Human

We are the first - oh, well, I suppose the dragons are first, aren't they? But among those less long lived than centuries, we were the first to call this world our home, and it's important that neither we nor they forget that.

Humans are one of the four sapient species of Tiyu Amara, following or co-arising with the dragons and predating the arrival of the elves and merfolk. They are native to Tiyu Amara, but many appeared in the elf homeworld of Tiyu Noha during the disruptive Collision.

Characteristics

Humans are shorter than elves, usually standing between 1.5 and 2.1 metres. Compared to elves they have a limited range of skin tones, with colours commonly being some shade of brown or peach. Hair colours can be quite varied, including blonds and browns as well as reds and purples.
Humans are the shortest lived of the Amaran species, on average living to 60 years. This varies largely by region and circumstance, with some humans known to have reached 120 years.
While there are broadly two categories of sexual characteristics, these are not absolute, and people of many variations can be found throughout the world. Most human cultures have social gender roles of various kinds, but it is not unheard of for these to be of little consequence in day to day life, or for individuals to not adhere to these structures.
Humans are capable of having offspring with elves due in large part to the latter's reproductive systems. These children, either half-elves or half-humans, can vary greatly in how much they resemble which parent even within siblings. So far, no known offspring of a human and merfolk has been known to occur, and without the intervention of a divine this will likely stay the case.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Primordial

Lifespan

60 years

Average Height

1.5 - 2.1 metres

Related Ethnicities

• Dyiiladuunawa
• Jii'amii
• Na-ochayo
• Nyikkishep
• Ovükayo
• Raiser
• Skarhan
• Telziado
• Thurimppánye'i
• Tsädhayo
• Vosti
• Yulemto

Related Myths

• Broken Sceptre
• Stone of Ábimi

History

Other than dragons, humans are the only 'native' sapient species of Tiyu Amara. They can be found on both of its major continents - Abravost and Thurásin. It is humans who have built the majority of structures and societies in these lands, as no elves or merfolk existed in Tiyu Amara for many years.
This changed with the Collision, which brought Tiyu Amara into contact with the elf world of Tiyu Noha, and exchanged people and places across the divide. Notable 'losses' included the city of Fovenis along with the leaders of the Vosti Empire, as well as a chunk of the Dividing Mountains in modern-day Riyimunburi, though by-and-large Tiyu Amara lost less in the exchange.
With the exception of a period of time between 237 and 326 AC where Portals connected Abravost and some of Tiyu Noha, very few humans were able to return to Tiyu Amara after the Collision.

Groups

Though its impossible to neatly divide any sapient species into clear groups, there are general categories. The most obvious of these is the split between the humans of Abravost and the Thurásin, as these groups have had no interactions outside of two exceptions.
Within Abravosti humans, they are generally divided by the 3 human countries on the continent - Vosti, Telziado, and Skarhan. These three share a common language, though in the case of the Skarhans this was imposed by force centuries ago, and have many shared cultural practices. A fourth group, the Yulemto, are found predominantly in the northern archipelago of the continent, and are distinguished by an extant language with no common ancestry with the mainland, as well as by appearance and culture.
Among the humans of Thurásin are many sub-groups, originating from centuries of geopolitics. The largest categories are the northern Jii'amii, the eastern Nyikkishep, the southern Dyiiladuunawa, and the central Tsädhayo. These four groups all speak different languages and have varying cultural practices, though with years of intermingling and conflict the divisions between these are blurry at best.
Notably, though the two continents have had very little interaction, it has been confirmed by voyages such as the Dyiiladuun Fleet that the Yulemto and Dyiiladuunawa have common ancestry. The former is considered a branch of the latter, having fled across the ocean to escape a calamity and settling in northern Abravost. Efforts have been made to reach back across the ocean again and established permanent contact, but none has yet succeeded.