A Canary
The Canaries are a specific type of ghoul that lives underground in the mines of Appalachia. They are most common in West Virginia and Kentucky.
Origins[]
In the lead-up to the Great War, the coal reserves in America were becoming increasingly rare. As a result, in 2074 mining companies resolved to delve deeper underground, hoping to find new reserves deep within the Earth, namely in Appalachia, as well as a few other places, hoping that nuclear fusion would jaut be a passing fancy. This push was known as the Charleston Initiative. Many people, especially in West Virginia, flocked to mining jobs, hoping to gain a steady job.
The dig for coal was not overly successful, but it kept many people employed. Some mining companies also began to use these mineshafts as waste disposal dumps for another company's contagious material, hoping to make a quick buck on the side. Some miners came down with sickness but quickly dismissed the coal companies of any wrongdoing, hoping to find coal and retain their jobs. Before any new sources of coal were discovered though, the Great War occurred. On the morning October 23, 2077, many miners were already hard at work underground. Most were underground when the nuclear blasts occurred and remained in the mines, hoping to wait out the radiation.
The miners from then on remained underground and developed into the canaries, a race of pale, isolated ghouls who lived deep underground, far away from the prying eyes of smoothskins.
As the years wore on though, the canaries began moving back towards the surface and shared their unique culture with others. These encounters were mostly peaceful, and the people of Appalachia learned not to fear the men under the mountains.
Culture[]
Nonferal canaries are rough, blunt people, and brawling and drinking are commonplace. They typically live in communities around their old mines and rarely leave. However, canaries are usually very hospitable towards outsiders and even let some live with them, if they can be trusted. Most canaries speak in a guttural dialect of English but some still maintain the "Old Tongue".
Feral canaries are similar to normal feral ghouls in that they have lost all mental capacity. Feral canaries typically live deep beneath the earth in old mineshafts, stalking their haunts in case any prey would stumble by.
Behavior[]
Nonferal canaries are mostly course, tough people, reflecting their origins as mountain men miners. They do not emerge to the surface often and prefer darkness to light.
Canaries most operate as either scavengers or hunters, hunting for food or scrap now that the coal they looked for originally lost its value.
Feral canaries are solitary creatures, stalking underground tunnels alone waiting for prey. Chirping noises are a sign of their presence.
Biology[]
Canaries are fundamentally ghouls but are typically pale skin, bad eyesight, and less rot. The reason for paleness and bad eyesight are because of the Canaries' time underground, but the reason for the canaries delayed necrosis is currently unknown.
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