intellect is sufficient to permit an interest in and understanding of certain sports, and most individuals are certainly brighter than parrots.

Though Latin American tradition has the chonchon as the heads of humans, severed from the neck and given a life of their own by magical means; the species’ young in fact resemble the heads of human children ranging from new-borns up to teenagers, by which stage the chonchon itself appears entirely independent from its previously doting mother and father. It is worthy of note, however, that their doll-like faces are entirely expressionless – with glassy eyes, and mouths that move only to call to other chonchon or chew food.

Coblynau

Known as cobs or coblyns – or occasionally goblins – the coblynau spend much of their lives underground but are none the less one of GBC’s most recognisable species.

Standing at two feet tall, with skin typically covered in muck and grime; they have cold and wizened, if symmetrical, faces and heads that come to a distinct point. This is usually the only visible part of their anatomy, since they are commonly dressed in mining outfits of their own manufacture though of human style.

Since arriving in GBC, the majority of the coblynau have spent their lives underground – in the now increasingly vast networks of deep caverns excavated by the species themselves. Despite accusations from surface dwellers that the coblyns have been literally ‘undermining’ the city, their expertise in their chosen profession is such that there has been only limited evidence of structural damage to the foundations of any streets and houses, and coblyn representatives at the Central Council have insisted that their mysterious, unspoken ‘task’ will not impact the lives and livelihoods of any other communities.

Other coblyns have been known to come to the surface, for reasons aside from the inevitable trips to football matches (where they are a constant source of consternation for stewards, owing to their deep distaste towards whistling), with young coblyns occasionally noted in some of the quieter pubs and bars around the town, and females (believed to be outnumbered by around three to one) shyly buying simple goods from city centre shops with precious stones presumably mined from beneath the city. Despite this, coblyns and Candelarians are still far from being on particularly friendly terms, following an early incident in which a young boy wandered into a tunnel opening along Gulliver Walk and was murdered by the resident coblyns, his head twisted clean away from his shoulders. The community soon publicly apologised for the ‘misunderstanding’, and promised to bring the killer him or herself to justice, but the lack of evidence regarding any action of this nature continues to provide a significant rift and was long a regular bone of contention at Central Council sessions.

Corrandonnets

Consisting of several hundred individuals, the corrandonnets reside predominately in a small, tightly-packed village established in a secluded area of GBC’s seashore, though a number of families have taken up home closer to humans, in small houses off the beaten track along alleyways, or occasionally above south Pom shops.

Though their muffled, indistinct voices can make conversation with humans difficult, the community are enthusiastic members of GBC society, participating in most cultural outlets (particularly at nightclubs, though they conscientiously ‘tone down’ their dancing when around humans, in the expressed belief that other species joining their dances could kill themselves in the effort) and selling finely-wrought kitchen utensils and other household goods at shops along the Pom.

A second community has recently been established a little way outside the town, concentrated instead around pig farming. The two groups are believed to represent the same species and are physically identical, though the farming corandonnets all wear large, wide-brimmed hats and eschew the ubiquitous leather purses carried by the seashore community. Both groups are around four-and-a-half feet tall in adulthood, but stand hunched except during dances; are covered in thick fur with only their spindly legs and large, black faces visible; have human-like hands ending in small, perpetually protracted claws; and hooves in place of feet.

Corradonnets are strictly monogamous, but females are rarely seen and stay within their houses except when absolutely unavoidable – a point of conflict with many humans, and a cultural tradition clearly not supported by several other non-human communities either.

Dwarves

The term dwarves is frequently applied generically to most non-human communities in GBC, particularly those of a significantly smaller stature than humans without being less than a foot or so tall, but the Non-Human Registration Act employs the term strictly to refer to a single population of initially no more than two dozen individuals living along Carver Street opposite the city’s largest distillery.

Though their origins are uncertain, these particular dwarves are solidly-built, bearded individuals of between four and five feet in height, who have a great many Ks and Zs in their names, and spend their time working metal and drinking alcohol, so a decent guess can probably be hazarded.

Despite their small number, the Gordbaysian dwarves are very active in state politics, and were invariably present in the front row at Gordon Bay City home matches. One of their number, Logazor Drakkiborgo, served as Leader of the Opposition for several years, and later had a brief stint as First Minister.

Erdluitle

Erdluitle or ‘earth folk’, another entirely generic term, is employed in GBC to specifically refer to one species of gregarious, slightly-built individuals living amongst humans in the Dark District.

Typically between two and three feet tall, they are sociable if shy around both Candelarians and Kolani adults, preferring the company of children, though their intellect is thought to be at least comparable to that of human adults and their own offspring (little shorter than themselves even in infancy, rendering childbirth an extremely complicated and difficult affair) are also regular playmates for other species’ young. Both males and females of all ages wear long, black or red cloaks over their coloured tunics that entirely cover their feet at all times and trail behind them for up to half a metre.

