Humans
Many humans from many worlds have come to Felarya over the years, often attracted by its treasures, wealth, and fabulous legends. Some humans come with technology, some with powerful magic, others just come with determination. What they all share however is ingenuity and the ability to form large effective groups.
Social creatures, humans often create cities and societies around them. Many of the ruins scattered across Felarya were once human settlements. They are excellent at dealing with adversity; sometimes the more inventive or courageous types can surmount incredible odds to achieve their goals. But they can also be individually, and sometimes collectively, arrogant and short sighted. Humans tend to consider themselves superior to other creatures.
Moreover, many humans come from worlds where they are the dominant race, or at least one of the dominant races, thus it's often a great shock for them when they discover the nature of Felarya, and the fact they are but a piece of food in the eyes of big predators and not "god's creature" any more. Most manage to get used to this fact and go on with their lives, but some may react violently or even become permanently crazy.
It's worth noticing that the human natives of Felarya are generally stronger and slightly taller than non-native humans.
Ladimus Ehrinejahr, the famous biologist. Picture by ZomBynX aka Nksrocks and used with artist's permission. For larger version visit ZomBynX's gallery
Contents
Delurans
Delurans are not very numerous in Felarya and are mostly concentrated in their underground base, west of the giant tree.
They are a moderately advanced and industrious people, and have come to Felarya mostly to scout, in order to determine if Felarya is worth the effort of an invasion and extensive colonization by Delurah, their homeworld. So far the answer is clearly "no". Deluran scouts have suffered many casualties and many of them have ended in the bellies of nearby nagas, especialy the dreaded Crisis. They chose a really bad spot to settle, stuck as they are between nagas and fairies. Besides predators, one of the Delurans's biggest problems is that, for some unknown reasons, the steel that their weapons are made out of rusts very quickly on Felarya's surface. This means they must rely more on their excellent detection devices than on sheer firepower, making them a cautious and stealthy people. They have no alliances with any other humanoid race and usually ignore them completely. In general, Deluran scouts tend to think that their mission will end soon and that they will be able to leave this dangerous world. Their leaders have other plans for them though...
Anna was a Deluran engineer before being turned into a naga.
Akaptor nomads
Akaptor nomads are the principal human inhabitants of the Akaptor desert. They call themselves Qesjhatams, which means "time walkers". The very harsh and deadly environment of this desert has turned them into a tough and sturdy people able to survive in extreme conditions, making them fierce and skilled desert warriors as well. They possess an encyclopedic knowledge of all the dangers and fauna of the place, and have even learned how to survive in the past for a short period of time. They are one of the few people who know how to fight a time shark and win more often than not.
What makes these nomads famous, however, is their incredible mastery with stilts. According to a popular saying, their children are born with stilts, and learn how to use them even before they learn to walk. Indeed, they move so fluidly, swiftly, and naturally on them, it's like they aren't stilts but their actual legs. Watching a Qesjhatam ritual dance performed on 40 foot long stilts is a spectacle you never forget. Several tribes have settled and founded small, discrete cities across the desert, which represent invaluable help and safe havens for travelers.
Miratans
Miratans are a military society who travel to other worlds through a dimensional tunnel network. They use tanks, mecha, and large amounts of infantry. They have no space ships yet but are working on several prototypes. They firmly believe in their superiority over other races and have no problems wiping out entire colonies in pursuit of resources and technology. Their total armed forces number in the hundreds of millions. However, they are currently suffering from a terrible famine and other catastrophes on their homeworld, and have been raiding many worlds for food. Their plans on Felarya remain unknown for the moment, but they don't seem to be too belligerent, and keep a solid but discrete presence in their base at Frost peak. They have very limited contact with other humans communities on Felarya.
