Humans

Basic Information

Anatomy

Humans in the Endless City stand roughly between 152 to 182cm in height. The majority of humans have skin tones ranging from olive to deep black, pale skin is extraordinarily rare owing to the climate and weather. Most humans have dark or reddish hair, with eyes ranging from brown to green.

Genetics and Reproduction

Humans produce one or two offspring at a time as of the result of mating between the male and females in their species. Human relationships vary according to local law and custom much moreso than with other races who appear to have specific mating rituals and patterns as part of their species makeup or out of necessity as the environmental conditions dictate.
in most settlements the human population favours either a monogamous or male led multi spousal marriage, which seals the relationship off from others of the species, at least in theory.
Human children are raised with their parents until about 8 years of age, upon which they begin learning about their future livelihood or career. Almost all humans are taught in some manner of basic combat, either to serve in the settlement's militia or simply as a matter of personal protection as the world is a dangerous place Humans will mature fully around the ages of 16 to 20, with many already fully into the swing of their lives at this point.

Ecology and Habitats

Humans, being the resourceful creatures that they are have made their homes amongst the settlements of the upper city, they have learnt to adapt and build around the ruins of the city creating homes and with the Ashan, the first settlements. The flexible nature of humans lends them the ability to adapt to their surroundings and make the best of what they have available. Novel ideas such as vertical farming from the humans and beekeeping from the Ashan made these settlements sustainable in the long term, but the development of stoneworking combined with the physical capabilities of humans as a whole led to these settlements becoming secure and safe. The majority of hard labour, such as stonework, agriculture and what limited forestry can be conducted in settlements is done by humans, owing to the limited physical abilities of other races or their significantly fewer numbers. These things combined have often lead to humans being the dominant force in settlements for better or for worse.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Humans are omnivores and will happily live on plant, fungal or animal based forms of sustenances. Humans of all races also sport the greatest level of what one may call 'cuisine', and contrary to some other races appreciate the combination of other elements in their food. Food culture varies from settlement to settlement, usually according to what is locally available and the customs and traditions of each town or village. They share this trait with another species, the Unmau, though humans as a whole prefer more nuanced flavours to their cuisine instead of the overpowering flavour that is imparted onto food by the Unmau's preservative spices.
For humans, the consumption of food is often a social affair rather than a simple means of survival, communal eating is seen as the norm whilst some other races will jealously sequester their food away to be eaten in private.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Humans possess no exceptional or under developed senses and perceive the world as well as most other races.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Humans have a wide array of naming traditions according to each settlement, but the most common form is one of a given name followed by a family name or patrynomic name.
(If you wish to play human, source your character's name from eastern Mediterranean, middle eastern, north African, and caucasus sources, preferably ancient forms.)

Major Organizations

The League A league formed by agreement from several settlements headed by the human trade city of Hub, The League's leadership is a semi autonomous body of representatives from each settlement within it that has a degree of influence on policy and actions across the settlements as a whole, usually involving matters such as economy, trade, and security. Most civil and cultural affairs are left to the rulers of the settlements. The League's leadership is mostly but not entirely human.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The main language of humans is the common tongue. Most humans speak a second language to some level of competency, this language is usually reflective of the path they have taken in life. Those who have chosen to pursue an academic or religious career often speak Ashanti, the language of the Ashan. Whilst those who seek to explore the wild ruins abound may speak Unmau or perhaps Musi. Those who are brave enough to have dealings with the Iaressi for whatever reason may know some Sari.

History

Human history, much like that of all other races has convoluted and muddied origins. Little is known about the lives of early, primitive humans other than what some academic guilds have been able to piece together through finds and ruins within ruins of old human settlements dating back thousands of years. Most of recorded human history begins a few centuries after an event that humans refer to as the 'Enlightenment of the Ashan', an event nearly 2000 years ago wherein unlocking the secrets of a particularly powerful ancient relic, the Ashan gained the knowledge of the written word. Slowly over time, the use of written language spread from the Ashan to other races, beginning with Humanity.

Humans, with their newfound ability to tabulate, record, and create whatever they pleased in permanent written form experienced an explosion in technological growth with the Ashan, founding the first permanent settlements along the sheer faces of the canyons and atop great spaces of the ruins that jutted out from them.
These first settlements were simple, but with the development of stone working came walls and the reshaping of the ruins around to create more space and redefine it's purpose. Some settlements now boast populations in the thousands.

Still, the Endless City is not so easily tamed and constant dangers threatened the existence of civilisation both within and without. Wars such as the Vathmus War and the Iaressi Punitive War hundreds of years ago created lingering distrust between races for generations, and events such as the Exodus of the Western Cities a thousand years ago in which several prominent human led settlements found their water supplies diminish and vanish over the course of a week lead to mass exoduses in which thousands died leave their scars on the minds of a people. The threat of large scale disaster and conflict a constant worry aside from the usual ones of life, such as banditry, dust storms, the threat of monster incursions and so on.

Time has not been all bad however for humanity. The Treaty of Convergence signed 200 years ago pledges most of the human led settlements around the settlement known as Hub into a loose coalition of friendship, promoting trade through semi regularly patrolled routes, and the exchange of ideas and people.
Integration with other races has introduced other benefits, many settlements enjoy the protection of the Iaressi matriarchs and trade lines by the Umau. The Cold War with the Vathmus has eased in the past few hundred years allowing easier excursions into the deeper layers by teams of relic hunters from the settlements and the routine exchange of envoys too and from settlements at the hope of bettering relations further.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Humans are able to work well with all known races providing that they know where the boundaries lie. This hasn't always been the case however, several hundred years ago a coalition of settlements of mostly human (with some Ashan and Unmau residents) took part in what became known as the Iaressi Punitive War. Since then the Iaressi have become integrated into more human communities but the lingering fear sometimes remains.

Geographic Distribution

• The Upper City