Though the community appears settled enough in their modern urban lifestyle, they seem most at home during visits to the countryside – where individuals have shown an extraordinary aptitude for weather forecasting, along with other displays suggesting an innate appreciation for natural cycles far in advance of human intuition. In GBC itself they are largely self-employed, growing peas in window boxes or making cheese from tiny goats living amongst their large extended families in their knocked-through terraced houses, while the women spend their brief periods spent away from their children spinning and dyeing.

The species’ natural insights are likely to have contributed to a particularly significant exodus before and immediately after the Beatrice Event, though many returned to their new homes over the following months.

Fir Bolg

It is almost certain that the ‘bolg’ were not who they say they were. Open regarding their shapechanging abilities, it is probable that their preferred form – that of stout, swarthy, pot-bellied hominids – was adopted in deference to their human neighbours in the eastern outskirts of the Dark District, along with their current identity and, conceivably, their unmistakable Irish accents.

Despite this apparent deception, the community of fewer than one hundred individuals was on good terms with the Candelarians and alans that surround them and were generally treated as enigmatic and independently-minded humans. In state politics they performed an important function as mediators between humans and some of the more inscrutable non-humans in GBC, though others were employed by Candelarians as manual labourers and similar roles. Though active during daylight hours by preference, the bolgs’ residence was due to their profound distaste towards electricity and other accoutrements of modern living.

The community exited Gordon Bay City in its entirety in the weeks that preceded the Beatrice Event, and have never been heard from again.

Giane

Standing slightly shorter than the Erdluitle, the giane represent a similar species but claim no direct relationship with that more numerous and darker-skinned community and are instead on more familiar terms with the aguane.

Other points of difference include their brighter clothing tastes, willingness to display their uncovered feet, and the apparent social dominance of their women, who are much more active in public affairs than their shy menfolk. Currently living in isolated homes beyond the city centre, amongst Candelarians, gnomes or particularly panotti; the majority appear comfortable integrating into mainstream society and have been noted working in call centres, and in roles as diverse as beauty therapists, greengrocers and shop assistants, as well as taking advantage of nascent government programmes encouraging vocational training for non-human immigrants. The largest percentage, however, remain self-employed weavers of an extremely high standard, serving to help make GBC the centre of the Candelarias’ quality textiles trade.

Gnomes

Today the largest single community in GBC beyond Candelarians and Kolani, the ‘gnomes’ are another people handed a generic title by both their human neighbours and official government documentation, largely on the apparent basis that they find ‘Az-czzers’ less amusing to say.

Unlike many of the non-human communities in GBC, the reasons for the Az-czzers’ presence in the state is perfectly clear, as refugees from their own long-ceased nation. The community is by no means homogeneous, containing gnomes and part-gnomes from a number of separate origins, as well as full humans who previously made up the ten percent of the Az-czzer population of non-gnomish ancestry; but most individuals are notable for their perpetual nudity (Candelariasian laws prohibiting public displays of nakedness having been stricken from the statute books in GBC soon after the establishment of the Republic) and, in the case of the ethnic Az-czzers, their slightly shorter average height and more rotund build.

Despite the socialist nature of their homeland, the gnomes are comfortably among the most westernised of the non-human races in GBC and have easily assimilated into society, fulfilling as many roles as their locally-reared neighbours and rapidly becoming among the wealthiest and most influential populations in the microstate. As with the Fir Bolg they also serve as something of a social half-way house, but are increasingly looked upon by many of their fellow immigrants as merely humans in another guise.

Such are their numbers and peaceable relations with Candelarians in GBC, the population is spread across the entire state – but is centred in the outskirts of the city centre with Douglas Street considered the heart of community (and popularly known as Dg-Ls Street as a result). At the current time, the major social concern involving GBC’s gnomes revolves around thievery.

Hitotsume-kozō

A small population seen predominately in and around the quieter shopping areas of the city centre and the inner residential districts, the ‘kozo’ are considered ‘travellers’ by most since their living arrangements and the general nature of their society is almost entirely unclear, along with their true age and intellect.

Their interactions with humans are generally limited to running past them, silently creeping up behind them and tugging at their clothing before running off once more, and telling loud people to be quiet in perfect English. They were one of the few groups to be seldom seen at football matches – though whispering congregations have been noted in empty homes and churches, and at libraries. Roughly the size of ten year-old children; they all appear male and with slightly wizened golden skin and bald pates, and possess a single large eye taking up much of their forehead, along with thin tongues two to three times the human average.

Hobgoblins

Somewhat less numerous than either the brownies or hutchen, the hobgoblins are also considered ‘house spirits’, in that they opt to live in human dwellings alongside the house’s owners rather than strike out on their own.

Between one and two feet in height; GBC’s hobgoblins are a solitary breed, preferring the company of other species rather than their own kin, and have brushed away any effort to organise a method of selecting a Central Council representative. Resembling dark-skinned, brown-haired men with large moustaches, they live naked or dress in rags (with a rough fifty-fifty split in these habits reported during early studies, tentatively suggesting a male/female divide) and are active principally during the night when they carry out minor household chores and help themselves to biscuits. When their waking time coincides with that of the resident humans, they are typically found in front of an open fire (seemingly a prerequisite for a hobgoblin house), hugging their knees with wide-eyes, haunted expressions on their middle-aged faces.

