Humans

Description

Humans in Ilisara are widespread. They can be found all over Hellan. Aside from a few scattered colonies too few in number to be notable, all humans are citizens of the great nation of Thrain. Thrain is not only the human capital, but the empire of humanity in Ilisara.

In general, humans are intelligent and straight-forward people, viewed favorably by the other races for their contributions to geopolitics and creativity. They are renown for their diversity and democratic tendencies, and although they lack specialization, they can excel in many areas.

Racial Passive — Diplomacy: +1 Charisma

History

Varos, Duros, Remedia, Anashta, and Hejong created humankind in Year 3 for the purpose of creating peace between the existing elves and dwarves. The first humans were strong, honest, conscientious, and diplomatic. They carried knowledge of civilization and survival from the gods, so that in comparison to the other races, they would not be far behind in their advancement. The only thing humans initially lacked was a permanent home.

Humans set about their divine task with enthusiasm. By the end of their first year in Ilisara, humans had ended the war between elves and dwarves through several peacekeeping meetings, and the drafting of an intricate treaty. As part of the new tentative alliance — the forerunner of the official Confederacy — humans inhabited the former contested territory between the dwarves and elves, in the fertile valley of Thrain.

Personality

Humans are all driven in some way towards teamwork and collaboration. They are not typically loners. However, hundreds of years have passed since their initial divine creation. Many new traits have been introduced to humanity as a whole. Greed, ambition, passion, nobility, tranquility; humans vary wildly from person to person, and they are all unique individuals.

The greater goals of human society tend to be prosperity, unity, and innovation.

Appearance

Humans are physically diverse. There is no typical human. An individual can stand from 5 feet to a little over 6 feet tall and weigh from 125 to 250 pounds. Human skin shades range from nearly black to very pale. Darker tones indicate ancestors who were created with more subtle influence from Varos (for the tan of creatures who bask in the sun), and lighter tones from Anashta (for the paleness of creatures who live in the ocean depths).

Hair colors range from black to blond (curly, kinky, or straight); males might sport facial hair that is sparse or thick. Some humans have a dash of nonhuman blood, revealing hints of elf lineage. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century.

Humans from Thrain and in human forts tend to enjoy wearing Roman-styled clothing, especially togas. These togas are made of cloth, silk, or synthetic silk. Togas come in every color for casual day-wear, but formal togas are worn for special events. Formal togas are colored to indicate the wearer’s caste, and it’s a social faux pas to wear the wrong color. Spartan leather armor is popular. Men and women wear robes, tunics, and pants, though dresses are typically reserved for women.

Combat and Professions

Humans are remarkably versatile. They can learn magic or train with any weapon. Jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none, humans are renown for building on the fighting styles of other cultures.

Humans hold jobs of every kind. Sailors, soldiers, missionaries, merchants, politicians, scoundrels, chefs — humans are not drawn to any particular role, though the more traditional ones enjoy serving others and helping society flourish.

Society

Every human of Thrain belongs to a caste. Members of different castes freely interact despite the definitions for where they belong. Each caste wears a particular color to designate their station at formal events. The castes and their corresponding colors are listed below:

• The governing caste: Purple
• The military: Red
• The elite and middle caste: Black
• The agricultural and rural caste: Green
• The poor and unemployed city masses: Grey

One’s caste is a badge of pride. Humans understand that every single caste is needed in a great society, and that not everyone can be the ruling class. Due to their democratic systems, every member of Thrain has a voice regardless of caste. A common phrase humans use to indicate this harmony between castes and their kin is “Thrain invincible, Thrain forever”. To humans, all fellow humans are family, no matter what they look like or how much money they have.

Humans have developed some of their own traditions, most notably spectacular gladiator fights. Typically, these are violent affairs with healers standing by to mend the wounded. Although fights used to be to the death, the tradition has changed, and now it is customary for winners to spare losing combatants as a sign of temperance and good sportsmanship. Thrain has a colosseum dedicated to gladiator battles between men, beasts, and any other combatants.

Being the third race, humans have a reverence and interest for the sun elves and dwarves who came before them. Humans “borrow” from other cultures to form their own unique traditions. One of the fads rising in the 7th century is the “free love” movement inspired by the wood elves. This movement is a celebration of non-traditional romance, and freedom of spirit and mind.

Humans do not have strong opinions or regulations surrounding:

• Marriage or romance
• Having children
• Education
• Lifestyle
• Home

To humanity, one's personal life is their own business. Because humans are traditionally community-focused, as long as a person contributes to society, what they do in private is their choice. This is reflected in the Praetor Maximus’ role. Despite being the overseer of Thrain, the Praetor is free to live where they like, marry who they like, and travel wherever they wish so long as their responsibilities are completed.

Communities of humans (forts, the capital city, and small towns) tend to have a set of freedoms and liberties afforded to all citizens, including legal rights and a responsibility to treat others equally. They also have systems in place to aid the poor, sick, and elderly. Whether run by volunteers or religious folks serving the community in the name of their god, these systems ensure that there are opportunities for poor folk to eat and for the sick to be healed for little coin.

Thrain has a few of its own special customs and political structure.

Language

All humans speak Common. Common is a language spoken by every race in Hellan. There are no languages uniquely spoken by humanity. However, many humans are bilingual or trilingual, having learned the languages of their allies in the Confederacy (particularly Elvish or Dwarvish).

Religion

Humans worship many gods in the pantheon. There is no one unifying religion for humankind, and all humans are religious to varying degrees. The following gods are most commonly worshiped:

Anashta - The goddess of love and the sea.

Hejong - The god of war and duty.

Remedia - The goddess of life.

Varos - The god of the sun and justice.

Duros - The god of the earth.

Anashta, Hejong, and Remedia are humanity's favored three gods. Varos and Duros are patrons of the elves and dwarves, but are still honored and revered by humans.

Interracial Relations

Humans are seen as friends and allies by every race in Hellan. The Orcish Warlords are neutral towards humans, but would not hesitate to cut them down if humans got in their way.

Humans are compatible with almost every other race in Hellan. Half-elves are the most common mix, and take on traits from both of their parents. Half-dwarves often appear simply as tall dwarves -- dwarven genes are stronger than most anything else.

The children of elf-human and dwarf-human couples tend to be accepted by society. Half-orcs or half-animaloids are usually met with apprehension, fear, or are simply frowned upon.

Threats

Humans do not have many threats. Their capital lies in the sheltered lands between the elves and dwarves. Once, they were threatened by Dark Elves, but that threat has been eliminated as of the Year 700. Orcs are a threat to every race on Hellan, but live primarily in Isandor so their presence is far away from most human settlements.

Notable Humans

“Though we have suffered tragedy, and loss, we will endure. Thrain is a special nation - it combines the best aspects of every god and goddess, and makes them it’s own. We are a hub of peace - renown for bringing harmony to warring nations, and a center for diplomacy.” — Markus Thrain. As of the year 700, Markus is the Praetor Maximus of Thrain. He is a war hero dedicated to uniting the Confederacy.

"Long have our people fought for the freedom of all of Hellan. Thrain is a special nation, one that knows the pain of sacrifice. Look to our poor, our suffering class - it is on their sacrifice that the nation’s goodwill spreads through Hellan. Look to our elite, for it is on their dime that our war machine is funded. Look to our farmers, for it is their bread that feeds the nations of Hellan. Look to our military, for it is on their swords that our enemies DIE! Take pride in what you are, no matter what you are. Because you serve as a part of the greater whole of Thrain, the greatest nation on Ilisara.” — Senator Vrenak. Senator Vrenak is a nationalist absorbed with Thrain’s wellbeing and the acquisition of power.