Human Races
When Nydoini brought life to Aserra, humanity was included amongst the flora and fauna. While many of the elemental races may seem more ancient and venerable in comparison to humans, this is only an illusion of the extended lifespans. In truth, humanity predates the elemental races, and served as a genetic base for those peoples. However, humanity received very little divine guidance and were left to fend for themselves by Nydoini, whereas the elemental races received the care and consideration of their makers.
Contents
Races
Humans carved out a niche of their own in Aserra and eventually began thriving under their own power. They currently have a stable and growing population at around seven-hundred and fifty thousand spread across Thiskel, Kalesten, the Forsaken Land, and islands throughout the world’s oceans. The only continent largely unpopulated by humans is Athok, due to the presence of the Aeul’Idayn.
Aside from humans, there are three other related races that share the same origin; the Iengi, Kiar, and Kuzo. The giant Iengi and diminutive Kiar are off-shoots of the original human race of approximately the same age as humans, though Aserrans have little understanding of the split. The Kuzo, however, are descended from the Kiar, corrupted through the manipulation of the dark gods as easily replenished foot soldiers for the war between the Danaij and Idayn.
Iengi
Iengi are a race of giants with a population of less than one thousand individuals. Native to Thiskel, they were the first of the human races to create sedentary settlements. However, they barely survived the War of the Gods. In the aftermath of the war, Iengi society crumbled and never rebounded. They have managed to survive in small pockets, typically isolated in mountainous regions and they generally avoid their smaller, more industrious cousins.
Kiar
The Kiar are a diminutive and short-lived race of people who were once endemic to the western mountain valleys ofAgeond. They live remarkably short lives but are able to reproduce more quickly than humans. This trait made them of value to the Danaij during the War of the Gods. They looked to the Kiar as a potential source of an expendable army that could be quickly replenished, but as they were, the Kiar were no soldiers. Instead, Kiar were rounded up and corrupted by the Dark Gods into Kuzo. Refugees of this pogrom escaped Ageond by sea and sailed to Kalesten where they reestablished themselves to a population of around twenty-five thousand scattered throughout the western grasslands.
Kuzo
The Kuzo spread across the world after the War of the Gods, abandoned their masters and gods. Unlike their Kiar ancestors, they tend to be dull, primal beings that band together in feral societies where they hunt, gather, and occasionally raid the settlements of other, more advanced, races when they are confident enough in their numbers. They reproduce quickly and are relatively short-lived, but their population stands at nearly five hundred thousand world-wide.
Physical Traits and General Anatomy
The human-origin races vary predominantly in size, with the exception of the Kuzo. Humans are exceptionally diverse but their average heights are between 170 and 182cm (5'7"-6') for males and 152 to 168cm (5'-5'6") for females. Iengi are exceptionally large and Kiar exceptionally small in comparison.
Humans, Iengi, and Kiar are most notable for their small, rounded ears that lay flat to their heads. Their pigmentation varies through natural ranges of fair to dark skin and hair, with a broad variety of eye colors. While many of the elemental races have homogeneous traits, human races have a broad variety of facial structure, coloration, and body shapes.
Kuzo are the exception to the rules of the other human races, as they are possessed of skin that ranges through tones of greens, browns, and grays. Their ears are also very large and vaguely similar to the elemental races, and most of their facial features are exaggerated. Their eyes are markedly cat-like and inhuman. They look to be a sort of amalgamation of creatures on a humanoid form rather than resembling their Kiar ancestors.
Biology
Between the human races, lifespans are remarkably different. The difference in lifespan between Iengi and Kiar and Humans is an issue of thirty percent. Humans themselves can live to be around one hundred years, but most live into their seventies or eighties. Humans have a long and gradual maturity, not fully mature until the age of twenty-five, though they are functionally mature by sixteen.
Iengi have an extended lifespan of around three-hundred years, but unlike the elemental races, their aging process is not paused and they mature 30% slower than humans. Kiar and Kuzo, on the other hand, are remarkably short-lived, only living to be around thirty years old in ideal conditions. Both races mature 30% faster than to their human cousins.
In all the human races, females have a monthly fertility cycle throughout their childbearing years. Human gestation is around nine months, but Iengi pregnancies can last for twenty-seven months, and Kiar and Kuzo have a mere three month gestation.
All the human races are omnivorous and are able to eat a varied diet. Meat is typically eaten cooked, with exceptions. Human races are also able to sustain themselves on a vegetarian diet with enough resources to support it, though this is practically impossible for Iengi.
Meta
The difference in life span could potentially be explained by a genetic editing error on behalf of Nydoini , perhaps an experiment in altering lifespan before creating the elemental races for her children. I think I am leaning towards specific human ethnic groups placed in different regions of the world rather than expecting them to evolve along similar lines as we did from one origin group. Essentially, modern humans of various groups were cloned from Nydoini's genetic library and put into the world in different areas and given a fresh start.
