Human

The most populous of the so-called civilized cultures in Nareah, humans outnumber almost every other major group combined. Practically every nation known to the people of Estlund is primarily human controlled but the vast geographical distances between those nations have created perhaps the largest variations known within a particular group.

Humans of Estlund

Perhaps more than any other group in Nareah, it's important to note that ethnicities are to some extent merely an arbitrary label; in a mixing pot like Sevaria, as an example, most individuals claim descent from multiple groups and could easily - and rightly - identify themself as Durusvolk in the morning and then as rightly call themselves Volsvolk in the evening. Humanity is an extensive spectrum and it becomes impossible to truly neatly divide them into organized subdivisions.

Durusvolk

Native to the region of Sevaria now known as Duruslund, the Durusvolk are a hardy mountain people. Popular legend dictates that the Durusvolk originated by comingling of humans and dwarves from the holds in the Teileberge though modern scholars argue that such an union would be impossible given that such human-dwarf offspring would be non-viable. In time, the Durusvolk spread outwards and came into conflict with the Volsvolk to their south and west, eventually being forced to spread to the east as clashes between the two cultures ended up being dangerous to both sides.

Hoffmen

Hoffmen are a distinct offshoot of the Durusvolk who, during their struggles with the Volsvolk, elected to take the difficult voyage across the Teileberge in the hopes of finding lands beyond instead of continuing to conflict with resources on the southern slopes. There, they found the ruins of an ancient civilization of the giants and settled among its remnants. Overtime, their language and culture became influenced by that of the giants around them. In time, this blended culture would come to be dominated by the humans after the last giants were exterminated by jealous humans; this newly formed nation would become known as Reisenhoff.

Volsvolk

Historical enemies of the Durusvolk, the Volsvolk are originally from the western regions of Sevaria now called the Silver Vale and Westereach. In the earliest day, the Volsvolk were a loose grouping of clans and families that gathered together for mutual protection against the creatures of the land and Durusvolk raiders. In time, those clans and families interbred and became the foundation of the Volsvolk as a people and would, eventually, form the core of the Volsinum Empire. In modern days, some of the noble houses of Sevaria claim descent from those original families. At this point, however it would be difficult to prove (or disprove, for that matter) those claims.

Hybrids

The idea of half-breeds is a touchy one in most human societies and, when they must be discussed, they are more politely referred to as hybrids. Most human civilizations are distinctly aware the part their ancestors played in driving others, primarily the elves and orcs, from their ancestral homelands. No matter how they deal with that information, humans tend to dislike being reminded of that history - and no reminder bothers them more than the presence of half-elves and half-orcs. Because of that discomfort, it is often strongly encouraged that these hybrids elect to identify themselves as one side of their heritage or the other and conveniently forget their mixed heritage. Although for much of the history of human civilization this worked and helped maintain a status quo, recent events - including the rise of the devilblooded - have seen a number of these hybrids choosing to embrace their mixed blood.

Lifespan

80 to 90 years

Average Height

140 to 190 cm

Average Weight

40 to 110 kg