Non-Humans in Arc
Arc, once the centre of the Aruhvian faith, has a complex relationship with non-humans. The Aruhviad preaches that the Fey were the product of the vanity and wickedness of a misguided Grace and for generations Arcites believed in this message and assumed that it applied to all non human peoples other than the Firg, who, the Aruhviad states, were created by the Keeper for the convenience of humanity.
These views are not shared by all human peoples, even in the Arclands, Hothians view the Fey, Firg, Jaraki and Chorale as part of the wider family of life in Hermia and the city is far more welcoming to non humans than Arc. In Wardenhal, humans and Firg view one another as equals and in Gol, a city born of mysteries, non-human contact is considered to be far from unusual.
In Arc itself, as the Aruhvian faith drifts into terminal decline, the citizens of the great metropolis are beginning to consider the world in other ways and the endless flows of trade from across the world have brought non humans to the city in ever greater numbers.
Arcites, like humans across Hermia, are pragmatic and cooperative when necessity demands it and in the past few decades have begun to adapt to the new realities of the post Sundering world. In poorer districts, non-humans are more likely to be found and to be accepted as part of the community.
Storm Row
The waterfront of Arc sees non-humans come ashore with some regularity. In the past two hundred years the amphibious Jaraki have become more frequent visitors as crew members on ships, many are hired along the Olorian coast and sail the great southern coastal route to Molvar, where they then board Molvari ships to Arc. The seafaring rodents, the Ryvviki, who are two feet tall at their highest and who also sail from the south can often be seen drinking, gambling and brawling at the docks. In the taverns of Storm Row, many are welcomed and their songs, stories and jokes make the Ryvikki entertaining guests. In other, more refined parts of the city they are viewed as pests.
Shadow Districts
Arc’s shadow districts, where the communities that live in the shadows of the Three Sisters are one of the most neglected and overlooked parts of the city. The poorest Arcites and those desperate to avoid being sent to the Oboline for their debts dwell here. Non-humans have a peculiar advantage in the Shadow Districts, as they are unable to acquire Arcish citizenship, cannot become debtors and are immune to the threat of the Oboline. As a result, a surprising number of small businesses once owned by Arcites now condemned to a life of debt slavery in the dark prison have passed into non human hands.
Tragul Khuze, the innkeeper of the Black Rock tavern on the corner of Trian Street and Tala Road is a case in point. Tragul is a Nurakai from the edges of the Red Waste, whose huge physical strength and martial prowess has ensured the tavern has remained in his hands. Because he wears a mask, as do all of his kind, it is impossible for most Human Arcites to know his non-human status. There are those that suspect, but none who dare to find out for sure. Tragul is careful to hide the existence of the Red Waste from the humans he interacts with, and he keeps an eye out for anyone he thinks might have followed him from the waste to the Mortal Realm.
Dures Road
The Dures Road is one of the few major thoroughfares in Arc where more pluralistic ideas about non-humans, magic and realms beyond the Mortal dimension can be entertained. The road is home to a series of discrete courtyards and squares that run off from its side streets called the Dyrithes. These ornate and little known spaces, which are served by small tea houses and hostelries have become safe spaces for all manner of dissenters and radicals over many centuries and are populated by humans who actively seek a better understanding of non human creatures, and non humans who for a variety of reasons need to maintain a low profile. Those inter dimensional creatures who have escaped servitude at the hands of Taeorian slavers, or who have attracted the attention of the Skargoline can find friends, connections and help here.
The foremost organisation dedicated to helping fugitive non humans is the Darkling Academy, led by the enigmatic former noble Jelsende Rothe, who has spent her family’s wealth creating the academy and who has earned the enmity of the city’s underworld.
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