Since arriving in GBC, the thirty-or-so reported individuals have seldom left their chosen houses, except to follow their adopted family to a new home, and those that do leave of their own accord have done so in order to take up residence outside the city itself, particularly in the village of Makeham.

Hooters

Perhaps the most mysterious of the GBC races, the species known as the ‘hooters’ resides almost exclusively in the area’s ancient bogs and marshes, while their presence is also noted on the seashore on foggy nights and occasionally in Serenly Wood. They are almost never seen, with their distinctive hooting calls the only sign most passing humans receive of their existence, though some humans and non-humans alike have reported strange encounters with incongruously dressed woodsmen, wandering monks and even giggling donkeys, with a number subsequently seeking financial compensation from the state, or even incapacity benefit, for physical and mental disfigurements supposedly received as a result of direct contact with individual hooters. While a number of these claims are certainly spurious, Candelarians and Kolani with grossly oversized ears and/or noses are a not uncommon sight in modern GBC, along with young girls sporting thick beards, all opting to blame the hooters for their predicament.

Despite their elusive and seemingly solitary nature, the hooters have been represented at Central Council sessions – with their preferred, and possibly true, form being that of a small, hunched but humanoid figure with its face obscured by a large black sombrero and body covered by a red cloak. Finding themselves in the company of many dozens of others, the hooter representatives appear inconspicuous and subdued.

Hornwiggins

Recognised as a sapient species in their own right only several months after the Republic’s founding, the hornwiggins are described by GBC’s pillywiggins as their ‘cousins’ – a claim that must be taken figuratively rather than literally, owing to the vast physical differences between the two groups.

The creatures, numbering in the dozens but seemingly appearing in increasing numbers even during the previous moratorium on non-human immigration, live alongside the pillywiggins in the farms (both abandoned and active) and country lanes outside the town itself, and are seldom seen without their tiny humanoid companions. The hornwiggins themselves closely resemble bullocks, with their major distinctive feature being their enormous horns – each measuring over a metre in lengthy and estimated to weigh more than a hundred pounds.

Docile creatures, apparently castrated by the pillywiggins but entirely comfortable in their company, and all male; it was ultimately discovered that individuals from the species were capable of holding conversations in several major human languages (including English, French, Pacitalian, Spanish and Urdu), and are particularly fond of the works of Annabelle Laurie and António Costa Silva Gomes.

Hutchen

The most recognisably humanoid of the ‘house spirits’, the hutchen are somewhat less numerous than the brownies but a considerably more obvious presence within GBC. An extremely amiable species noted for their roaring, infectious laughter; they are found predominately in the town’s suburban outskirts where their presence in their chosen house has come to be considered a great boon to the human (or, again, non-human) family in residence. Near-constant workers during the daytime, an individual ‘hutch’ appears easily capable of taking care of all household chores in return for one cooked meal a week and are considerably more companionable than either the brownies or hobgoblins, with many becoming seen as valued and irreplaceable members of their adopted families.

‘Working hutchen’ are for the most part similar enough to every other in physical form – if not necessarily personality – to be considered identical twins, being male and two feet tall with bright red hair and beards surrounding their oversized faces; their omnipresent large red hats completing a look more than passingly reminiscent of garden gnomes (any such models existing in Gordbaysian gardens prior to the Kolani invasion apparently disappearing overnight following the arrival of the hutchen).

Barely half the state’s resident hutchen are considered domestic workers however, with a significant number living in homes of their own. Hunneyball Crescent, in the south-west of the town, is the centre of this rather more insular community featuring for the most part two wedded couples to a house. Besides the presence of the female gender, these hutchen are far more varied in height and hair colour, while a significant minority appear to suffer from blindness. It is unclear whether the domestic hutchen are the community’s young or elderly, or represent a separate caste or even species: whichever is the case, the working hutchen regularly take advantage of public holidays and their self-declared ‘breaks’ on Thursday afternoons to travel across the town and visit their Hunneyball kin.

Leshiye

Known formally as ‘leshiye’ and colloquially as ‘woodwose’, this is another of GBC’s smaller communities, supposedly consisting of a handful of individuals, both male and female, residing in woods and copses surrounding the town. As shapeshifters however, ascertaining their true number is impossible under current legislation, though the leshiye – as with their common neighbours, the hooters – have shown willing to cooperate with state authorities in a manner which belies a reputation for destructive and sometimes murderous behaviour.

Those of the species who do venture into mainstream society are seen to stand at around six feet tall and look superficially human; besides hair and beards (in the case of the males) apparently formed by living grass and vines, ghostly pale skin and bright green eyes, and a short tail, hooves and horns that hand the species a devilish appearance. In their more accustomed habitat surrounded by foliage, their height appears to reflect the elevation of their territory – with leshiye no taller than a pillywiggin sighted in closely-cut grass, while others have been noted several times taller than a human and rivalling only GBC’s treemen in this department.

