Introduction

Finding a settlement of these creatures is not a difficult task. They make no attempt to hide themselves: their lairs are easily noticeable for their forms and material. They change what nature provides them to best fit their needs - needs which they create themselves. I speak of the beings referred by the Goblins as "hoo-mans". I shall refer to them as "humans", as some of them call themselves.

The humans are a race much like the Goblins or Kobolds in form: they walk on two legs, are able to use their hands to make and use tools, wear clothes to protect themselves from the elements and as symbol of status. They worship higher beings, their deities and gods, which have a hierarchy of their own. And although many traces are constant, the differences between the cultures of humans from one region to another are easily noticed.

It is said that humans appeared some time after the Great Light arrived in this land. The Great Light is "Danaan" for them, and the land is "Temuair", which means "Earth-Sea" in one of their ancient languages. Where they came from is a mystery, but their domination over the land was not difficult to notice. They tamed nature, controlling its many elements, and spread their kind throughout the plains of "their" Temuair - they indeed consider it theirs, despite knowing they were not the first to inhabit it.
 
 

Humans of today...

No human looks, acts or thinks like any other human. However, there are some traces common to particular groups, resulting in many divisions, sub-divisions, classes, sub-classes. The most notable division in the humans of today is "Aislinghood". There are the "Mundanes", and the "Aislings". Some characteristics, though, are seen in most or all humans.

They tend to group in families, tied by blood laces - a family is often formed by a couple and their children. The human male ("man") and female ("woman"), upon reaching a certain age, leave their parents to join one of the opposite gender and start a new family. This is too simplistic an explanation, but it is a common fact. It must be noted, though, that not all humans mate for life, and some do not mate at all. This happens because there is more to mating in human society than reproduction - there are feelings, but I dare not trying to explain them. As a consequence of this, though, there are couples of the same gender who live happier lives than those considered "normal" by the standards of other races. The many mechanisms used by men and women to approach someone will not be dealt with here, for the complexity of the subject: to explain it I would need to write two more works: one on emotions and feelings, which I already decided to skip, and another specifically on the mechanisms. I have no intention of examining humans to that depth. On with it.

Death is seen as the saddest possible thing which can happen, not only to the one parting, but also to those who remain. The one parting may be sent to Chadul's Realm (explained later), and not even Danaan knows what happens to this poor soul then; those who loved the parting one and remain feel for the loss of this loved one. There are many different views of death - final glory a warrior can achieve, end of a natural cycle, the completion of one's fate or voyage through this world - but no matter what colors  are given to it, the effects are the same nearly everywhere. There are ceremonies associated to the dead body, which vary according to the region and beliefs, so they will not be described here; after them, if any, the body is either buried, cremated, or thrown to the sea, again depending on region and culture.

The place of residence of each family is a house - the constructions mentioned earlier. A house can be built of wood or stone. There are "patterns" which are followed according to the region the house is built and the wealth of the family. All the houses of the seaside city - "city" being the name of a group of many houses - called Abel are made of stone, while those in the nearby village - a smaller form of city - of Mileth are made of wood, with the exception of one, which is called "church", and has religious purposes. A city can, in a way, be considered a tribe; in comparison to tribes of other races, however, this definition is failed. Inhabitants of a same city do not have the mentality of "living for the group's well being" - the idea of collective is weak, probably because today's humans live in a constant struggle for power, be it political or economical. The political aspects will be discussed later; a brief explanation of the economical ones follows.

In economy, humans live in a system they call "Capitalism". The currency - represented by round pieces of polished metal: copper, silver and gold - simplifies the trading, as it makes the goods for goods basis optional: goods can be traded for money (general name given to the currency), which can buy virtually any other good. Obviously each product or service has a value in currency assigned to it. This system also has the "salary relations of work": the owner of a business (called employer) has people working in this business (employees) who receive a certain amount of money in regular intervals, and/or according to their production. As mentioned earlier, this has a consequent impact on the idea of union: having money becomes a necessity; "easier" ways to "earn" it result in crimes; accumulation of money by some families create social differences - and problems - based solely on wealth. This is felt more by Mundanes than Aislings, as the latter are able to accumulate wealth with much greater ease.

Due to the nature of humans, where not all produce or collect their own food, some must produce for them all. Thus there are agriculture and cattle breeding. Agriculture consists in the cultivation of one kind of edible plant in great quantity, while cattle breeding is the controlled raising of a race of animals - often cows or sheep - for the production of milk and meat. This large production of food by some humans allows others to concentrate on other tasks; this was one of the main reasons humans reached the position they now occupy.

The differences between Aislings and Mundanes are more apparent (or less blurred) as the focus shifts from the economical to the social aspect. In a metaphorical generalization, Mundanes are those who build, and Aislings are those who fight. But this description is far from true. Some Aislings have many Mundane habits, as all Aislings were Mundanes at first. Perhaps the difference which stands out the most is that Aislings can choose to go on working as Mundanes if they wish, but can also concentrate on fighting or increasing their wisdom; Mundanes, on the other hand, are not given this option - very fortunate is the Mundane who can live solely from hunts or the search for knowledge. As most Aislings choose to fight, however, they must acquire their needed goods and services from Mundanes. At the same time, Mundanes need Aislings for protection. This results in a relation of co-dependency between the two groups, but a good observer will notice Aislings are more dependent on Mundanes than vice versa.
 

