Race Information
Information thought up and written by Beta Type Jakuri, Wake, Alpha Type Shurelia and Mr. Baneling Squishy
The Undine ? written by Beta Type Jakuri
The Undine are a people born of the god?s Osael?s desire for companionship. Given that the existing world was mostly comprised of ocean and sea, Osael took to his whim and began to form into existence the first race of mortal sentient creatures?the Undine. Their birth is nothing spectacular, not at all, the Undine are a people who were formed and crafted from the aquatic life which already swam within the oceans on Edasler Bria. They were given intelligence, and Osael then turned to use his powers to form those life forms into a more pleasant image, in the image of himself and his fellow divine. A breed of humanoid fish were born as the end result, the Undine. Their top half looked like what would come to be called ?humans,? but where legs should?ve been, there were instead tails, just like a fish?s. There was no need for legs in a world mostly made up of water after all, and there was also no reason that the Undine ever needed to have a set of lungs. Just as fish did, the Undine breathed in water through gills, which were placed right over their ribcages.
As far as Osael was concerned, his created children were a wonderful race, they swam through the waters gracefully and were pleasing to look at, and even more that they admired him. The Undine clung onto him for dear life it seemed, he was revered and loved. Under the oceans, they served him for generations, never once questioning a thing about their existence or birth?instead; they were content to simply living as the servants of Osael.
The Undine were quite interesting creatures, because they were formed from the various forms of aquatic life which already subsisted in the oceans, their tails came in a variety of forms, some seemed to be sleeker, sharper and more agile, while some were gifted with flowing, beautiful fins. . . . Over time however, the varying traits of the Undine and their fish-like tails have vanished away, leaving them with rather sleek appendages and plainly colored scales. Osael gave to the Undine, a great blessing, the gift of spoken word. They were able to communicate and speak, and by his will, they were all granted the gift of music and song. Each one of the Undine could sing, or play an instrument for Osael?s enjoyment.
When the clash between Osael and his brothers occurred, due to their jealousy of him having such a race of people serving him, the Undine . . . underwent a change. They were beings suited for life under the waves, but when Scirr, Gsulin and Frena saw fit to wrench the seafloor up above the waters, a deal many of them died because they suffocated without their water to breathe, and became trapped on the raised land. Osael wound up grieving over the loss of his children, and forced them to undergo yet another few changes before he would leave them to their own, to live along with his brothers? other mortal races.
He gave the Undine yet another few gifts, ones instrumental in surviving a world of land and sea both. He granted them more than just song, speech and intelligence?he gave to them some of himself, some of his great powers. Each of his children became capable of manipulating the waters of the world through some means, each was different. His second new gift was the ability to transform one?s self. Because of how many Undine died when land was forced up above the waves, Osael made it possible for the Undine to change form from land to sea. When wet, an Undine would sprout their tail, gills and fins to prepare for diving into the water, while when they were dry, they would adapt with legs and lungs, allowing them to breathe the air. Transformation, however, would not be a pleasant experience. Not in the least, changing from one form into another would be a very painful and dismal experience, which is a root cause of why Undine are a bit of a rare find on dry land. That, and they have something of an ego complex that keeps them from wanting to bother with land since they are perfectly content underwater.
Within Undine mythos, it is heavily believed that Osael, at one point, was guilty of loving one of his children far more than his others, loving her enough to have with her a child. As time has marched by since Osael left the Undine, the resulting family who was born from the supposed child of Osael has become royalty?reigning over the most prominent of the Undine countries. Power is passed from father to son. . . .
Since Osael?s leaving, the language once commonly spoken and sung by the Undine people has fallen into disuse, it?s become a dead tongue and no one of the common folk knows it anymore. Though some words can still be found within normal everyday life, the fact remains that they are just another part of living, little more. Since this ancient tongue is the root of language and song for the Undine people however, knowledge of it is retained by the royal families who rule over the Undine countries. The family who is believed to be descended of Osael has a tradition within it, all children born of their blood are to learn the tongue and to be fluent within it. However, for mounting reason of pride and belief of divine descent, in recent generations it has also become illegal and wrong for one of royal blood to even speak or sing the language in front of one who is not of royal lineage. Doing so is considered taboo.
