Humans

Humans are the most common race in the world of the Everwind Series. The only other current known races are the Vurg, Jrel, and Attawa.

Over the last 8000 years (since the Great Purge), a lot has changed. The world has been plunged into chaos, and humans, being the most populous race, have killed off most of the other races (either directly or through their choices); sometime in the last few hundred years, the world hit its technological peak and began to regress. Chaos quickly began to reign supreme. With this chaos and regression came fear and uncertainty. It was every man for himself, so anything seen as a threat had to be eliminated. Race wars were fought and many races became extinct. Even so, some other races still exist in remote locations throughout the world. It is dangerous for them to venture outside of their own habitats. Many humans in the world today have little knowledge of other races, so the ones that are not violent towards them will be inherently curious.

Creation

Main article: Creation Myth

After turmoil took root amongst the gods, Orend, god of the air, and his two brothers became jealous of the Inar that Grellis had created. The brothers decided to each create a race of their own, and Orend made the humans to be more adaptable than the elves. Unlike the other races, however, the humans were created from the lungs of the Inar, which is why they were able to interbreed with elves, which led to the creation of the half-elves, known as the Meninar. Humans are the only race to have originated on Lesser Galwyndor, but many of them migrated to the larger continent after the Veninar elves made contact. Once there, they rapidly spread throughout the region, establishing many settlements and ultimately kingdoms.

Appearance

Aside from the normal statures, humans of this world are more likely to be emaciated from lack of nutrition, having rotting or missing teeth, and have a general lack of hygiene. Because of poor hygiene and lack of access to medicines, they are also likely to have diseases, sores, boils, rashes, and other such things. Seeing a lame human is common. Imagine how often a bone is broken and not set correctly. Humans without many physical flaws should be reserved for nobility. Humans in the Verges will also cough a lot, because of the dust, sometimes to the extent that they cough up blood.

Disposition

Humans are probably the most diverse of all the races, running the full spectrum of personalities and dispositions. They can be extremely emotional or they can be so stoic they’re unsettling. They can seem like angels or they can be monstrous and cruel. They are intuitive, determined, creative, and empirical, yet some races, such as the Vurg, view them as weak. Humans in this day and age are highly distrustful, less likely to be charitable, and there are more who will take advantage of the meek than there are meek to be taken advantage of. It is a very cutthroat society they live in, so appeals to kindness are the least likely method of influencing humans (everyone will be suspicious of it anyway; beggars and vagrants have a particularly rough time).

Because of the effects of the Turmocet vaccine, nearly all humans are sterile. Children under the age of 8 years old are extremely rare, and are most likely to be found in the company of slavers. They are very valuable, as are people who can reproduce (Carriers and Seeders).

Spirituality

Because of recent history, organized religion seems to be on a downward trend, and isn’t as widespread as other, more folk-oriented, forms of spirituality. The largest organized religions are Tethuricism and Q'evrism. Humans are more likely to fall into superstition because many are illiterate, or practice folk magic like Salarian and Catican. Humans are likely to find themselves falling prey to the clutches of a cult just as much as a traditional religion, but some of them have limited knowledge of gods both old and new. They are also more likely to be polytheistic than they are monotheistic because of the chaotic environment. Adherence to traditional religions did see a rise in activity, given that tumultuous times (see: Curella) are very conducive to religious leanings, some more traditional-style religions exist, which follow the same principles are other factions: there is strength in numbers, and survival depends on it. Any religions, cults, etc. will be heavy on the recruitment (all except the Seen-and-See Cult, which prefers to be exclusive).

Motivations

Human characters are likely to be after a decent wage, the acceptance of a group (becoming an emblemed member of a faction is one of the most important things to a human), or fame. They can also be easily bribed with simple resources, such as food or drugs, depending on their economic situation. Still others might want to do what they can to make the world a safer place for their fellow man. Many humans will also jump at an opportunity to get away from a stagnant place and see the world.

Before the Purge

In the time of the Befores there also lived other races. At the time of the Great Purge, there were 8 in total. The Vurg, as far as was known at the time, did not yet exist.

• Attawa
• Cauthrians
• Dwarfs
• Elves
• Giants
• Humans
• Jrel
• Merfolk