Loading...
 

Races

back to: Main Page


Racial creations

The Elder Races


The Dragons: During the Sacrifice of Yoldana, Varazlo accidentally nicked his own hand with his knife. Blood of the Mystic mixed with that of the Mother fell through the flames of the sacrificial pyre. The blood of the two gods warmed by the fires of creation brought to life the first sentient beings—The Great Wyrms (as the first dragons were called). Not truly beholden to the gods these beings are creatures of awesome power, knowledge and majesty—imbued with the supernatural might of Varazlo and the physical greatness of Yoldana. They are nearly demi-gods in their power.

The Eldest: Impressed by the majesty of the Great Wyrms, Talyra creates the first true race in their image though not quite their stature. Golden scaled and bipedal, and upholding the righteousness and justice of Talyra, the Eldest attempt to bring benevolent law to the lands of Alandria.

The Eye Tyrants: Not to be outdone by her sister, Korosa creates the Eye Tyrants. Immortal if not killed, steeped in tyrannical law, and gifted with terrible gaze powers the Beholders are Korosa's chosen to battle for supremacy of the world. The Beholders and the Eldest battle for supremacy though eventually the might of the Eye Tyrants destroy the civilization of the Eldest (the few that survive are either enslaved or driven into barbarity becoming the uncouth lizard folk seen today). Fresh from their victory over the Eldest the Tyrants attack the fledgling Fey Nation.

The Fey: Okeah watches Korosa & Talyra's creations and seethes inside. Although terrible, his destruction is somewhat limited by his inability to be everywhere at once. Okeah breathes life into the sea foam and the Fey are created. Gifted with incredibly long lives and chaotic natures the Fey were to be Okeah's instruments of destruction. Unfortunately for Okeah, he created them too well and the Fey realize that following Okeah's instructions to the letter would spell their own doom. Being a sea people they turn to the Lord of the Oceans Depths for aid. Varazlo gifts them with arcane knowledge and Fey civilization thrives though their innate chaotic nature persists. The Fey battle the Eye Tyrants and, although the destruction is heavy on both sides, eventually destroy all the known Beholders (rumors persist that a few survived and retreated far away). The Fey eventually splinter into the Drow (the Families that freed Izobranet) and the Elves (who after eons of Drow/Fey warfare are sickened by the destruction and death caused and retreat to the deepest wood realms and the protection of Elayrhen). The remaining Fey are severely weakened and vanish to isolated outposts. Most of the new races encounter Elves and have heard of the Drow but know little of the Fey.

The Kobolds: After Talyra creates the Eldest, Zeeks makes a poor copy--the Kobolds. Although physically weak and cowardly the Kobold race is filled with cruelty and cunning. In order to help the kobolds hold their own in the world against the stronger races Zeeks teaches them tactics of ambush and betrayal. Zeeks will eventually create the Goblin nations as well but again they mirror his small stature. However, the kobold & goblin races willingness to follow Law allows them to develop complex (though cruel) societies. Like weeds, the kobolds and goblins survive and flourish away from the greater civilizations.

The New Races


The Dwarves: Seeing the chaos playing out on the coasts of the continents and islands (the first three elder races all settled areas near the oceans and Khardum viewed the kobolds as insignificant) Khardum is sickened by the chaos and retreats into the depths of the earth. In his great workshop Khardum crafts creatures of mineral laced clay and breathes life into them. These are the founders of the dwarven nations and spend the next thousand years or so in relative isolation in the earthen depths. Isolated, the Dwarves develop into a complex clan society with rigid laws and become familiar with the other gods of law as well—primarily Talyra and Korosa. While the majority of the dwarven nation believes in the benevolence of Law, some come to believe that Korosa’s Tyranny is the true path to follow. After many attempts of reconciliation the dwarves finally split—their dark brothers, the Duergar, retreating into the depths where they can follow their new Queen.

The Gnomes: Created by the rape of Lunias by Okeah, the bastard child Scartlet is something of a trickster and loner. Scartlet wonders what Khardum is doing in the deeps and sneaks into his workshop while he is away. She finds remnants of the "life clay" Khardum used to create the dwarves and she crafts a few small creatures as a joke. Khardum's breath is still within the clay, though, and Scartlet’s figurines come to life as the Gnomes. Terrified of what will happen to her when Khardum finds out what she has done, Scartlet takes the newly created gnomes and runs into the cavernous depths eventually abandoning them. The Gnomes, confused but pragmatic, think that this is the way of things and stoically begin to create their own civilization without any godly guidance until there eventual conversion to Varazlo.

Ogres and Orckind: Gruul sees the mistake of Okeah's original creation but believes he can do better. Taking captives of all the known races at the time Gruul lowers their intelligence and boosts their savagery creating a race of ignorant brutes to run rampant through the lands. Gruul further causes them to be a fecund nation (which all of the original races where not except for the "weak" creations of Zeeks). The quick breeding savages threaten to overrun the world. Gruul is overjoyed.

Humans: Soon after Gruul's creations begin to run rampant humans appear. Where they come from no one knows but they are easily malleable and willing to follow whoever gives them aid. Additionally they are full of spirit and potential but, more importantly, breed fast (though die young as well). The gods scramble to attract them as worshippers using them to counter Gruul's creations. Humans themselves don't know who or how they were created and quickly make up many different creation myths attributing their creations to many different gods (depending on which human culture is telling the story).

The Halflings: Traveling the lands, singing, pranking and meddling Nirem, after seeing all that the other gods created, decides to make his own "perfect" race. Giving them short unassuming forms (to divert unwanted attention) Nirem gifts his creations with luck, quickness and good nature. The halflings are born and Nirem's first gift to them is the gift of agriculture. Able to cultivate the land the halfling people can now settle areas away from the sea (the sea's great bounty allowed civilizations to develop along the coasts. Having no other means of agriculture, though, kept most civilizations away from inland areas). The halflings quickly build societies inland and share their productivity with humankind. The great Halfling and human civilizations are born and thrive--away from the coasts and the risks of Okeah's storms.




(concept and design originally by Frorry and Durgil)
(reposted by Storel)