Humans in the nether lands -- the nethermen (also known as Nethermen, Crossmen, or simply Netherlanders) are the clans of humans who exist on the fringes beyond Hellsborough, where the murk thins enough to allow actual sunlight. They are the descendants of the Leys, Woods, Marshes, and Moors - families displaced from their inheritable lands by The Nascenti over several generations, and they have not forgiven this or revised their opinion since. Everything in the nether lands is handmade: weapons, medicine, shelter - all analogue, all DIY, all held together with determination and improbable skill. They are shamanistic, worship clan-specific gods tied to their environment, and build totem poles, which is a more coherent response to the unknown than anything Hellsborough has managed. On the rare occasions they visit Hellsborough to trade, they wear psycmasks of the Van Hallam design - the kind that helps you breathe without connecting you to the hive mind - and they trust nothing they see, which is, in my experience, the correct approach.

Netherland clan membership correlates with colour: the Leys run blue and detail-oriented, the Woods red and headstrong, the Moors purple and prize enjoyment above all else, the Marshes green and will leave you alone until they do not. All four clan lines share a common understanding of the Nascenti as overlords — the term in general use is "bottom-sucking scum," which suggests the assessment predates diplomacy. When they visit Hellsborough, they use the Van Hallam design of psycmask: aids breathing, does not connect to the hivemind, invisible to the organic network.