The Sentient Species of Aparsus
From Aparsus
Contents |
[edit] Humans
Humans are the most populous and diverse species on Aparsus, having spread across the West for thousands of years. They have been savages and slaves, only to break free of the shackles of their ignorance and their masters and forge their own destiny, but there's little to put here that cannot be said in other places, for there are as many kinds of humans as there are stars in the sky, and by sheer majority, humans have defined many of the cultures that have grown in Aparsus.
[edit] Dwarves
[edit] Elves
There are five distinct races of elven-kind, and they share only a few common traits. Elves are universally more slender than humans, possessing a fine bone structure that makes them lighter and more slight of build than their distant cousins. Also, their ears invariably come to points, but aside from that, each "breed" of elf is entirely unique in its appearance.
The Ghulmith, or Dark Elves, are the most familiar to the men of the Empire. They are shorter than humans, on average, and their skin ranges from light blue to a deep, rich black. Their ears are short and usually rest close to their heads, but come to definite points. Their eyes are usually black, red, or all-white, and their hair is invariably a white or blue-white. Life in the Desert of Kings has led them to favour simple, light clothing of cotton weaves.
The Ruunmith, known in human tongues as River Elves, are pale and slender, even their men are very effiminate by human standards, and their ears are longer, with the points sticking out from their heads. Their hair and eyes run the gamut from purple to brilliant, fiery red, and their bright colouration is reflected in the richly dyed traveling clothes that they favour. River Elves are notable for their long, nimble fingers, perfect for playing instruments - or picking pockets.
The Sea Elves, or Finmith, are tan of skin and their hair tends to be dark purple or black, but their eyes are bright - usually blue or green. Their long, nomadic life at sea has taught them to favour light clothes, but even they are not above a little flamboyance in dress. Their ears stick out, just as those of the Ruunmith do, but not as prominently.
The Wood Elves of the East are rarely seen, but it is known that the Caramith have skin of green or brown, the colour of their native woods, and that they do not actually grow hair. Only women are ever seen out of their forests, and among the human lands they are known both as skilled healers and deadly archers.
Last are the High Elves, the Lighnmith, who have not been seen in Aparsus since the Great Refusal. Stories say that they were tall and fair of both skin and eye, and that they shone with the light of magic.
[edit] Orcs
The orcs are a northern dwelling race, born far from the lands that man now inhabits. Once, according to the legends of their religions, their kingdom - the land of Thraneghul - was a land of peace and plenty, sheltered from the cold darkness of the Evernight (their version of the Underworld) by the blessings of the Gods of the Flame and their creator goddess, the Orc-Mother. In this ageless time, the First Thrane Mur'thass Torchbrow, the god of the Ruling Flame, ruled over an empire of peace and enlightenment.
Then, say the orcs, came the Warring Time. Orcs were enslaved by the Foul Ones, the Thieves of Light that humans call High Elves. They were taken for their great strength, forced to build monuments to the twisted gods of the Elves, and driven to fight alongside the foul, enchanted beasts known as goblins and hobgoblins. In time came the Great Refusal, when the humans defeated the High Elves with the help of Orcs, and the Orcs were allowed to return to their home. There, they found that - without the power of the Gods of Fire and the Orc-Mother to protect it, their empire had been over-run by the creatures of the Evernight - foul frost giants and twisted trolls - and by the goblin remnants of the High Elves' army.
Weary from long centuries of war, the orcs could not fight these foes, and so fled underground - into the deep caves where the Gods of Fire slept, though it pained them to be away from the Eyes of the Orc-Mother, and there built a new kingdom, strong and just. They united with their allies, the Dwarves of Western Noldorkin, refugees that had come north fleeing the disintegration of the Dwarven Empire, and created anew the kingdom of Thraneghul, combining their might and ingenuity to fight back against the goblins and trolls and foul beasts of the Evernight.
So goes the Orc sagas, though few humans will ever know them. To humans, the orc heroes of the nearly forgotten Refusal are myths, and the men of the Empire know little of Orcs save for those communities that have settled in the northern reaches of their land. In Lyonesse, they are hated as usurpers and invaders for their settlement of the Orchold Isles - both the High King of the Lyonians and the Thranes of the Orcs claim the Orcholds as ancestral land, and the fighting there is brutal. In Sirin and Farnoth, orcs are the worst reavers, arriving cloaked in fog in great, ironclad ships, to take slaves and supplies as they well, with no regard - so their victims say - for the humans they leave destitute.
Physically, orcs stand taller than humans and broader of shoulder. Their skin is black, green or gray, and they often tattoo themselves with a compound of volcanic ash and local fungi that leaves swirling, fiery orange-red patterns across their skin. Their eyes are universally green-yellow, with slit pupils, and their noses are large, but not over-so for their broad, craggy faces. When they have hair, which is rare except for some of the more southern Weirclans, it is a bright, vibrant red. Orc-teeth are a pearly black, and they have two jutting tusks in their lower jaw, and sharp incisors in their upper.
