Races of Heimland: Common People/Commoners

The common people are the predominant population of Heimland. Said to be descended from the Old Folk, they are the most human of the inhabitants of Heimland.
The commoners hold higher positions of power, maintain factories alongside machines and are generally a bit more respected since they descend from the Old Folk. They also maintain good relations with the Machines and Vedda. The common people currently reside in Thetmis and Disra.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Common people are the only extant members of the Old Folk still remaining, apart from the Vedda. They are characterized by erect posture and bipedal locomotion; high manual dexterity and heavy tool-use compared to other races; open-ended and complex language compared to other communications and a general trend toward larger, more complex brains and societies.

Genetics and Reproduction

No two common men, not even twins, are genetically identical. Most evidence supports a recent single origin of modern common people in Heimland with migrations placed at 60,000 years ago. Compared to the Folk, there is biological variation in the species with traits such as blood type, cranial features, eye color, hair color and type, height and build, and skin color varying across the Heimland. Commoner body-types vary substantially.

Growth Rate & Stages

The body types of common people vary substantially. The typical height of an adult common man varies significantly depending, among other things, on sex and ethnic origin. Body size is partly determined by genes and is also significantly influenced by environmental factors such as diet, exercise, and sleep patterns, especially as an influence in childhood. Adult height for each sex in a particular ethnic group approximately follows a normal distribution. Those aspects of genetic variation that give clues to common peoples' evolutionary history. For example, the genes that allow adult commoners to digest lactose are present in high frequencies in populations that have long histories of cattle domestication, suggesting natural selection having favored that gene in populations that depend on cow-milk. Some hereditary diseases such as Red-Eye are frequent in populations where sickness has been endemic throughout history, it is believed that the same gene gives increased resistance to sicknesses among those who are unaffected carriers of the gene. Similarly, populations that have for a long time inhabited specific climates, such as arctic or tropical regions or high altitudes, tend to have developed specific characteristics that are beneficial for conserving energy in those environments; a short stature and stocky build in cold regions, tall and lanky in hot regions, and with high lung-capacities at high altitudes. Similarly, skin color varies clinically with darker skin around the borders of Heimland where the added protection from the sun's ultraviolet radiation is thought to give an evolutionary advantage, and lighter skin tones closer to the center of the land.

Ecology and Habitats

The common peoples' ability to adapt to different environmental stresses is remarkable, allowing common people to acclimatize to a wide variety of temperatures, humidity, and altitudes. As a result, common people are a cosmopolitan species found in almost all regions of Heimland and The Tagaloa, including tropical rain-forests, arid deserts, extremely cold arctic regions, and heavily polluted cities. Most other species are confined to a few geographical areas by their limited adaptability.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Common people are omnivorous, capable of consuming a wide variety of plant and animal material. Varying with available food sources in regions of habitation, and also varying with cultural and religious norms, commoner groups have adopted a range of diets, from purely vegetarian to primarily carnivorous. In some cases, dietary restrictions in common people can lead to deficiency diseases.

Biological Cycle

Compared with other species, commoner childbirth is dangerous. Painful labors lasting 72 hours or more are not uncommon and sometimes lead to the death of the mother, the child or both. The commoner's lifespan can be split into a number of stages: infancy, childhood, adolescence, young-adulthood, adulthood and old-age.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Common people are highly social beings and tend to live in large complex social groups. More than any other race, commoners are capable of using systems of communication for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organization, and as such have created complex social-structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups. These groups range from the size of families to nations. Social interactions between commoners have established an extremely wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which together form the basis of commoner-society.

Facial characteristics

Generally bearded, with long sideburns and mustaches.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

All across Heimland and The Tagaloa

Average Intelligence

Generally regarded as more capable of higher-order activities, the brain of a commoner is believed to be more "intelligent" in general than that of any other species. While technology of other races, such as machines is greater in creativity and ingenuity, commoner technology is vastly more complex, and is constantly evolving and improving through time.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

There is nothing truly unique about the common people, except their relation to the Old Folk.

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Lowtalk and Lowertalk, versions of the High-Talk spoken by the Old Folk.

History

It is said that the Old Folk separated into two groups thousands of years ago, one group would stay in the cities and become the common people and one would go of into the forests and become the Vedda.
Common people have maintained friendly relations with the neighboring Yea'haa'weh and were the first race to make use of the machines. Commoners have existed for close to 60,000 years and have since gained much control over Heimland, being the most populous race on the island.
Commoners that wander off too far are normally taken by bandits and sold to Indagarians and Surakh for their sacrificial ceremonies. This is why commoners tend to live in big groups, with loners rarely surviving.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Races of Heimland: Vedda

Scientific Name

Homo-Intelligentes

Origin/Ancestry

The Old Folk

Lifespan

70 years

Average Height

Between 1.4 and 1.9 m (4 ft 7 in and 6 ft 3 in)

Average Weight

Between 54-64 kg for females and 70-83 kg for males.

Average Length

172 cm (from tip of nose to tip of outstretched leg)

Average Physique

Common people, unlike most of the other races, lack external tails, have several blood-type systems and have longer opposable thumbs. One difference between the races of Heimland is that common people have a far faster and more accurate throw than other races, except machines. Common people are also among the best long-distance runners in Heimland, but are slower over short distances. Their thinner body-hair and more productive sweat-glands help avoid heat-exhaustion while running for long distances.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Skin color of common people ranges from light to dark, depending on location in Heimland.