Humans

The humans who made the crossing into Genesis became a part of the new world that they chose to call home.
When the world was divided and Genesis was formed, the humans who shared the land with their magical bretheren were given the option of entering the new world. For those who did, the magic of Genesis itself became a part of them. They adapted. Before, magic and the presence of otherworldly beings had been a suspicion; now, it was a certainty. The humans of Genesis were suddenly a minority in a world of creatures capable of destroying them with ease, and so they adapted. They came alone into a place of nightmare and wonder, and have carved out a place to call their own.

Please note: this article deals primarily with the humans who live within Genesis. Those who live in the Old World are very similar, but may differ subtly as a result of their lifestyles and magic-starved environment.

Typical Physical Characteristics

Among the different races of Genesis and the Old World, humans have the greatest range of physical norms and vary enormously depending on location. Individual shards' populations will typically share a fairly homogenous ethnicity based on their corresponding Old World origin, but in shards that see a higher amount of travel and trade there's far more diversity among humans as well as distinct races. All the variety of humans in the Old World can be found somewhere within the shards, and as such it's hard to summarize their norms.
Humans have a strong natural affinity for magic due to their intense but unstable lifeforce, and express it at slightly higher rates than the other races. They have no innate abilities inherent to the race as a whole.

Life Cycle

Humans are a relatively short-lived race, and their average lifespan is affected by their environment and lifestyle. As a whole they tend to live somewhere in the range of 60-90 years, with anything beyond about 70 being considered properly old.
Humans within Genesis are considered adults at 18, though they start taking on some of the responsibilities of adulthood by their mid teens. Children are expected to be helpful, obedient, and responsible, and often assist adults long before they're old enough to be given work of their own. Marriage and childbearing typically happen from mid twenties to mid thirties, with most families who raise children having an average of two.

Reputation

The youngest race, humans are regarded as the most vivacious, ambitious, hardworking, and headstrong. Within Genesis, they're the most numerous and widespread race due to their adaptability and higher reproduction rate. While the humans of the Old World came into frequent conflict with the other races in the time before the Shattering, since Genesis was formed they've been largely peaceful and cooperative with their neighbors.
Some holdouts among the other races resent humans, seeing them as short-sighted and aggressive upstarts who necessitated Genesis's creation in the first place; they see humans, with their short lives, as not having the perspective and wisdom to consider the longterm stability of the land and the balance of power. However, most are more forgiving. The humans who chose to become a part of Genesis rather than stay in the Old World as considered by the other races to be the best of humanity, and are thought to have learned how to live in respectful coexistence with the world around them.

Social Structure

Human societal structure varies more than any other race, and continues many of the traditions of pre-shattering societies. There's still a slight overall leaning towards patriarchal leadership, but it's truly a tossup and as time goes on human culture has picked up more and more of the general ideals and egalitarianism of elven culture.
Most communities orient themselves around hereditary leaders of one kind or another, whether formally honoring noble/royal families or more informally following families with a history of authority within the community. Leaders of human communities are most often in the prime of their lives and capable of leading in battle, even in Genesis where war is a rare occurrence; however, they're often backed by an older relative with more life experience who helps make decisions.
Within individual families, fathers and mothers share responsibility. The father tends to handle matters outside the home, and the mother matters inside the household; in couples of the same gender, each partner will typically assume the role they feel more suited to. Both are considered equal in status and are expected to treat each other with respect, acknowledging their respective areas of authority and knowledge. Children typically live with their families until leaving to establishing their own household with a partner, though it's not uncommon for single adults of the same sex to live communally as a household of convenience if they've moved far from their own family. Households consisting of a single person are relatively rare. Within Genesis, the bonds of blood and upbringing are strong, and most who want a stable, stationary lifestyle choose to stay close to home and reinforce the community.

Societal Norms and Values

For more specific racial customs, see Human Customs.
TRADITION AND CEREMONY
Tradition is important to the human population of Genesis, helping them maintain their sense of identity and history, but it's also far more unavoidably mutable due to the nature of a shorter life. They try to keep to their customs for the most part and enjoy the familiarity and ritual of celebration, leading some of the other races to feel like they seem to be looking for any reason for a festival or holiday. Traditions among humans can be large or small, spanning entire cultures or being specific to certain communities or even families.
LOVE, SEX, AND MARRIAGE
Humans in Genesis are typically monogamous in their relationships, with the eventual goal for most being eventual marriage and children; while virginity isn't paramount and sex before marriage isn't taboo, the typical attitude is that sex should be a part of relationship and a large number of casual sexual partners is somewhat frowned on. Same-sex couples are uncommon but face little stigma other than generally being regarded as a bit of an oddity.
Marriage is an important and meaningful bond among humans. It's a symbol of commitment and partnership for life, and while unhappy marriages can be dissolved by either partner it's encouraged that both parties make every effort to work things out first; in the case of seperation, property is divided by officials in accordance to contribution and original assets. Infidelity by either party is frowned upon. While marriage for political or financial advantage isn't out of the question, it cannot be forced if either partner is unwilling and most couples marry for love.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Humans are often regarded as more prone to crime, especially petty crime, due to their large population's inevitable economic imbalances. Whether or not this is accurate, punishment is proportionate to the severity of the crime; minor crimes like theft, property damage, and brawling are punished by forced labor, while severe crimes like major assault, rape, or murder are typically grounds for severe corporal punishment, imprisonment, or execution. The prevalence of servants of Eihel, able to track guilt and compel truth, means that it's a far more risky thing to commit wrongdoing and tends to keep major crime to a minimum.
DEATH
As the shortest-lived race, humans tend to have a larger fear of death than most. Though the prevailing faith of Siarus suggests that death isn't a cruel thing, with no concept of punishment in the afterlife, there's a general envy of the longevity of the other races. Humans are much more likely to try and extend their lives or prevent their own death via magic.
Funerary practices vary between different segments of the human population, depending on cultural differences. Burial and cremation are the most common disposal methods for the dead, and most end-of-life celebrations are single-day affairs that involve prayers to Siarus and offerings of flowers, incense, and candles to invite the Cycle God's protective gaze over the deceased.

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LOCATIONS
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