Races of Kthonera- I (OUTDATED)

"I once asked a cleric how the Virtues could possibly love us. If they loved us, would we not be the only race in the world? The cleric smiled at me, and said ‘Man is the most blessed of races in all the world- for he has many enemies.’ I asked how that could possibly be a good thing, and the cleric responded ‘As much as we hate them, and they hate us- they hate each other more"- Priest-King Amral, c.542 PE  

There are many races which inhabit the land we of the race of Man call Kthonera, and many peoples among these races according to their kinds. The greatest of the races who may think, are those who hold the shape that men do- those we call the Elves, and the Orcs, among the peoples of men. There are lesser folk among these races- lesser by being of different shape and temperament, and these are the races of Giants and the Dragons, though there are many others who may be called intelligent and cunning, they are not wise in the ways of reason like these we call the Greater and Lesser Races.

First and foremost among these is the race of Man, who compared to many who dwell in this land are newcomers. Our homeland was originally across the sea to the East, a land called Aidrac. In this place there were four peoples, and men of their old stock came here to Kthonera when they were tired of the wars which sprung over land and resources following the eruption of the Thundering Mountains in what is now the Deadlands. These peoples are called Vesperon, the Borians, the Rathern, and the Suthar. The Vesperon rule over the majority of the remaining lands in the west of Aidrac, in an ever-shifting, ever-warring tapestry of city-states, while their relations who moved to Kthonera are now the peoples of Hyrakia and the Federation. The Borians and Rathern are frequently at peace with one another, but often raid across borders during such a peace as it is ingrained into their culture, and they rule the healthy and prosperous north of Aidrac, while their counterparts on Kthonera are the Cyramites and the Sarkers respectively. The Suthar are the people who were hit hardest by the eruption of the Thundering Mountains, many of their people died, and their lands became a barren waste. It is not known for sure if any group of people on Kthonera is related to this fallen Empire, but some suspect the Drakosha, the dragon-worshipping mountain tribes of the south of Kthonera are descendants of a lost expedition during the height of the Suthar Empire to explore what may lie beyond the Western Lands- as they called them at that time.

The majority of those who dwell in Kthonera are those who left to find a better life across the sea, and grew tired of the constant fighting of the city-states, and old feuds between peoples and nations. For that reason alone, there was much hope in this new place- but old ways die hard, and conquest tends to make new enemies. It was after many years of warfare, trials, and tribulations that the peoples of Mankind are as they are now- and no matter the shared blood, the peoples of Aidrac and Kthonera bear little resemblance to one another in the way of culture and nations.

The Vesperon are among the most common among the race of men- a people given to complex politics, philosophy, and high ideals. They stand near the average height for humans, between 3.5 and 4 cubits high. Their skin is usually swarthy or deeply tanned, and their hair and eyes are often varying shades of brown, all in all, a rather normal, average looking people. While they are a single people of the race of Men, they call themselves by many names, preferring to identify with a political or idealistic affiliation rather than by the name of their people. Thus, in Kthonera you meet Hyrakians and Federation-Men, and in Aidrac, the people of various city-states.

The Borians are usually shorter than the Vesperon, usually around 3.25 and 3.75 cubits, but more agile, and find themselves to be fair-skinned and crimson-haired. The Borians and the Cyramites, despite shared ancestry, often look very different from each other. Borians, while they have the same pale skin as their Kthoneran relatives, tend to have darker hair, and eyes in shades of grey or blue. Cyramites trend towards red hair in various shades, and green or hazel eyes. They are a deeply family-oriented people, swearing loyalty to their family first, and their rulers later, and have a great love of singing, drinking, and riddles. Talking with a Borian or Cyramite is often like trying to unravel one of the spirals they love to put so often in their jewelry.

The Rathern and the Sarkers aren't really seperated by much other than that some clans went West and others did not, as they are more or less the same in appearance and culture. The Sarkers and Rathern- often referred to collectively as Northmen -are towering folk, often between 3.75 and 4.25 cubits tall. They are a people of warfare, drink, and honour- and many Northmen would rather die than shame themselves. Many families are absurdly proud of particular family traits, such as blond hair or blue eyes, and often seek to preserve them. Among the richest, and most powerful families of the Northmen are those who provide the men for the "Bear-Sarker" units in the warbands of a Jarl. None truly know much about the "Bear-Sarkers" apart from the Northmen, but they are a fearsome force, who often seem more animal than man.

Among the easiest folk to talk to, and among the most enjoyable to be in the presence of, are the Desert-folk; the Suthar and the Drakosha. The Drakosha themselves don't actually live in the desert, but they share the same dark skin, strong faces, and curly hair as the Suthar. Both peoples are deeply tribal, one by choice, the other by fate- and while the Suthar are often bitter and severe, the Drakosha know joy unlike that many men can experience. Both of these people love to sing, and the Drakosha love song more than almost any people in the world beyond the Dragons that the worship. Song permeates everything they do, and brings joy to their lives, while among their Suthar brothers, it helps them deal with their harsh life in the Deadlands, and gives them hope of a better life to come. They have the broadest range of height of any of the peoples of  the race of man- between 3.25 and 4.25 cubits tall, and all of them slender and powerful, a tough folk built to live in the heat and under the sun.

So are the races of man. Their dominion is great, and their history is adventurous, and storied, but they themselves are not native to the Western lands of Kthonera; other peoples were there before them, and they are as diverse among themselves as one people of man is from another. Their ways seem strange, often, to humans, but they are here- and they intend to stay. They are the other races, Greater and Lesser- the Orcs, the Elves, the Giants, and the Dragons. And even the smallest facts and descriptions of themselves can fill a whole scroll, just as this small account of mankind may. So, another scroll I shall write, one for each of these races- before turning to my greatest work on the peoples of the West and the East; a total record of their cultures and histories.