Humans

Adaptable and industrial, humans have been one of the most populous of the mortal races in the world. On Lasair, they built a wide-ranging empire - which was wiped out in the Dragonscourge - only to begin rebuilding new cities after some centuries of scraping out an existence. Today, humans native to Lasair make up most of the population of the City-States Region - and those from abroad built the southern city of Almina on Mina'Satie Bay.

This article details the human populations native to the Lasair continent. As other human populations are added to the world, links will be included on this page.

• Mina'Satie Bay

History

The origin of humans - in fact of most mortal species - is unclear. They may have arisen during the chaotic aftermath of the fall of the Giants, or from some confluence of magic during the Age of High Magic when Dragons and Elves were the dominant species of the world. While the earliest details are hidden in the past, what is known to a handful of dedicated historians is that approximately fifteen hundred years ago, a number of cities had arisen on the eastern portion of Lasair. These cities banded together under the rule of a powerful family, forming an Empire that grew to span much of the continent. For five centuries, this empire was the dominant force across the lands of Lasair, even as scattered Elven cities remained floating in the sky.
After the destruction of this empire - along with most of the land it had existed upon - during the Dragonscourge, much of humanity was scattered. Ragged bands of survivors ranged across the shattered and changed lands, seeking out new homes. As generations passed, some small numbers made their way to the western coast of the continent. Where the land had once been marshy and flooded, it had dried out after tidal patterns changed as a result of cataclysms during the great war.
As small bands of humans entered into this coastal region, they settled, building small camps that grew into communities and into cities. Inevitably, conflicts arose, but after the threat of a war between most of the growing cities was stopped through the arrival of the Mages, the region settled into a peace that has lasted until this day.

Society

City Life

Humans on Lasair almost entirely live within the City-States Region, either inside of or surrounding the towns and cities along the coast. The society of the region varies from city to city, but most of the cities are structured around some form of economic activity and those living in and around a given city are expected to contribute in return for living standards of varying levels. Some of the cities have a tradition of supporting what they tend to refer to as "high culture" (the arts or the Virtues) as well, seeing it as a way to elevate the status of their city.
For the wealthy, life in the cities is relatively comfortable as it is easy to acquire the essentials of life and only moderately more difficult to find luxuries. The power of coin can move much within the City-States, and as long as one does not cross the dictates of the Mages, few cities have laws that put practical limits upon the reach of nobles and merchants when it comes to the movement of gold.
For workers, city life is dirty and hard, but generally secure. While working as a laborer for a merchant is not very rewarding, the work is often consistent and long-lasting. All of the cities have a strong trade guild which helps maintain fairness between merchants and workers, while ensuring stability for those same workers.
Outright poor individuals do exist within each city - those unable or unwilling to work exist everywhere - and their lot depends much upon the city they are present in. The Order of the Virtues maintains a charitable presence in many cities, with a temple offering food and shelter. In others, city guard will harass and eject the abject poor, resulting in ramshackle dwellings clustering around remote portions of the city wall or further afield.

Country Life

Not all humans live within the cities, however. Small farms and lumber harvesting settlements dot the region, and the occasional inn for travelers lays aside the major roads between the cities. Some of these are populated by folk that chose to leave the cities, but most of these small dots on the map are simply home to families that have existed on that land for a couple of centuries. Farmers tend to life isolated lives and are commonly distrustful if not outright frightened of outsiders - especially "odd types".
For most farmers, life is simple subsistence, growing sufficient food to live off of and occasionally trading surpluses to acquire other life necessities. Farming - especially in the City-States Region - is difficult work and not particularly profitable unless able to grow very specific crops. When a crop is profitable, its growth is often controlled by powerful merchants from a nearby city. The rare exception are the coffee and chocolate farms near the Shifting Jungle, as the unpredictable and dangerous nature of this farming makes it too risky for merchants to want to invest. Instead, the city of Surtor maintains a trade quarter where farmers from the edges of the jungle come to sell their wares to processors for a pretty bit of coin.
There are very few ways for those raised in farming to find fortune, though the Mercenary Guild always stands as a way for young folk disinterested in their parents' farms to find regular pary In fact, more than one farming family has encouraged some of their children to join the Guild as a way to bring coin back to support the farm.
The other common sight seen in the countryside of the City-States Region are inns. Trade between cities moves almost exclusively along the major roads of the region, and trade wagons move fairly slow even along these routes. Trips can easily take multiple days - especially between the north and south - and inns have dotted up at regular intervals along those routes. Large buildings, constructed from local materials and often designed to resemble important landmarks in the area or to honor significant attributes of the nearest cities, the largest of these inns can host dozens of travelers in a range of accommodations ranging from bunk halls to luxury bedrooms. The smallest offer a handful of beds - enough to perhaps sell shelter and food to a single traveling group but not much more.
Inkeepers by their very nature tend to be much more outgoing in their personalities than farmers and much more cosmopolitan in their consideration of outsiders. Some inns are even run by retired adventurers or soldiers, who had been exposed to much of the region and beyond, and will share tales of far-flung parts of Lasair if you buy a drink or two.

Trading Life

While the economy of the City-States focuses upon the major cities, the true wealth of the region results from the movement of goods and resources between them. A ironworker in Altor cannot produce anything without a supply of metal from Aratosa; a fruit distributor in Mytos cannot get rich without the goods coming down the lifts from the Fertile Lands. Those goods have to get to where they are going for gold to change hands.
Enter the traders: people dedicated to driving carts between the cities of the region, moving resources and products between them to allow money to be made. Some traders run a regular route between two locations to make predictable coin; others move from city to city seeking out risky opportunities to make a bigger deal. Carrying the air of an adventurer - but with significantly less risk - these latter traders often enjoy their up-and-down fortunes, celebrating successful ventures with just as much cheer in a tavern as explorers returning from the wilds with new secrets and treasures.
A not-insignificant amount of trade moves up and down the coast on ships. While this is a factor of trade, the sailors that ply those routes are more akin to merchants themselves than traders, only their business is their ship. They will take contracts to move goods (and people) along the coast, where they will be offloaded to traders who will continue their journeys inland - or to other merchants when landing in coastal cities. These ships will even carry traders who are moving between far-flung areas with their own goods, for example between Mina'Satie Bay and Kolar-Malara.

Adventurers

Rarest of all within the City-States are the Adventurers. The region is but one small slice of land along the western coast. Other than the Fertile Lands, much of the continent is largely unexplored by humans. There is much to draw those with curiosity and wanderlust, whether long-forgotten artifacts of ancient civilizations, rare magical reagents harvested from elementals, or exploring ruins dotting the foothills of the mountains around The Great Plateau.
Adventurers will also frequently find work as guards for traders and explorers visiting exotic lands. There is a small amount of overland trade between Almina and the north, and Mages will often seek out forgotten knowledge in places ranging from the Tempest Reefs to The Desolation. A steady sword arm or a skilled healer can often find a chance at riches through the right job.