Races of Anatemia

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Human:

Physical appearance: Humans seem to have more variety in appearance than other races…in fact let’s be honest here…you know what a bloody human looks like. Humans from Heldegar and the former lands of Alamastique are all white skinned, humans from Ninvah and Alyssinia are all dark skinned.

Height males: 5.8-6.2 average.

            Females: 5.3-5.9 average.

Life expectancy: around 70 years.

 

The lands of the humans are a mix of forests and grasslands, the two counties of Fratane and Eistane which make up the kingdom of Heldegar are a contrast to each other, Eistane is a quiet region with some farming and hunting, but it is the home of wizardry. Fratane is heavily populated and farmed, several towns surround the great capital. Their towns and villages are generally 1-2 storey buildings of wood and daub with slate roofs.

The humans of Anatemia are a straight forward strong willed but divided people. Once their kings ruled from Great Alamastique, their gaze covering half the continent at their peak. But 66 years ago the necromancer Chemerlin took control of the ancient city and then waged a war of genocide on the living, even death could not hold him and as a result of the second war that rent the continent apart the humans found themselves depleted, leaderless and with most of their lands lost to war, and undeath. In the wake they retreated to the last remaining city states of Heldegar, Epheus and Ninevah. Ninevah and Epheus have cut themselves off from the rest of the world, staying within their borders and shutting out the rest of the world. Heldegar however has maintained relations with the other races and allowed some of their people to venture forth and try to take back some of the lost land…as well as investigate the rumours of the son of Chemerlin coming to the world.

 

Dwarf:

Physical appearance: Generally short in stature but burly and well built in both genders. The males all possess mighty beards which are often braided or decorated in some way, while the women do not have beards they do the same braiding in their hair or go to great lengths to decorate it. As a race they are stout and generally strong.

Height Males: 4.8-5.0 average

            Females: 4.5-4.8 average

Life expectancy: around 240

 

The dwarfs have long lived in the western mountains of Anatemia, their skill at mining, craftsmanship and architecture unparalleled in the world. Their world is almost entirely underground, great tunnels link their settlements which themselves are some wonders of Anatemia. Monolithic underground towns and cities are carved from the very mountains themselves with panels above allowing light into their cities, sometimes through coloured glass to give unusual coloured light inside the cave/hall. The centre of the Dwarf realms are the Gardens of Evan situated in the zone of Dok Evan they are the great greenhouses of the Dwarfs, it is from here that much of their food is grown.

Dwarf zones and all settlements begin with the prefix “Dok” in dwarfish this means Dwarf Home.
Dwarf lands were once split into three kingdoms, today only one remains, Dok Arazmus was the proudest and most powerful of the dwarf kingdoms. In the first war the dwarfs of this kingdom sided with the humans under Otsan and assisted in wiping out the undead forces. When he came a second time his first strike was against the proud dwarfs, within days the unsuspecting dwarfs were slain and a new undead army formed. Dok Leptis the most northern of the three kingdoms was wiped out by a demonic army that swept south from the Demonic heartlands at the hands of Chemerlin’s consort the demon Itchilda. Only Dok Amrator sandwiched between the two fallen kingdoms survived by closing all tunnels and effectively burying themselves in, but survive they did and have since claimed some of the territories of the two lost kingdoms as their own. They now willingly fight to regain ground from their twin enemies and prevent such a catastrophe from happening again.

 

Elves:

Tall and generally lithe (although that does depend on the elf, they aren’t immune to weight gain), with pale skin that in some cases is almost white or very pale grey and they have short pointed ears.

Height Males: 6.2-6.7

            Females: 6.0-6.4
Life expectancy: around 180

 

The Elves of Anatemia are a recovering society, once the Elven Empire of Vislea stretched from sea to sea, a great expanse of green dotted with impressive cities and other settlements but with the coming of the demons their world was blown asunder. Today their much reduced realm has been beset by problems, half their territory taken and almost all their cities lost. What remains is a thick forest with infrequent towns cities and shrines, the settlements of the elves are a strange sight to behold. Elves never build on ground level, their settlements are built high in the trees, great branches contain entire streets of wooden houses with leaved roofs, some a few storey’s high. Rope bridges connect various trees and levels of population which is often stacked on top of each other on different branches. Suspended platforms potentially even a football pitch in size contain the markets and shopping centres.