Those of royal descent though, they are taught a unique way to manipulate the water around them with, exclusive to they alone. This involves the use of their dead language, song, and Osael?s giving of part of himself. They sing of their feelings, and it will resonate with the water around them and allow the singer to do a variety of things, from harming another to healing. Even if this is not the singer?s intention, they are able to induce emotional responses from anyone who might be listening to them.
Since Osael?s leaving, Undine culture has flourished greatly. They?ve become a rather diverse people with an array of rich traditions and beliefs, they are people who let themselves be ruled by the ways of their past, of their ancestors rather than implementing new ways of subsisting. For countless generations, the Undine people have been divided into three main lines, and have formed into separate countries, each of which is ruled by a royal family, the reasons for the families branching off had to do with a conflict in which clan was the true heir of Osael?s blood, the child born of the God and his mortal lover. However, despite the fact that these people divided themselves long ago over a conflict, in recent years, this rather irksome and bitter topic has been lain to rest, and the three Undine countries get along quite peacefully and with little trouble.
It has come to be believed that the ruling family of Oceania?the largest and most successful of the three, are indeed the true heirs to Osael?s blood.
Though these three people came to be divided from one another long ago, a fact remains that their cultures are all indeed very similar to one another?s, the general patterns they follow in their societies are all based upon the same ideas and notions, for better . . . or worse.
The royal families all follow the same general idea of monarchy, of power being passed from father to son, from king to prince. In Undine culture, males are viewed superior and females are often treated as second-class citizens, they do not share the same rights or freedoms as males. This fact is one that greatly affects much of common life. Women are given only minimal education, they are expected to be only seen, never heard, and it is also a commonly held idea that the female gender does not hold the same intellectual capabilities as males. Work and thought are things women need not concern themselves with, because many think it would be too much for her to handle. Marriage is also expected of every woman at the age of sixteen. Once that date comes, a marriage is stitched together by her parents, a husband chooses from suitors, and a wedding placed together that would occur weeks later.
Following the marriage, the woman would end up submitting all freedoms and rights to the man she would wed. . . .
Because the Undine people are so laced in the ways of old and tradition, learned women are looked upon with disdain and scorn, a smart female is thought of only as a burden rather than a blessing. Often, if a woman is seen as being too smart or intelligent, offers of marriage are generally not given, and the daughter and her family will find themselves stuck with one another for the years to come.
Ladies of the royal families are slightly different from this though, they are granted chances and opportunities to learn that commoners are not. While they are not given a formal schooling as their brothers would, they still have access to countless texts and readings that they can indulge themselves in, and they are able to nourish their own minds. Still, it is not considered a good thing if a princess or any girl of royal blood asks too many questions . . . such things are not viewed pleasantly.
Also, such things as divination and soothsaying are considered very important to the ways of the Undine, and it is a cornerstone of their society. Often, whenever a new child of royal descent is born into the world, the family's denoted soothsayer will look upon them, and see what their futures hold. Good or bad. . . .
Some interesting features to note about the Undine are several varying facts which set them far apart from humans, even when they are in a landlocked form. For one, if an Undine is new to land, they are bound to be notable for clumsiness due to lack of experience with walking and such. There is also an undenible inhuman quality about them, and also, their hair is anything but the standard colors.
Also . . . it should be noted that if an Undine female is made to shed tears, that said tears will wind up changing into unusual gemstones that are almost like pearls, yet they are unlike most anything one can find within ore or an oyster.