Generally living as couples in huts of their own construction, leshiye display a close relationship with the resident animal life around them, particularly any larger mammals, and as with many of their fellow species appear shy and retiring in the world of men – though certain males have developed a not unreasonable reputation for drunken behaviour during rare visits to the town proper.

Mannegishi

Residing along the river Caroline, making their homes in large burrows hidden by assemblages of rocks, the mannegishi represent another community whose society only slowly began to become remotely clear and which spends almost the entirety of its existence outside the town itself.

Individuals vary significantly in height, though most are capable of leaping often twice this in a distinctly amphibian manner – their bodies appear constructed for this purpose, with extremely thin and gangling arms and legs but powerful joints, while their heads are oversized and lacking a nasal protuberance (their sense of smell, or lack thereof, is unknown). Certain observers have linked the mannegishi with the ‘Greys’ of modern UFOlogy, though there is little in their currently displayed behaviour to indicate anything more than a superficial physical association.

After many years of insularity, an individual of this species – She-Who-Tickles-The-Trout – was unexpectedly nominated for, and gained, the post of First Minister.

Panotti

Considered one of the ‘core six’ non-human species residing predominately in the area south of the city centre; the panotti lack a significantly ‘magical’ or elusive image and are frequently treated rather as human immigrants of eastern European ancestry. Though they maintain their own, as-yet hidden religion; panotti culture is heavily influenced by an ancestry supposedly found in the Caspian Sea region, featuring an exhaustive litany of folk dances and fish-based soup dishes (both of which appear to play key roles in the community’s coming-of-age and marriage ceremonies).

Besides their striking skin tones, usually described as ‘carrot orange’, the panotti’s most evident distinguishing features are their vast earlobes – stretching almost the length of their bodies. Their ear holes are also several times larger than those of humans, and give the species greatly superior hearing, though this is limited to the range of detectable amplitude rather than frequency. It is almost certainly for this reason that the majority of the community prefers to venture into public spaces only during the quietest periods of the daytime and show a preference for quiet or silent activities, pastimes and occupations. Most panotti appear prodigiously gifted at chess from a young age.

Pillywiggins

Aside from the special case of the singing beans; the pillywiggins are by some distance the smallest known species in modern GBC, and also may also be the most numerous. Initially restricting their territory to largely abandoned hamlets in the Republic’s outskirts and the lanes between them, the community soon spread into the town itself with their estimated numbers believed by the Gordbaysian government to stretch into the tens of thousands, and many independent experts view even that figure as being highly conservative.

Typically no more than half an inch in height, the humanoid features of individual pillywiggins are just about visible to the naked eye; being thin males and females (and their even smaller offspring) with faintly blue-tinged skin and large noses. Their tent-like nests, constructed from the area’s available vegetable matter and usually featuring a roof of daisies or dandelion heads, are generally erected in the open air – making the species a target for larger predatory birds, mammals and even amphibians. The pillywiggins’ foul taste appears to ensure that only a limited number ever fall foul to this fate, while those based outside the town itself can also count on the protection of the hornwiggins, though the community in general displays a uniquely blasé attitude to casualties within their ranks. Certainly, they would appear to be the most naturally short-lived species in GBC, as well as the most rapid breeders – with the majority of the Republic’s pillywiggin population believed to have been born in the state by as early as 2010.

Fears were long raised by Gordbaysian humans and non-humans alike that the species could ‘overrun’ the tiny nation within a matter of years or even months, though most observers concede that the pillywiggins have thus far caused only extremely limited ecological damage to the locales currently colonised, and have in any case shown a willingness to avoid setting up home in places guaranteeing a significant likelihood of being inadvertently trampled by larger beings. Their numbers fell significantly in the weeks before and during the Beatrice Event, but soon recovered to levels that ultimately became stagnant.

It should be noted that a minority of individuals with past direct contact with the species react to their presence, or indeed their mere mention of their name, with overriding terror.

Pixies

Curiously, the number of pixies in GBC declined significantly in the months that followed the founding of the Republic, with the thousands of individuals seen at football matches and other public gatherings reduced to barely more than a few dozen – if the pixies’ own accounts and the numbers seen at their monthly fairs are to be believed. The reasons for this remain unknown, though some observers have suggested that competition for similar food sources and other goods with pillywiggins, with whom they enjoy an evidently antagonistic relationship, may at least be in part to blame for their decline.

Those that do remain are also much more timid than the boisterous entities reported by lower-caste Kolan and Candelarians left in GBC during the Queendom, preferring to stay away from humans wherever possible and remain within the grounds of a handful of houses along Parsons Street in the western outskirts of the town. Physically, they resemble small (no larger than twelve inches), handsome human males (females are either identical, non-existent or hidden) with bright red hair and large, pointed ears.