When the demon Itchilda came to Anatemia she unleased demonic forces on the relatively unprotected elves, they poured out of the northern rift and streamed into the Hoike forest wiping out the mineral rich region. The Elven city of Ilkaristo in Maeyrun was obliterated when a mighty volcano spewed forth wiping out the capital of learning and eventually the entire forest there, demonic energy warped and mutated the inhabitants turning them to demonic beastmen and servants to the demons in the place now known as The Hotbed.

Since the destruction of Itchilda and the demons waning power the elves have not been able to retake their ancient lands for they are changed beyond reckoning. In their reduced lands they face new problems as the elven heartland Molena is infested with Orcish invaders. Their aims and goals at the moment are to rid their lands of the Orcs and to increase their strength to finally rid the Hotbed of demons once and for all.   

 

Minotaur:

Bull-headed humanoids covered in fur but with hands and feet and no tails. They are the largest race of Anatemia both in height and in general physicality. Their fur can come in a large array of colours but also like the other animal races they also have full heads of hair.

Height Males: 6.7-7.1

            Females: 6.4-6.9

Life expectancy: around 55

 

Minotaurs have been living on the small continent of Thoria for certainly centuries and possibly millennia. Their lands are vast grassy plains of rolling hills and scattered townships. The townships are usually small communities with large wooden buildings which look somewhat haphazard in their design. The Minotaurs are not great builders, usually their wooden cabins might appear somewhat crude compared to the races across the sea.

Minotaurs are not numerous, perhaps apart from Beastmen they the fewest of all the species not through any real reason other than that is how it is.

Minotaur societies are split into two groups, those who adhere to the old ways, living in tents and fighting without modern armour, living away from other societies. And the Minotaurs who have moved with the times to live in towns, wear armour and use such devices as the flushing toilet. These two sides have been intermittently warring one-another for some time but a recent development is tempting the two ancient enemies to put aside differences for lizardmen have been gaining in strength. Lizardmen have raided Thoria in the highlands for centuries but something in the last 100 years has seen turn infrequent raids into invasion and settlement.

In the second wars of undeath a lone hero travelled across the sea in search of the mysterious minotaurs and seek their help. He helped them push back the lizardmen at the battle of Caraway and the minotaurs agreed then to help across the sea, it was in fact the mightiest of the minotaur mages who slew the demon Itchilda bringing about the end of the war. Since then the Minotaurs have been tied to the problems of Thoria and Anatemia.

 

Walian:

Anthropomorphic Huskies, generally shorter than a human and scaled down to appear wiry and slim. They are covered in fur with general husky markings and luminescent eyes, though unlike huskies they possess hair on their heads and they do not have tails. They are usually described as the physically weakest of the races of Anatemia including Goblins (who have a strange tenacity about them).

Height Males: 5.2-5.6

            Females: 5.0-5.4

Life expectancy: around 50

 

Walian’s come from the far north of Anatemia, a large island across the Ness straits called Northtok is their natural home. It is a land of dense cold forest which at certain times of the year barely sees light of day. The thick fur of the Walians is a real help in the winter here. Their homes are almost entirely wooden cabins which can be in any size to accommodate the usually very large families Walians have. They are a relatively young race and not very numerous but they are intelligent and strong despite their small frames. Their towns and cities are all log cabins surrounded by wooden palisades against the cold terrors beyond.

