History Main / EminentlyEnigmaticRace

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': The Zonai are an ancient, vanished civilization about whom very little is known. They left megalithic ruins across the Faron region, revered the Triforce, and viewed the Springs of Courage, Wisdom, and Power as sacred; everything else -- what they were like, why they left monuments across all of Hyrule, why they vanished -- is left as an unexplored mystery. Their name is even a pun on "nazo", the Japanese word for mystery.

* The Others of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' are frighteningly inscrutable even after all the books released so far. Commonly depicted as an eerily beautiful ice-themed version of TheFairFolk, it's known that they have their own language and culture, can make bargains with humans, have a lethal weakness to obsidian weapons, and are probably returning to bring the apocalypse; legends also suggest that they ''may'' be capable of taking husbands and wives from humankind... but their origins, the details behind their culture, and their true motivation for the nightmarish things that they do has yet to be revealed. For good measure, it's almost impossible to get within spying distance of them without being horribly murdered.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Master Yoda's diminutive, big-eyed, large-eared and bright green race are pretty much a total mystery. Only three specimens have ever been seen: Yoda himself, Yaddle, a female who makes a brief appearance in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' as a member of the Jedi Council, and of course [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter The Child / Grogu]] in ''Series/TheMandalorian''. All are long-lived and ''very'' Force-sensitive, but pretty much nothing else is known about them or their origins, not even the name of their species or homeworld. This is per a directive from Creator/GeorgeLucas himself to leave Yoda’s history mysterious and is still in effect at Lucasfilm.

* In Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium, the Elves have become this to the hobbits of the Shire and the men of Rohan by the time ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' begins. Sam and Eomer each express surprise that they are actually real when they first encounter them.

* In ''TabletopGame/LaNotteEterna'', dwarves were once common enough on Neir that their language influenced the languages of the Karevi and the humans, but they went into seclusion in the mountains centuries ago, and now the endless night and its many dangers has made people less inclined to go looking for them.

** Early in ''Series/DeepSpaceNine,'' the mysterious leaders of the Dominion -- a race known only as the Founders -- are a complete mystery at first; though worshipped as gods by the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar, they're never seen in the field, their true nature is unknown, and the location of their home planet is a best-kept secret. At first some members of the Dominion weren't even sure that the Founders actually existed and considered them mythical. However, in "The Search Part 2", Odo eventually learns that [[spoiler:the Founders are actually his own people, a race of shapeshifting Changelings, leaving him in the awkward position of being the TokenHeroicOrc.]] As Odo learns more about the Founders, they become more prone to appearing in public -- until by the end of the show, one Founder is openly commanding Dominion troops.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': The Zonai are an ancient, vanished civilization about whom very little is known. They left megalithic ruins across the Faron region, revered the Triforce, and viewed the Springs of Courage, Wisdom, and Power as sacred; everything else -- what they were like, why they left monuments across all of Hyrule, why they vanished -- is left as an unexplored mystery.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' 2E features the Goloma, weird-looking horse-things descended from prey species. Their main strengths are ''looking scary'' (they resemble horse-demons with masks, if anything) and being ''really good'' at hiding as a result of being prey.