Humans

In the absence of multiple sentient races, this page details the various ways the humans of Souls Alighting typically distinguish themselves from us regular non-magic, non-fantasy folk, and each other. Okay, maybe got a little obsessed by the magic part of this. Not gonna talk about dragons. Dragons aren't people.

## Anthropology

The people in the original Souls Alighting are of a fairly uniform European style phenotype, but there are a few outstanding traits related to geographical origin.

### Low Kingdom

The people of the Low Kingdom are a simple folk, straightforward and sturdy, with a good grasp of technology, with an ancestry of mainly farmers and no upper class, nor much of a regard for one. They tend to have light brown hair and round, friendly faces. Relying mainly on safe physical technology and machinery, they don't produce as many mages as the other races, which means those born with a talent for magic are usually quite popular among the masses. These mages have a tendency to specialise in earth and sometimes water, matching their temperament.

### High Kingdom

Fair haired and regal, the residents of the High Kingdom are unique in that they are not descended from the natural residents of the land they inhabit, but invaders from beyond the boundary, which is now an impassable barrier. Their technology, especially magic based, used to be the most advanced on the subcontinent, but much has been forgotten in favour of carving a self-sufficient country out of the mountains they call home. This means that a lot of the magic that they developed, in particular blood magic, cannot be easily reversed. That being said, the people of the High Kingdom are fairly well magic orientated, and the best magical research is conducted within the High Kingdom. High Kingdomers specialise in light and wind magic, but this distinction is small because of the high ratio of mages.

### Old Kingdom

These are the people who inhabited the High Kingdom before it was invaded, wily, hardy and intelligent, living tribally in the mountains and the forests and warring with one another like barbarians before the outsiders took control. Few remain, since the recent war drove the last of them from the forests to the west, but those who remained in the High Kingdom were well accepted for their heroic, if pragmatic natures, and most High Kingdomers share blood with the old tribes. They were the original druids, well versed in dark magic, and only improved once the high technology was introduced to the mountains. Black haired and slight.

### Empire

The Empire spanning the entire eastern section of the subcontinent contains people from all kinds of origins, usually part of its substantial standing army. Like their Old Kingdom cousins, the race is warlike, but these tribes started to organise themselves once the High Kingdomers arrived, posing a substantial threat which prevented them from settling in the east. Highly populated and with an army trained in magic, they rival the High Kingdom in their modern magical technology, and only their lack of flight and terrain disadvantage prevents them from adding the country to their collection. The natural residents of the Empire are varied and versatile, but their most notable clans contain red or brown haired masters of fire magic, seldom found outside the country.

## Humans and Magic

Magic has a substantial effect on how any particular person works, acts, and fights. Every human can use magic in Souls Alighting, but the degree is important.

### Non-Magical Humans

These are exactly the same as you and I. Throw any real world human into the world of Souls Alighting and this is what they will amount to. These are people who have never attempted to use magic, or barely attempted to act beyond their abilities, or simply lack the knack for magic. It is quite simple to gain magical abilities from this state, but for a commoner who has no requirement to fight, or extend their means of action, this is a perfectly acceptable way to be in the world of Souls Alighting. Many armies are made from those without magical abilities, often considered a lower class of soldier, but that's usually because the superior mages have never personally faced a well trained and experienced force of "muggles", who are quite capable of taking out the latter. The one huge disadvantage of non-magical folk is that they lack any kind of natural resistance to magic, and can be considered terrain as far as offensive spells are concerned. That being said, if exposure to magic doesn't outright kill an ordinary human, it will usually wake some basic magical abilities in them, not what you'd want to happen in a pitched battle.

### Magical Humans

Not wizards, not trained in magic in particular, these are merely people with awakened magical abilities. Physical matter, heat, earth, air, water, light, flesh, all are categorised with certain elemental magic designations. For a person with the most basic of magical abilities, these elements can be forced into a state of minor flux within that person's body. They are not capable of influencing the world beyond that. This kind of magic requires a direct nervous connection to implement. The effect of this flux is usually strongest in the elements according to the nature of the person, and should that person make the jump to mage, that will usually be the magic they start with. Not being a specialized mage, however, allows all of the elements to be controlled subtly, giving a generic, but still notable, set of superhuman abilities. Being awakened in magic also makes it much harder for a magical spell to kill a person, requiring spells of at least the third level to reliably kill people, where merely the first level will suffice for non-magical types. As a result, it is commonest to be awakened in war torn areas, where a country in a time of peace will be mainly non-magical people. The abilities of awakened humans can often be dangerous to the user or those around them without practice. These abilities are listed below, the nature of a person usually emphasising certain traits among them.

