Tarkusza - Humans

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
"The Humans have lost everything.their homeland, their security, and their former glory. Even their gods have abandoned them. And yet, the human spirit remains unshaken. They continue to fight for Tarkusza with every ounce of their strength. Their efforts are admirable, but ultimately, futile."

Humans, are a hardy species native to the world of Gweralle, Created by their gods many milenia ago. Once the dominant species of Gweralle, the humans have not fared well in the last few centuries. With life spans generally shorter than the other races, humans strive all the harder to achieve great heights in empire building, exploration, and technological and magical study. Their aggressive and inquisitive nature lead the human nations to become active and influential in the world. Such was the case prior to the Altered's original invasion through the Volcanic Lands. Human kingdoms suffered greatly in the three wars against forces of the altered. Finally facing their deathblow in the Second Great War.

Physiology

Humans come from many backgrounds and show great physical variety among all the races. Humans' skin ranges from dark to light and may have tones of other colors. Their eyes are blue, brown, green, gray, or hazel. Human hair is brown, black, blond, or red. Men often grow short beards and women commonly wear their hair long. Humans average six feet in height and weigh about 180 pounds, with men noticeably taller and heavier than women.

The physique of humans is more muscular and sturdy than of elves, but much more slender than that of dwarves. The color and hue of human skin is varied, ranging from a fair pink, to tanned, to a very dark brown. Hair becomes gray or white with sickness or age. Human eyes have been known to glow like those of the naturally magical elves if he or she is wielding powerful magic.


Culture

---

Before this, we could not unite under one banner or even form a coalition. In fact, every time there was a chance for that, one faction or another did something to enhance the advancement of their own political agenda over the other factions. Often at the expense of the rest of humanity. If only the threat of extinction brings us together, so be it."

Humans seem to be a naturally inquisitive and ambitious race. The humans of Gweralle possesses many different traits, some are greedy, vainglorious, and Arrogant, some are Noble, altruistic and Humble. These qualities have led to human society producing many of the most notable heroes, and villains of the history of gweralle.

Humans are once a highly factionalized race, with each diffrent cities constantly waging wars against one another. Some battles fought conventionally, but most are fought covertly with agents, battling in secret. Even when the altered invasion hung over their head, they would find ways to hamstring the other factions, possibly allowing the Altered invasion to cause as must damage as it did. Now, facing the ever present threat of extinction, humanity had finally did what seemed impossible to them, uniting together under a single banner.

The separation of time and distance has meant the human race, more than any other race in the world, has developed a variety of different cultures within it. As human refugees flooded into Tarkusza from the crumbling edges of human civilization they stayed together to try and hold on to aspects of their history and culture which connected them to the homelands they could not return to. No other place shows this more than the human capital - in Eternity's End, many of the districts are named for and filled with the architecture and the peoples of the other kingdoms, Zenth, Palonia, Fiore and Avalon.

Humanity is filled with examples of great social inequality, homeless on the streets struggling through each day while the rich dine on fine food in opulent homes. But this doesn't mean they're stuck with the lives they have. Every human has the opportunity to take life and make something more of it - to make a difference to not only their life but the lives of those around them.

The other races view the humans as a inquisitive and radical race, however dying out and doomed to disappear from Gweralle just as the gnomes did. But the humans struggle on, their spirit still strong, refusing to give up where others might walk away. In Avalon, for example, the inhabitants of Shatterblade keep, against the odds, still stare down the altered each day from that fortress' great walls. Despite being seen as the weakest of all the races, humans are attempting to make the diffrence up by using new technologies and attempt to adapt and compete with the other races. Humans are tinkerers and craftsmen, many inventors help to expand the human's technical knowledge. Of all the races, they hold the best knowledge in technology and agriculture.

