Races Guide

 :Humans:
Humans, often viewed as the youngest of mortal races due to their short life span (though the truly wise understand this to be a poor conclusion). They lack the elves millenial lifespan or the dwarves generational memory, and thus by their standards, live life on the fast lane. They're hasty, adaptable and adventurous, and their recklessness is poorly understood by elves and dwarves alike, especially the former. However, what they lack in life expectancy they make up for in sheer numbers, with men easily outnumbering the other races put together. At times these numbers have been seen as a threat, especially by elves (since dwarves lived underground and the two seldom clashed), but the humans inherent instability posed an unsurmountable obstacle to a fully united front. Indeed whenever a human conqueror appeared and amassed enough followers to threaten other races, his or her death was usually enough for that unity to crumble into infighting and wars of succession.


 To elves, they are foolish and unruly, and to dwarves they are disrespectful towards their origins, but both of these races see them as an irreplaceble ally against a common threat. Humans are, after all, not only adaptible but impossibly tenacious when they put their hearts to it, rising up again and again no matter how many times they fall. And even when they die trying, their attempts inspire others to try with their comparatively fast reproductive cycle easily restoring their numbers. It was these two traits that enabled them to settle just about every place in the world without even a fraction of the wisdom or resources the elves posessed.



 Vorlian Humans: Fair skinned and boasting a wide variety of hair and eye colors, Vorlians are the most common and widespread among men. Pious, expansionist and domineering, these humans value political prowess over military might, though rulers of these individual kingdoms often boast a healthy combination of both. They worship the Chief God much as the elves do, and frequently use their faith to rally their kin against a common foe. They also have a strong culture and value reputation above honor, with their society being an odd combination of meritocracy with monarchy. Peasants are seen as second class citizens, but they can rise into the upper classes through skill and recognition of their ruler. Widely assumed to be the earliest humans alongside Barsaanians, they can be found in just about every continent except Akani, and Sakanya, though are most common in Vorlia and Vorsland.

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 Barsaanian Humans: Talk, dark skinned and dark haired, Barsaanians thrive well in their home continent, being well adapted to the heat and scarce food. They lack the expansionist streak of Vorlian subrace, but have a keen affinity for nature and their homeland. They're conservative, preserving the ways of their ancestors and not feeling comfortable living elsewhere. They live in small tribal communities with the same hunting grounds belonging to the same clan for generations. Hunting on another tribe's grounds is a grave offense. Their shamans and herbalists rival even those of elves, with their alchemical knowledge being far more advanced than other subraces give them credit for. In times of great plenty, they're believed to have founded large civilizations, though those days have long since passed: Sakanyan humans descend from these bygone days.

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 Sakanyan humans: At times when the Barsaanians formed expansive civilizations, some ventured into the scorched lands across the sea to the south. There, they found the sandsea already inhabited by another race: They're on good terms with the Elves, and the different kingdoms usually have their own human and elven families, regardless of who rules. However, the region is very unstable and the different cultures frequenly clash (often for petty reasons) and thus they all seem to hate each other. The human's culture is heavily influenced by the elves who were already there, however...

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 Suralian humans: They descend from Vorsland humans who repeatedly attempted to venture north. Their progress was slow and took several generations for them to properly populate that country, and in the process they grew tougher and stockier, with paler skin and hair to better take in the lesser avaliable sunlight. Northern Humans clashed with Snow elves, and typically allied with Dwarves against a common foe. Thus, Northern human culture is heavily influenced by their Dwarven benefactors, who saw in them a buffer between themselves and the elves. Northern humans are fierce, tough and hardy, valuing honor and prowess in battle and revering their ancestors much like dwarves do.

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 Akani Humans: They are disciplined, focused and single minded, and though they have a unique culture and ancient civilization, they are feverent when angered, being prone to gruesome barbarities against their most hated enemies. They value education, honor and politeness, even towards one's enemy, and deem it natural to introduce yourself even to an enemy you're about to kill. This discipline drives them to find art and perfection in whatever they devote themselves to, as such their tempered steel is second only to dwarven alloys, and their well organized armies the only who can give elves a run for their money. The warriors of Akani fancy themselves scholars as much as fighters, in a way oddly similar to Elves. Since next to no elves can be found in Akani, modern scholars believed the men wiped them all out in an ancient war. Akani Dragonslayers are also the very best among mortals.

