Article:
D&D 4th ed: The (extinct) Celeen Race

The Dwarven language has a few references to them, calling a child a 'sneaky little Celeen' is still a common phrase, though few know what a Celeen is, or was, the legends and ancient history of the Dwarves preserves their memory, and the tale of their terrible end.

Explorers of the Underdark come across many strange and wondrous things, many relics of lost kingdoms and forgotten empires have found their way into the deep places of the world. Some of the most ancient ruins have been built over or stripped for useful materials and demolished to make way for new structures, but quite often, areas that have long been sealed off, due to cave in, subsidence or just neglect, are revealed and rediscovered.

Ancient crystal knives, strange cliff face dwellings and the unfamiliar text of a long lost language are some of the only evidence that the once commonplace race called the Celeen, ever existed at all. They were one of the dominant races of the shallows, long before the entire race was enslaved and eventually exterminated by the Mind Flayers. Celeen often went into the surface world at night, but they spent most of their time in the deep caves and caverns, feeding on, tending to and domesticating insects of all kinds.

With lean, wiry body, large head and bat like features, the Celeen were perfectly adapted to their life below ground. Acute hearing, smell and sensitivity to their environment gave the Celeen a reputation for having lightning reflexes and their acrobatic prowess, leaping across caverns, living in dwellings far above the jagged rocky cave floors, was well known.

Although surface races found their appearance a little creepy, the Celeen produced some of the finest domesticated giant insects, the techniques they developed form the basic lessons on any insect taming lore, and their knowledge of crafting hardened crystal is still used to this day by the Dwarven race.