Races

### Human

The human race is possibly the oldest race of the world. Contrary to popular belief, humans did not drive technological development in Valtheim. Humans primarily lived in tribes, making up the majority of the native peoples in this land prior to when Valth took his claim. Humans would practice the ethereal arts in their tribes, pioneering the fields of alchemy and documentation before they realized what effects it would hold on the land.

Humans come in all shapes, colours, and sizes, to put it bluntly. Many still live or hail directly from a tribe, the tattoos and markings of their illegitimate kingdoms still evident on their skin.

### Elves

The Elven race is incredibly broad, offering the most diversity of any species of man, followed by the human race. It holds its' own series of subspecies, each hailing historically from a different portion of the world.

**High Elves**
High elves often hail from the middle region of the world, where the climate is warm year-round and habitable. Historically speaking, high elves were the driving force of development, utilizing their magic to innovate everything from methodologies to objects in order to make life easier and safer. The ranks of high elves are proud to hold legendary scholars and mages, as well as a few warriors who dared to take up a sword and master it.

High elves come in colours ranging from a light peach to an olive gold. Their ears are long and tilted upwards; a trademark of their sub-race.

**Wood Elves**
Wood elves staked claim to the forested and plains regions of the world, north and south of the centre where their golden brethren lived. Wood elves are the most tribal of the elves, although that term is used incredibly loosely. They're famous for building entire cities high up in the trees, featuring feats such as running water at their high elevation and suspended bridges in the air. In the plains regions, they took to the grasslands to hunt with their bows and spears.

Wood elves are darker than high elves, with their skin tinted brown. The shade ranges from the lightest brown to the deepest bark-tone, and their ears are long and point straight-out from their head, increasing their already honed ability to hear and perceive.

**Dark Elves**
Dark elves are the most mysterious of the three elven races. They spawned from barren, seemingly uninhabitable lands with unbelievably harsh climates. Despite their distance in similarity from the other elves, they are embraced by their brethren as a very valuable race. Pioneers in everything from historical documentation and studies to farming techniques in the badlands, dark elves have pushed new technologies alongside the high elves, playing a crucial role in Valtheim's development. Members of this race are smart and cunning, and experts in a wide variety of fields.

Dark elves are, well, dark. With ashen skin ranging from the colour of smoke to a rich ebony, it's easy to see why this race could get a bad rap. Their ears range somewhere between wood elves' and high elves' in placement, ranging in length with a bit of a distinctive curl at the end.

### Dwarves

Created somewhere in the deepest recesses of the earth, the powerful and mighty dwarves have carved their way in to the history of Valtheim. They're believed to be less common now than before, but in reality they've only dug deeper in to the mountains. A specific race of dwarf has taken to the farmlands, however, inbreeding with the other races of the country to produce a slew of half-dwarf offspring. Short and stubborn, the dwarves produce the most beautiful crafts and quality weapons, flaunting their eye for detail in every corner.

Dwarves are shorter than humans, with pointed ears shorter than those of elves but longer than human's. They also typically stick straight out from the head like wood elves', giving question to their true heritage. Famous for thick, curly hair and brawny muscles, they're hard to miss - unless you happen to be very, very tall.

### Draconian

Not much has been documented about this rare race. Humanoids with dragon traits began appearing in lore thousands of years before the Great War, although they were often hunted for their... *odd* appearance. They all hail from a plane of hell, where the great dragons of legend were birthed from the bellows. While minor races of dragons are now native to Valtheim and different portions of the world, draconians are always the result of a great dragon's humanoid form breeding with another humanoid. Increasingly rare, only a few still exist in the world, even less in Valtheim. Charrtus-Shee, the sister to the queen, has made it a point to know every single one of these dragon-shifters.

Draconians are most commonly humans with dragon traits, such as wings and a tail. Depending on their ancient-dragon-parental-unit, their appearance is altered distinctively. The history of these creatures is locked up in the royal library, and a formal request is needed to access it. The most powerful draconians become full dragon-shifters like their dragon parent, although they pack much less of a punch than their allele donor.

\*\*[Admin Note: These creatures require admin approval for the sole reason that they are few and far between, and their visual traits must be given to the character's owner, depending on the dragon of origin they choose. The identity of these dragons has not yet been revealed in the plot.]

### Fae

The fae are magical beings, with their antiquity holding the notion that they were once a relative of the elven race. Since then, they have evolved in to something entirely different, holding many a member of subspecies. They are so diverse that scholars have nearly given up on documenting the ever-changing race.

This race holds everything from satyrs and centaurs to fairies, dryads and sprites. However, the 4-inch pixies of fairy tales do not exist here, as they have not yet evolved or been created as a scientific mistake.

### Animalistic

Part-animal, part-human, these abominations of man and beast are a race that's growing in numbers in Valtheim. While they do not hail from Valtheim, they have been migrating to the country in increasing amounts. Each animalistic is the result of an animal's patron spirit mating with a human whilst in their part-human guise. They typically have longer lifespans than humans do, their average member reaching adulthood at around 60~65 years of age. Their physical appearance depends on the ratio of what percentage of their heritage is animal and what percentage is human. Many take up the behavioral traits of their animal half, but it's only a commonality some have noticed.

### Abyssal

Abyssals are old. *Very* old. While their appearance does not change much over time (they age incredibly slowly, like an eternal fountain of youth), their power does. Abyssals are the result of demon inbreeding illegally in society for generations, only holding less than half-demon ancestry. Regardless, many still have horns and pointed ears, with skin colours ranging from ridiculous reds to realistic, humanoid skin tones. Depending on their ancestry, abyssals can appear more or less demonic, and their power as a demon decreases with each generation that existed in their heritage before them.

The most powerful abyssals have been long-since banished back to their realm, and the few that remain are strong, yet ironically weak - while they hold demonic powers, the alienation between their skill level and their founding father's is laughable.

\*\*[Admin Note: Clear this with an admin, just to be sure that everything regarding their power, age, and heritage is in line.]