Human

## Humans

**Humans** is a mortal race of Erdyn and are the most numerous of all the sapient races, having spread across their native continent and beyond. Although they are great in number, they have been divided long enough for dozens of independent cultures to arise, forming their own nations and alliances in isolation. While the most plentiful of the mortal races, humans are typically the weakest in both physicality and magical attributes with a few exceptions.

## Overview

Early in their existence, humanity had come to discover and worship the gods, who provided them with protection in exchange for offerings and continued worship. Under their protection, humans were able to better congregate themselves within city-states, abandoning their village society. Within their city walls, their civilization eventually flourished with new ideas and advancing society. Their population and number of cities soon exploded rapidly as they gained the capabilities that are necessary to survive against threats, founding their nations as these city-states allied with one another and grew in size.

As the race whose population far exceeds that of others, as well as their connection to the gods, humans are often used by the other races. The most common reason for humans to be targeted is due to their relative abundance, allowing those that feed on sapience to have an ample supply of food. For the arcane reasons, many humans have some connection to the divine, allowing greater power to be used within spells should their souls be a catalyst. As humans largely come from a religious society, many could rather easily be manipulated by silver-tongued tricksters into declaring them into a deity and become followers.

## Characteristics

While Humans are one of the weakest mortal races individually, they have adapted by uniting themselves into larger groups and using every advantage they can obtain against rivals. Their tribalism is one of the reasons why they have survived for so long. However, their individuality is often one of their weakest points as it often leads to division.

### Appearance

Much like other mortals, humans possess a variety of body types with two arms, two legs, along with hands and feet that each have five digits. Along with their skin tone, human eye and hair colour are dependant on their genealogy and the environment from which their family originates.

The appearance of humans can be easily altered to fit the caster's desires as their souls are quite malleable to magical transformations.

## Powers & Abilities

Compared to other races, humans have very few special abilities or powers that would assist them within the moment. However, the long history of humanity has led them to become far more versatile and adaptability in the face of superior odds, often leading to the creation of magical spells and items that help make up for their vulnerabilities. While their advantages found within their weakness helps them against other races, it is not enough to provide an overwhelming leg up on Erdyn.

* **Connection to Divinity:** As humans have largely been "claimed" by gods who had made pacts with many of their ancient ancestors, humans have an easier time communication and summoning gods. Their particular connection to gods also gives the added benefit to gaining divine blessing, weapons and knowledge that could help them gain an advantage.

* **Magic:** While humans could use different types of magic, the most common is that of Spirit magic that uses the power of one's own soul as a power source, while elemental magic is more common among the more educated.
	+ **Spirit Magic**: Some humans have the innate ability to channel and manipulate the energy of their souls to augment their bodies. While useful for warriors, the overuse of Spirit Magic can overtax the user that could lead to death or becoming crippled, depending on how much of their soul energy they used. The user's conscious and unconscious self dictates the amount of soul energy they use in combat, largely depending on the person's personality.

## Affiliations

* **Eriyalis Empire**: As one of the oldest of the human nations, the Eriyalis Empire rules over the second largest territory of untamed land, and often faces many threats from their neighbours. Out of all human nations, the Empire has the poorest and most aggressive relationship with other races, and even with other humans. However, they still maintain diplomatic avenues with their enemies.

* **Adenya**: A land steeped in nobility, the kingdom of Adenya is ruled over by two kings, each of which are members of a ruling council comprised of the higher family houses. Home to many knightly orders and a strong religious beliefs, Adenya is one of the most well known of the human nations for a variety of reasons.

* **Enthadin**: Considered a religious centre with a large number of temples and holy orders compared to other human-centric states, Enthadin is often called the "City of Gods", despite no deities actually living there. While no true-divinities reside within the city-state, demigods and other minor divinities can be found within its walls, often raised as heroic saints. While not a nation proper, the Enthadin city-state is considered a province of Adenya, but operates largely independently.