Polewiki

Another small species, the polevik can found both inside the town and out in the country, in fields (typically those abandoned following the invasion, though in some cases since cultivated anew by Candelarians, a small number of Kolani or certain non-human species) or inner-city allotments established by Candelarians during the Queendom era as vital food sources. The resumption of trade between C&M and GBC served to make many of these vegetable gardens redundant, and they soon became home to another enigmatic, and potentially dangerous, short-statured species.

As with their woodland counterparts the leshiye; individual polewiki vary in size from a few inches to several feet, though all resemble physically deformed, dark-skinned humans with greenish hair and odd-coloured (complete heterochromatic) eyes. Both males and females wear white smocks, though the more physically appealing latter are seen principally at noon, the males during the evening. Fiercely protective of their home fields, they have been known to attack and wound human trespassers though such incidents declined considerably in frequency over time.

Their representatives are present at Central Council sessions, but they are otherwise generally unwilling to venture far from their homes and nothing further is known as to the make-up of their society.

Salvani and Aguane

Some doubt exists as to whether the salvani and aguane are the males and females of a single, unnamed species exhibiting a noteworthy degree of sexual dimorphism, or two coexisting species. As with many of their fellow non-human communities, the two groups are active in GBC society without appearing overly willing to discuss the intimate particulars of their social structure in public, though current studies favour the ‘single species’ approach – enhanced by the reported presence of a third, supposedly youthful, form referred to as the salvanelli.

Whatever their interpersonal relationships, the community spends the majority of its time in the woodland outside the city, generally avoiding direct contact with the leshiye, where possible. The salvani are, both in physical form and behaviour, the more brutish of the two – standing at over six feet but with a slouching, bear-like gate; around 90% of their bodies are covered in thick brown fur, they display immense strength, and possess lengthy, claw-like fingernails. Salvani also exhibit an extremely high metabolic rate, with the woodmen spending the majority of their waking hours eating (both males and females are omnivorous).

The female aguane meanwhile, who appear to spend as little time with their ‘husbands’ (the species, if they can indeed be considered such, appear to be polygamous) as possible, are more outwardly similar to human women but possess inverted feet and the ‘pendulemic’ breasts that are a recurring feature of the females of several apparently related species. The aguane are also far more sociable than the salvani, regularly leaving their woodland homes (particularly during colder periods of the year) to seek the company of humans and non-humans alike, particularly males of all species, in the town; and are regularly seen running errands and gossiping with passers-by throughout the city centre and beyond.

If the salvanelli do indeed exist, and regardless of whether they are indeed the salvani and aguane’s offspring, they are typically described as being half the size of their ‘parents’, covered in reddish-brown hair and being lankier in build than either of their companions.

Satyrs

A small population consisting almost entirely of young males, the satyrs live on their own or in pairs in ground floor flats in the city centre heart of multispecies Gordon Bay City. Despite fears over their potential behaviour and respect for local law that comes from the distant reputation of one of the state’s most recognisable communities; the satyrs have thus far proven to a be a quiet, well-mannered and industrious people, finding work in the civil service, as bar workers, hairdressers and – in one particularly instance, following a rather literal-minded move by the station controller of the Republic’s nascent television channel – a team captain on a weekly topical panel show.

Seligen

A seemingly all-female species (whether they are hermaphrodite, living in GBC without the males of the species, or something else altogether was unknown), the small population seligen reside in the multispecies downtown area. Slender, around five feet tall with platinum blond hair and bright blue eyes, they are seldom easily distinguishable from human women beyond their supposed natural beauty, and appear to value this anonymity.

A significant number of those who have been identified appear to have been among the most enthusiastic consumers of the GBC government’s non-human vocational training programmes, with some already found as veterinary assistants, secretaries and even primary school teachers. Those who have close dealings with them are advised not to swear or curse in their presence, while some seligen have even been known to attend Christian churches in the city – an almost unknown occurrence among non-humans in GBC, though it has been suggested by several observers that their interest in collective worship centres primarily around their love for bells and bell-ringing.

Singing Beans

Almost uniquely among the non-human communities in GBC (aside from a small number of dwarves and gnomes), the singing beans were indigenous to the Candelarias prior to the invasion, and known to the Candelariasian populace – albeit in not a wholly accurate form.

Originally arriving in north-eastern Marquez in vast numbers during the build-up to the 2008 general election as one tangible result of a series of paranormal episodes occurring across the country during the month of May; the beans’ territory was initially limited to a very rural area of a few square kilometres – providing the Candelariasian government with sufficient notice to both conceal the sheer scale and numbers of the country’s newest ethnic minority, and provide the domestic media with a suitable cover story. Until the Truth & Reconciliation process that followed the Beatrice Event, the majority of Candelariasians believed the beans to be highly sophisticated children’s educational toys that were part of a shipment stored on a transrushmori airship that accidentally burst its load over the Candelarias.

Attempts to explain both their continued presence and perplexing behaviour were less successful, with studies conducted by foreign media outlets suggesting that an increasing number of Candelariasians were of the opinion that the true nature of the beans is somewhat more complex – and potentially sinister – than they had been told, but only Gordbaysian citizens, of all Candelarias residents, came to appreciate anything approaching the full nature of the signing beans prior to late 2010.

