Humans

"Through all my years, I have learned much about humanity. And if you take even just one thing from my lecture today, let it be this: no two humans are the same. I have seen bands of furious men burn down entire villages after a slightly different looking human stole a sheep and I have seen humans risk their lives to rescue slaves of races normally despised by humans. They are the very definition of unexpected." - Avion Trueflow, elven scholar

The many advantages of humankind have led to their slow but steady rise to become the premier on many of the continents of the eighth realm. With above average strength, intelligence, and birth rates, humanity is well-positioned to overtake other races in control of various regions, yet are held back by their own flaws. Though humans have control over vast amounts of land and form the nexus of many kingdoms, their lack of unity has led to infighting and conflict between humans; at a level almost unheard of among other races. Still, since humans tend to learn quicker from mistakes, take advantage of chance opportunities, and learn from others, they have the ability to take advantage of their ambitions. Humanity as a whole is also very quick to adopt technology and magic that has been developed by other races in order to gain an edge over their enemies. Unlike many other races, humans constantly try to push the boundaries of magic and technology, and therefore regions with abundant numbers of humans often emerge as centers for advancements in many fields.
Humanity is often of two natures and humans are both accepting and discriminatory of most races depending on the region. Many humans accept foreign races and cultures among them in order to learn from, profit off trade, or diversify their nations, but just as many scorn foreigners and are brutal towards those who are different. On the far end of this spectrum, there are many human groups who hold such anger towards other humans that they commit heinous acts out of sheer malice. This is rarely seen among other races, where grudges are always personal, familial, or racial, but never cultural. In such intolerant nations, they may hold witch hunts when things go wrong, unleashing their anger on innocents scapegoats. Still, many human nations are beacons of tolerance, especially on the continent of Telgren. Championing interracial cooperation, the nations of Telgren have led the way in cooperation between many races, even while colonizing, enslaving, and genociding orcs by the thousands. This is but one example of the common phrase "the duality of man", which illustrates humanity's tendency to say one thing and do another. Various human kingdoms claim to be tolerant of all races, while really only accepting some that they consider civilized, which varies significantly by continent. On the whole, however, humans are most friendly towards races such as elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and telrai while usually treating goblins, orcs, trolls, and kobolds poorly. In contrast, the human tribes of the Berezzar desert of Ifyrial have formed a longstanding cooperation with orcs and look upon the elven colonists as their mortal enemies.
Above all else, however, humans are adaptable. With so many different biomes, neighboring races, and magical fluxes, no two places in the Eighth Realm are the same. Humans excel in taming unknown circumstances and finding patterns that can help them rise to the top. While humans were not the inventors of monarchies or republics, they made a number of important institutional advances that propelled them to more modern forms in a number of cases. Humans also adopted theocratic leadership and centralized religious structure which both boosted their faith and created an established church structure. Various churches and religions have helped or hindered development, but it is undeniable that religion has played a large role in shaping the culture and politics of humans, despite the small amount of outward theocratic governments. Humans also bolstered the power of adventuring companies, mercenaries, and other groups which tackle local issues and contribute to driving off many of the most dangerous beasts in the regions where they live.
Humans are very diverse, and have more cultures and ethnic groups than any other race, in part because of their infighting and in part because of their spread across the world. Intermingling with other races and the fact that humans have children with other races the most by far means that many communities have very low amounts of nonhuman blood which further complicates matters. Pure humans have hair that ranges from white to black, with many shades of red, brown, and blonde in between. Their skin can also range from pale to almost black, with, again, many variations in between. Most humans have brown eyes, but instances of eyes of hazel, green, blue, and even grey can be seen naturally. Humans are, as in many things, in the middle of the spectrum in regards to body hair. While growing far less than the beastfolk, humans usually grow much more than races such as elves, gnomes, and even halflings.

Lifespan

75 years

Average Height

5'6

Related Organizations

Magical Aptitude
Above Average
Physical Strength
Average
Societal Organization
Above Average
Birth Rate
Above Average
Lifespan Classification
Average
Technological Progress
Above Average

Humans

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