Humans

> "*You are right, Dread-kin. The Human has no magic, he has no wings, nor supreme strength, nor unmatched intellect. He has neither the favour of Gods nor Titans. He is attacked on all fronts by threats within and without, from this world and the one beyond.
> But the Human stands his ground against those who would seek his annihilation. He has stood his ground for five thousand years. What is your excuse?*"
> ― Inquisitor Carian Colageras
>
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## Human

### Species

Homo Sapiens

Humans are the dominant intelligent race in Inecuria, and are the near-exclusive intelligent inhabitants of the rest of the Earth. As a Human yourself (presumably), you know what Humans are, so their biological traits need not be described.

It has long been something of a puzzle to historians as to why exactly Humans are the dominant race of Inecuria and seemingly always have been, at least ever since the Annihilation. Humans do not have the strength of the Orcs, the flight of the Harpies and Cisens, the intellect and magic of the Elfkin or the sheer awesome power of the Dragons - and yet this species, supposedly inferior on paper, is by far the most successful and numerous of the intelligent mortals. Several physical and mental traits that are unique to Humanity have been proposed as explanations over the centuries, but little can be universally agreed upon.

The most significant physical advantage that Humans have over all other races is reproduction, as Humans are the fastest-breeding of all intelligent folk. Menstruation, pregnancy and maturation are all faster in Humans than in most other races; only the Orcs have shorter pregnancies and mature earlier, but their menstrual cycle is longer and they are less fertile (that is, sex is less likely to result in fertilisation). The effect of this only compounded over time, allowing the Human population to massively outnumber all others. The advantage of being incomparably superior in manpower and production capacity allowed Human civilisations to overcome many of their shortcomings compared to other races.

Humans are also often described as striking a good balance between physical and mental capabilities, whereas some races specialise in one aspect to the detriment of the other. Orcs are the strongest of the hominids but generally have a lower IQ (though the matter of their intelligence is not as simple as this - their average IQ is lower but they have very few individuals below the average and many above it), whereas Elfkin are highly intelligent but have comparatively weak bodies - which could not be compensated for with magic after its disappearance in the 11th-12th centuries. Some scholars have argued that Humans are the only race to have an ideal balance between these two aspects, and there is a serious argument to be made that the high average IQ of Elfkin is often a detriment to their society.

Arguments have also been made that certain behavioural and cultural traits of Humans are responsible for their dominance over all others, and once again it concerns the matter of meeting what is considered an ideal balance. Some scholars argue that Human civilisations met a perfect balance between aggression and peacefulness, hierarchy and freedom, stubbornness and pragmatism and innovativeness and conservatism, where most non-Human civilisations tended too strongly in one direction or the other. Human civilisations also tended to have a much stronger sense of a common racial identity than most non-Humans; there are many historical cases of rival Human realms agreeing to a truce to face a powerful non-Human threat, whereas instances of this are relatively rare in other races, and there are instead many recorded instances of non-Humans allying with Humans to defeat their kinsmen - with the notable exceptions of the Vampires and Kuahi Orcs. It cannot be ignored that the Humans were the first to put aside their differences and unite against the Cosmovores in the War for the World, whereas it was often much harder to convince other races to do the same - however, many scholars argue that the main factors for this were geopolitical and not related to cultural notions of unity. It should be noted, however, that the "cultural theory" of Human domination is contested by many non-Human scholars, who instead point to physical factors as being the main cause.