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 Other humans: Those who populate other regions often hail from the many different countries or havent developed any distinct features; These include those found in islands, Celestia and even underground. Despite the absence of proper underground kingdoms, humans are welcome among dwarves and many made their homes there. Many others live in the Dark Elven caverns as slaves, or wizard apprentices in Deep Elven Kingdoms.

 :Dwarves:
Short and stocky, with males boasting long, proud beards, Dwarves generally come off as reclusive, but jovial and welcoming of outsiders. The vast majority revere the earth and build massive, expansive kingdoms below it. They live under a rigid caste system, where each individual's aptitude is bred and groomed from birth to be the very best at their profession. They are literally the most down to earth of mortal races.

 An average dwarf is long lived, about four to five times a human depending on lifestyle, but unlike Elves they age much in the same way as humans, growing grizzled and grey towards the end of their natural lifespan. They find it honorable to devote themselves wholeheartedly to the profession passed on by their ancestors, and very few dwarves would ever consider opposing their caste system. Changing castes, however rare, is possible through marriage or a King's decree. In Dwarven Kingdoms, political power may change but whoever sits on the throne will always be a direct descendant of its founder. 

 Dwarves revere their ancestors as much as the earth itself, and build massive stone mausoleums that span generations. Their libraries are also nothing to scoff at, some boasting information even elves lack, since they've inhabited the underground long before the Deep Elves settled there.

 However, Dwarves are the least magically inclined of all mortal races, usually associated with their smaller size being a poor conduit for that etheral power; even if the actual reason remains unknown. But where they fail to do actual magic, they can achieve near magical feats of mining, geoscaping, smithing and construction. Their engineering is second only to the Deep Elves (without strong magic at their disposal), and their metal crafts are the best in the known world.
 
  Skilled merchants and politicians, Dwarves nonetheless uphold honesty and honor as paramount and would seldom cheat to succeed. They have even better memories than Elves - easily spanning generations - and never forget a slight, let alone a betrayal. Century old family feuds are common and seldom questioned. But they are just as greedy as they are honorable, and often become victims of their own thirst for valuables.

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 :Elves:
One of the three main mortal races alongside the humans and dwarves. The keepers of time and knowledge, the elves' long lives give them a certain detachment and long view towards the remaining mortal races, which only helps further their prideful reputation. It's widely assumed they were the first to discover the written word, and indeed the oldest texts - those marking the beginning of recorded history - are all in elven libraries.

 Tall and elegant, with sharp facial features and an aloof demeanor, elves are frequently endowed with an otherwordly grace and beauty second only to the gods themselvs. Proud, wise and haughty, they are the longest lived of all the mortal races, so much that the average elf's lifespan easily exceeds ten times that of a human's.

 Though lacking the strength and vigor of men or quick wit and tenacity of dwarves, elves are nimble, agile and natural prodigies at magic, making them deceptively strong in combat. What they lack in sheer power they make up with discipline, wisdom, and experience, with a single elf being often more than a match for multiple humans. Elven armies - with their organization and and tactics - easily take the spot as the best of the best, but their small number and how easily they underestimate their foes can undermine their efforts.

 When aligned with other races, however, elves are reliable allies, gladly sharing their wisdom and tactics and honoring alliances even long after the other party may have forgotten them. As enemies, they are deceptive and patient, more than willing to wait for a perfect moment of weakness on their enemy's part, just so they can capitalize on it for an overwhelming victory.

 The elves self assured long view frequently brings them to disagreement and even clashes with other races, their motivations seeming utterly incomprehensible to the other races. They have a long standing rivalry with dwarves for reasons scarcely known to either of them - with each individual claiming their own motives - though many agree that they typically loathe the other's unique breed of arrogance, with elves further envying the Dwarves' crude yet effective talent for finding riches.






 :High Elves: They are the original breed of elves, or rather, those who remained true to their origins. Common in all but the most remote, desolate of lands (where the specific subrace can be found instead), they nonetheless have various kingdoms, with stable, well defined borders. Usually content to keep to themsleves unless disturbs, the Elves will readily interfere with wordly affairs if they feel a great change is coming. Though conservative and resistant to change, they will steer it for the better if they feel it to be inevitable.

