Human

"Natives of Gothenya"

Humans are one of two species that naturally originated on Gothenya (instead of being summoned or created by its alien visitors called "gods"), the other being the Vess'ka. It is uncertain in which epoch humans came into their own, however it is believed that the Vess'ka predated them, at least as far as any form of organization or civilization is concerned. What is known is that the two species did not mix well. Humans being far more violent and expansionist than the relatively peaceful and introspective vess'ka. Plus humans propagated at a rate far higher than their insectoid neighbors. Wars broke out between the tribes of men and the "clutches" of the vess'ka. As warlike and provocative as the humans were, it turned out that the vess'ka were far superior in the art of combat, possibly due to their more advanced civilization. For a time, it seemed that the vess'ka might possibly defeat the human tribes so decisively that the entire species might have been in danger of extinction. It is upon this stage of zero-sum war that the gods entered the scene... The gods of Celene arrived with much fanfare. Their godly mountain home of Celene crashed down upon the land with such impact that it literally altered the landscape around it for regions, if not the entire continent of Hariel Majour. They sent forth their herlds, the titans, and cowering from these mighty beings, both humans and vess'ka fled. What happened next changed the face of the world for all time. The humans, though cowed, saw in the titans themselves. And indeed the giantkin did closely resemble them in many ways. The vess'ka had no such corollaries amongst the agents of the gods. So the humans supplicated themselves before the titans. And the titans, in turn, granted them their favor. This extended to something not unlike slavery, as the humans were thusly employed to work the lands for the titans, forming the cities of the "First Age" (predating even Lumeria). The vess'ka, valuing their freedom above all else (and seeing the writing on the wall), fled south and down. They entered the depths below the surface of the world, creating vast caverns beneath the sands of Hariel Minuta, while above, the humans toiled. What follows has been covered in the history of gothenkind, but in short the gods became enraged at the hubris and gluttony of their titans. In response they sent forth new emissaries to parlay with the human slaves, bringing them the means of revolution. These messgengers, the Vala Su'un, taught the captive men the ways of magic. It was in this time that the first truth about the Eret Si'Nu became clear. Human males, it seemed, had no affinity, no Potential, for the harnessing of magic. At least not without help from some otherworldly patron. Just when it seemed that the god's plan for man would fail, the Vala'Suun turned towards the female of the species. And here they found salvation. For women who had come of age proved to have ample "Potential" for "The Art." They quickly attuned to the Eret Si'nu, and finally, the seeds of rebellion were firmly planted. As you well know, the humans (along with their Sidhe mentors) were able to topple the titans through might born of numbers, as well as the magic of the fertile land. The titans fled north, those that survived, and are said to reside to this very day in the frozen marches of The Ultima Thule.

Human Characters

Humans, as in most games, can pursue any class option. However, those who decide to attempt the wielding of arcane magic must either be female, or have some form of inter-planar patron to assist them in the harnessing of the Eret Si'nu. This is not to say that woman cannot have patrons of their own, only that patronage is not necessary for them to access arcane spell-casting. Men do not have this freedom. This situation leads to a slightly more egalitarian society than that of our own medieval Earth. Women are necessary and powerful in a manner that is quite undeniable, much to the chagrin of certain power hungry men. Thus women maintain positions of power not seen in, and actually anachronistic to, historical "norms." Those who seek dominion over their fellow man would be foolish to ignore the vast trove of power accessible to the "other half" amongst their populace. It goes without saying that gender politics of Gothenya are quite complex. Even more-so than that of most fantasy (or even our own historical) worlds.