#### Fire

A minor level of control over the heat in one's body can be used to stimulate muscles, causing an increase in strength that lasts for a while. It is also much easier for a fire based person to withstand cold. Control of fire requires feelings of passion, and the most passionate of people create the most visible effect. This does mean that the ability is a little touchy, and may only show itself in say... a bar fight, rather when you specifically need to carry something heavy.

#### Water

Also related slightly to heat, the kind of effects water control can give a person are versatile. Being able to reduce one's own temperature at will makes heat much less threatening, but the effects of water on the body itself are related to actual fluidity. Joints can be lubricated, and one's ability to balance can be enhanced, allowing a body to flow like water, this is amazing for martial artists. The aspect of ice can also be called upon by the calmest of water controllers, and that has the opposite effect, allowing soft parts of the body to be temporarily solidified, which can even make one stab-proof in the best cases.

#### Earth

This form of magic that affects gravity and structure is slow acting and difficult to use at will by a non-mage. The traits associated with it are directness, common sense, stubbornness, basically to use earth, you have to be "down to earth". Since that sort of personality trait is constant, the effects of earth magic for a non-mage are entirely passive. Bone and tissue density increases, and it becomes increasingly hard to move the user without their permission. These effects are very noticeable in a specialist, and in conjunction with water control makes a formidable defense. (To non-magical attacks at least, still, an awakened person is very dangerous to a mage.)

#### Air

Among other things, air control lets one hold their breath for a long time. Its effects are also entirely passive, and have the opposite effects to earth control. This is not ideal, fragile bones and low mass are difficult to handle as a human, and dangerous. Usually the effects balance with earth and a person doesn't have to worry about losing too much weight. For an air specialist, though, being physically weak as a result of their own magic potential is a constant threat. Fortunately, air magic is highly chaotic, and only responds to brief bursts of intent or impulse, the drive to move and be unshackled. So, for only a brief instant, one is able to move at speed and jump high. Emphasis is on the speed. Still, most non-mages prefer fire, since increased power and reduced weight have similar effects.

#### Light

Intent is an important facet of one trying to control the normally intangible force of light, but with drive and direction, one can grasp the forces of order magic without being a mage. This leads to a temporarily increased reaction speed, and significant clarity of senses, especially vision. Hand eye coordination and dexterity are also increased. The effects of light magic are decidedly temporary, only activating for a magical individual as and when required, but very reliable, meaning that practically any layman with a hint of magical ability will get the desired boost to their senses when in a critical situation.

#### Dark

Dark magic is generally misunderstood, but for a non mage it is one of the easier spheres to access, like... all the time, at completely arbitrary levels, most of the time without noticing it. Darkness is chaos, and thought, and regeneration, and the biggest factor in magical humans appearing superhuman. They simply will think more quickly and recover from injuries faster. Those in possession of the dark aspect will naturally be the smartest, but that also means that it's easier for them to find non-magical solutions to a problem, hence why most of them don't notice their abilities unless pushed.

### Mages

The next position on the scale of magical abilities is mage. A mage isn't merely a magical creature, they are also an elemental one. Their bodies are no longer magically closed systems, and they suffer from the same strengths and weaknesses as elementals, admittedly to a lesser degree. A mage still has the ability to direct the flux of element magic in their body, but only those of the elements with which they are aligned. The point of being a mage is that they are no longer just moving magic about, they can actively take a charge from outside of their body and use it to cast the spells which are a staple of the series. Combat between mages relies less on superhuman abilities, and more on strategy, use of projectiles, switching between elements to get an advantage, charging magic into a weapon, or your own body, erecting a shield. In this world, mages are the people who get things done, most of the protagonists fit this category eventually, armies prize them, it's pretty much the safest thing to be. (Being less than a mage puts you in danger from mages, the process of casting the first spell can be fatal, which is why there aren't more mages, and moving to other categories brings other challenges.)

