The origins of life interest many and I,
Malacor, would recommend the reader to read up on my previous writing
"Travel through the Planes of Oblivion", since I will assume the reader is familiar with both the Nomenclature and overall subjects of this writing. Here I will attempt my best at defining all branches of life by their origin, providing a taxonomy system in the process. Keep in mind this system is not meant to classify deities as these are beyond the comprehension of the Soul. Life is overall characterized first at a Domain level, based on its soul's allegiance, a Kingdom level, a Family level and a species level.
Domains of Life
The first taxon in our Taxonomy is the Domain to which a Kingdom belongs. A Kingdom's Domain depends on the allegiance of one's Soul or Animus (called Soul here from now on for simplicity) at the moment. Paraphrased, it depends on where your essence goes to upon destruction of your material form. Therefore, the Kingdom of a Species may change over time with this definition. Overall, life and/or entities can be described using the following Domains:
- Mortals, when allegiance of the Soul is owed to Mundus.
- Celestial, when allegiance of the Soul is owed to an Aedric or Daedric entity.
- Demon, when allegiance of the Soul is owed to neither of the above but origin is.
- Abbysai, when allegiance of the Soul is only owed to the Void itself. Abyssai are also created from the void, instead of being outcasts like demons.
The Mortal Domain
The Domain of Mortal Life quickly branches into a multitude of kingdoms. Often specification of the mortal domain is omitted and perceived as the default. Rather, if an entity does not belong to the Mortal domain this is indicated.
Mortal Kingdoms
Beasts
Beasts or Animals are the basic creatures a mortal on Mundus encounters on everyday life. While Beasts can be further divided into Classes
etc. (such as Birds, Insects and such), for the purpose of clarifying an entity's origin, most often the species is addressed after this Kingdom such as a Wolf or Wasp. Examples of beasts are
Wolf,
Warg ,
Pearl Bird and
Minecrawler .
Dragons
While some may place a Dragon among Beasts, they are classified by an alternate kingdom due to their origin. Dragons were created by
Auriel (read Akatosh) but lost their allegiance to this deity upon remaining on Mundus for too long. Rather, their Soul is now bound to the mortal plane of Mundus. Dragons are further specified based on allegiance to an element, fire, earth water, or are to ancient to be affiliated with an element.
Humanoids
Likely the most diverse kingdom of all, many phyli comprise the Kingdom of Humanoids. Below a short summary of humanoids is given, though this list is by no means comprehensive as the topic in and of itself deserves its own record. Humanoid Phyli can sometimes be further divided in to different Families, such as Goblinoids or Elves (Mer).
- Humans
- Orcs, part of the goblinoid family
- Elves, among which the Phyli of Dark Elves, Wood Elves and High Elves. We Arkayne are the origin of this
- Dwarves
- Goblin, though the regular goblin is actually a part of the goblinoid Family
- Halflings, part of the dwarf-family
Elementals
Elementals of the Mortal kingdom are entities fueled by elemental forces of Mundus. Generally they are defined by the element that fuels them, such as Fire, Water, Earth or Air. Elementals are also a Class taxon when concerning the Celestial domain of life for instance with a
Flame Atronach. Becoming affiliated with a particular element is also a process most celestial entities undergo or underwent when declining to a mortal.
Constructs
Though certainly less 'alive' then the other entities, constructs are still existing entities. Constructs are, as their name suggests, constructed by a creator from non-living matter and possess a source of power, whether this be a Soul or magical fuel.
Giants
The Kingdom of the Giants encompasses many species, such as Trolls, Ogres, Cyclopses and Giants. Giants are mostly humanoids with at least a
Huge size description. Examples of Giants are :
Troll.
Plants
As the name suggests, the Kingdom of the Plants consists of all Flora entities.
Oozes
Though the Ooze Kingdom is quite rare on Mundus, these amorphous blobs often have different properties depending on their Color or better put their composition. There are only very few records of Ooze species and as such are considered a minor Kingdom.
Undead
All species belonging to the Mortal kingdoms are considered undead when they are returned to life after dying. Depending on the nature of the undead, it may very well be an intelligent species or not. Undead are however created, not born.
Monstrosities
Everything that falls outside of any other Mortal Kingdom's classification is considered a Monstrosity. These anomalies are somewhat rare and are considered a minor kingdom.
Celestials
The Celestial domain is immediately split into two "Phylums" namely
Aedra or
Daedra. Most of the kingdoms shown under the
Mortal Domain can be applied to an Aedra or Daedra. Therefore, when describing an Aedra or Daedra it is considered good practice to also indicate its Kingdom if applicable. For instance, a
Flame Atronach is denoted as "Daedra (elemental)". The Celestial part is often omitted as this is included in the Aedra/Daedra Phylum. For more on the Aedra & Daedra, I suggest reading my earlier writing "Travel through the Planes of Oblivion" (
The Universe or
The Pantheon).
Aedra
Entities whose Animus or Soul owes allegiance to an Aedric deity are considered Aedra. Examples of Aedra are:
Auroran.
Daedra
Daedra are entities whose Animus or Soul owes allegiance to a Daedric Prince. There are many Daedric beings, such as
Ogrim : Daedra (giant),
Dremora : Daedra (humanoid)
Demons
Those born or created without owing allegiance to either the
Celestial Domain or the
Mortal Domain are considered 'Demons'. Whether they have lost their allegiance over time, or were simply created by another demon does not matter, they are considered part of the Demon Domain. Similarly to the
Celestials, Demons can be further categorized into Kingdoms similar to those of the
Mortal Domain. The Soul or Animus of a Demon can either be bound to a specific object or location in the
Void, or the Demon may very well not be bound to anything. Most demons originate from an 'Exposure' of the Void to a Plane of Oblivion.
Fey
Fey are a specific Kingdom of Demons, who are found only inhabiting Mundus. Although they originate from the
Void, the Soul of a Fey doesn't return to the Void or the Nexus when its material form is destroyed. Fey generally disintegrate upon exposure to the Void. As such, they are a broad Kingdom in the Domain of Demons. Members of the Fey kingdom include Spriggans and Hags.
Aberrations
Although not exclusively demons, these tentacle beings are generally demon or Celestial (Daedric) found in the realm of
Hermaeus Mora. Aberrations are quite rare in the world of Mundus, only generally being found in the
Void or
Hermaeus Mora's realm of Apocrypha.
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