Races

[The Adversary]

Races

Human - Humanity, like all species, was born of the gods' will. Unfortunately, the truth behind this fashioning has been lost to the ages. Furthermore, no god or gods have come forth to claim them as their creation. It has since fallen to scholars and priests to debate the theories postulated about how humankind was born. They are, through various means, by far the world's dominant species. Motivated by a stern will and a decent helping of greed, humanity has spread far beyond their traditional demesne. Even in lands where nothing had taken hold, humans colonized and made it livable.

Elf – Once a mighty race commanding a vast empire, fatally xenophobic leanings led to the dissolution of elven liberty in favor of human imperialism. Elves, in general, are slightly shorter than humans on average. While most can live from between fifty to even two hundred years longer than humans, and are physically weaker. They are most iconically set apart, of course, by their pointed ears and fair features. Sédalian elves are regarded as being the most similar to human, though set apart by their universally blue-white eyes. Due to their status as a client state and culture of Batheon, they are also the most fairly treated elven ethnicity on the planet. Most other elves face various forms of racism, up to and including slavery. Because of their frailer physicality, they are best suited to more servile tasks. Those elves yoked into hard physical labor experience dramatically shorter life spans. Because of this divide, Sédalian elves face persecution even from their own kind. Oddly enough, they are numerically the minority in their own homeland, but the largest by ethnic group. It is also worth noting the irony of their plight. Their ancestors had set out to eradicate humankind, but in the end they nearly suffered the end of their own race.

Mermaid – One day, a very long time ago, Essus, god of the sea, noticed a beautiful young woman wading through the shallows. Consumed by lust, he immediately stole her away for himself. The goddess of the earth, enraged by the theft of a being who dwelt in her sphere, sought to retrieve the girl. Thus, the gods of earth and sea battled over the mortal in contest to claim her. The conflict was so tumultuous that the world as mortal knew it was very nearly ended as a result. Deciding to put an end to the quarrel, the other deities intervened and mediated a compromise. The woman's time was to be divided between the land and the sea. For half of a year she would dwell on land, and for the duration of the other she would live within the sea. From this coupling came the race known as mermaids, ubiquitously beautiful sirens who live in tribes throughout all known waters across the world. However, unlike their ancient mother, they are not bound to return to dry land. Rather, it is a choice for them, and upon venturing from the water their tails transform to human legs. They ardently worship Essus above all other deities.