Humans

Basic Information

Anatomy

Bipedal relatively hairless apes. Humans are a curiosity to scholars, mostly because most scholars are humans. They have four limbs, but their forelimbs have been specialized for grasping. This has led scholars to argue that they originally came from tree-climbers. This is vociferously denied however by a few, who argue they came from the similarly shaped dwerrows. These are mainly the scholars of the non-human variety: namely elves. Dragons, dwerrows, and other sapient creatures generally just find the debate amusing. Regardless, their peculiar anatomy allows them to be particularly adaptable. This has unfortunately led them to be used as slave labor in many parts of the world. They are smart, with a great capacity for clever invention. However, they are relatively simple to control. Their one downside as slaves is the large number of years they take to reach adulthood. Some have produced magical methods to circumvent this problem.

Genetics and Reproduction

Females carry the delicate egg with it's developing foetus in their bellies for nine months. After this, the baby is unfortunately still quite helpless. Evidently, this is a compromise between the necessity for protection of the foetus and the problem of bipedal locomotion. The mother's hips are splayed such that the baby can be forced out at the tender age of nine months: but if they were any more parted she would be unable to walk. The male plays very little role in reproduction: but is very much necessary for successful reproduction, due to how painful this process is for the female. Humans have the unusual property of being fairly compatible with most other sapient species reproductively. While the offspring of interspecies reproductive events tend to be sterile: they also tend to be extremely talented individuals.

Growth Rate & Stages

Humans have a long childhood phase, which can itself be broken down into stages. It lasts from when they are born, until they are about thirteen. In this stage they are very dependent on, and defined by, their parents. Then they enter a medial phase, which many have called "youth". In this phase they begin to diverge from their parents and create their own personality. Finally, at around age 20 they enter adulthood: although they are sexually mature before this, having them reproduce during their youth is inadvisable as youthful humans are singularly irresponsible. They become more responsible as they progress in life: able to take on work of a more sensitive nature by the time they are forty. As it happens this is also the time when their physical strength starts to deteriorate and they become known as "elders". Females also lose the ability to reproduce at this stage, having used up all the eggs with which they were born. This does not however make them any less eager to mind children, despite how generally troublesome they seem to be.

Ecology and Habitats

Humans can live just about anywhere, except in very extreme climates. For example, most dragon roosts are not safe places for humans. That said, humans will go to these unsafe places without too much trepidation. They show considerable physical variation in adaption to different climates: particularly in their skin color and the amount of body hair. These variations should not however be mistaken for different species: they are simply adaptations to the environment.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Humans are luckily omnivorous and will eat most anything which doesn't poison them. That is not to say they will be happy to eat most anything, or that any old diet will benefit them. The best diet is one based on vegetables and fruits, with mainly plant-based proteins. Some meat is good for them, but it should be used more as a garnish than an actual dish. Of course, humans rarely follow this advice themselves, and end up giving themselves horrible diseases because of their inattentiveness.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Two reasonable eyes, ears, nostrils and hands. Their sensory capabilities are nothing particularly special. Some are capable of doing magic, while others are not. No one can say why this is. Most of those capable of magic, can be taught at least the basics. Only a few decide to push it further.

Genetic Descendants

• Dragons-Fizhritha

Scientific Name

Homo sapiens sapiens