Hello, this seems really interesting.
If this is still active, I’d like to join as the fifth civilization.
About Civilization
Civ Name: Ferloth-de (individuals known as Cavern Giants)
Species: The bipedal one, forget the exact name
Location: A long, twisting series of Caverns lying deep in the earth. The main settlement is known as Fargrim, and is situated just before a lava cavern with natural spanning bridges. There once was a path to the surface, but no longer.
Culture: A culture of warriors and hunters as the highest class, followed by farmers and food providers, then artists/architects and construction workers, followed by everyone else. Height is greatly valued, as it increases the imposing frame, but not bulk as that limits overall movement. Enhanced hearing and eyesight in the dark is also greatly valued. Very strategic and logic based society, they are upfront and honest whenever interacting with one another. Their religion revolves around the depths of the earth and the sky, saying that the god in the skies is a pure warrior, honorable and true, and that the depths of the earth hold great evils. They believe that they somehow failed the sky god, and so we’re sent to guard the surface from the threats below. As such, when they come of age a rite of passage for the Cavern Giants is to go out past Fargrim over the lava on the land bridges, fighting the most skilled warriors of the community, until they reach the throne room across the spanning bridges. Most don’t make it past the first guard. If they make it across, they are congratulated by their Warrior King, Horror the Horror, and they join his personal guard, a tight knit group of individuals as close to the king as his sons would be, if he was allowed to have any. Or they will, after they pass one last Trial. The kings throne is surrounded by geysers of boiling hot water, and the young warrior must drink from these toxic springs. If they survive, they are seen as being able to survive the influence of the Devil of the Depths, and allowed to join the ranks. Because the king is allowed no sons, so that he has no attachments to this life, the kingship is passed on via a no-death tournament at the end of the kings lifetime, with the king choosing from the competitors who he thinks is most worthy, not necessarily the winner.
Leader: Horror the Horror, he who led them into the depths decades ago and said to still have minimal contact with the sky god.