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 :Wood Elves: Said to have branched off from the woodland elven kindoms, ancient wood elves gradually expanded deeper into the forest - beyond where most didn't dare venture - and gradually adapted to life in the wilderness. Their civilazations grew smaller and more isolated, their spirits more adventurous, and their already nimble bodies more athletic. They are by far the most "down to earth" and free spirited of all elves, and for this reason they get easily get along with humans. They lost some of their natural affinity to magic, instead developing keener senses, dexterity and growing far more attuned to nature. As far as physical appearance goes, they're the most varied among elves: Some of them look virtually the same as High elves, while others have darker skin and unusual shades of hair. Now one with the wilderness and its rules, they're the most tolerant of change among all elves, with some even forming nomadic tribes.

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 :Dark Elves: Some racial stereotypes for elves paint them as trecherous, cunning, two faced and cruel. Yet this description fits the Dark elves far better than any other. The naturally conservative elves had naturally very little tolerance for political instability and anarchy, especially wanton lust for power. These individuals were typically exiled, sometimes even executed according to the severity of their crimes. But the first mention of dark elves came with a particuarly callous and cunning woman who seized power of an elven kingdom for herself, and waged war on her neighbors to build an empire. By seducing various men, she built a massive army and caused one of the bloodiest wars in elven history: A master necromancer, she raised the corpses of both deceased allies and enemies, waging war again and again, and even when she was defeated, her reign of terror didn't end there.
 She turned her efforts below ground, cutting a swath through the nearest deep elven kingdom and settling there. She swore she'd come to teh surface again but before that time came she had Deep Elves and Dwarves to contend with. They stopped her kingdom's expansion, but could never completely vanquish them: Through keen night vision magic and a loose organization, they waged a guerilla war of attrition on their foes, ensuring they would never be displaced. 

 Dark Elves have a strict Matriarchal society, where the women vie for power and the men serve. And not just male Dark elves... Any outsiders they can get their hands on are turned into slaves, experiencing a far worse fate. Dark Elves value power and cunning in any way or form, so much they can even respect and serve a foreign Queen who beat them at their own game. Not all Dark Elves abide by this stereotype, however, but those who didn't typically moved to the surface, avoiding the cutthroat envoiroment of the underground Queendom.

True to their name, the Dark elves' skin can range from deep pink or gray to purple or onyx black (usually lighter on surface dwellers) and their eyes are adapted to the dim lighting of the underground (they appear to shimmer like those of nocturnal animals), so much that even surface dwellers find it hard to look around during daytime without any form of aid. A deep dwelling dark elf would quickly be rendered blind by sunlight. This nocturnal lifestyle earned the surface dwellers the name of "Night Elves"

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 :Isolated elven subraces:

 Snow elves: They were the first to colonize the frozen north, using their knowledge of magic to help assert their presence long enough men would find the will or means to do so. The first elves to reach the north were monk, building remote monasteries and devoting their lives to prayer. Thus, snow elves make exceptional clerics and also excel at ice magic magic, being naturally resistant to cold. They have lighter skin tones than their southern brethren, and their hair usually varies between light blonde or pure white. They're also shorter and somewhat harder facial features.

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 Deep elves: The Kingdoms now known as the deep elves had humble beginnings as scholars and librarians. But as the years increased, so did their libraries to the point they began to build them underground, spending all of their time there. They have shunned the mystical affinity of their ancestors alongside much of their reverence for the gods, instead devoting themselves to the pursuit of knowledge. They're cunning and opportunistic, which put them at odds with the dwarves, yet since the appearance of the Dark elves the two races have had an uneasy peace, spurred by a common enemy. Deep elves excel at machines and practical use of magic, and regularly trade their technology for the near endless resources the Dwarves posess.

 Dune Elves: Natives to the desert lands, they delve in the pursuit of knowledge, particularly oriented towards astronomy, but unlike the deep elves never lost their reverence towards the gods. Even for elven standards they are proud and traditionalistic, revering their ancestors not unlike Dwarves do. Their culture greatly inspired that of men of the desert, who eventually developed their own culture and advanced societies. They have dark skin, though not as much as dark elves, and have a good relationship with fellow inhabitants of the desert. Though honorable and hospitable, they do not take kindly when outsiders overstay their welcome. They're resistant to heat, but especially weak at dealing with ice and low temperatures.

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 Sea Elves: Descendants of both elves who settled on islands and those who turned to piracy, Sea Elves have a shorter temper than their high elven ancestors, as well as feeling at home in the sea. They can remain submerged for over 30 minutes, but their innate magical talent has dulled somewhat. Their skin and eyes are very pale, but generally range between pinkish white or faint blue. They still excel at water magic, and are weak to fire or intense heat, being vulnerable to dehydration and overheating.

