I actually have a long document on a bunch of the races that are present throughout Radix. Aside from humans, which are present everywhere but only prolific on Aracanoc, each country has its own humanoid and monstrous races. The lines between "humanoid" and "monstrous" are blurred in some cases, but the point still stands. The document I have explains many of the races already, going over their origins (or what they thought was their origins, in some cases) and statistics.
However, the point of this blog is to get me writing, not copying and pasting. Maybe I'll include that here some other time, but for right now I'll summarize what I remember and try to concentrate on what wasn't in the document.
So, there's eight main "humanoid" races within the world (Humanoid is in quotes because a few of them, such as the Aequorians, only resemble humans in the fact they have two arms and two legs). I'll list put them here in the order of most populace to least. First listed, of course, are the Humans. Physcially, they're self-explanatory. They exist on every continent, although far more prolific on Aracanoc than anywhere else. They are considered adaptable but dedicated, and are often leaders within many organizations due their singled-minded devotion to causes. Most other races, especially on Aracanoc, have a healthy respect/fear of them, and tend to alternate between trying to avoid them, and trying to ride on their coattails.
Dwarves are the most populous race in Hydranatos, as well as they are the second-most numerous of races in Declaria, marking them as the second-most common humanoid race in the world. Although they *can* live longer than humans (lasting almost two full generations), most do not, as they tend to be adventuresome and brash, dying at ages that make humans seem elderly due to the damage their body undergoes in their youth. The exceptions lie within the highest of the clergy and noble houses of Hydranatos, where the strict training helps guide most of the young away from their impulsive nature in order to be upstanding citizens.
The Beastkin are the primary race within Declaria. On the surface, they look like short humans with broad frames. Each tends to take on an aspect of the animal or creature they bond with, a rite every beastkin goes through during puberty. Those that do not find themselves stricken with a sickness that causes them to waste away as they can no longer process food they eat. They are individually strong, and their time spent developing their kinship with a creature of the forest makes them a bit feral compared to most others. There are a number of them who have migrated to Aracanoc, although those present there tend to be "darker" in nature; Beastkin native to these lands usually have to find stranger creatures than those in Declaria at the time of their bonding, and this can have strange effects on their personalities. A Beastkin's lifespan is almost completely dependent on the creature to which it bonds; unfortunately, picking and choosing a creature is no simple matter, so factors like these do not have much weight.
Pennatus, a race of thin, pale human-looking people with colorful, feathered wings, are native to the mountains of Hydranatos, although there a quite a few of them in Aracanoc as well. They are considered a "war-like" race, although they tend to think of themselves as political: battles are often run between village to settle disputes of land or kin, but these battles are normally governed by codes of honor and propriety. Most Pennatus that are present in Aracanoc were forced there at some point or another, in contrast to the Beastkin who arrived there seeking power. Some Pennatus have a natural affinity to Elemental Magic that can manifest at a young age; however, due to some strange event in their past, this is viewed as a curse. Most any village along the mountain will expel any young Pennatus showing a natural inclination towards magic, regardless of stature or family upbringing. Exiles eventually find their way to Aracanoc, for training, hope or revenge.
Defams are one of the only two races on Radix which are not "naturally occurring" within the world, although many of them would be happy to debate their origins with you. Defams are originally animal familiars to a wizard that, through some strange magics either accidental or on-purpose, were given the intelligence and arcane knowledge of their masters, and shifted to a form that resembles a sort of half-human, half-animal form. Although the most common are rats, cats and snakes, all manners of animals from all over the world have known to become Defams, some far more exotic than others. Native to Aracanoc, Defams are unable to reproduce on their own (although some have been able to create others through a similar process to how they were made), and so are not found in other parts of the world unless traveling or relocating for some purpose. Defams, being magical by nature, live enormously long: none have been known to die of old age, but most tend to be somewhat fragile by nature, betraying the appearance of immortality.
Aequorians are widely considered the "rarest" of species, although in truth there are far more of them then they let the "flat-heels" believe. Most of them live within the enormous mountain in the center of Hydranatos, although quite a few live within the city (in fact, many of them hold high positions within the clergy), and there are always at least two that live near either end of each gate that supplies water to the other continents. Aequorians are amphibious, with elongated, webbed fingers and toes spreading from short palms and heels. Their skin is oily and shines in various blues and greens that allows them to blend into the waterways where they spend much of their time, and have bulbous eyes that sit near the tops of their heads much like a frog's. Their mouths resemble a human's, although not as wide and with thicker lips and their teeth are far thicker, especially farther back. They have no nose, instead relying on large, round "scent glands" located behind the small holes they have for ears. They're a very spiritual/religious people, having a much deeper and complicated religion and, in a way, connection to the world. As such, they're one of the only races with an affinity for learning two types of magic, both Celestial and Terrestrial. The few rare Aequorians who can practice both are normally revered as the wisest among them, elevated to leaders within their communities and hidden to outsiders.
The People of the Stone are tall, lanky and have greyish but subtly-pigmented skin. They're a slow moving but outgoing folk, overly friendly to the point of seeming pushy or untrustworthy to many others. Due to their heritage, they weight almost four times that of a human of comparable size; as such, they tend to be terribly fit, despite their thin builds and apparent laziness. They're native to Declaria but can often be found in the other nations. This is mostly because, once they get settled in an area, it's not always easy to get them out again. They don't tend to pursue powerful positions or magic normally, mostly because of how much they tend to annoy their teachers with their slow movements and fast talking, but those that do learn are often amongst the best, both because of the time spent learning to gain a deeper understanding as well as the amount of time one of the People can devote to the study. The People are the longest living of the "naturally occurring" races, the oldest having lived almost a millenia before finally "returning to the stone."
The Deadless are the other race that was not "naturally occuring", although their similarities to the Defams end there. Most commonly the end result of necromancy experiments gone horribly wrong, a soul will be reinserted fully into an undead body, causing it to become reanimated but completely autonomous and aware. The problem is that the soul, normally one of someone just recently deceased at the time of the experiment, rarely is the same as originally inhabited the body, causing some very strange and problematic situations beyond the simple fact they're walking around in a corpse. These occurrences happen far too often, due to the risky nature of trying to use Necromatic Elemental energy to create a semblance of life that goes against nature, but many wizards consider the rewards great enough to accept the risk. As such, Deadless, despite their very limited lifespan within these forms (normally only a few months and rarely over a year) have a strong presence within Aracanoc, although they are almost never seen outside the city. Certain Deadless, especially ones in bodies that are normally intelligent such as mummies, run into issues trying to convince others that they're not just another Undead. Still others, like the rare few that find themselves inhabiting the body of a vampire, find it hard to convince themselves that they're not, in fact, just another member of an undead horde until something happens to make it obvious (i.e., vampire deadless must still drink blood to live, but are not harmed by sunlight).
Ok, all for now. I think I'll come back and approach some monster races later.
No comments:
Post a Comment