Ancestries of Enelis
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Human Ancestries
The ancestries of humans range far and wide, with many differing cultures. The cultural elements will be further explored in a later section devoted to the civilizations and nations. The following are the most ancestries and ethnic groups of humans. Most human ancestries are referred to by their draconic name as is listed here, ‘drie’ being the draconic name for humans. Typical skin tones, hair colors and style, and eye tones are listed here, but there are often many exceptions. These ethnic groups are not definitive, as most individuals likely have heritage from more than one ethnic group. No human on Ularin can truly claim to be a ‘pure’ member of a single ethnic group, although many often try.
Amarie (Amardrie)
Skin: Fair to tanned skin tones.
Hair: Straight hair of various brown hues.
Eyes: Light-brown, gray, or green eyes.
Size: Average heights and builds.
The Amarie are a people who settled in the rocky coastal regions of what is now Astonia. In the ancient days, the Amarie people stretched across these lands in agricultural and pastoral villages. They encountered the Elves, who taught them better agricultural techniques and how to cooperate and organize themselves into larger settlements. Over time, the Amarie people would be some of the most successful city-builders and traders, helping to connect the eastern coasts and beyond. Many of the Amarie people intermingled with the Elves, creating the Eshmar, those with both Elf and Human lineage. The Amarie built great kingdoms, with a society that valued knowledge, philosophy, and commerce. When the Nomendrie came to the shores of Ularin, they found the prosperous Amarie civilization. Over time, the Amarie adopted the culture and ways of the Nomendrie, creating the vast and powerful Nomen Empire, connecting all the known world in the Second Age. Their culture, ideas, and language have pervasively impacted the rest of the continent. To this day, most aristocrats and nobles proudly claim their Amarie ancestry, considered second only to a Nomendrie ancestry in high society. The Amarie are viewed as a sophisticated and multicultural people, known to be interested in philosophy, science and the arts. They are also renown city-builders and soldiers, creating organized and effective military organizations.
Noradrie
Skin: Pale to fair skin tones.
Hair: Wavy hair of blonde, light-brown, or red hues.
Eyes: Blue, gray, or green eyes.
Size: Tall heights with often brawny builds.
The Noradrie literally means “humans of the north” in the old dragon tongue. These people long dwelt in the northernmost reaches of Ularin. They have survived dominance by the Jotuns and, through the guidance of the Dwarves, developed a powerful warrior-culture that continues to keep Jotun and Orcs at bay. They have been at war with the Orcs of Hashan since the first Orcish Horde nearly 4 millennia ago. The Noradrie were also often aggressive with their southern neighbors, the Amarie. The Noradrie even formed a great empire that overmatched the dwindling Noman Empire, overtaking and occupying their capital city for nearly a decade. The Noradrie people are seen as a tough and hardworking people, with a strong warrior culture. They are often associated with physical strength and prowess on the battlefield, as berserkers, Vikings, and ridders (heavy calvary). However, the Noradrie people are also known for their metal-work, textiles, and progressive animal husbandry. They are known as lovers of horses and many are great riders as well.
Toldrie
Skin: Fair to tanned skin tones.
Hair: Straight hair of dark brown to black hues.
Eyes: Brown or hazel eyes.
Size: Average heights and builds.
The Toldrie are a people that have been often displaced throughout history. They originated in the rolling hills of what is now Verland and Kalrua. During their early societal development, the Toldrie people did not have the guidance of Elves or Dwarves. Their early society was dominated by warlords, creating much strife and lawlessness. Unlike the sprawling city-states of the northern Amarie, the lands of the Toldrie remained as small fortified villages and fortress-towns. Power changed hands often in the chaos, as intrigue and war dominated life. When the Nomen Empire then expanded southward, the divided Toldrie people were easily subjugated by their northern neighbors. While most Toldrie were incorporated into the growing empire, others remained as small societies hidden on the outskirts of the larger civilization. The Toldrie people tend to be fiercely loyal and somewhat fanatical to the groups they belong, whether to a knightly order of Verland, or to the Cult of Bael in Kalrua. They are known to be a superstitious and mistrusting people, but once you’ve earned their respect they are loyal and welcoming.
Seldrie
Skin: Tanned to tawny skin tones.
Hair: Straight hair of very dark or black hues.
Eyes: Brown eyes.
Size: Average heights and builds.
The Seldrie people originated along the southern coasts of Ularin. They quickly took to sailing and boat-craft, quickly expanding across the Inner Sea. Much like the Toldrie people, the Seldrie often fought among themselves. However, the Seldrie developed vast trade networks across the islands of the Inner Sea with the Arathians and the Xayadrie. The fortified cities of the southern coasts became a hotbed of trade and the Seldrie became known for their diplomacy and mercantilism. For the Seldrie, the most important things in life were wealth, trade, and the sea. When the Noman Empire expanded into the southern coasts, the Seldrie people incorporated into the Empire with little resistance. From there, the Seldie people dispersed into the rest of the Empire, bringing their trade networks with them. However, most people with Seldrie ancestry can still be found in the southern coasts of Migara.
Selicean
Skin: Russet to tawny skin tones.
Hair: Coily or curly hair, sometimes straight, dark brown and black hues.
Eyes: Brown eyes.
Size: Average heights and builds.
The Selicean people are the result of the intermingling of the Xayadrie and the Seldrie over the centuries. The two disparate ancestries both settled on the islands of the Inner Sea. Over time, these people intermixed and co-existed, developing a unique culture and mixed ancestry, such that most recognize the Seliceans as an entirely separate ethnic group. Seliceans are often quick to laugh and find joy in all the things they do. They are known as expert fishermen and sea-farers, creating vast trade networks across the Inner Sea. When Seliceans trade, they are often more eager to create connections and relationships than to build personal wealth.