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:Daemons:
Otherwordly beings who hail from a different plane of existance and frequently delight in turning the mortal world into their playground. They come into various shapes and forms and thus lack a strict hierarchy. 

 The Daemon's extraplanar nature is often contrasted against that of the God's and as their existance trails back to way before recorded time - maybe even before the appearance of mortal races - they are often assumed to have existed alongside the Creator and not part of the creation. Though they are extremely long lived, all but the oldest and most powerful of Daemons can confirm or deny this statement, and they're hardly willing to do so. While lower level daemons can often be called cruel and evil in their callousness, the, Elder Daemons regard mortals like one would view an ant, completely oblivious to their existance. Though Daemon's encounters with mortals generally end in one sided slaughter and/or rape, mortals with demon blood do exist and can be found more often around the world. Some are even accepted.
 
 Though endowed with wisdom, strength, and a keen affinity for magic, daemons and their kin naturally suffer from prejudice and mob lynchings wherever they're seen in broad daylight. They're weak against holy magic, but resistant to fire. Those capable of flight are especially vulnerable to ice which stiffens their wings and may cause them to plummet to the ground. 
 
 Daemons are also unable to freely cross into the mortal world, typically requiring some form of portal or summoning contract. Tieflings do not suffer this limitation, but they aren't nearly as strong, menacing, or long lived as their pure blooded ancestors

:Hollis: 
The race that lives within darkness, beings that are commonly called the 'Forsaken ones'. They are the undead, and creatures who otherwise defy the order of nature and wander within the shadows.

 They come into existence to means almost as diverse as the beings themselves, some resurrected via sorcery, a demonic taint, and some even due to an undying will that keeps them moving even after their bodies have expired. Due to their undead bodies, even the most lifelike of Hollis can be determined to not be truly alive due to surviving injuries that by all accounts should kill their living brethren. They are especially resistant to physical and natural damage, but are vulnerable to magical attacks. In fact, they usually cannot be killed by any means other than magic, though some may be vulnerable to decaptation or be fully incapacitated by dismemberment. As far as elements are concerned, they are weak to fire, resistant to ice, and all but immune to nature.

:Homunculus:
 Beings powered by raw mana, often deemed artificial even though they can include the naturally occuring Elementals. Actually, they are beings that can range from simple to impossible complex, the former even capable of occuring spontaneously. Since they weren't directly created by the hands of the Goddess, they're often viewed as a natural phenomenon than a race proper.

 Any beings ranging between elementals, golems, cursed swords, and automatons can be classed as Homunclus, though all vary widely to the point few would ever think of considering them the same creature. The simplest of these - elementals - are the result of a Mana sensitive stone (usually termed Heartstone or Gem) soaking up too much mana. But this alone isnt enough to breathe life into an elemental. For that transformation to occur the heartstone must find itself in a place brimming with natural energy, typically forming an Ignis, Undine, Gnome or Zephyr depending on which element is most prevalent. 

 They do not age in the true sense of the word, but their Heartstone can be worn down with age, which makes them take longer to replenish their energy and can make them more vulnerable to being killed. Due to not being alive in the same sense as mortals, they are immune to poison and can heal themselves with their element. However, they are vulnerable to magic and especially vulnerable to their opposing element. Homunculi can also die due to exhausting the mana in their core without letting it recover.

 All Homunculi - including those designed to look like a mortal - will be easily detectable by the massive amounts of life force a their shell can contain. Even weak Homunculi with Nearly dead heart stones will radiate a different aura from a mortal, enabling them to be detected. Depending on culture, the Heartstone can be known by many names, such as Soul Stone, Life Gem, Illyrium, and many others. 


 Elementals: As described above, Elementals come into being when a an active Heartstone winds up in a place brimming with natural energy. Aside from the aforementioned types - which are the most common - there are also other variants, such as Lava, Ash, Storm, or Frost elementals. Even among matching elements, elementals can be further divided into unique, regional variants. Due to their primal, mighty, and naturally occuring nature, some cultures revere them as dieties.

 Golems: Created by dwarves who frequently happen upon heartstones or gems in their endless mining expeditions. Inactive stones need to be filled with Mana first, after which they will be place inside a sculpted stone body. Like elementals, Golems can regenerate their stone body by consuming more stone, which can also affect their natural properties to match what they consume.