Seldom more than an inch in height even at their largest, the species most closely resembles broad bean seeds in physical form, though beans of other appearances make up to 20 per cent of the population and may fulfil roles in a complex caste system. All have a pair of extremely thin but serviceable legs and arms, two tiny eyes and an oral cavity apparently used singularly for vocalisation – all located on one, asymmetrical side of the bean’s ‘body’.

Their common name derives from their feature of singing almost constantly. Though the song, The Wheels on the Bike Go Round and Round is commonly believed to be their only anthem of choice; this mantra is in fact merely one of several observed, albeit by some distance the most common, with the beans seemingly capable of switching to different songs as circumstances dictate – though this behaviour occurs only on mass, with individual beans apparently incapable of the mental processes required. This feature has served to strengthen a belief in the beans’ ‘collective intelligence’, with most experts of the opinion that only with the close proximity of thousands of beans does the species gain sapience, or even a decision-making capacity on a par with many small mammalian species.

Certainly in vast numbers, and led by a tiny minority of more free-thinking and intellectually gifted beans (all under a single, large bean known as the Generalissimo), they have proven themselves capable of significant undertakings, from fashioning vast palaces inside abandoned sheds to forming their own political movements (principally, the Frijoles Cantos Coalición) in the image of Candelariasian parties – and even seeing their party briefly recognised by the C&M electoral commission (thanks to the support of a sufficient number of Marquezian humans believed to be under the mental control of the beans, though this behaviour has not been observed or ratified by independent sources, and was certainly not widespread). They have also displayed more emotionally driven thinking, most notably as part of a doomsday cult that claimed almost a third of their number through ritual suicide some years ago.

Later, the beans began to take on a more active role in Candelariasian society – seen internationally when a significant number volunteered themselves to clean away the snow covering the New Sausages Arena pitch prior to a World Cup 47 semi-final, and ultimately allowing the community to spread to Candelaria as a result.

However, the emergence of the Queendom and Aino’s offer of residence to non-humans saw the majority of the signing bean community rapidly move to GBC – a process involving a lengthy trek for those still based in north-east Marquez. They have since become an established feature of the Democratic Republic, found in populations of varying size in deserted sheds, rubbish bins and similar structures, and participating – via their current Generalissimo – in state affairs. The community is presently believed to contain a small number of individuals from a handful of related species, including masquerading pistachios and complementary peanuts.

Skogsra

Almost certainly in the same family as the aguane, giane and seligen; the ‘skogs’, as they are commonly known, represent the least numerous community of the four and the least understood. Strongly tied to the trees of their woodland homes, it had been almost unknown for either males or females to venture into town even for governmental purposes (the single, inevitable, exception being for football matches), though the young among their number eventually began to attend state schooling alongside peers of other communities.

GBC residents who have come into contact with adult skosgra described them almost uniformly as uniquely dismissive and distrustful of both humanity and their ‘client races’, though more than a handful of reports of intimate relationships between skogsfru and human men emerged since the community’s arrival in GBC – with most indicating that such liaisons are potentially highly dangerous for the humans involved, and several are believed to have been subsequently treated for severe mental disorders. The issue became one of increasing concern among GBC’s human populace, with some even going as far as to lobby the government to consider introducing emergency anti-miscegenation legislation prohibiting such relationships.

Physically, both males and females are shapechangers but appear most commonly in human form – the women notable for their cow-like tails and clawed fingernails, while the men appear considerable older than their occasional partners though they too possess animal tails.

Spriggans

With certain other communities, most notably the seligen, having largely moved closer to the city centre in recent times, the spriggans effectively have the city’s long abandoned outer suburbs to themselves. Left for the most part to return to nature following the 1968 disaster, with the resident human population either leaving the city altogether or moving back to the heart of a now much smaller town, these streets have since been home to a human population experiencing some of the worst urban poverty in Candelaria – all but left without both regular employment or state handouts, they have regularly been described as lawless and beyond hope, with many residents on poor terms with the few police officers or social workers that venture into the area.

These inhabitants’ relationships with their new, non-human neighbours are unclear, but seem hardly likely to be positive. The spriggans are described as deeply physically unappealing creatures, appearing as grotesquely malformed cat-like people with large, bright eyes and furry bodies. Those who have come into contact with them describe them as thieves, mischief-makers and would-be stealers of human children, who jealously guard their chosen homes whilst showing no respect for human dwellings. Representatives of the community have attended central council sessions, however – something that cannot be said for their human neighbours, who have repeatedly declined all moves to establish a dedicated constituency for these troubled areas.

Svartálfar (Sewer goblins; hokoanama alie)

The svartálfar – typically referred to as svarts, or the unspecific ‘goblins’ – hold a privileged status within the Democratic Republic, being longer-standing residents of the city that either of the two main human communities. Apparently indigenous to their former realm, the svarts made regular trips to the Candelarias via the available interdimensional waterways since the earliest years of Kolani habitation, becoming known and feared as daemons for their pastime of kneeling upon (or ‘riding’) sleeping figures and delivering bad dreams.

