Pilakete

"What kind of people are the Pilakete?"

"They come from the river... The rapids and waterfalls are where they make their homes," Gena begins. "They are like those waters, both in mind and in body. Thin blue skin, always wet, with a strange white light shining from within. Their hair glows as well... Very easy to spot in the forest."

"Not the greatest hunters, then?"

"They gather and fish well enough," she replies with a shrug. "I stepped on one once, while crossing a stream. He was almost invisible!"

"Was he angry? Are the Pilakete aggressive?"

Gena shakes her head. "This one was not. He was a fisher, with long flat arms and a quiet temper. Others are different."

"How so?"

"It is in the name: 'Pilakete...' 'Swelling Waters.' What they use the most grows the most, swallows up more of that inner light. They change throughout their long lives, and no two adults look the same: fishers, gatherers, warriors, breeders... I once met a huge Pilakete woman, eight feet tall with a belly large enough to fit my entire body! She wasn't even pregnant at the time, but she had borne 34 children in years past, and was well-adapted for it."

"How did you come to meet her?"

"Oh, she was wandering the forest, searching for a Goblin mate. Some Pilakete do this, from time to time... Their half-breeds are quicker to grow and improve upon any traits they get from their non-Pilakete parents."

"So why did this woman want half-Goblin offspring?"

"Our people have some advantages," Gena replies, almost defiantly. "She must have desired a brood of smaller, nimbler children... Or maybe she wanted them to grow and mate quickly, as only Goblins can."