The Salamander ? written by Beta Type Jakuri
Born of fire, and the God Frena, the Salamander are a rather interesting folk. They live with no rulers or a leader and instead they group together more as a clan than a society. In their groupings, those with power are the ones who are any sort of ?leader.? Wisdom and power are believed to go hand in hand. Unlike the other mortal races, they do not have a truly rich culture or society, rather, they live as their parent deity was believed too?free and off the land. They are nomadic, and are known to travel around Edasler Bria, living in harsh climates, and near volcanoes. They live carefree and happy for the most part, but a notable feature of the Salamander are their notorious temperaments. If one is angered, there is little one can do to calm them down, and all that can be done is to let that being get their rage out.
As what they are, the Salamander are a people whom were born of reptiles, those few who were born after land was wrenched from the waters of Edasler Bria?s oceans. In truth, they are rather human in appearance, and there is little which really gives them away as being non-human . . . when they aren?t angered of course. When they are calm, the most inhuman thing to be found upon the Salamander are slitted pupils within their eyes, along with rather vibrant shades of hair color and eyes. When angered or upset, that?s when the more inhumane aspects of their physical forms come to surface. Sometimes horns sprout from the head, talon-like claws grow from the fingers and toes, and at times, there are even indications of reptilian tails and wings. Like their parent God, the Salamander are beings who can conjure fire to their wills.
Life among these nomads is a simple one, despite their infamous tempers, the Salamander people are surprisingly lax in their ways and rarely let themselves get involved in the petty squabbles that plague others. They stick to themselves and prefer if others would do the same.
Unlike their fellow mortal races, the Salamander truly have led plain existences throughout history. In essence, they all meld together like one giant family. They are grateful to Frena for giving them life, but they observe their gratitude in a quiet fashion, they don't claim themselves superior to the other races on Edasler Bria, nor do they feel that way at all. Instead, they are content.
One interesting thing that there is note about the Salamander people is that in their constant travels and moving around the world, they have formed themselves into a rather well-known clan of tradesmen. In the times they've moved about the world, they have come across both rare, and interesting things, which they offer up in the markets they set up upon making a temporary home somewhere.
The Sylph ? written by Alpha Type Shurelia
The Sylph are the rulers of the sky. According to their legends, they were born from a feather shed from a fae's wing. The thought of being born from something as holy as a fae's wing tends to fill them with pride. As no other humanoid creatures are able to reach the skies, none can be as holy as the Sylph. They were the chosen ones.
Fae are the most holy beings to the Sylph. They are believed to bring strength as a blessing to those who meet them. Sylph believe that only they are capable of meeting fae because of how special they are. Sylph look down on the rest of the world. Seelie are the only fae that Sylph come across, as they move with the weather. If a Sylph were to meet an unseelie, they would refuse to believe it fae. Seelie are seen as angels and unseelie as demons to them.
Sylph are free-roaming bird-like people. They don't usually settle in one place for long, but tend to migrate from place to place. Depending on the weather and food supply, Sylph move around quite a bit. Common places for Sylph to build their temporary homes are in trees in the forest and on mountaintops.
Typically, Sylph put family first. They work hard to keep their clan as tight knit as possible. It isn't unusual for families to squabble and the clans to break off though. Different clans have different symbols that represent them. These symbols are on flags that the Sylph post outside of their homes. These flags alert any other Sylphs of who currently claims the area as their territory. Lone Sylph are typically welcome to stay in any clan's area for a time. If a lone Sylph likes a specific clan, they may be welcome to join it.
In early times, the Sylph fought the Gnomes. They believe the Gnomes to have been hunting the Sylph and killing them. Sylph could not see how such filthy land creatures could lack respect for them. Instead of worshipping the Sylph, as they felt they deserved, they were being killed. Because their kind was being killed off by the Gnomes, they had enough reason to fight back. However, the self-holiness the Sylph had made them feel all the more vengeful. All Gnomes had to be annihilated. Eventually the obsession with causing the Gnomes to be extinct forced them into hiding. As a result of winning this war, the Sylph were re-affirmed in the belief that they were holy creatures and their pride grew even more.
