Humans
The Vision of the Gods
"In the first age, after the first war, the world was left barren. The New Gods, tired and weary from their ages long battle, saw how their world had come to ruin from their actions. The plants were sparse and dried, for no one was there to tend to them. Animals were starved and weak, for no one was there to shepherd them to health. In this, The New Gods saw loss and sorrow. Thus, they laid upon the earth their love made form. En'tr, in her infinite artistic wisdom, molded a form from dust and mud, and baked it under the life-giving hearth of her sun. Asmodeus, in his cleverness, used his blade to cleave off a piece of the heavens, and shaped it into a SoulSpark. Using this, a creature to sow the fields and tend the beasts of the earth was born. Humanity rose from this act of creation, in front of the loving faces of their divine mother and father. From here, The New Gods guided them. Each god imbued unto Man a gift. Thaemalon, the tender hand of a gardener. Zeron, the luck of a gambler. Cex, the humor of a jester. Segrid, the knowledge of a scholar. Teixla, the strength of a warrior. With these gifts, and the knowledge of the gods, Man was gifted the world to rule. The land would be theirs to mold. The land would be theirs to shape forevermore." - Third chapter of the NFC (New Freylian Common) EmpyriconMerciless Pirates. Peaceful Shephards. Orthodox Empire Builders. Friendly Farmers. For Humans, there is no broad strokes stereotype that could possibly hope to capture them. From continent to continent, they make their mark. They live their short lives, burning bright and leaving the lives of those they know forever affected. This is Man. In the story of the world, no species has spread so far, done so much, and lived so brightly as the races of Men. Created in the first age from the very mud and dust of the earth, they call this land their home and embrace it unequivocally as their own. From the trading imperial cultures of Freylia, Moorin, and Teutania, to the close-knit familial existences of Lixao, Juniferr, and Lienaria, the various ethnicities and lands of men live complex, varied lives of passion, faith, and family. This group of races not only includes the ethnicities of Human, but also includes Dwarves, Havlin, and Gnomes. These races are offshoots of the base race of Humans, and tend to lump themselves in as "Races of Man". Of any shape, of any color, of any creed, the red-blooded races of men think of themselves as the rightful descendant of the gods, and the true inheritors of the world over their Mer brothers. The ethnicities of Men tend to be a lot less close-knit than their Mer counterparts. Due to several eras of conflict between the ethnicities on the continent of Nevarine as well as humanity's tendency towards creating distinct and individualistic cultural identities the races of Men keep a distance between themselves unlike the close-knit social structures of Mer.
Basic Information
Biological Traits
Humans are generally a short-lived species in comparison to others, and on average vary in height between 5'1" and 6'4" (not counting Human subspecies). They tend to vary widely in their ability to attune to magic.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Humans have filled in irises, with colored eyes and black pupils. They also tend to have rounder features and show their age quite early in their maturation.
Humans also have round, cartilaginous ears.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Humans have made their way to every part of the known world. From the Ork Peninsula to the eastern edges of Nevarine, Humans have developed societies and distinct cultures in every place they could. However, they tend to form tight-knit communities around resources and trade routes. They also tend to form social communities, picking points in the world important to their culture and values.
Civilization and Culture
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Humanity has mainly accepted Common as their major language, however many regions speak a specific dialect or language. Humans also tend to pick up the languages of other species, either due to curiosity or sheer utilitarianism.
Common Taboos
One of the few cultural main-stays that seems to be present in every ethnicity is the inclination towards labeling hemomancy, necromancy, transmutation, and conjuration magic as either taboo, illegal, or highly discouraged. Although theories range wildly, a prevailing theory is that the main creation myth for humanity drove early humans to think of these magics as "meddling with the artistic vision of the gods", and thusly as being impermissible. This of course leads to a similar tradition in most ethnicities, although most modern cultures have loosened their stance on these practices (save for Necromancy, which remains a strict taboo in most human cultures).
History
Humanity has a long history, extending all the way back to the Second Era. Theorized to be from the north, the earliest human settlements are in the Teutania region. Early cultural sites (such as Snow's End) showcase a unified tribal culture with a religion centered around the worship of a similar pantheon to The New Gods.
In these early cultural sites, the ruling structure seemed to consist of 5 families, which were split by some unknown conflict called "The Night of Tears". Subsequent to this conflict, humanity participated in a widespread diaspora all across the continent of Nevarine, even crossing the ocean to settle the Lixon region of the Ork Peninsula.
After the migration of humanity, each sect of the diaspora formed its own culture and societies, ranging from the Lienarien confederation of tribes to the Liaxao Trading Kingdoms. These tribes spent the next few eras fighting amongst themselves, culminating in several continent-scale catastrophes such as The Three-Way Cataclysm.
In the modern era, humanity is learning to adjust to an entirely new world, shared between them and a great variety of new sapient species which have taken up residence in a previously human-dominated land. Some prefer it to be like the old ways, creating humanist states and organizations like the Free Human States or the Freylian National Front, while others have adjusted to this new way of life and live in harmony with their new neighbors.
by Clemens Schmillen
by Andrew Mar
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Humans are an adaptable species, making the best of any situation they are put in. This applies especially to their relations to other species that live in their world.
Although many in the modern era are accepting of their neighbors, some orthodox or humanist communities see the other species of Spira as "invaders", coming into land which is "rightfully human" and pushing out human communities.
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