Humanoid

Traditionally, the term "humanoid" has been used to refer to any creature with a vaguely human-like build (upright posture, upper and lower limbs, head on top, ect.). In Iuldar, however, the term "Humanoid" has a specific meaning. It refers to all of the sentient races of Iuldar which are, collectively, either descended from the Jhiriska race or the Jhiriska themselves, making it a true, monophyletic clade.

## Classification

As stated, a "Humanoid" on Iuldar is defined strictly by descent from the Jhiriska - or, more correctly, from the interbreeding of Terran Humans and Kitooni starting at the beginning of the Dawn Age. All of the Humanoids of Iuldar belong to one, single species - *Homo iuldaris*. *Homo iuldaris* includes the three great humanoid kindreds of Iuldar: The Vros, the Jhoshik, and the Hoshr.

### Ancestral

The ancestral Humanoid races aren't considered a true "kindred" by traditional classification methods. Rather, they represent a unified Humanoid paradigm, prior to the division into separate kindreds. Ancestral to all living Humanoids are the Jhiriska and the Hashbrin. The Tyzari are considered to belong to this ancestral group because they are extinct today, and are directly descended from the Jhiriska with no intermediary stages - but they did not leave behind any descendants.

### Vros

*Main: Vros kindred, Category:Vros Races*

Broadly speaking, the Vros kindred consists of Humanoids with a khaalnas that threads tightly throughout their bodies, giving them a generally increased magical proclivity. They are sometimes called the "Elf-like" or "Elven" kindred, though not all members of the kindred are Elves.

### Jhoshik

*Main: Jhoshik kindred, Category:Jhoshik Races*

The counterpart to the Vros, the main distinguishing feature of the Jhoshik is the fact that their khaalnas only threads through their musculature and skeleton, leading to a generally lower magical proclivity than the Vros. They are sometimes called the "Human-like" kindred.

### Hoshr

*Main: Hoshr kindred, Category:Hoshr Races*

There are two interpretations of the Hoshr kindred: One of which has the Hoshr as a wastebasket taxon (i.e. any Humanoid that isn't Vros or Jhoshik), the other of which sees the Hoshr as the only kindred which is a true clade. Either way, it is sometimes referred to as the "Orc-like" or "Goblin-like" kindred.

### Other

In addition to these, there are some Humanoid races on Iuldar that lie outside of the three traditional kindreds. This includes the Kreg, Kar-Stel, and the T'shodans. To some, these are considered "fringe" members of the Hoshr kindred (see that kindred's entry above). But as they are not descended from the ancestral Hoshroim, they are not included in the Hoshr kindred under the cladistic paradigm. They are simply "non-kindred".

## Characteristics

Befitting the "normal" definition of humanoid, the Humanoids of Iuldar mostly have a build like a human's, though there is considerable room for variation. They are bipedal and upright, with a head on top of a neck and two pairs of limbs: arms and legs. One difference between a standard human build and the Humanoids of Iuldar is that some, though not many, Iuldari Humanoids have tails. Most Humanoids have at least some melanin in their skin, but in many Humanoid races it's not a great amount and is overshadowed by other pigments, leading to a wide range of unusual skin colors.

All humanoids have an internal magic system called a khaalnas,