While the subterranean caste always had a preference for living underground, after an incident it became obligatory. There was a time when most of the surface was forbidden ground to them. For the "moles" it was almost certain death. Armed surface dwellers would shoot them on sight. Being forced underground cemented them for careers in mining. This was complemented well by their sharp but dexterous claws and great skill in engineering. Within their large heads and in their tools they stored powerful secrets. The technology of their people was refined far beyond that of the surface dwellers.
One case would rock these people far more than the earthquakes they learned to shield against. A soldier's loophole let him keep an orphan with him on the surface. He would howl her enslavement was an act of mercy, for her parents were not so lucky. Word of this arrangement spread, and a movement grew to return her to her people. The diplomatic crisis this spawned was successful, but against her wishes it only resulted in more tension between the subterranean caste and the surface dwellers. The politics of the region was just as scarred as where the orphan was struck by her master.
From beneath the earth a great general would rise. But among his generation an even greater, and very different, leader would also rise.