Later a second war was fought. This time, the Gnomes had special armor and weapons which they Sylph had never seen. The armor proved to protect from the furious claws of the Sylph and the weapons acted as claws to fight against them. However, the Sylph would forever have the high ground and they knew the lands better than any other. They saw it from above, where everything was visible. The gnomes resided in mountain caves where it would be much harder to destroy the homes. None the less, there were ways. The Sylph attacked the homes from the inside. No one was spared from the bloody attacks. As the Sylph killed every Gnome that resided inside, they could not fly very high because of the rocky ceilings. Many Sylph were also killed in the daring attacks on the Gnomes.
As time went on, more and more blood was spilled. Both Gnomes and Sylph recognized that the continuing blood spill would one day end both of them. With much reservation, they signed a treaty. The battle was over, but the relationship between Sylph and Gnomes would always be shaky. Sylph and Gnomes never seem to agree.
The Gnome ? written by Wake
Gnomes are a very short race of creatures, gaining their size from squeezing through the tunnels of their ancient subterranean cities. Despite their small stature, they have grown strong from centuries of tunneling and moving rock. The gnomes also have the unique gift of a powerful jaw and teeth, able to chew through bark and dirt. This, added with the gift of possessing power over rock and dirt, have given the gnomes excellent natural skill at mining and digging.
Gnome society is based on a class born hierarchy. Gnomes are born within a certain class depending on what their parents status in life was. If a son's father was a soldier, then the son would grow up to be a soldier. If a daughter's mother was teacher, then she was expected to grow to be a teacher. Crafts were taught from parent to child and instilled by the work they did as they grew. It is possible for gnomes to change their status if they were deemed useful in other areas (or in some rare cases believed unsuitable to picking up their parents' craft). For example, a smith's son or daughter who was good with numbers and measurements might get "promoted" to be a foreman on construction. This also affects monarchs, as if a king decides that none of his heirs are suitable, or if he finds someone more capable for the current times, then he can select someone new to become the new heir apparent for the throne.
Gnomes start labor at a young age, from something as simple as cleaning parts of the tunnels of fungi too gathering food from the farms. As they age they are given more complex tasks, most often taking up an apprenticeship in the particular duties their parents had. A beggar in a gnome society is virtually unheard of, as Gnomes are generally put to work somewhere.
Traditionally the gnomes are proud of their craftsmanship. As the first race to take up metal work and construct complex stone structures, they tend to have an industrial lead on other races. The amount of hustle and bustle in their daily lives tend to make the gnomes a rather lively race. Always moving, always working, always full of energy. Though a bit stubborn at times in their traditions, gnomes are a very hospitable race. With close communities and a respect for their neighbors, gnomes generally treat their guest with respect.
The Gnomes descended from a tribal society, based mostly in the forest and jungles at the feet of mountains. In the early days when the gods squabbled over the placement of mortals and their status in the world, the Gnomes came into conflict with the sylph over food and resources in the mountains. The gnomes blame the Sylph for forcing their underground migration, saying it was they that stole their game from the forest and provoked them to fight for their food. They had many battles over control of the mountains, making several attempts to drive the sylph away from the cliff faces, until the gnomes finally moved into caves under the mountains when the sylph?s advantage of flight proved too much at the time.
Their god Gsulin granted them a gift of strong teeth and jaws, which the gnomes used to chew their way through dirt below the ground. They were also taught magic to push and pull the stone and rock. Under the mountains the gnomes found metal, and according to them, they became the first smiths to shape steel. They donned it as armor and made hammers and axes and spears, and then they returned to the surface to meet the sylph above the mountains once more.
A second war was fought, this one more bloody and even matched. The armor allowed the gnome to weather the sylph attacks much better, and their mountain caves allowed them better security in their homes.
Still though the sylph had flight, and though the gnomes could defend their underground homes from counter attack much better, the mobility of the sylph kept them constantly out of reach for a final blow.
The Sylph, however, grew bold again, and tried to launch a daring series of assaults inside of the gnomes subterranean homes. The battles were more fierce then any before, battles ended in near genocide for both sides. The narrow halls of their cities too small to fit the sylph flocks, and with many gnome non-combatants caught between, battles became very close and frantic.