 Automatons: Often compared to metallic Golems, altough the approximation is a bit crude it gets the point across. They are incredibly complex however, and while other races and cultures can make their own golems, only Deep Elves can make Automatons, thanks to their unmatched prowess in Arcane Engineering. Unlike Golems, they cannot regenerate themselves by eating metal, and must be repaired externally with more raw material.

 Cursed Artifact: Easily one of the more sinister among Homunculus, thanks to their eerie origin. These typically come to life on bloody battlefields, after a gruesome massacre took place there. The fresh blood seeping into the armor (very rarely, a sword) turns that metal into a crude heartstone, allowing them plentiful life force of recently dead mortals to permeate into the relinquished artifact, giving it a life of its own. But even by Homunculi standards, Cursed artifacts stand as an incomplete: Armors can scarcely move on their own while swords cannod do so at all. Thus, they need a wielder, a partner to be their legs, just as they did when they weren't alive. Once a stray mortal takes one such artifact, they become bound to that tool, and won't separate by natural means, becoming a Symbiotic homunculus. The wielder gains the artifact's power for himself, and the homunclus gains and endless source of fresh mana. What's more, all enemies slain by the wielder ultimately feed the homunclus even more, and as the ages pass and wielders change the artifact may grow progressively more different than what it started off as, hinting to its corrupt nature. However, due to being distinct pieces of equipment, the will and how they affect their wielder changes between the sword or armor: A sword's voice eventually drives all but the strongets willed warriors mad with and endless bloodthirst and lust for power. An armor will instead make the wielder feel invincible, with the belief they can survive anything and protect anyone. However, armors are far less prone to corrupting the wielder's own mind.

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 Aroans: Easily the most advanced form of Homunculus, and one that only be created by the most powerful of mages or enchanters, often in groups. These are utterly mortal in appearance and require absurdly powerful Heartstones to function, yet this appearance belies their true power: So long as the Hearstone remains alive, they're endowed with eternal youth and immortality, and a vast well of mana to pull from. Though they can still be detected by their dense, colossal aura; the ability to regenerate any wound just by expending energy from their core makes them formidable foes in combat, with some being optimized for a particular form of magic, to the point they can use it as easily as breathing. But this impressive regenerative ability is also their greatest weakness: They cannot heal from mortal injuries in any way but using their stone's power, and thus it can be worn out to the point of exhausting itself, killing the Aroan. To create an Aroan, one needs not only vast arcane knowledge and and a powerful Heartstone, but also a mortal's body. This can be taken from a live, dead, or near dead human (though not being considered as true undead since they're physically indistinguishable from living mortals), or the empty shell of one crafted via magic. In case the body used still had a mortal soul inhabiting it, the result is a symbiotic Aroan.

:Celestrian:
 Like the mortal races, Celestrians were created by the Goddess herself, by taking some of her own power and giving it form, yet they differ from them in that they're the same race as their Creator. The first Celestrians - sometimes worshipped as gods by other religions - are just as elusive as the Goddess herself, but like their progenitor, they too split their power into others, and so forth.

 A Celestrian's beauty is often related to his or her age, power, or ranking, though they normally deem their humanoid shape as a "limited" one created for intereaction with humans. A Celestrian's wings can be hidden and manifested at will, and the multiple pairs some of them have are associated with the density of their magic power. However, when dealing with the higher ranked Celestrians this attribute shouldn't be seen as a proper measure of their power, since many would end up have an impossible number of wings on a relatively small humanoid form. 

 They live in Celestia - the Northern Island in the Sky named after them - though legend speaks of a flying island above even Celestia where only the Gods can live. The truth behind this myth is just as elusive as the oldest Celestrians, said to be omniscient beings who know the truth of this world, yet no mortal has ever seen them. Higher ranked Celestrians - Including the many Gods and the Chief Goddess - are assumed to appear relatively humble, with no more than one or two pairs, since they can effectively control how many they posess.

 They are the Antithesis of Daemons (who trace their ancestry to the primordial beings who did not create the mortal plane). Like Daemons, they can breed with Mortals, creating mortal, but long lived beings with Heavenly blood, Known as Aasimar. This act is frowned upon, and one of the main causes for some Celestrians falling from grace and eventually yielding to corruption, becoming Fallen.