People of Kazar

**People of the Trifecta – Workers of the Line**

The Trifectum is the most diverse and exotic of all the governments in the world of Kazar, being the only country that contains all races. All but a select few pay direct homage to one of the Trifecta.

## **Subjects of the President-Elect Morgana De Floc**

##### **Humans**

An ancient race believed to have been brought into being by Hildegard the Lifebringer, whom she granted only the fewest of living days. Humans are entrepreneurial, inquisitive and therefore dominate the surrounding countries of Vergenwell, Fuhdain and Chytyr. In Soskni, however, they are but a small part of a larger puzzle, sharing their mercantile roots with the halfling enclaves. The most influential families are those who first arrived on the shores less than five centuries ago, the merchants among them being the most powerful and influential.

Humans fill all sorts of roles in Soskni, from scholars to soldiers.

##### **Halflings**

Merchants of great renown, the majority thought to have migrated from Chytyr, following a genocidal era where several tribes attempted to wipe them out. Their grim past seldom interferes with their delightful mood, nor their aptitude for trade, fishing and farming, making them essential inhabitants of the bustling city of Soskni.

Many are those whoever who grumble as to why the halflings never have been able to achieve the office of President-Elect. But few are the haflings who truly desire to dabble in politics, as any kind of polarising opinion is foreign to them. Happy is he who can claim a halfling as his friend.

##### **Tieflings**

Believed to be the offspring of the traitor god Yakkavad, created in his demonic ideal, most are shunned and feared in other countries. But in the intellectual city of Soskni their toughness in relation to fire is seen as a boon, a gift allowing them to work close to the steam engines. Tieflings are often seen on the Line, working in the boiler rooms.

## **Subjects of Duke Burghoul the Wide**

##### **Dwarves**

They believe themselves to be children of Vallaka and Ramish, fire and water, born out of a mountain range created through their coupling. Parts of the dwarven body are covered in hardened rock, like a carapace, and when they’re born they are shaped almost like small rocks themselves. It is a symbol of pride amongst the dwarves if as little as possible of the rock-like texture falls off them (most disappears during their early youth). The closer they are to the stone, the more dwarven they feel. They are considered to be the youngest race of the world, first sighted by the elves 1500 years ago. This despite the fact that humans first landed on the continent less than five centuries ago.

The dwarves have a long and complex history, though centuries of in-fighting have led to the sacking of many a library, so much of their time in Kazar is lost to them. The oldest of their bards sing of a once great kingdom, fallen from grace, destroyed by their own creators, yet most dwarves consider this to be little more than a myth meant to give them a feeling of self-importance.

Being “Stoneborn” many dwarves are able to communicate with the mountains of Fyrrum themselves, making them excellent miners. Much of the metals they find are now sent on Steam singers destined for Soskni and the massive steam factories – to many a duke’s frustration.

##### **Half-Orcs**

Bred by dwarves to fight in their armies, they are created in deep pits by scientists, raised for war, imbued with the mental prowess of humans, whose genetic material melds well with orcish strength. Half-orcs are often treated almost as slaves, despite slavery being outlawed by the Trifecta fifty years ago. Those who are not fit to fight often work in the deepest parts of the dwarven mines, paid but a pittance for the risk they are forced to take. Occasionally a half-orc will escape and join the Line, much to the dwarves’ embarrassment.

## **Subjects of King Efrael**

##### **Wood-elves**

A solitary people, long lived and slow to anger. Elves are often impassionate, caring little for the steam which so fascinates their king. They have dwelt within the Groves of Yonder for as long as any care to remember. They train their kind mostly to be either druids or bards, who they call ***Treesingers***. These dwell amongst the strange, massive growths, enticing them to grow and wander. Elves, after having completed their tutelage, spend most of their lives in solitary wandering amidst the massive forest realm, seeking out a partner only in their autumnal years, to give birth to a single elven child.

This tradition is a point of contention for Efrael, who believes the population to be dwindling at a dangerous rate. But while younger elves are more enthusiastic regarding the Line, elders question how their king can hold his title when he sits beneath a roof of glass, instead of a canopy of trees.

##### **High-elves**

More a different culture than a race unto its own, high-elves do however have a paler countenance, and grow to be considerably taller than their woodland kin. High-elves dwell within the city of Soskni, having followed their king Efrael out of the forest during the emergence of steam. Swearing to ancient ideals of innovation and expansion, these elves are obsessed with the past, believing that elvendom arose from a realm other than the one they now reside in – a belief mocked by the Wood-elves in turn.

High-elves are to be found in many key functions in the grand society of the Trifecta. Naturally imbued with magic, their kind are often found as leaders of the **Trifectian Magi**, a fact which many other magic users, persecuted for their gifts, find darkly ironic.

## **Other**

##### **Gnomes**

A people isolated and hidden from the Trifecta, they dwell beneath the volcanic region of the Belching Wastes, where their masterful inventions keep them comfortable, having left their native lands of Fuhdain centuries ago. They rarely trade or interact with the Line, which occasionally rumbles by above their halls, carrying new workers to the edge of the Trifecta’s domain. All but a few specialize as Artificers, fielding no military and paying homage to no chief or king. Gnomish politics are said to be the most complicated in all of the land, never spoken aloud or communicated in a manner others can understand. Still, gnomish lands change hands in a constant peaceful manner. Only those thought to be bereft of social competence end up leaving, to explore or enlist onboard the Line. Their language and poetry is famous throughout the land, though many simply call it High-Common, not knowing its origin as the gnomish written tongue.

##### **Dragonborn**

Created by scholars of the Trifecta, who extracted genetic material from stolen dragon eggs found upon the peaks of Fyrrum, the Dragonborn are thought to be little more intelligent than trained mules. Used for manual labour, never given responsibility, prized for their strength. Though technically not slaves due to the laws imposed by the Trifecta, they are however “cared” for by Taskmasters who work them to the bone for a pittance.

Occasionally a Dragonborn is created who speaks and acts as intelligently as a man… or even as a dragon. Claiming to have memories of their draconic ancestry, imbued as a result of eating their own eggshells – an act shrouded in mystery. These dragonborn often take pity upon their stunted brethren, though feeling no connection, ultimately choose to leave the factories into which they were born, to the dismay of their Taskmasters.

## **Creatures & monsters of the Realm**

Most agree that the many creatures of the realms were shaped by the Bards of Anam, while most monsters are attributed to the meddling of Yakkavad.