Their history is not that well known but they have been inhabitants of Northtok for centuries, they slowly evolved from huskies to become their own race. They took no part in any of the previous wars of the races of the rest of the world being cut off and isolated to the horrors going on further south, however their traditional enemy are the lizardmen who have invaded many times to try and take the island. This time however they appear to have been making some success and now the far eastern shores have been completely overrun. In response to this the Walians crossed the straits and set up shop in the zone known as the Ness, this brought them into contact with pirates and other races. Soon learning of the troubles in the rest of the world they agreed on the mutually beneficial plan to work with the levellers of the other races to fight the demons and undead of Anatemia and in turn the levellers agreed to help the Walians against the lizards. Now the Walians are an integral part of the races of Anatemia.

 

Goblin:

Small greenskinned creatures with large noses and pointed ears. They are usually debase in intelligence but possessing a loyalty and inner strength that make them fantastic allies.

 

Height Males: 3.8-3.10

            Females: 3.4-3.8

Life expectancy: around 30-35

 

Goblins come from the far south of Anatemia in the desert climates of Gursk and Gelatin, until recently they lived in shanty towns of wooden shacks and caves. But under their new king, a forward thinking and intelligent goblin, they have coalesced into the most inventive and impressive upcoming race in Anatemia. Their brand spanking new capital The Coliseum, is a towering edifice of different layers of streets and apartment blocks glinting in the sun. While they are also making use of the sun drenched beaches as the first tourist getaway on Anatemia.

The history of the goblins is more or less not even know by the goblins, they believe that their race began in the sacred crystal cave when the gods simply had them rise from the pools within, or perhaps the crystals themselves or the creatures that lived there or…whatever. How much of this being true is completely unknown and if you asked a goblin good luck getting the same answer twice. As to why the goblins have joined the great fights in the world? Their lands border the ancient human civilisations of Daester and while this sandy desert civilisation is long gone it is where necromancers first experimented with success the rising of the dead. The dead have long plagued the Goblins leading to a spell being performed that entrapped the dead of the city of Akkika within their city. Since then the Goblins have found themselves to be useful to the rest of Anatemia, for despite their obvious lack of intelligence if you do get them working on a particular task, then expect that task to be completed incredible quickly with no complaint and with an efficiency that is unmatched.

 

Beastmen:

Beastmen and women can come in a variety of appearances, they take the form of anthropomorphic hoofed animals such as Deer, Antelope, Goats and Llamas. Most of them have horns of some kind and covered in body fur while possessing full heads of usually long styled hair. They are the only race that have shaman as a class.

Height Males: 5.5-6.3

            Females: 5.2-6.0

Life expectancy: around 50-60

 

The Beastmen are a very new race, their history only goes back 2 generations, their great grand-parents and were elves. For centuries the elves of the city of Ilkaristo were great learners, scholars, mages and healers filled the great city that contained some of the greatest architecture the world has ever seen. Perhaps it was the accumulated magic that was at that place that attracted the demons to break through the ground in a great eruption. Most of the population of the city were wiped out in that initial explosion, the remainder were subjected to horrific mutation, altered down to their very essence, their bodies and minds becoming versions of the beasts that walked their very forest. These first beastmen were debased in intelligence, bent on a roaring braying destruction, the new primal nature of these former elves saw them fight for their demonic masters as the forest was scorched by volcanic fire, killing those who had so recently been their kin.

Since that time the beastmen have broken the demonic hold of their former masters and instead emerged blinking into a new world. Although they are still denizens of the forest they have reclaimed much of the intelligence of their ancestors, and now among the most intellectual of the races of Anatemia. Not the elves that they were nor the primal beasts they had become they are an entirely new people vastly different from their origins. Their new city, which is still largely being built, is quickly becoming the centre for learning for all races, scores of round structures with thick walls and roofs line a grid pattern of streets and fires, The Great Library itself is open 24 hours a day to anyone who wishes to come to visit for a variety of tomes and volumes (and the coffee is fantastic). They have even begun to reclaim part of the old land and for the first in a long time green trees grow in a secluded grove behind the city. Their place in the new world is still in question but they are making strides to earn a rightful place amongst the good people of Anatemia.