Europhian

The Europhians are an ancient race from the eastern wastelands of the Lava Range and Dread Barrens. Europhians have by far the most varied anatomies between individuals than any other race on Latani, this is due to their extremely malleable genetics that can produce a Europhian anywhere from 3 to 9 feet tall and with anywhere from 4 to 12 limbs across their body in a variety of combinations and forms. Some Europhians can look humanoid while others take on a much more monstrous appearence. The downside to this is that the bigger and more complex their bodies are, the less brainpower they possess, whereas more average looking Europhians are much smarter due to less brainpower being expelled to control extra limbs or larger bodies. Europhians have a class-based society because of this dynamic, with large and multi-armed Europhians acting as powerful warriors or manual workers while the smaller and more average individuals acting as researchers, leaders and artisans. In the most general of cases, Europhians have slender bodies, smooth horns, fanged maws and heatproof black skin with sections of glowing orange or red scattered across the surface, much like the appearance of half-dried magma, which sometimes makes them blend into their main home of the Lava Range. They can have anywhere from 1 to 8 eyes, which glow brightly and can see in the dark, their fingers and toes end in long, thick claws that help them traverse the rough terrain of the Dread Barrens and Lava Range and hunt animals efficiently. Despite their demonic look, the Europhians are a surprisingly calm and enjoyable people to be around, possessing unique forms of music, food and culture dating back to the age of the demigods. Due to the fact that each of the Europhians also have just as inconsistent lifespans, the more complex their body, the shorter they live. Each of them puts great value in the lives they lead, with most trying to make the most of each and every day, which is a shame due most of the other people of Latani seeing them as freaks of nature due to their complex morphology. Since the rise of the Lava Range after the great earthquake that shook western Latani ten years ago, most Europhians have migrated to the volcanic region, building a great city encircling the mountainous sides of the largest volcano in the Lava Range, dubbing both the volcano and the city Europhia. The Europhians quickly adapted due to their heatproof hides and toxin resistant lungs. A gargantuan lava siphoning "roof" has been built over the city of Europhia to direct and control the free-flowing lava coming from the volcano of Europhia to be siphoned to controlled areas, keeping the city safe. It was also here that the Europhians discovered that they were a demi species, which is the Latani name for a race with limited magical abilities. For the Europhians, they found that their powers were that of controlling and manipulating molten substances like magma and lava, which they use to splash molten earth onto foes, but more importantly, to filter the flowing magma for its more precious materials. This power has also made the Europhians one of the most skilled metalworkers in Latani, able to make near perfect weapons by folding and mixing the molten metal of their craft at will. Europhia has quickly become one of the largest and most successful cities in Latani, with is crafting and export of iron, master crafted weapons and other precious metals extracted from the lava that covers the entire region.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

Elders of the Europhians are known formally as the Kai'rieg, and are those individuals that live past the age of 50, they are considered the lucky few who are appointed as town representatives, lawmakers and politicians. Most elders are those with an average of only two arms and two legs, for those with less limbs tend to live longer lives.

Common Dress code

Europhians usually wear little to no cloths at all, with their genitalia staying hidden on the inside their bodies at almost all times, cloths at that point are only for show. When traveling outside from the heat of the Lava Range, Europhians usually dress in thick wools in order to stay at a comfortable temperature, those that spend their lives in the Dread Barrons don't usually have as severe temperature issues. Elders of the Europhians can be seen wearing long robes that cover the entirety of their bodies, along with exquisitely carved masks of gold that hide their faces.

Art & Architecture

As stated before, the Europhians have very unique tastes in music, due to most Europhians having multiple arms, their instruments more complicated than any other, with wind instruments having more holes and more complex shapes, or string instruments with many more strings. This makes the music of the Europhians much more dynamic than others. Along with music, the Europhians carve spiraling patterns into the tall, obsidian spires of the Dread Barrens, a custom passed on for centuries, the actual symbolic meaning as to why has been forgotten, but the Europhians continue to do it anyway.

"Europhians are wise scholars and researchers who are frail in form, but are also formidable, multi-armed warriors who are dull of mind. Each of their individual uniqueness is admirable, even if their naming conventions are not... (Europhians on Europhia in Europhia?)"
F.L.

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