Humankind

Humans in the Wyrld are many and varied, having expanded across the continent very quickly. Within a period of less than two millenia humans have changed from squatters in an alien world to the empire builders of the land.

Humans like to point to their adaptability as the trait which enabled this, but other species point to ruthlessness and a fecund nature. Of all the other species known, only some of the goblin species breed as quickly as humans, and those face fierce competition amongst themselves, something humans have not been faced with until the last few hundred years. Since the collapse of Niellenor humans have spread from Darisia into the east and founded new empires, as well as the nations that have grown up from the fragments of that great kingdom. As expected, human expansion has since ceased.

As a species humans are not noted for talent in any particular area, but this is merely an expression of their ability to pursue many avenues at once. Certain subraces have a noted predilection for various skills, as noted.

Humans are the suggested PC race.

Physical Nature and Appearance

Humans show great outward variety, a feature that sages have linked to their short generations. Most humans range in height between just under five feet, and six and a half feet. Hair ranges a spectrum of darkness, but usually has little in the way of hue. Blonde through brown and black are common, with the occasional red hair among the northern races being common. Eyes are usually of the aquarian colors, being blue, green, or brown at the darkest. Unlike most of the other known species, humans exhibit large racial differences.

The most common race of humans in Darisia has a slight duskyness to the skin, and tends towards darker eyes and hair. These people are often labelled "durbers," borrowing a term from High Niellenorian whose meaning is since lost.

Durbers populate most of southern Darisia. The Estovians are a strange mix from their time in the north, commonly having dark hair but light eyes. The combination has been said to make them look like hawks.

The Vaelsh are as different from Durbers as one can be. Vaelsh legend credits the blood of their gods for their superior size and form, though their superiority is certainly self-applied and by no means accepted by all.

The northmen do tend to be a bit larger than those from the south, and also exhibit the lighter tones of skin, hair, and eyes. Stereotyped as warriors and sailors, the Vaelsh race is labelled as much by the culture of that nation as any real racial characteristics.

Other races are much less common in Darisia, but are common and even dominant in the East. Men with skin much darker than the Durbers are common in Thule, composing about half of the population there. Amazingly enough, the mageocracy of Thule has created a society that is almost completely race blind, ranking people according to their magical potency and little else.

The empire of Turgammon sprawls to the north of Thule, and it is there that racism sees its complete expression. A person's life style is dictated by the accident of their birth, for each House has a place in society and a man's fortunes rise and fall with it. The Great Houses are all Turgi, a race of uniformly light skin, and possessing epicantic folds that sometimes give their eyes a slanted appearance.

Most of the population of this nation is Turgi, and those who are not are commonly bound into slavery at the slighest offense, real or imagined, against the law.

Certain physical characteristics are common across all races. Human males tend to be taller and more muscular than females by about five inches, averaging just under six feet (183 cm). Pregnancy lasts for nine months, and after birth the child grows extremely quickly. Humans reach physical maturity between sixteen and twenty years of age, and mental maturity as much as a decade later.

Social Structure

Unlike many other species, which generally hold on one enclave, humans have spread across the face of Darisia and beyond. As such they have a much more varied social structure than other species. There are a few things which seems to be common across all human societies.

Humans almost always have a strong social class system, though the means of establishing the classes vary from nation to nation, including wealth, physical might, and birth castes. Inevitably the most advantaged class rules, often with the specific goal of maintaining its own status and rulership. Though this form of government and class system is often viewed as despotic by other species it is exactly this system which allows human nations to support ever growing populations and urges them to spread to the far corners of the continent.

Striving is the one thing which unites all humans. Whether the goal is power, wealth and fame, or some more philanthropic endeavor, humans strive for their goals and die for them. Tales of valiant death and noble sacrifice are abundant among humans, but almost unknown to other species. These stories are evidence of the powerful emotions of humans. Though these emotions sometimes lead to mob mentalities, they also allow humans to perform to extreme levels when under duress. As such, humans are the most common species among adventurers and risk takers by far, even more so because of their societal ability to support large population.

Ethics/Morality

The elven sage Keail has noted that humans seem to possess no ethic at all, aside from enlarging the wealth of themselves and their progeny. Though his assertion was correct for a large fraction of humankind, it falls short for many others.

The quickness with which humans form emotional attachments to themselves and others leads to startling acts of kindness and aid which seem illogical or lunacy to other more thoughtful races. The same human who won't give a hundredth of his days earning to a beggar will give his life to save a favorite pet. Such acts baffle philosophers of other species, and even many human thinkers, but the truth is actually quite simple. Humans go to great lengths for the things which are central to their lives, and generally ignore or avoid things they find unimportant. The trick is in discovering which things each individual finds important.

Language

Human languages vary across a large spectrum, being far beyond the point of being dialects of a single language. Within the bounds of Darisia at least three human languages are spoken. Niellin is the language of southern Darisia and the countries that are descended from the kingdom of Niellenor. The Vaelsh speak their own tongue, as do the nomads of the Pellenji highlands. Riemen tend to be multi-lingual, speaking a local dialect of Niellin as well as Vaelsh.

Vaelsh is a guttural tongue, and people who learn this language young have a much easier time learning the language of the dwarves and rock trolls that live in the northern reaches of Darisia.

Niellin is a language of strict grammar and easy pronunciation. Its large vocabulary makes it suitable for trade and so it slowly spreads east from Elloria into Thule. The language bears no relation to any other language in the Wyrld, positing some sages to propose that it might be the original human tongue. Other sages scoff at the idea of one original language.

Interestingly enough, all Darisian languages share the same written alphabet.

In the east two major languages are known, both with many many dialects. Turgi is a sing song language with many nasal inflections and intonations that makes it impossible for most foreigners to ever speak fluently.

Maesh'ta is the language of Thule, and it is a young language as languages go. The spoken tongue is a bit older than the nation of Thule, but the written alphabet was not created until nearly a century after the founding of Marash. It is a tricky tongue at first, but learning becomes much easier once one has learned the knack of it.

Homelands/Dwellings

The most obvious of human dwellings are their cities, which come in all sizes. The sprawling cities of Marash and Coresh contrast with the outpost cities like Juurd and the nomadic camps of Pellenji and Vaelsh loggers.

Humans have spread across Darisia and the East, living in almost every climate. As such their dwellings vary greatly depending upon culture, climate, and available resources and wealth. Outside of cities humans typically build sprawling buildings, adding on as the need arrives. Within the confines of cities humans commonly build up, constructing homes and shops several stories in height.

Another invention which humans have taken to a new height is the building constructed purely for defensive purposes. Most major cities, and many other strategic points, are guarded by a large castle, tower, or other defense. The Great Wall in Thule is the epitome of such a structure. The huge stone edifice, larger even than the High Road in Darisia, walls off the Dread Moor and its undead inhabitants, granting a measure of rest and safety to the defenders of that empire's western front.

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