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Post by bruixa on Apr 25, 2014 19:03:44 GMT
RACES OF THEDAS
There are four races among the peoples of Thedas: the elves, the humans, the dwarves and the qunari, and history is ripe with their conflicts. Elves blame the humans for their mortality and lost empire. Humans fear the Qunari and their relentless march for conquest. Dwarves have too much trouble with the darkspawn to worry about drama on the surface, and limit contact by choice.
The differences between all these races go far deeper than the point of elven ears and dwarven stature. Opposing cultures are smashed up against each other, sometimes thriving and sometimes not, adding to political and religious conflict. All they seem to have in common at times, is that they call this land home. |
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Post by bruixa on Apr 25, 2014 19:48:53 GMT
HUMANS
The most populous race in Thedas--and arguably the most powerful--human kingdoms stretch from corner to corner of the known world. Having first arrived on Thedas from the north, centuries ago, the origins of humanity are shrouded in mystery.
Upon their settlement in Thedas, it is recorded that contact with humanity robbed the elves of their immortality. In fear of losing themselves, the elves retreated from contact with humans, allowing the first human civilization, the Tevinter Imperium, to spread unchecked across the land. Eventually, humanity spread from the first empire of the Imperium, breaking into the patchwork of kingdoms that dot Thedas today.
Humans come in every variety of color and size, are capable of achieving almost anything through reckless tenacity, and they've created many distinct cultures throughout their ages in Thedas. Humans are varied and unpredictable--often even they themselves seem unaware of what they'll do next.
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Post by bruixa on Apr 25, 2014 20:12:51 GMT
ELVES
Once the sole rulers of Thedas, the masters of an arcane empire the likes of which has never been seen again, the elves of the present are a shadow of their former selves, having lost even their own language.
Formerly immortal, contact with humanity is claimed to have robbed the elves of this longevity, and war with the Tevinter Imperium broke their ancient kingdom of Elvhenan. Elves are now divided into two peoples: the Dalish, nomads without a nation who travel the lands in caravans and abiding by the old ways, and city elves, who live in crowded walled alienages in human cities, yoked under poverty and oppression.
The Dalish travel around the more remote reaches of Thedas in covered wagons called aravels, special wagons with large triangular sails atop them and rudder-like devices on the back. Primarily descended from the elven nobility that was privileged and powerful enough to escape from the destruction of their kingdom, the Dalish are contemptuous of humans and city elves alike, regarding the latter as false, lost elves. They assemble in separate, independent clans, each with their own way of life: some clans will get along fairly well with humans, and might even camp outside of settlements for long periods of time while other clans are more infamous, living by banditry and hiding like guerrillas in the mountain passes.
City elves eke out rather less mythical existences, trapped in the ghetto-like alienages. Essentially second-class citizens, elves have nearly no rights in human settlements. Even those who are able to make it out of the alienage and into the city proper are driven back by hatred and harassment from the humans around them.
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Post by bruixa on Apr 25, 2014 20:17:14 GMT
DWARVES
A race of stocky, robust builders who live in underground communities called thaigs. Their once strong numbers have been diminished by ages of war with the darkspawn. Most thaigs are now empty, and the vast network of tunnels known as the Deep Roads that connected the thaigs are sealed and overrun with darkspawn, even in the absence of a Blight.
The Dwarves now primarily inhabit two thaigs: Orzammar and Kal-Sharok. Others live in exile on the surface.
The Children of the Stone are a stout race, both shorter and broader than the other races. They have a stronger constitution; sickness is almost unknown among them. However, their proximity to the darkspawn has taken a toll. Those who survive encounters on the Deep Roads often suffer from corruption-induced infertility, resulting in an ever-dwindling population by surface standards.
Dwarves have superior vision in the dark and a natural immunity to magic, making it impossible for them to become mages. They also organize themselves in a caste system, withe noble caste and royal family at the top, followed by (in order of rank) the warrior, smith, artisan, miner, merchant and servant castes. Children inherit the caste of their same-sex parent and the casteless, deemed rejected by the Stone and branded with tattoos, are banned from work and condemned to criminal lives in Dust Town.
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Post by bruixa on Apr 25, 2014 20:20:28 GMT
QUNARI
A race relatively new to Thedas, the Qunari are large and powerful. On average they tower over humans by a foot or more, and most have horns growing from their heads.
However, the term Qunari more accurately refers to a follower of their religious text, the Qun, regardless of his or her actual race. Technically, they are called the "kossith", although this term is not widely known of or used outside of scholarly circles. The Qunari themselves do not acknowledge this word.
The Qun is a code of honor based on the writings of the Ashkaari Koslun. The Qun defines the role of everyone and everything in the society of the Qunari ("People of the Qun"), regardless of whether it is spiritual or mundane.
An important concept in the Qun is the idea of "Asit tal-eb"—"It is to be": the idea that everything and everyone in the world has a nature, and all these things come together to form a proper order—such as the locust devouring crops. It is every individual's choice whether or not they act according to their nature and the nature of the world, or oppose the proper order, and as such fight against themselves and the world. The individual is not truly "individual", but part of the whole. Their own nature contributes to the larger nature of the world, and so their struggle against self-balance disrupts the balance of the whole, thus hurting themselves. Because of this, society is not considered artificial, but part of nature.
Qunari who have abandoned the Qun are called Tal-Vashoth and live away from the Qunari homelands, often working as mercenaries.
Even among the Qunari, not much is known about where they came from or why they landed in Thedas. Conquest seems like the obvious answer. The Qunari see conversion to the Qun as a benefit to all.
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