Peoples

Humans are not the only mortals in Valerna. The continent has a great variety of sentient species, which refer to themselves as ‘peoples’ to distinguish their kind from animals and monsters.

Humans
The most common people in Valerna, humans are adaptable, inventive and organized, famous among other peoples for their contradictions. Humans are very individualistic but good at establishing institutions; they build the simplest settlements but write the most complex books; they have unlimited potential in all forms of magic but their connection to Vaala is the weakest; and while short-lived, they can build a legacy for millennia in the span of a few years.

Most humans lack inborn magical powers, instead developing their skills and abilities to adapt to their environment and needs. A few, however, manifest some kind of inherited power, based on one of the aspects of Vaala (Dream, Source or Will). These empowered individuals count as subspecies of humans, which trade some of their human versatility for innate supernatural powers. Most of these ‘empowered humans’ come from normal parents, so their existence is usually attributed to a random, stronger link to Vaala.

Elves
While mortal, elves remain the most long-lived, carefree, patient and untroubled of all peoples. Slender and delicate, they like beauty in all its forms, particularly if it comes from art or nature. Their Vaala tends to be stronger in the Fai aspect, and their innate abilities lend themselves to Dream magic, but they can become very powerful in any form of spellcasting.

All elven breeds have lifespans of hundreds of years, which gives them rich lore and culture. For the same reason, their customs are varied and colorful, with as many different elven cultures as there are elf settlements in Valerna.

Dwarves
Dwarves are stout and short creatures of the Earth, who prefer to live close to the soil, stone and minerals. While not particularly good spellcasters, they have a strong inner connection to Vaala, manifesting its aspects in their natural, physical form.

As opposed to other mortals, who came about spontaneously from the essence of Protogons after the Second Age, dwarves were made (they say forged) by an unnamed, surviving Protogon during the Age of Mortals. The purpose of their creation is unknown, but they resemble the gnomes that came just before them, only taking out most of the sense of humor and adding in a stubborn work ethic.

Gnomes
The people from below, the tunnel dwellers, gnomes are short, smart humanoids, naturally gifted for planning and building. They come in myriad colors and countenances, which over generations come to resemble the materials they work with; thus, the original miners and crafters of their kind became Gold Gnomes, while the grand architects of the ancient Altanesi became Jade Gnomes, and the healing masters of the forest turned into the Bone Gnomes.

Halflings
The smallest of humanoid peoples, halflings are a common sight everywhere in Valerna, mostly as an integral, almost symbiotic part of human cultures. They look like three-foot tall, pointy-eared humanoids with hairless skin and wide eyes, with breeds that look more feral and others that seem friendlier.

Orcs
The term ‘orc’, an Old Altanesi word for ‘ogre’, is often used to refer to a strong, hardy people originally from the East of Valerna. Orcs have no single name for their species, preferring to call themselves by their separate ethnonyms - obakkar, orlar and ogerron.

Orcs are tall, strong, and very cunning in hunting and battle, living in clans with well-structured hierarchies. Some orc breeds are human-sized, while others are massive giants. While they are fundamentally carnivores, all orcs have a close relationship with a special food or substance which, beyond nourishment, gives them strength. Each orc tribe has their own empowering substance, and when consuming it they gain strength, bravery and ferocity.

Beastfolk
After elves, humans and gnomes arose from Protogon sparks, so other animals became touched by Vaala and awakened to sentience. These beastfolk, as they are collectively called, are animals that grew, or evolved by Vaala, into civilized peoples.

Saurians
The generalization ‘Saurians’ encompasses a great variety of peoples with lizard-like or avian features, mostly located in the South and Western lands, such as Nahuac and the Amber Wastes. They are evolved from the archaic saurid creatures of the Southorn, which would make their evolution parallel to that of all other peoples.