Race in Alemi

Race & Race Relations in Alemi

In a world of many species, with a rainbow of hues available in most of them, race is a far more nuanced issue in Alemi than we may be used to.
Sure, dark skinned Halflings may have issues with the pale blonde halflings of The Aven Caliphate, but at least they don't have tails, right? I mean, that's not fair--halflings, at least in public, love everyone. But you get the idea.
In general, citizens of Mizra'aki get along to get on, united in the more mundane concerns of staying alive and avoiding being collateral damage when some fool of a Wizard casts Fireball and misses their target.
But there are some exceptions, both in terms of alliances and outright conflict. You will see these woven into many country listings, and some of the more impactful of them are listed below.

The Other Other Races

Currently, the census of Alemi only covers what are considered the most significant races. However, these are not the only societies and civilizations present in the world, or on the continent of Mizra'aki. There are lizardfolk, bugbears, firbolgs, and other creatures that exist in everything ranging from small tribal cultures to presences in the great population centers.
There is growing political activism among these races, resulting in--for the first time--their being included in the currently concluding census.

Alliances, Partnerships, and Friendships

Dragonborn

It's really dangerous to make the race with massive breath powers the outcast. As such, nearly everyone either loves, or at least respects, the Dragonborn.
There are stereotypes about this race--that they are inscrutable, that they cannot be ruffled, that they don't even have emotions. Clearly, none of these are accurate, yet their manifestation in social interactions can be quite impactful.

The Free States of Myr

The Free States of Myr, comprised of Laeth, Kytosia, and Toniyll, were formed in direct reaction to a growing intransigency amongst the Elven nations to their east--especially Nyria and Thasia--towards the other races of Alemi.
As such, the Free States are more diverse than most of the rest of Alemi, and are among the few nations to have legal rulings in support of an open and diverse society.

Tensions, Conflict, and Warfare

Half-breeds

It's a thoroughly impolite term, but the issue is real. Half-Elves and Half-Orcs each suffer from suspicion from some quarters, seen as not belonging to either humanity or their other racial type.
For Half-Elves, it is often a question of passing--since half-elves usually inherit the physiognomy of either Elves or Humans, they can often pass unnoticed in one of the two worlds, although close scrutiny, especially by someone overtly searching for racial markers, will usually find them out.
Of course, passing is a difficult and oppressive state, underscoring the incompatibility of their identity within their current context. There are also areas (see the Free States of Myr above) where Half-Elves are welcome and celebrated.
Half-Orcs that appear more orcish have a more difficult time in some ways: orcs remain a violent threat to many societies, so distrust of them is a reasonable reaction for many. Particularly orcish half-orcs may take to shaving off all of their body and facial hair or even to filing down their tusks.
The Half-Orc community itself is conflicted in these practices: while the Pauji'igi movement, which promotes the positive side of their orc traditions (think of the various orcish and half-orcish shamanistic traditions) glorifies orcish beauty--including tusk and tusk decoration--it has also been accused of prejudice against Half-orcs whose general build and hue deviate more strongly from human norms, or the particular range of acceptable greens.

Slavery

See Lōka Matribuni for a summary of the complex issue of Lōka slavery. This is the basis of some of the suspicion with which the Matribuni is viewed by their immediate neighbors.

The Tiefling Question

Look, Tieflings are, literally, demon-spawn. There's no denying it. The question is how many generations need to pass, full of perfectly productive and occasionally heroic members of society before that deep history is overlooked?
The origins of the Tieflings dates back well over 10,000 years. Yet, some still view them with deep distrust because if it. The horns and tail--fetishized by many--are seen as evil by a few, and there are a steady report of occasional acts of retribution, where Tieflings are savagely attacked.
These pogroms are more likely historically in urban areas than the rural parts of Alemi, with academics theorizing that cities are more susceptible to the creation of mobs than most parts of the countryside.

The Wars of the Small

Essentially a religious war, The Wars of the Small were a series of bitter conflicts between the Gnomes and Dwarves of Hotria and Eastfall.
Elsewhere in Alemi, even as close as the region between Anat and Ithamel in neighboring Olexia or the northern parts of Glyppe, Dwarves and Gnomes get on fine, often collaborating in issues of architecture and civil engineering. But on the Lake Sanniyati itself, the memories of the violence run deep.