Fyreen - The Second Men

It would not be completely inaccurate to say that the Fyreen folk - also known as Humans - are the more prolifict species in all of Ulgrotha. Their oldest legends claim they hailed from across the Starfall Sea under the banner of a great empire: Bael Turath. It endured all the threats to its existence and survived by only the barest of margins. And when the Starfall Sea split open, the Second Coming of Men had gone under way. Some claim it was because of their savagery - others claim it was survival or fear of something from across the Starfell Sea - but when humanity rose up, they almost annihilated the empires of dwarves, elves and dragonborn, then nearly annihilated itself in pointless internecine wars, allowing the oppressed remnants of those races to rise up and forcibly carve a place for themselves out of the ruins.

They even gave a title to the Primeval Beasts who reshaped the land at will: Gods. A rigid, unyieldly name - but appropriate. The Gods could no longer reshape the lands at will. And it only brought more scrutiny to the likes of humanity.

The wars with the Dragonborns splintered humanity across the Old World. A century later, out of simple clans of farmers arose an incomparably vast empire forged through conquest and ingenuity - the Nerathi Imperium. In a time of chaos, arose a coalition of races led by humans and giving the world what it needed most. Their Nerathilord's ruled over the realms with an iron-clad - but fair - hand. Within one century, they united the shattered lands - and in one more, they brought a golden order to the land.

But the Nerathilord's transformed into entities largely exceeding comprehension. Mortals can only gaze in trembling awe at what they have become. They merely apply human desires and motivations to them to better fathom them. And the longer they reigned, the louder the voiced accused them of tyranny. The loudest were the humans, who's short lives were the most effected. Even after the Nerathilords - the Gods themselves - turned against the Nerathi Imperium, Humanity endured all the threats to its existence and survived by only the barest of margins.

Basic Information

Genetics and Reproduction

The Fyreen of all shapes and sizes are by far the most common race in this post-apocalyptic world due to their versatility, adaptability, and relative swiftness of breeding. But the necessity for survival means that human beings can't be picky when choosing a mate. There are few humans alive that don't have the blood of another race mixed in with their own, with everyone being half something and a quarter something else.

There are still some humans who wish to keep the bloodline pure by only interbreeding among themselves, but these humans suffer from strange health issues. Some even resorting to magical means - leaving their decendants blessed with unnatural abilities, it also means they are cursed with unusual afflictions. The rest of them inherit curious properties from their ancestors - from odd pigmentations or harmless growths, to the twist physiology of a mutant.

It is difficult to document the Sub-Races of Men, but the most commonly seen are the Goliaths of Dauk, Half-Ogres, Quarter Elves, Mongrol-Folk, the Omen People, and the Asiman - who are further divided between the Nereid, Leimoniads, Oreads, and Dryads. Ones tribe often defines more about an individual Fyreen than one's ancestory in these uncertain time. And sometimes their unqiue mutations are so sudtle, no one would have ever known of their odd parentage.

Behaviour

Since the fall of the Nerathi Imperium, humanity has once against splintered into Tribes. Yet being tribal is an is an ambiguous term, generally used to refer to stateless societies that emerged across the realms - and certainly not unqiue to the Fyreen folk. With the absence of formal government, every Mortal society can be described as a tribe, a linked family of families, regardless of the place they inhabit or other circumstances. It has other names for other species - Clans, Lodges, Houses, etc. - it is just more obvious with Humanity. This family of families can be highly insular and wary of outsiders. Even in larger communities like San Francillieth, the tribal nature can be felt everywhere.

In truth, the Fyreen folk were not the first humans. Halfling Wits speak of two those primative humans species on Ulgrotha before: The Goliaths of Dauk and the Ogresh of Wozgor. These First-Men survived for many generations before the Second Coming of Men marked the changing of Ulgrotha, and free from the influence of Bael Turath. The Goliaths of Dauk eventually integrated seemlessly with many human tribes later on - but it was the Ogresh of Wozgor who eventually became the enemies of the Second Men.

Somehow the Ogresh of Wozgor went from river farmers and frog hunters to savage weapons released during the Godswar. They they worship pain as a sacred concept, because pain is ultimately on the side of life and it is the giver of strength. Pain warns one when they are hurt, when they are about to die, but it also pushes them to fight harder, to try and survive. Ogresh prize battle scars as near-sacred objects; nothing comes without sacrifice, and without a scar, the physical symbol of pain, for a victory is meaningless.

Genetic Ancestor(s)