People of the Bowl
The "People of the Bowl" are peaceful and long lived, and are inhabitants of the Jungle Bowl. The original humans of this land were whisked to Felarya when their rolling farmlands were "switched" with a large granite mountain in the Frostpeaks at the edge of the Great marshes. They have built a prosperous and serene community there, under the protection of Cypress, a dryad who they raised from a sapling centuries ago. The people of the bowl make great use of the dryad's link and are all connected through it. This makes them a very tight-knit community; often, all of them will feel the same general background emotion, the intensity depending on how strong of a link they have. This allows the people of the bowl to share both the highs and the lows of their emotions. It also makes them very coordinated: an attack on one is an attack on all, and the attackers with be fought with great determination and heavy firepower. Indeed, despite their agrarian and naturalistic appearance (many of them live in the trees), the people of the bowl are quite technologically advanced. This is in part because the world they came from was well developed already, but mostly because Jhon Gallanfreed imparted the knowledge of his own people to them when he came and chose to live in the bowl some 500 years ago. They keep most of this technology hidden below ground and use it rarely.
Negavians
Nagavians are the inhabitants of the great city Negav. They form a very cosmopolitan people, coming from worlds from all around the universe. Curious adventurers, greedy treasure hunters, foolhardy warriors, ruthless thugs, stranded travellers, self-proclaimed heroes... they all came there with the prospect of becoming fabulously rich, retrieving legendary artefacts, becoming stronger, living a peaceful and eternal life, or simply by accident. Even with so many varied origins however, living in a world such as Felarya gave Negavians some commonly shared traits.
They are hardened and rather fatalistic people. They tend to be a quite egoistical and cynical lot, not very easy to impress and difficult to cow. Wise Magiocrats know their rules on Negav cannot be too tough and must remain bearable, unless they want to have their heads on a pike. Negavians revolted many time in the past, went through many catastrophes, but, like their city, they are still there. Negavians tend to complaint a lot about life on Felarya, but in the same time they have a sort of pride of being there, on what is widely recognized as one of the most dangerous known world for humans. Moreover being in Negav feel like being in the center of things, with so many different people passing through, carrying with them rumors, epic tales and, sometimes, fantastic treasures. Negav is the city where adventures and legends are born.
Many people who lived in Negav for several years and decided one day to leave Felarya find themselves irresisitbly attracted back to the city a few years later. They say that the life has not the same flavor outside Negav. Like the saying goes : "Once a Negavian, always a Negavian."
Vishmitals
A very advanced race that once formed a glorious empire, Vishmitals long saw themselves as the most powerful and sophisticated race of their galaxy. This belief was shattered however, when their homeworld was destroyed in a terrible war and their culture was very nearly wiped out. Since then, the remaining Vishmitals have been wandering from world to world, trying to recover their lost glory and seeking revenge. Some Vishmitals use only raw force and their deadly weapons to achieve their objectives, while some have honed their diplomacy and have become skilled negotiators. All Vishmitals, however, seek only one ultimate goal: to revive their empire. This is something that seem genetically imprinted in them. They will never give up working on this objective and will even sacrifice their lives for it. Other races must remain extremely cautious when dealing with Vishmitals, as no old friendship, deep love, or bribery seem more important than the ultimate goal in their eyes.
Vishmitals of Felarya are mostly of the diplomatic type. They are widely seen as cold, composed, and very calculating people, and known to be very resistant to any form of psychic control. Their motives here remain mysterious. They form one of the main factions of Negav and are currently engaged in a quiet power struggle with the Ps'isol Magiocrats.
Ps'isol Magiocrats
A high council of powerful mages who are governing the city of Negav. Like their name imply, their rule by the sheer power of their magic. Their rule is definitely authoritarian, with the Magiocrats sharing most of the executive power among themselves, leaving very little outside their hands. In practice however, you will find few Negavians who would complaint, at least not too loudly. First because it's not very healthy, but mostly because, in a world as dangerous as Felarya, security is the absolute priority, and if the price to pay to be safe is to obey a bunch of rarely seen and relatively discrete mages who rarely bother to mix into the affairs of the simple mortals anyway ( seen as way too trivial and unworthy of their precious time ), then so be it.
