Human
In almost all records containing tales of the Humans, they are perceived as adaptable and diplomatic, mediating the often insurmountable differences between the painfully unalike races of the world, bringing them together in one cohesive alliance that defiantly contradicts all stereotypes. If you have talked to any Human, you know this to be entirely false and likely fabricated or at least an unintentional side effect, for it is actually the Kobolds that truly deserve the honor of being called the "ambassadorial" species. Standing at an average of 5'8" and weighing 190lbs, they can be found in any town, city, region, or realm imaginable. At the source of any racial ideal, within movements dedicated to evangelical crusades against "filth", you will almost certainly find a skinless ape leading the charge, leveraging their twisted conceptions of the world in speech craft.
While charismatic indeed - perhaps being the sole race to know precisely what makes another "tick" and weaponizing such knowledge without second thought - Humans always seek the secrets to power and are never above throwing their so-called "allies" under the proverbial bus to attain their lofty goals. Strangely enough, if you converse with them, you will find they truly believe in their cause, their mind warped by the hundreds of self-fulfilling prophesies formulated by the same, though never progressing with ill-intent. With a group or alone, they will stake out into the wilderness in search for what should never be discovered: ancient relics, mysterious treasures, and the horrors of the deeps, for it is within their nature and being to find and understand the monsters beyond the realm. And what's more, there's reason and cause to their madness, an origin very few would have ever expected: they are Demonic constructs. Forged in the fires of the Immortal Realm, humanity finds more relation and common ground with their decadent Demon creators than any other species of the Old World despite quite literally being made to interact and merge with all manner of societies and civilizations.
They are mentally predisposed to insanity, unconsciously pressured into locating other-worldly knowledge and artifacts often detrimental to their health for the sake of satiating that insistent drive to "uncover the truth", never feeling complete without knowing what's really out there. This was a design intention of the Demons as they would have it, forcing the Humans to perhaps locate "beacons" or forbidden tomes that would allow for a smooth invasion of Demons into the Mortal Realm. Such feats are typically not possible alone, though other races are at least sensible enough to figure out that pursuing dark arts is perhaps not the best idea; but not the Humans. They are the most likely species to found religious orders or occultist organizations hellbent on spreading or finding the "truth", pretentiously forcing their beliefs onto other races regardless of resistance. Like all things, this was also a design intention on behalf of the Demons for the same reason as before.
Additionally, they are also the only race to be fully compatible with reproducing with virtually any other humanoid regardless of their genetic differences, able to produce offspring that are usually independent members of either participating race, or a rare mutation of the two. This same functionality is what makes them popular servants of Immortals everywhere, not just their Demon masters, and it is this single artificial race that allows for species such as Tieflings and all the breeds of half-races to exist. They are always searching for answers, always searching for eldritch beings and knowledge, always heeding the call from beyond, and they couldn't care less if it will cost them their life to finally know what drives them so. As a Meridii species, they were one of Astralshaper's initial chosen follower races, having enlisted the aid of the human-dominated Greater Coven in her conquest of the Old World. However, they proved to be troublesome and insubordinate, always finding their own way in life, often to the detriment and disadvantage of the goddess of night. Today, Humans thrive in environments where they can exert their natural tendency for control, preferring structured Houses whose laws obligate their subsidiaries into action, though allowing enough room to rise through the ranks. They often align with the regimented ideals of Violet Clouds or Melide, occupying positions of potential and veering far away from menial labor, seen in professions like as soldiers, envoys, alchemists, administrators, and of course priests and vicars.
Humans have always suffered from lack of variation, built to withstand genetic alterations and being hardy and resilient to any environmental change. But even with all of these features, what few ethnicities they did have before the Wastes have succumbed to the cramped living conditions wrought by Evening, reducing their species to two surviving sub-races:
While charismatic indeed - perhaps being the sole race to know precisely what makes another "tick" and weaponizing such knowledge without second thought - Humans always seek the secrets to power and are never above throwing their so-called "allies" under the proverbial bus to attain their lofty goals. Strangely enough, if you converse with them, you will find they truly believe in their cause, their mind warped by the hundreds of self-fulfilling prophesies formulated by the same, though never progressing with ill-intent. With a group or alone, they will stake out into the wilderness in search for what should never be discovered: ancient relics, mysterious treasures, and the horrors of the deeps, for it is within their nature and being to find and understand the monsters beyond the realm. And what's more, there's reason and cause to their madness, an origin very few would have ever expected: they are Demonic constructs. Forged in the fires of the Immortal Realm, humanity finds more relation and common ground with their decadent Demon creators than any other species of the Old World despite quite literally being made to interact and merge with all manner of societies and civilizations.
They are mentally predisposed to insanity, unconsciously pressured into locating other-worldly knowledge and artifacts often detrimental to their health for the sake of satiating that insistent drive to "uncover the truth", never feeling complete without knowing what's really out there. This was a design intention of the Demons as they would have it, forcing the Humans to perhaps locate "beacons" or forbidden tomes that would allow for a smooth invasion of Demons into the Mortal Realm. Such feats are typically not possible alone, though other races are at least sensible enough to figure out that pursuing dark arts is perhaps not the best idea; but not the Humans. They are the most likely species to found religious orders or occultist organizations hellbent on spreading or finding the "truth", pretentiously forcing their beliefs onto other races regardless of resistance. Like all things, this was also a design intention on behalf of the Demons for the same reason as before.
Additionally, they are also the only race to be fully compatible with reproducing with virtually any other humanoid regardless of their genetic differences, able to produce offspring that are usually independent members of either participating race, or a rare mutation of the two. This same functionality is what makes them popular servants of Immortals everywhere, not just their Demon masters, and it is this single artificial race that allows for species such as Tieflings and all the breeds of half-races to exist. They are always searching for answers, always searching for eldritch beings and knowledge, always heeding the call from beyond, and they couldn't care less if it will cost them their life to finally know what drives them so. As a Meridii species, they were one of Astralshaper's initial chosen follower races, having enlisted the aid of the human-dominated Greater Coven in her conquest of the Old World. However, they proved to be troublesome and insubordinate, always finding their own way in life, often to the detriment and disadvantage of the goddess of night. Today, Humans thrive in environments where they can exert their natural tendency for control, preferring structured Houses whose laws obligate their subsidiaries into action, though allowing enough room to rise through the ranks. They often align with the regimented ideals of Violet Clouds or Melide, occupying positions of potential and veering far away from menial labor, seen in professions like as soldiers, envoys, alchemists, administrators, and of course priests and vicars.
Humans have always suffered from lack of variation, built to withstand genetic alterations and being hardy and resilient to any environmental change. But even with all of these features, what few ethnicities they did have before the Wastes have succumbed to the cramped living conditions wrought by Evening, reducing their species to two surviving sub-races:
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