### Wizards

A wizard is a mage who lets magic go to his/her head. Magic is very inefficient if you are a mere mage. You get your charge, the freaky wizarding wi-fi system gives you a vague outline of what to do to get the desired effect, and most of the magic dissipates after the spell is cast. Wizards are the ones who read spellbooks, learn what the symbols floating before their eyes when they use magic actually mean, and subsequently use more complicated spells, harnessing a much greater percentage of the magical charge available to them. As a mage advances, they learn to write their own spell, just a fraction of one, that's all the human brain can handle, but it is unique to them, and said spell eventually becomes a part of the whole system of magic. Putting the details in a book allows other wizards and even mages to tap into these abilities. Simply put, wizards have access to all the spells mages get, plus more, and these are all more complicated and powerful and diverse. Now for the downsides. Their brains are literally rewired by the magic they use, a master of fire who uses passion for power finds that he no longer has room for any other emotion. A water wizard finds himself so calm as to be apathetic, an earth wizard loses the ability to change tack, while an air wizard becomes unable to focus, light wizards become harsh and judgmental while dark wizards slip into chaos and insanity. These changes occur in mages too, but can be intolerable for a wizard, which is why there are not many. Wizards also tend to lose the use of one of their hands, except for magic, and they also lose their innate magical abilities, meaning they are traditionally less physical. Concentration becomes far more important, without it spells take longer to cast than for a mage and are more cumbersome.

### Sages

There are only six sages, one for each element. This is a good thing, because it means most people don't have to suffer the misery of being a sage. Long ago, some smart wizards decided it would be a smart idea to make magic cloud sourced instead of each one having to learn and go through the rigmarole of patiently learning and memorising every symbol and hand movement from a thousand books. It was actually a pretty smart idea. For a start it allowed the existence of mages, uneducated people who could cast magic spells on instinct. The side effect was sages, apparently the method they used required some sort of central node for the information carried by that strand of elemental magic to pass through. Sages can cast fifth level magic with a flick of a hand and a vague thought. They don't even appear to suffer much for it, simply being a conduit, chosen because they happen to have the strongest natural ability for that particular magic. Unfortunately there's that whole fifth level magic with a thought thing. Nobody wants that to be near them, that qualifies as a bad, bad thing. Another curious thing about sages is the way that whenever another magic capable being (any human) comes into contact with them, they immediately link to the magical network, amass a magical charge in excess of the fifth level, somehow, and then cease to be. It's not nice to be a sage, or near one, or powerful enough that you turn into one within a year of the last one dying.

### Necromancers

You think sages have a problem? What if you're a perfectly normal druid, going about his daily business of healing the wounded, and then it turns out that the last guy you healed was unconscious because he was dead, and that somehow that didn't matter a jot, and that you now have this weird connection to all of his memories floating around inside the dark magic network? I'll give you a clue, like most of the sadistic things I throw into SA, it's not fun! I mean, sure... everything seems normal, and you can ignore the floaty memories for most of the time. and then you use your magic again and for some reason you have double the processing power and still no real drawbacks and then you accidentally break the time limit on ressurecting people and accidentally take on the memories and processing power of everyone to ever die within a five mile radius of yourself and more power! MORE POWER! Ahahahaha! Then you find yourself with a skeleton army that you somehow have to feed... and come up against two or three druids with sad, sad expressions and are grabbed from behind... shhhhhh... Well... at least it's better than being a dragon.

### Heirs

Now, an heir is a pretty cool thing to be, it means that one of your ancestors had some pretty hard core spells cast on them, and you're probably some kind of prince or something. You've got a weapon in your blood and you don't even need to be magical to use it! All you have to do is cut yourself and splatter your blood somewhere and say some kind of hammy quote that probably has the word 1000 in it somewhere and you get some kind of weapon based superpower with an awesome legendary weapon name. It's just like in the storybooks! Just... read the manual first... and hope to hell there is a manual, and that you're not some kind of mongrel with a bunch of different blood magics in you, and that if you are they're the type that get along.

(and that's all that came of this caffeine fueled dive into my world's humanity!)