Firemyst Jungles: Selicean Tribes
– Ijo (friendly coastal tribe)
– Zali (war-like jungle tribe)
– Zenja (neutral jungle tribe)
– Abazi (tribe of the sacred serpent)
– Ghedi (neutral swamp tribe)
Tabanya Jungles: Selicean Tribes
– Ubja
– Zeeli
– Doani
– Maheejo
Jungle of Snakes: Selicean Tribes
– Sajaho
Xayadrie
Skin: Russet to cocoa-brown tones.
Hair: Curly to coily hair with black or dark-brown hues.
Eyes: Dark-brown eyes.
Size: Shorter heights and thinner builds.
The ancient Xayadrie people once dominated the Inner Sea islands and the southern peninsula of Ularin. However, their powerful Xaya Empire eventually collapsed and many of their people fell back into hunter-gatherer societies, disconnected from their former homeland on Xelhasa. Soon, the Seldrie came to dominate the Inner Sea, leading to the intermixing of the Xayadrie with the Seldrie. What remains of the Xayadrie people can be found as isolated tribes and clans on the islands of the Inner and Selicean Seas. On the Xelhasa peninsula can be found a large civilization of Xayadrie people called the Axaca, but little is known about these people. Although rumors suggest that these people are very war-like and have human sacrifices upon grand ziggurat-temples in their cities.
Arathian (Arathdrie)
Skin: Deep bronze, copper, to ochre skin tones.
Hair: Straight or curly hair with black or dark-brown hues.
Eyes: Dark-brown eyes.
Size: Shorter heights and smaller builds.
Arathdrie means “star-humans” in the draconic tongue and even the Arathians view themselves as a people from another world beyond the stars. The Arathians are said to have come to Enelis from a world ravaged by violent weather, famine, and plagues. The first god-pharaoh Thorus, was said to have saved and transported these people to Enelis where they then built one of the first great human civilizations. Arathians are mostly isolated to Arathkelsara and the nearby lands. Arathians are primarily known as a people of great faith, seemingly treating the afterlife and the world beyond Enelis with utmost importance. Some willingly let their physical bodies be toiled by labor for decades in faith to their pharaoh, believing that in their next life, they shall be blessed with spiritual enlightenment. Arathians are not known to be very pragmatic, they tend to care more about faith and belief than the material world. They are known to be quite insular and untrusting of other peoples. Since this physical world matters little to them, they often see all things as a commodity that can be traded for the right price. Slavery and control over the lives of others is commonplace, as they see it as an extension of a spiritual hierarchy, where fate and the will of the gods have made it so.
Azandrie
Skin: Bronze to tanned skin tones.
Hair: Straight hair with black or dark-brown hues.
Eyes: Dark-brown eyes.
Size: Shorter heights and smaller builds.
The Azandrie are found primarily in the lands beyond the western mountains of Arathkelsara. Although, some of their nomadic clans can be found roaming the southern reaches of the Freewind Savannah. Little is actually known about these people other than they tend have a semi-nomadic lifestyle. With the arrival of horses to their lands, they became quite mobile. The largest group of Azandrie belong to the powerful Azanghys Khanate, a warrior-society led by their warlord khan. They are known for their deadly mounted archers than can strike quickly and effectively. The Azandrie are a practical and terse people, accustomed to surviving in tough open terrain. They are also known for their textiles and animal husbandry, for only the Noradrie are as well practiced with horses and cattle.
Dyrferd
Skin: Ruddy to tanned skin tones.
Hair: Wavy hair of browns, blondes, and red hues.
Eyes: Blue, gray, and green eyes.
Size: Tall heights with often brawny builds.
The Dyrferd tribes are shamanistic semi-nomadic, hunter-gatherer tribes of the north. These people cling to very old traditions that predate Noradrie culture. They descend from the people that managed to escape enslavement by the ancient Jotun empires. Many tribes venerate a specific animal spirit that embodies the spirit and attitude of the tribe. The tribes tend to settle temporarily for the short summers in the north, gathering what they can of the forests and plains. In the long winters, the tribes follow the herds of reindeer, caribou, or elk across the land to ensure their survival in the harsh climate. Some tribes also follow and hunt the mighty mammoths that roam the wild northern grasslands. The Dyrferd people exclusively wear hides and furs, draped over their bodies and tied with sinew. Many consider the Dyrferd to be wild barbarians and their physical appearance would not disagree with that assessment. They wear various animal totems as jewelry and are quite fond of horns and ivory. Physically the Dyrferd people greatly resemble other Noradrie, however, they tend to have darker hair colors and a ruddy, sunbaked skin-tone. Most Dyrferd only speak their tribe’s variation of the Dyrferd language, though some also speak a common language known as Dyrferd, an ancient Old Noradrie that is used as a trade language between the tribes. Dyrferd people have an animalistic religion overseen by their shamans.
Nupik
Skin: Very pale skin tones.
Hair: Straight black hair.
Eyes: Dark brown eyes.
Size: Short heights with rounder builds.
The Nupik tribes are semi-nomadic groups of humans that originate from an unknown land. During a change in climate, the Nupik tribes migrated across the northern lands into northern Ularin, following the seals, walruses, and whales into new territory. Now that the climate has warmed again, some of the Nupik tribes remained in the northern-most parts of the continent, still hunting their favored prey. These people are adept hunters on the sea, using kayaks made from hides. During the winters, they create igloos composed of solid ice and snow as shelters. The Nupik people are quite short compared to the Noradrie, with stout, somewhat chubby bodies that provides them with insulating layers of fat. They typically have black hair and tapered eyes. Their skin is usually quite pale in color. Most Nupik only speak their own language, Nupik. However, some may speak Noradrie as a trade language. The Nupik have their own small pantheon of spirits and beasts that they worship.