Willot

The willots are a simian race from an unnamed planet in Marcus Malone's Firefall novella.

Physiology
The willots closely resemble spider monkeys, with fur in shades of dark brown or black, though their facial features resemble that of orangutans.

History
The willots originally coexisted with another race of humanoids on their world. They traded their skills and works in exchange for food grown by their neighbors. However the people greedy for the crafts produced by the willots began to monopolize the food supplies charging the willots for more services and demands. This extortion eventually led to the first war between the two races, which ended with the willots being driven off their lands and into small reservations. A treaty was drafted between the two races, in which the two races who be separate and rely on themselves to provide for crafts and food.

The willots adapted to the change easily mastering agriculture, though not can be said the same for the humans, who learned to produce their own crafts but not quite the same quality as the willots. The humans then began to steal from the willot reservation, ignoring the treaty. These breaches caused a second war that reduced the willot population to a quarter. The willot reservations were taken from them and they were forced into servitude.

The willots endured the oppression, maintaining themselves as loyal slaves and servants. When the humans were complacent, the willots launched a full scale rebellion, taking one city at a time. The third war of the races began with the humans managing to turn the rebellion, but the in the end the war was costly for both sides and their world was nearly devastated. Both sides finally agreed to peace, with a new treaty, a honorable treaty in which would end the conflict. The willots requested that they be given Mure as their domain. After the willots created the steps built into the cliffs of Mure, they vanished from the world. After several centuries went by without a sight of the willots, it was originally believed that the willots had gone extinct. However the humans honored the ancient treaty, making Mure into a preserve, swearing that no human would violate the last domain of the willots.

Unbeknownst to the greater world, the willots still existed, their long absence, was a due to long time enslavement by the Tower People. The willots forgotten their origins from beyond the boundaries of Mure, became the slave caste of their new masters, forced to labor in the mines below the Tower, and serve as servants. They enacted the harvests on behalf of the Tower People, taking those of the Lily People to be culled for meat for their masters.

The willots plotted for their liberation for generations. After learning of the Lily People's stories of the great wizard Hur, the willots decided to use the legend to their advantage. To do they managed to get in contact with the creatures from the sister world to find such a person. The aliens agreed to assist them but required the willots to provide them with three willots in exchange. After three willots volunteered for the transaction, the willot Chesoon was allowed to access their catalog, and selected a human named Jacob Rowlin from Earth as a sufficient candidate to be Hur.

The willots spurred action into the Great One, leader of the Tower People into action. The willots hoped to cause a conflict between Jacob who upon arriving had developed a relationship with Terasel and her people. It was their intention that Jacob would incite the Lily People to rise against the Tower and join them in a rebellion, however the human refused to contaminate the peaceful Lily People with war and violence.

With no support from the Lily People, the willots engaged in the next part of their plan. When the Tower People initiated firefall upon the herd of Lily People, they would all gathering at the top of the Tower to view the spectacle. The willots would then cut the Tower People off from the rest of the level, trapping them to force their demands. Their plan however did not succeeded as the willot blockade was broken, and thus a guerrilla war through the Tower began, with the willots being driven lower and lower to the mines.

When an arion patrol officer crash landed his bird into Mure, he informed Jacob of the willots' status in the outside world. Jacob took this information to the willot leader Fincelee, and brokered a treaty between the willots and Lily People, so that the latter would be allowed to remain on Mure legally. The willots they assisted Jacob in creating a glider to land safely on the plains so that he may get the proper authorities to send help.

The Lily People while they did not take an active part in the battle were sympathetic and provided food for the willots to help them survive starvation. Help from the outside world came in the form of the authorities arresting the Tower People and removing them indefinitely from Mure.

The Tower was reclaimed by the willots and their ownership of Mure was reinstated. A new peace was founded between the willots and Lily People and celebrating the day of the deliverance together.

Culture
The willots were regarded as skilled unparalleled craftsmen. They created prized works of arts and feats of architectural engineering that made their skills the envy of other races. They were a society of artists and masons that even the humans on their world barely came close to matching them.

Members

 * Fincelee
 * Chesoon
 * Chevon
 * Morso
 * Jenso
 * Hameroon
 * Maveon

Source

 * Firefall by Marcus Malone (2011)