Religion

Most, if not all humans are very dedicated to the worship of their pantheon, the Six Human Gods: Azathorn, Yngdra, Zenthil, Palone, Cythain, and Lysnath. Each god is a patron of several broad areas of concern including war, nature, death, magic, beauty and light (respectively). These gods are credited with creating the humans on gweralle and had historically taken a large part in the development of the human race, often using their powers to guide and intervene in events. However, in the past 400 years the Six Gods have stepped back and while they sometimes still answer the prayers of their followers, they are much more distant than before, letting humanity stand on its own feet.

This silence from their gods has changed little of their faith, though some now question an undying devotion to these now absent gods. Temples are still made devoted to their worship, and the streets of Eternity's end are named and decorated for each of the gods. Some even choose to devote their lives to the worship of a particular god - a Priestess of Lysnath might find herself working in a hospital or a Priest of Azathorn arranging competitions for his god. Historically several festivals were held devoted to one or more of the gods, but whether these are still celebrated is unknown.

Government

The human race is governed by a hereditary monarch and a body of ministers which contains representatives of all the human nationalities. The ministers design law and present their proposals to the queen, who authorizes or rejects their implementation into society. Initially, this system was designed as a temporary government for the refugee camps, but in the 400 years since the devastation of the other nations it has become a stable system and a cornerstone of Tarkuszan culture.

The government is supported by its armies. The largest group is the Eternity Guard, the police force and defenders of the people throughout Tarkusza led by its captains, each assigned to different territory of Tarkusza. The Knights of Dragon's Heart support the Eternity Guard, but are mostly focused on battling the enemies of Humanity, and answering only to their Highlord, and no one else. The Eternal Blades are a small elite force who protect the King, and are commanded by the Master Exemplar.

This government isn't without its troubles. The nobility does not always agree with High King Vael's decisions. The Chamber of Ministers is filled with intrigues and plots often centered on lady Syl, who is seen by some as a rival to the High King. The different military groups are entangled in these power struggles in a complex web of which group has authority in what circumstances.

Names

Human names vary from culture to culture, Avalonian names typically follow a American and English naming style. Zenth names were a mixture of Germanic and Asian names; Palonians were a mix of Greek and Macedonian names. Fiore names were typically European. Historically, Tarkusza names have Asian names generally, with some central European mixed in - though due to the merging of Zenth, Avalonian and Fiore names, the variety has spread to include those as well.

History

At the end of the first great war, humanity was still the dominant race in Gweralle. Spanning the continents with an extensive trade network and significant population, humanity had spread to every corner of Gweralle. From these heights humanity started to falter and for the past 600 years they have been in decline.

The human's war with the Altered continued in Avalon. On the back-foot since the searing, the humans repeatedly lost ground against the Altered. King Helden was able to maintain a tenuous grasp on Avalon, until the Altered broke through the lines and marched on Avalon City and in his madness he unleashed the Spellblight turning much of the human population of Avalon into wraiths. After the Spellblight, Avalon was completely controlled by the Alterd but for the human fortress of Shatterblade which stands against the Altered to this day.

Palonia was united in under the strong fist of Emperor Sarthia who then embarked on a campaign to drive out non-human races from the small continent. Under his Rule, Palonia became increasingly isolationist and contact with the other nations became increasingly rare. Eventually, Palonia severed all communications with the other nations. Alone, they were easily defeated in the Dragonic wars, and were forced to retreat to Tarkusza.

Horrible famine swept through Zenth after Mordant dammed the Elon river - with the humans so weakened he was able to walk in with his undead armies. In approximately three months, he had completely taken control of Zenth. Mordant's stronghold in the Crystal Desert made, and continues to make it near impossible to access Zenth via land and sea.

Tarkusza, united under King Vael, became the last stable, reasonable human nation and refugees fled to it from all of the troubled corners of the three continents. Eternity's end became the center of the human universe and their last hope to recover their feet even as it continues to struggle against Marauding Northeners and the other races. Many humans would die before letting anything harm Eternity's End and their King.