The reasons for this particular habit are uncertain, if much speculated upon, especially since the svarts themselves appear to most observers to be creatures without an obvious predilection towards malice. Typically timid around unfamiliar humans, outside of a night-time environment, they have far from confined themselves to their sewers over the past centuries but nonetheless avoided making their presence felt across the Candelarias – albeit thanks in part to the deliberate lack of coverage given to reporting ridings in the country’s press – and appear truly comfortable only when they believe themselves to be entirely unobserved by other species.

Though they possess considerable natural powers of teleportation over significant distances, and have on occasion been known to display intuitive and insightful behaviour beyond human ken; they do not appear to possess human-level intellect in most areas nor show any great wish to become part of Gordbaysian society on the surface level, with the human woman Susannah Rohaert and her appointed successors their only obvious connections to the country’s government. Physically they appear as grotesquely misshapen humanoid dwarfs of between one and two-and-a-half feet in height, with colouration ranging from bright green to dark red, though most exhibit deep purple shades. Individuals are however believed to regularly change colour, and those few humans with experience of the species claim that establishing an individual svart’s identity is all but impossible. There are no obvious physical or social differences between males and females and, for reasons that have never been satisfactorily explained, both genders speak English in lilting Geordie accents.

The true extent of the Svartálfar’s numbers within the sewer system are unknown, but are believed to stretch into the hundreds.

Thusser

Though Gordon Bay City’s vast array of resident species is not believed to contain any of what might be considered the ‘noble elves’ familiar to most citizens of the modern multiverse (perhaps because the existence of many large elven nations precludes any necessity for such beings to find new homes in the event of persecution or other fates), the thusser are arguably the closest people to them.

The community are night-dwellers, being residents of the Dark District and seen during the daytime only in exceptional circumstances – and even then, individual thuss covered their skin entirely (to the point of often wearing carrier bags over their heads) in order to avoid direct contact with sunlight. Standing at between four and six feet in adulthood (though individual thuss are believed to be exceptionally long-lived, their offspring age at only a slightly slower rate to humans, though their children are relatively rare within GBC itself), they can be easily identified by their light blue skin, as well as their slender figures and colourful clothing.

Though the community generally keeps itself to itself, particularly when their dances are held – as with those of several of their fellow non-human species, they are believed to be potentially dangerous for humans to involve themselves in – those who are active during the evenings come into regular contact with other Gordbaysians of all kinds and appear to enjoy the company of other species, being regularly seen at social events from theatrical performances to pub darts leagues. Largely self-employed, the males are expert tradesmen, selling their items of cutlery and jewellery in small shops off the Pom or exchanging goods with other residents of the Dark District and surrounding streets, while others have begun working as mechanics and shown natural affinity with Candelariasian household appliances and motor vehicles.

Thusser females are primarily housewives, busying themselves with brewing, baking, sewing and fussing over both their own children and human, alan and erdluitle youngsters. Unlike many communities they have shown entirely willing to allow humans into their homes – invariably full of colour, arguments, regular and seemingly spontaneous festivals, and bursting with the blue-skinned dogs that enjoy a celebrated status in thuss society.

Tikoloshe

An important community found in significant numbers south of the city centre and drifting east into predominantly Kolani neighbourhoods; Gordon Bay City’s tikoloshe population is presumably their species’ most influential in the known multiverse. Certainly, the community’s elected President styles himself as the “Leader of All RataZha” (the latter term being the species’ own name for themselves, though they have appeared cheerfully content for ‘tikoloshe’ to remain in general use), and the population is home to a thriving cultural scene easily the equal of any other non-human group in the state.

Physically they stand slightly shorter and broader than humans, with grey skin barely covered by a thin layer of downy fur and the general appearance of a slightly squashed teddy bear, replete with an understandably grumpy expression. Their perpetual frowns aside however, the species are largely good-natured in their dealings with others – though less so within their own communities, where ritualised fighting between males is commonplace. Watching heated arguments between tikoloshe couples is also a ubiquitous feature of life for any humans left living in and around Orange Street, though these often violent exchanges are typically merely brief punctuations in otherwise emotionally secure and long-lasting relationships.

Though many former human dwellings have been converted into small urban farmsteads by small tikoloshe family units, a significant number of the community have entered into employment in any manner of roles within mainstream society – with the species displaying a wide spread of abilities and intellects that have led to occupations from school teachers and chiropodists to cab drivers and mechanics being fulfilled by tikoloshe, who have also taken over several branches of the omnipresent high-street chain Tucker’s spread throughout downtown GBC.

Treemen

The largest inhabitants of Gordon Bay City in terms of physical stature, individuals from the community of approximately two dozen treemen typically stand at eighteen to twenty feet in height, and are found singularly in Serenly Wood.

