The Etti (pronounced EHT-tee) are a nomadic ratfolk people who live in the upper levels of the Depths, traveling around the world through cave systems and tunnels. Though they have strong ties and good relations with surface-dwelling ratfolk, they are often discriminated against by others in the Sky-World, as the Etti call it, who widely believe the subterranean ratfolk to be allied with or controlling the various dangerous creatures that live in the sewers and under-levels below most cities.
Location
The Etti can be found in the Depths around the world, though most live in the caves beneath Amshan, Thadria, and the lands east of the Chaska Sea. Elsewhere they occasionally surface in the Aban Steppe, where the inhabitants of Abaniri cities typically give a more welcoming reception to the ratfolk than they receive in other parts of the world. The Etti travel constantly, rarely staying in one place for longer than a few days before departing once more.
Culture
Religion
The religion of the Etti varies, but most adhere to a form of ancestor worship. Secluded caverns, whose locations are all tightly kept secrets, are used as burial places for their esteemed dead - these locations are then regularly revisited to pray and commune with the spirits of their forebears.
Society
Besides the family, the core unit of Etti society is the tribe, or pack. Each pack typically has between ten to twenty families with it, though any given family might simultaneously be split across multiple packs.
The Etti are often discriminated against in the surface communities of others, as they are believed to be in league with the vermin, abberations, and other dangerous beasts that commonly set up lairs under cities. That these creatures often appear on the surface at the same time as the Etti is not a coincidence, as the passage of the ratfolk frequently incites others to travel upwards as well, but it is not intentional on their part. These beliefs betray the lack of knowledge surface-dwellers have of the Etti, as they are in reality strongly pacifistic and go out of their way to avoid conflict. Still, despite the opinions others have of them, the Etti trade with those above when possible, but largely with other ratfolk.
Though a visitor to an Etti camp might easily believe them to live amongst unorganized clutter, the ratfolk maintain excellent inventory of everything they own and its exact location. This is easily demonstrated when a camp needs to be packed up quickly, as it takes mere seconds for each individual to find precisely what they need to carry with them and have it ready to go. As they bring all their possessions with them with no assistance from pack animals or other beasts of burden, the Etti balance each new item they desire against those they already have, in order to weigh the tradeoffs of carrying it with and determine what they truly need.
To the Etti, the underground where they live is known as the Stone-World, while the surface realm above is the Sky-World.
Leadership
Traditionally Etti packs appoint their leaders every three years based on who acquired the greatest wealth since the previous leader was chosen, under the reasoning that those shrewd enough to bring prosperity to themselves can do the same to those under them. Within the last two centuries or so this practice has slowly declined in favor of hereditary leadership, but it has yet to fall out of use entirely.
Clothing and fashion
Etti clothing is well-fitted and free of much ornamentation or unnecessary details, as extra decorative fabric can easily become a liability in the tight underground passages through which they frequently travel. Despite this, their clothes are laden with innumerable pockets and folds on the inside, so that they can better carry all their possessions with them.