The Dark Peak Bestiary
Rarely seen but vast in number, the nascenti are a highly intelligent race of langoustine type creatures, that own Hellsborough and the Eastern part of The Dark Peak, and maintain control using their eyes which is the organic network (it literally is their eyes, they do not "see" in the conventional sense, they "sense" what is happening in the world through the heat maps of the organic network and the chitter of the hive mind) -- entirely delegated to the fungal AI and their exacid henchmen. Thus, the nascenti are omniscient and omnipotent.
It was the nascenti that formulated the history, being the primary intelligent species in The Dark Peak. According to lore, the nascenti forged humans in their own image, but the humans were "evil" (actually, the nascenti are evil in all of their intent) and became corrupted by "chaos" so that they now resemble the apes that are, rather than the langoustine shape of the nascenti, but the historical literature and lore paint a dim view of humanity, which the humans believe (eg. they are inferior and a slave species (except the clans of humans in the nether lands -- the nethermen in the crosslands), and the propaganda is used to control the human population.
The nascenti designed the above world infrastructure, then mainly the humans of Hellsborough built it according to the nascenti designs.
They live in their strongholds beneath all the reservoirs of the area, including the main sites at Damflask and Ladybower. They use dykes and drains to move between various locations. At times, if required -- because of the murk, provided in part by the humidity plants -- they are able to swim through the ether, but they prefer a waterborne, rather than airborne, environment.
They are overlords of humans in Hellsborough and keep them in a sense of contentedness by the use of psycmasks which ease breathing in the dense murky atmosphere, provide all necessary nutrition, and, via the organic network, supply an Augmented Reality experience, known as the hive mind, which also doubles as another observation network. Humans are paid for their endeavours, which masks the influence of the nascenti, and in fact, few humans in Hellsborough have any idea that their work is undertaken for their overlords and they are in fact slaves who are under constant observation.