Finally, after so many dead were carried out the gnome king finally relented and arranged a peace treaty with the Sylph. The Sylph agreed and the war reach a final conclusion. Though the war ended the friction still existed between the gnomes and the sylph. This makes the sylph one of the few races that aren't immediately welcomed in their halls.
The Fae ? written by Wake and Mr. Baneling Squishy
Section written by Wake
The fae lords (the heads of the seelie and unseelie courts) are like lesser gods, embodying the seasons and slowly becoming connected to mortal emotions as more mortal races were added. As time went by extensions of themselves (the other, lesser fae) came into being, some of them splintering off and becoming mortal races of their own (the exiled races). Since the fae were supposed to embody emotions, they had a strong connection to cultural ties like song and dance. As such their powers mostly manifest in some form similar to an art, most commonly with music. Others can attribute their power to the connection of fortune and luck, be it be good or bad.
Because the fae lords were so connected to the mortals, they became the most active gods on the mortal world. Sometimes their extensions would take part in mortal affairs. Sometimes they would be helpful, sometimes they would be harmful. since the most mortal life on the planet was actually plants and animals, the fae tended to stick to forest and wild areas, sometimes venturing into civilized areas. Because they stuck to the wilds and were known to act strangely to mortal races they tended to garner the awe and fear of mortals.
Now since more and more races were joining the world the fae lords slowly became more powerful with time. originally there had been only one fae (Oberon, or the strange one) but as more mortals came to be it split into the four fae lords, and then spawn the lesser fae. This was because as more mortals came into being the more flux of emotions were born. Why the original fae decided to spilt himself is unknown, some say that because mortals were becoming so large (and by that fact his aspect becoming more prominent in the world) that he did so to prevent himself from growing more powerful then the other gods and destabilizing the balance of the world. The bodies he split himself into represented the seasons and states of being. Spring (birth, love) Summer (youth, audaciousness) Fall (aging, fear) Winter (death, sorrow). These four aspects were categorized into seelie (spring and summer) and unseelie (fall and winter), and became known as the fae lords.
A fact that is unknown to mortals, was that before Oberon split himself into the fae lords he had intervened at the end of the age of creation. He grew as the mortal races did, and watched their birth and evolution. And the felt the chaos inflicted upon the world by the gods. After Desclarr unleashed the humans upon the world and Oberon witnessed their destructive tendencies, he had felt that it was enough. Putting his foot down he boldly declared to the other gods that he claimed the mortals to be his 'realm' and disallowed the others to make further additions to the mortal species on the world. There was much opposition from the five involved, but he gained support from others that hadn't been a part of the age of chaos when he presented the shear amount of destruction that was being wrought from direct involvement.
Since the faerie clans are so connected to the mortal world they also know virtually all of their secrets. They can pick up on the scent of lies and feel when they are in love. They also act out some of the mortal desires, good or ill. It's said that every song every sung is remembered by the fae.
The most interesting part of the fae however is the fact that they can allow some mortals to join their ranks. As the mortal races grew so did the power of the fae and by that extension, did the power flow back slightly to the mortals, creating mortal magics. This in turn allowed the fae's powers to flow back into the mortals and allow the fae to prolong the existence of living creatures. This created knew breeds of fae in turn. These went by different names, depending on what kind of longevity they gained. This also allowed some fae to become mortal as well, but certain conditions needed to follow for either event to happen. Either way, those touch by the faes existence became stronger then most mortals. One of the most rare examples are those that are supposedly born with a stronger connection to the fae.
Section written by Mr. Baneling Squishy
Now, there are quite a few Fae offshoots of Humans. The first would be Werewolves, also known as Lycans. Werewolves have a sort of bond with that of a wolf, and allow for the physical transformation into a Human-Wolf hybrid. Werewolves are capable of switching between their wolf and human form at will, with the exception of the Full Moon. On the Full Moon, they are required to go into their Wolf state. Werewolves in human form have been known to keep some attributes in human form; however, this is usually mental or small, such as improved smell, hearing, or having the instincts of a Wolf. Occasionally it takes a physical manifestation, but that is very rare. There is even something which is more rare, which is someone who takes on both physical and non-physical attributes, such as hearing, smell, a tail in human form, and instincts, but these are so rare, it?s likely not to be seen in most people's lifetimes.
