The goblins have arrived in Flowerpunk!

Goblins and lichen have a lot in common - if there is an abundance of them, it's a sign of a healthy ecosystem.

Goblins are a diverse and extremely versatile species. Perhaps one of the most common magical creatures that can be found on all continents (yes, including Antarctica), they are tough enough to survive a variety of biomes. However, they are most commonly found in jungles, forests and mountains.

They play an important role in the ecosystem - they prevent any one creature from becoming too powerful. They do this in two ways, the first being that they syphon off excess magical energy through the colossal lichen-like structures on their backs and disperse it among the plant life.

Goblins make a point of seeking out much larger beasts and monsters in order to relentlessly harass them. This goes against what most smaller creatures would dare do, but the payoff is that it deters predators from attacking their communities and keeps predators on their toes. Secondly, their culture of "radical humility" incentivises them to seek those that dare to start puffing up their chests and put them in their place. They abhor the arrogant and the self-centred, the power-seekers and the egotistical. Humiliation is balance in the eyes of a goblin.

Any goblin that tries to place itself above another or dares to claim itself as a king or queen of any kind will immediately be torn down by its community and ruthlessly mocked. Goblins do not recognise any form of ruler, not among their own kind or other species.

Goblins are talented tricksters and mischief makers and have a wide variety of fiendish tactics up their sleeves. Anything from shapeshifting to having the ability to spread mould to releasing spores that can cause confusion and hallucinations, or just their lightning fast wit.

Vicious mockery and annoying practical jokes are the sharpest weapon of the goblin. Though they can speak fluently in many human languages, they may purposely speak a garbled and exaggerated version of it in order to mock it and humans as a whole. Naturally this has made them the enemies of humans. From property damage to theft all the way up to regicide, goblins and humans have been at odds since the dawn of time on account of their vastly contrasting value systems.

Sentient beings aren't the only ones subjected to goblin humiliation. Is your metal too shiny? Goblins will steal your shiny things and rub dirt all over it to ruin it. Is that water too pristine? Time to urinate in it! How about that expensive car of yours? Now it's target practise! One famous example was a wealthy British man in the 1830's who had wrongly accused one of his maids of helping herself to some of his loose bank notes, only for both of them to discover said missing bank notes stuffed in a tree and covered in goblin excrement - a very expensive toilet.

On the flip side, goblins have a profound admiration for the mundane and the things that others don't appreciate. Anything gross and weird is a goblin's best friend. It isn't uncommon for goblins to keep pet worms or grow mushroom farms or endlessly praise the nutritional value of rabbit droppings.

Goblins are also highly social and incredibly crafty. Goblins forge close multi-communal relationships and polyamory is extremely common. Goblins will raise children that are not theirs and are known to even raise the orphaned or abandoned children of other species, including humans.

While the war between goblins and humans has gone poorly for the goblin side, there has been a resurgence in mischief committed against powerful individuals that could only be the work of goblins. A resurgence in a desire to see the return of goblins, particularly among those in the punk movement, may be the reason why goblins are making a comeback. Some humans may be forging wary alliances with these little beings in order to get back at those who are destroying the world.

Goblins may have been treated as vermin at best and demons at worst for much of their lives, but now they may be the unsung heroes that humanity desperately needs.