Common

The superior race. Superior to whom? The orvon? Dwarves? Their predecessing eldermen?

And do you know what makes them so superior? Only that they have cut down everyone else. They are superior because at the end of it all they are the only ones left.

The scions of dwarves and eldermen, common folk make up most of the globe's population. With such blood, they carry the drive and sturdiness of dwarves as well as the physicality and humility of eldermen, and since emerging from the tragedy at Zhaddiv Cairn they have spread their blood to nearly all corners of the world.

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Biology

Physical Appearance

Common folk have a fairly straightforward appearance considering the two predecessing races from which they inherit. They are shorter and stouter than the eldermen, and taller and leaner than the dwarves. They retain the narrower bone structure of the eldermen, yet their skeletons are denser like that of a dwarf's, and this carries into the display of many of their features.

Because the dwarven clans were so varied throughout their reign, and the nomadic culture of the eldermen for several centuries, the appearances of common folk vary considerably between cultures. Hair and skin color are the most noticable differences—pale, nearly transluscent skin and orangish hair are common in the southernmost Sovrik coast while those of northern Aveaan and Gelid descent often have much darker skin and hair. Their sizes and heights are also highly varied; there are several pockets of lineages closer to the original main dwarven clans that are much smaller than the overall common population, with several groups having average heights of around five feet (1.5 m), while the people of Aveaas have an average height of 5' 10" (1.8 m).

Arcanic System

All common folk have the 'potential for an arcanic system' within their body. There are several parts that make up what researchers consider the arcanic system, but it begins in one initial area: the arcanic and varalys receptors in the brain. The system as a whole, and how arcana works on its own, is expanded upon in the world category Arcana, but for a brief overview, most living things have a 'reserve' of arcana and common folk tend to have a higher

potential reserve than most other races. During fetal development, a small amount of arcana is produced to then be cycled through the bloodstream continuously, and in arcanists and slighen, neurons with arcanic and varalys receptors will also develop at this point.

Regardless of whether an individual has the receptors or not, all common folk have a 'musculo-arcanic system' of cells that map onto the somatosensory system. For most common folk, these cells' sole job is to express arcana in some form and despite their proclivity to the somatosensory system, they don't respond to external stimuli. The exception is slighen, whose genetics cause these cells to develop into arcanic exteroreceptors instead.

Perception and Sensitivity

One of the common folks' largest assets, in terms of survival, is their heightened perception and sensory functioning. Compared to orvon especially, common folk possess superior perception in almost all areas, with key differences exhibited most distinctly in vision and smell.

The ability to percieve a full color spectrum is rare among species across the globe, both currently and historically, but common folk are not only able to detect a full spectrum of visible color, they're able to detect color in low degrees of light. They're also able to perceive moving shapes and make out detail in objects at twice the distance that orvon are able to percieve.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Dwarven
• Eldermen

Physical Statistics

Lifespan
61 years

Average Height
5.8 ft (1.8 m) - 6.6 ft (2.0 m)

Average Weight
170 lbs (77 kg) - 220 lbs (100 kg)

Slighen Physical Appearance

Contrary to popular belief, the genes that determine whether someone is a slighen or not don't actually directly determine, or even correlate with, physical appearance. The fact that most slighen in the modern world have similar physical traits—i.e. darker hair and eyes, grey skin, bonier builds—is simply due to the fact that the majority of them originated from the Cravvik Isles, and their evolution and reproduction have been somewhat constrained by external powers.

Other characteristics may be an indirect result of their 'slighen genes'. Grey skin is the result of arcana poisoning, and while it can manifest in any elderman-variant individual, slighen are the most susceptible to it and also more likely to be around large amounts of arcana due to various cultural factors.