Indeed the Magiocrats definitely keep Negav safe from predators, thank to their most famous creation : The Isolon Eye. This marvel of magic repels predators, and that alone guarantee the magiocrats a long and relatively un-challenged rules for decades to come. In the past, the council membership was a very tightly kept secret and only a Ps'isol Magiocrat knew who the other members were. However, as they consolided their power, their lifestyle became more comfortable and luxurious as well, and this secrecy became an annoyance with little use, and was eventually dropped. They use a system of rotation among themselves to designate their leader. The place is currently held by the young and ambitious Lady Lesona.
Council members
Regular members of the Lit Ciggy Bar in Negav
A colorful crew of adventurers, drunkards, thugs, and wannabe heroes from one of the most popular bar (and brothel) in Negav. ^^
- Dave: Wannabe adventurer. Works as a Public Defender, manning the walls of the city and always staring out into the jungle for threats that hardly ever come. Impatient and brash, he really would rather be able to go out in the jungle himself.
- Bill: Scientist who works at the Negav City Central Science Institute. He works on various projects, but is generally regarded as strange by his peers. His ex-wife is one of his coworkers, and the two despise each other.
- Jeb: Jeb is dead. He was gulped down by a deerataurs. Jeb sometimes appears to people who get too drunk in the Lit Ciggy.
- Grid: He is an adventurer, and fairly successful at that. Seems to have developed a bit of a rivalry with the giant Slug girl Velvet. He's a real jerk though.
- Rick: Reckless adventurer. Smokes, but is seen as very suave and cool. Very well liked by girls, and is a bit of a playboy. Has even been rumored to seduce a few predators.
- Buck: Superstitious adventurer. Always carries dozens of lucky charms including a pack of Dryad Lights, and a few crystal lilies. Surprisingly, he has yet to see a predator while adventuring. Maybe there is something to those charms.
- Sash: Small time thief. One of the few girls who frequent the Lit Ciggy, but none of the regulars try to hit on her. Not after the incident. Grid couldn't walk straight for weeks!
- Zog: Conspiracy theorist. Believes that predators are out to get him personally. Especially the dryads.
- Greel: Gullible, greedy fool. He has been unaccounted for, for some time now, and is likely to have been eaten by Anko, though no one knows for sure.
- Marcus: Overzealous adventurer. Likes to explore the furthest reaches of Felarya. Was mobbed by predators in the Evernight forest due to a false rumor told to him by Grid, and was never seen again.
Ever-Merchants
A race of human shopkeepers filled with mystery. They can be found all over Felarya, in cities and in traveling caravans. They have their large domed embassy in Negav as well. They deal in all sorts of merchandise, and have singlehandedly created an exchange rate system that encompasses the thousands of currencies used by Felayrans. They are well known for their fair prices, and good nature. Adventures of all stripes swear on the Ever-Merchant's shops, trading in the loot they get while raiding lost temples and cities in the Felaryan jungles and buying enchanted items unavailable anywhere else! They even deal in Ascarlin, making them an indispensable asset in Negav.
The Ever-Merchants capital, and origin dimension is unknown, and the Merchants themselves refuse adamantly to talk about their origins or where they get their wares from. Negav spies, sent by the Ps'isol Magiocrats, reported back that the Merchants seem to come somewhere from the Fairy kingdom, but this couldn't be investigated further due to the dangers of the zone. This raises interesting questions though, on what sort of deal the merchants have with fairies and how they could pass through the zone on a regular basis.
Regardless of how they do it, the Ever-Merchants can be found the world over. From winding caravans snaking through the Great rocky fields, to small floating Shop Ships that sail along the coasts of the Topazial sea, and through the rivers as well. The Ever-Merchants wear brightly colored tunics, Red and Gold, with some sort of magical armor commonly found underneath. They are human, but have no hair upon their bodies, and have a byzantine tattoo system that shows some sort of ranking within their guild-structured society. Attacking an ever-merchant to rob them is generally not a good idea. They seem to be all capable magicians, and the moment you turn against one, the rest of the organization will immediatly know and refuse to trade with you ever again.
Known Humans
Sanix
Trisha
Vale
Isham
- Credits goes to Silenteric for the idea of the Lit Ciggy Bar and ever-merchants. Miratans belong to Randomdude. People of the Bowl belongs to Wowandwas.
