Demihumans

"We should accept that our herd, no, all centaurs, have common cause with the catfolk tribes." - Chief Mariano Pedro Miguel del Bosque Nuevo

The word demihuman is a term from Svartalf Imperial law codes to refer to any of a vast collection of anthropoid races with animal features.

Demihumans are in truth rarely related to each other. What they have in common with humans and other anthropoids are certain similarities of metaphysical presence and the intelligence to form civilizations. Some look more like the true humanoids (humans, orcs, elves, dwarves, goblins and jotunkin) than others, some even can breed with them. Others have inhuman, muzzled faces or six total limbs. All demihumans, barring disability, can speak, hold tools, and utilize magic.
There are four major categories of demihuman. The first is the thurianthrope. Researchers are unsure if thurianthropy is a curse or a type of blood-linked sorcery, but the results are similar. Members of a humanoid race are changed into shapeshifters, often against their will, and are forever different in a way that is physical, psychological, and hereditary. It is for this reason that many treat them as separate species, despite many of them coming from human or jotunkin stock. How they are viewed differs between nations, with lycanthropy being illegal in Varangja despite its prevalence and small werepack communities existing peacefully in the hinterlands of Gladsheim. Because the change has an overwhelming effect on the mind, some thurianthropes are driven insane by the change, especially werewolves that are isolated at the time of the bite. It is for this reason that the old Svartalfar classified them as demihuman.
The second category is the true beastfolk. The connection between a beastfolk and the animals they resemble is buried deep in the time before the Age of Myths, but some scholars theorize it is akin to the resemblance humanoids have for primates. Whatever the reason, beastfolk have had dexterous hands and language-making tongues for as long as any speaking race can remember. The catfolk are the most common beastfolk race. One would be excused for thinking of them as slender, flexible dwarves or short, impatient humans, but catfolk can be odd in both psychology and anatomy even if they fit into human society without pause. Other beastfolk, like the lizardfolk, are completely unmistakable for a human, even if they can reach the same heights of artistic or intellectual endeavor. Why nature or the gods have chosen to create creatures in these shapes is a mystery, though, many simply believe it is the optimal way to create civilization, or that it simply pleases the gods to have speaking, reasoning folk.
The third type of demihuman is the animal shapeshifter. Unlike the beastfolk, which exist as fundamentally anthropoid creatures or the thurianthropes which come from humanoids, animal shapeshifters are ascended animals with the power to change their form. It is unclear what magics awaken animals to sapience. The communities of animal shapeshifters do not remember their earliest origins any more than anyone else does and typically ascribe this moment to the gods. However, the oldest histories of long-lived creatures remember a time when the speaking animals did not have the power to take humanoid form. They choose to intentionally mimic a humanoid shape with sorcery. These creatures are born nigh-indistinguishable from a mundane representative of their species, but in a time comparable to a human infant begin to speak and reason. Early in youth, they are taught the sorcery of their people that allows them to take on a bipedal, human-passing form. This they use to intermingle with other races, trading with them and even taking lovers amongst them. The kitsune and the selkies both pride themselves on their ability to blend in.
The final type is the animal incarnation. Some creatures that resemble animals or beastfolk are partially or completely non-mortal spirit creatures. These creatures partake of the traits of multiple metaphysical types of being. Sometimes they are difficult to identify as animal, mortal or spirit, and sometimes they have the power to shift forms. Like all incarnations, they grow more disconnected from mortality as they grow older and more powerful. Creatures like satyrs and moon rabbits start life as little different from minotaurs or lamia but ascend to higher states of being. Some beastfolk races have "ascended forms" that are incarnations, like the tengu, who can cultivate their spirits and become daitengu in the same way humans can become enlightened. This is functionally a transformation into a different type of creature.
Demihumans historically struggle with political disadvantages and xenophobia in communities of the more populous true humanoids. Many of them have bestial stigma due to their appearances, instincts or due to prejudices outside of their control. Though some, like the kobolds or gnolls, do seem to struggle with diplomatic relations, others, like the catfolk, experience undeserved opposition from other communities. The legacy of the svartalf slavetaking policies weighs heavily over beastfolk culture in the west and south, with several regions only having outlawed slavery a generation ago. In the east, demihumans are often treated like incarnations, with the same apprehensions that creatures of power and instinct deserve. As their populations rise and some of their communities acquire wealth and political clout, the long discrimination against demihumans moves towards a thing of the past.