Considered peaceful and wise, if slow of thought, the ‘creatures’ were originally widely believed to have arrived in the state via Dariusville, angered after losing their places in the national football team to a collection of animate puppets, but as with the majority of their new non-human neighbours their heritage and reasons for taking up Aino’s offer of immigration are unclear. Socially they live outside usual GBC society, forming part of what is effectively a semi-autonomous state within Serenly Wood but participating where appropriate in Central Council business. After several years’ service there; one such of their number, Othulalorn, was nominated by the population of Candelariasian passport holders in GBC to become their representative in the C&M House of Representatives – a position he was able to take up in 2016 after it was comprehensively established that his early years, many decades ago, were spent in northern Candelaria.

Trows

The trows were one of the first new communities to interact with Candelariasian natives, with the population of fewer than a hundred individuals opting to settle along one, vacated side of Niblock Street in the suburban west of the city. Considerably smaller than humans, they typically possess flattened faces and wizened bodies with a muddy, slightly greenish hue, though many humans appear unable to see them at all. When visible, all individuals walk and even run backwards.

Shy and nocturnal, the trows typically emerge only during their neighbours’ sleeping hours – when they can be found entering human homes. Though far from welcome visitors, their activities are generally harmless and some locals leave out culinary leftovers for the species’ use. These appear to be the community’s major source of food, since the trows seem neither to grow their own nor take up employment within the city, though the ground floor rooms and cellars that have become their homes have been far from fully observed by government or independent sources.

Vodniks

It is conceivable that the vodniks represent the smallest non-human community in GBC, since only a single individual is regularly seen at social gatherings, though he himself claims that the Caroline is ‘positively teeming’ with members of his species, both male and the entirely unseen females.

In physical appearance, this one confirmed individual resembles a small, fat, naked human male of elderly years, identifiable through the greenish tint of his facial hair and his perpetually damp and clammy nature, and an overall visage not unlike that of a reasonably fresh corpse. Water-dwelling, he feeds on fish and spends little time among other species – save for occasional visits to downtown pubs, where he appears to be on good terms with several leshy, and council duties – and is almost universally described as lecherous and generally unpleasant in his dealings with those he comes into contact with, particularly young women and girls.

For all that, however, he and his kin – should they truly exist – appear harmless. It must be noted however that there remain public concerns surrounding the death of a young Az-czzer female some years ago, whose body was recovered from the riverside displaying significant bruising and broken bones despite drowning having evidently been the ultimate cause of death. The vodniks cannot be linked directly to the killing, and the nascent nature of GBC’s police service severely impeded the progress of the investigation, but the gnome community in particular has long expressed significant concerns over the species’ – or the individual’s – continued presence in the Republic.

Yarthkins

Sporting a common name etymologically congruent with that of the erdluitle, the yarthkins are believed to be close cousins of that more visible and slightly larger community. Also residing within the Dark District, with the centre of the population along Dolphin Walk; the species is somewhat shorter in stature than their neighbours, possess darker skin and clothing (almost invariably black on both accounts) and, while generally peaceful, adopt a surlier attitude towards humans, alans and the like. Those who have been angered by members of other species have been known to display excessive violence, though largely towards property rather than people themselves.

The yarthkins are even more exclusively nocturnal than the erdluitle, and found predominately underground – frequently in cellars of houses otherwise left abandoned, though they are also known to share property with erdluitle families. Their principal occupations are as smiths or bakers, where they have all but cornered the market, but otherwise they prefer to have as little to do with the ‘big people’ as possible.

‘Missing species’

Two further species were formally listed as part of the Non-Human Registration Act – the tomte, a people not dissimilar to the hutchen, and the kalua, a race of human-sized creatures of a somewhat canine build and appearance.

Both communities are no longer represented within GBC, having been part of the small migration away from the state following the collapse of the Queendom and before the formal creation of the Democratic Republic, though it was long thought not inconceivable that small numbers still resided within the city. A population of human zombies also existed during the Queendom era, while footage of football matches confirms the presence of a community of ‘giant kittens’, though these too left (or possibly disintegrated) before they could be formally acknowledged by the new government.

‘Post-Beatrice species’

The early months of the Democratic Republic was marked by a moratorium on further non-human immigration, save for a degree of family reunification. This appears to have been withdrawn in the period that followed the Beatrice Event, though as with virtually all occurrences in the newly insular Candelarias archipelago the circumstances surrounding this remain unclear. As a result, a small number of additional recognised species have been reported, albeit mostly during a period over a decade ago – how many more may subsequently have been added to that number is unknown.

Among these species is at least one harpy, incubus, ipotane and mermaid. Sapient ursines, mostly from minority sexual and gender identity communities, and sapient mice, refugees from the destruction of Miceland, have made their presence felt. In addition, a small number of former inhabitants of the failed state of Pays de Horreur made GBC their home, believed to include cyclopeans, genies, lycanthropes, minotaurs and vampires alongside some form of goblin.

The presence of a number of dybbuk is also established, though in contrast to their traditional image Gordbaysians appear to consider members of this species to have been children, at least upon their arrival in the country, and they are known to have attended Gordbaysian primary schools.