Humans

Human endeavors can seem so selfish and futile - haste, ambition, and greed drive them to try and leave a mark before their brief lives pass away. But then you look at what they have accomplished, and you have to acknowledge their achievements.
-Unknown. Elvish quote regarding Humans

Age	Humans typically live well under a century.
Language	Common, Others
Important Characters	King Albert the Chosen, see important characters

Humans of Viridian

Humans are the main species occupying Vir

idian, and although the longevity of their lives seem short compared to others, they make up for it with their diversity, courage, ambition, and ingenuity. Humans live in towns and cities, in the countryside as farmers, travelling the lands as nomads, in the wilderness or mountain range as hermits... if you can imagine a place you'll likely find at least one human living there. They are warriors, they are scholars, they are merchants, they are poets, they have families, they are great architects and engineers: each one trying to create meaning in their short lives.

In Viridian, the humans divide themselves between nobility and common folk. The noble families have ruled Viridian for hundreds of years, and for hundreds of years have battled for supremacy in Viridian unconcerned with the world outside of the island. Recently unified under King Albert the Chosen, the current alliance is still fragile. Nobility is typically determined by bloodline, but the Mercenary King has shown power can be attained by those with enough ambition, means, and drive. The nobles rarely associate with the common folk.

The Northerners

No one knows where the Northerners originally come from, but they began making their way through the Icy Pass hundreds of years ago. A barbaric group of humans, the Northerners arrived carrying unusual longships to raid, pillage, and devastate the northern lands of Viridian. These humans are larger in height, none shorter than six feet, and sturdier in frame. The men grow massive beards similar to dwarves, and their women wear intricate piercings. They speak a language that sounds orcish and guttural, but many have learned the common tongue.
Over two hundred years prior, thousands of Northerners attacked Viridian making their way south as far as the Aurium River. The warrior Balvjiark, said to be the great great aunt of Queen Astrid, led a surprise attack by an army of widowers and old men, cutting straight through the Northerner's ranks, killing their general, and splitting the army into fragments, which allowed for the defeat of the Great Northerner Army. Balvjiark died in this battle and in her honor, Balvjiark's Keep was built at the edge of the Icy Pass to protect Viridian from any future Northerner incursion. Since then, Balvjiark's Keep has been the capital of Queen Astrid's family's province to show the people that her noble family will always be on the frontline as a bulwark to protect their peace. Nowadays, there are rarely bands of more than thirty Northerners and after generations of war and marriages, Queen Astrid’s people have begun to physically resemble the Northerners more than the people of Viridian.

The Mercenary King's Men

Your eyes would have you believe that the ocean is blue, but fill a glass with the same water and hold it in the light that water is clear. Yet even with that clarity, you can stare endlessly at the ocean and not see the beasts that hide in its depths. - The Mercenary King

Much like the mercenary King, when they are in public the men and women from his country will often wear a plain robe and shawl covering their armor and vestments. Originally, they arrived wearing robes that were deep indigo and light shades of brown, but they have taken to dying these robes deep greens and dark browns to better camouflage themselves amongst Viridian. Underneath these robes they wear armor, jewels, silks, and dyed clothes that are bright colors and have ornate weavings. They paint their eyes with charcoal, and their irises are golden amber or emerald. They arrived with exotic creatures and large beasts known as elephants. They speak a language that sounds like the strings of a harp being plucked. Since the mercenary king was awarded his province, more have arrived. They are estimated to now populate Viridian in the thousands.