Humans
The different species and sub-species of sentient beings in Felarya. From giants to tinies, and preys to predators. From the ingenious Humans, to the reclusive Majuras, the noble Sphinxes, the mysterious Nemesises, the peaceful Gerridis or the fierce Crimson Maidens.
The human mage Luana.
Picture by Arseniquez and used with artist's permission.
Many humans from many worlds have come to Felarya over the years, often attracted by its treasures, wealth, and fabulous legends. Some humans come with technology, some with powerful magic, others just come with determination. What they all share however is ingenuity and the ability to form large effective groups. Social creatures, humans often create cities and societies around them. Many of the ruins scattered across Felarya were once human settlements. They are excellent at dealing with adversity; sometimes the more inventive or courageous types can surmount incredible odds to achieve their goals. But they can also be individualistic, and sometimes collectively arrogant and short sighted. Humans tend to consider themselves superior to other creatures.
Moreover, many humans come from worlds where they are the dominant race, or at least one of the dominant races, thus it's often a great shock for them when they discover the nature of Felarya, and the fact they are but a piece of food in the eyes of big predators and not "god's creature" any more. The majority of them manage to get used to this fact and go on with their lives, but some may react violently or even, in rare cases, become permanently crazy. It's worth noticing that the human natives of Felarya are generally stronger and slightly taller than non-native humans.
Human Factions
Culture
Ladimus Ehrinejahr, the famous biologist.
Picture by ZomBynX aka Nksrocks and used with artist's permission.
Humans in Felarya can be currently considered the most sophisticated and thriving culture of the continent. Their main city Negav is a bustling and prosperous center with people coming from many corners of the universe. Being one of the rare safe haven for humans in Felarya, Negav naturally became the most important pole for human culture. The city gave birth to a good number of famous painters, writers, poets, sculptors, musicians and architects who largely helped to define what the human culture is in Felarya.
Literature
Under Development
Art
Under Development
Music
Under Development
Theatre
Under Development
Cuisine
Under Development
Education
Under Development
Customs
Under Development
The Great Sumdam Auction
This yearly even represents the biggest fair in Negav. Taking place in the Grand Market District, It lasts a week where many off-worlders arrive in large numbers in Negav, in order to buy some of the most exotic, unique, or finely crafted items adventurers and merchants have to offer. It's a famous event, known in many corners of the universe, culminating in the great Auction, where the rarest items are bought, often for outrageous prices.
Mirror Day
It's called "Cal-Chanim" in ancient elvish: "Deadly reflections". It's a yearly occurrence where the influence of the mirrors of Milkadis are at their peak. On this day alone, creatures from the mirror of the temple can travel through every mirrors of Felarya. Places that aren't prepared can be literally overrun by strange and deadly creatures coming out from mirrors, on which conventional magic is often useless. Even the Isolon eye seems to have little effect on mirror denizens. The solution to the problem is very simple however: just cover every single mirror with a blanket and they will be ignored by the mirror monsters. With time, Mirror Day (Cal-Chanim) has become a sort of festival with inhabitants of Negav parading colorful figures representing mirror lurkers or crysaltinos around the streets. In Negav, carrying a mirror during Cal-Chanim is an extremely serious offense that can be deemed sabotage and punishable by death in certain cases. It's interesting to note that the mirror denizens can use any surface that is flat and reflective enough to be considered a mirror as a gateway during Cal-Chanim. It's said that they've even exited from the surface of a lake once!
The Blinded
Blinded ones, are criminals in Negav. When someone is caught after having committed a serious offense such as treason, theft, or murder in Negav, they are either sent to the New Chargate Prison, or branded with the image of a closed eye. It shows that they have commited crimes of some kind. Depending on what they did, they'll be sentenced to work in the Ascarlin mines, be a servant for the rich and the elite, or even be banished from Negav altogether, without any equipment, and with a brand that make them repelled by the Isolon eye , which is basically a death sentence. Some Blinded who commited minor crimes are just released in the city, but the brand tells Negavians that they are criminal, and they are treated as second class citizens. Moreover, the brand is magic and can't be hidden by any means, and anyone with a hint of magic can sense the presence of a Blinded from a distance.
The O.A.D.D
Founded nearly a century ago by an eccentric, but exceedingly wealthy, doctor from the planet Verimar, the Organization for the Assistance of the Dimensionally Displaced (O.A.D.D.) aims to "Bring a little bit of mercy to a world full of horrible, horrible deaths". From its HQ in Negav, the O.A.D.D. runs a small safe-house/clinic for those who have found themselves in Felarya against their will. They take in refugees that have survived their dangerous trudge through the jungle to Negav, or have been found by other expeditions into the jungle. Upon being handed over to the Organization, the refugee is taken to a safe-house where they are given a good meal, a warm bed, and medical and psychological help if needed. If the refugee's world is part of the network that regularly trades with Felarya, they are sent back home through Negav's dimensional gate. If their world does not trade with Negav, they are aided in finding a job in Negav, with the O.A.D.D, or given the option of being taken to another world to make a new start. The O.A.D.D has been fairly successful in its mission, and has several divisions on a few of the more prominent worlds that regularly trade with Felarya. It gets most of its funding from donations from wealthy sympathizers, or from the dedicated employees chipping in with their own money to keep it running.
Felarya Museum
Ironically, the first and only known Felarya museum is not situated on Felarya but on the world of Arlinic. It's a huge collection of treasures from various temples of Felarya and data on its fauna and flora, all of them brought by the talented veteran adventurer Ranilla. The museum is very famous for some unique pieces in its collection, and for the data collected by her. The museum uses a part of its income to pay for the next of Ranilla's carefully planned expeditions.