The second is Vampires. Despite the constant imagery that Vampires and Werewolves are opposites, they are actually similar. Vampires are also hunters. They have an usual taste for blood, and this blood heals them. (Note that this following bit is subject to change*) Vampires are also capable of using Blood-Magic. This requires a Sacrifice, but this magic can be very powerful, though the spell must be manifested in a small object, preferably in a Crystal.(*) Vampires will burn in the sun, unless they keep themselves well fed.
The third is called "Spirits". They are not actual spirits of anything, but tend to associate themselves with nature, with a sort of strong bond forced upon them to helping and protecting nature. Additionally, they will also try to protect the good that are around them, from anything evil or corrupt. They are not all good though, for some Spirits can be corrupted by greed, trickery, and such, making them Dark Spirits. Dark Spirits will attempt to turn nature against people of white hearts and true beliefs, going as far to try to kill them even.
The Humans ? written by Mr. Baneling Squishy
Desclarr created humans in her own image. At first, humans were simple, but Desclarr kept making changes, in an attempt to ensure that they were actually superior to the others. She wanted to spite the other gods creations, and if possible, spite the gods themselves.
She kept looking at them, and making improvements to their evolution and creation, until she finally got what she thought was perfect. Well, as close to perfect as she was happy with.
Now, even she didn't realize what she had truely made however. It did not take too long before humans had the occasional fight between each other. Instead of unifying, about 5 Human kingdoms rose up. They are called "The Old Five", and are "Tescar", "Versali", "Tento", "Bemming", and "Tai". These five ruled during what Humans call "The First Times", because they started recording history during this time.
However, soon after, The First War errupted, a Fight between Tescar, Versali, and Tento. While the cause of the war was never truly known, thanks to it being kept by the kings and lost by them as well, the soldiers still fought. During this battle, much blood was shed. Tento, being in between Tescar and Versali, was devastated. After the war was called to a truce, Tento did not recover, and became an area known as "The Plains". The great castle still stands, however. The Plains is essentially filled with Bandits however, and can be perilous.
However, soon after, with their rival Tento out of the way, The Tai Kingdom begun rapidly expanding for land. They sent settlers and such. However, they notably also were not providing adequate protection and such, nor were they supplying them as well as they promised. This caused a rift between the inner Tailands and the Outer Tailands. The Outer Tailands divided from the Inner Tailands, and became Martanth.
And obviously, this resulted in the Martanth/Tai Civil War. Tescar additionally came to the secret aid of the Martanth, in order to gain lands from the Tai. However, the Tai managed to successfully repel the attacks, but found itself unable to push into Martanth, having been equipped and fortified secretly by Tescar. The Martanth then built the great Castle Revlex, and made it the biggest and most complex castle to date.
However, The Tai still had much of the resources from before the war. They used these resources to advance in technology and science. They also became very isolated from everywhere else for a long time as well.
Meanwhile, Bemming also grew to massive size. It began to span so far, it was even infringing on the Salamander territory a little. Being a possible Timebomb, Versali sent its agents to divide the massive Kingdom. At this time, Versali had taken up a policy to neutralize threats through secret means first, such as Espionage or Theft. During this period, Versali had not had a single bloody conflict. Bemming was soon convinced it was against itself, and broke into 3 new countries, Hemming, Ventra, and Galgus. These new countries had their own bloody conflict of who got what, but eventually they worked it out.
This led to the 7 current kingdoms of Humanity, Tescus, Versali, Tai, Martanth, Hemming, Ventra, and Galgus. Tai and Martanth still have some bad blood for each other, and Hemming, Ventra, and Galgus all have a bit of distrust and hate for each other as well, but so far, for the last 20 years, a sort of peace was established.
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