...and of the past

Before going any further, however, I must make the reader aware of some things I have been and will go on mentioning, but am yet to explain. For example, why do Aislings exist at all? The explanation is not simple, and goes back thousands of years to the first humans to inhabit this land. Here I attempt to write a severely simplified version of one of humans' legends - which mixes with real history at some points, and is extremely metaphorical in others, thus making the frontier between fact and fiction nearly void.

The first humans - the Aosda - lived in peace, until they found out about the Earth-Sea gods and the gods of Kadath. Kadath is said to be a region of "Darkness", therefore the gods from Kadath were not among the best of deities. Worshipping of both lineages of gods began, but the entreaty of the dark gods brought the Aosda to its end in what is called "The Madness". The remaining humans struggled for thousands of years before reaching any goal. Until the Aosdic civilization was rediscovered and glory flourished among humans again, little progress was made in any field.

And so came Danaan, the Goddess of Light, bringing her children, today's faeries. Humans faced the apex of their civilization in Hy-Brasyl. But as the saying goes, "Ascension, Apex, Fall"; humans fell - Aosda was lost, peace was lost. Natural elements tamed, greed was brought forth, power gained a meaning. Hy-Brasyl was divided into warring kingdoms, the gods previously mentioned were again worshipped. The elements were used in war, and Hy-Brasyl ceased to exist completely. Centuries of more wars followed.

Let there be Darkness - the Fifth Element was discovered and used recklessly. The Dubhaimid, beings of pure Darkness, were born, and from them, Chadul, a creature which can be called "God of Darkness", despite not having known form or title. Between one attack from the Dubhaimid and another, wise men saw the problem they were in, and decided to worship Danaan again. A great battle between the Goddess and Chadul followed, devastating Temuair. The Dark God gained the best share, as the souls of mortals were sent to him upon death.

Humans regained their consciousness! A society was organized: a civilization, of sorts. A puppet of Chadul - Tenes - rose to power over most of Temuair. He unified the warring kingdoms... under Darkness and his throne. The Lords of this union formed the League of Darkness, signing the Pact of Anaman with a dark being. Temuair was divided among these Lords, but Despotism was fought: Ainmeal, one aided by Danaan, faced Tenes, and conquered his capital, Loures.

Under the rule of Ainmeal and those who followed him, Temuair was supposed to come together and fight the Dubhaimid. But some Emperors of Loures insisted in carrying out the conquest of other kingdoms, and the battle against Darkness was never the only one fought. Until the Shadows War came, and there was no other choice. The advantage of Darkness was outstanding, even after Deoch, minion of Chadul, fell in love with Danaan and betrayed his origins to fight on her side. Humans only reached a balance in power after the Sixth Element, Light, was discovered. Years later, the Shadows War was over, but Darkness remained. Danaan, then, sacrificed herself to bring Chadul down - for unknown time - and give the Light side the advantage.

Deoch, then, carried out Danaan's work of keeping the Dubhaimid - and Darkness - at bay. And finally, for this task, Aislings were created. Deoch does not have Light as Danaan had, but he can give Mundanes the ability to find it. And it was so.
 
 

This explanation given, I can move back to the differences between Mundanes and Aislings. It is not easy to say where the two classes diverge, but there are points where they are not equal. Although the task of listing them is far from simple, attempting is not a waste of time, and - I hope - of effort.
 
 

Mundanes

The Mundanes consider themselves - and are considered by Aislings - as a lower class. They basically live for no purpose other than their work. There are those who forge tools, those who dwell in the trading business, those who sew clothes, those who watch over all others. Although it is clear that there is very little social difference between the majority of the Mundanes, when the accumulation of wealth is discounted, there are some who seem to be above the rest. The classification, however, is not based on strength; the titles are often passed from generation to generation, or earned by a Mundane due to his or her qualities (or popularity, or ability to maneuver the social mechanisms in their benefit). A clear example of title gained by heritage is the "King", who rules most of the land from one of the largest human built constructions of Temuair, Loures Castle. Bruce is his name, and his power extends to at least half of the land; he is only in his position, though, because his father was there before him, and his grandfather before his father. On the other hand, the Council which aids King Bruce is an example of title earned by quality; Bruce chose those who would serve him by what they could provide him with. Jean, the Councilor, is a wise scholar, thus fit for the position second in power only to the King's; the Jester can make people laugh with two or three words, therefore he has the job; the War Minister is a general known for his combat strategies and techniques, so he controls the armies of Loures. And so on.

In this division of Mundanes one aspect is very clear: there are little or no women in the higher hierarchy, although they occupy many important places in the lower ranks of the Mundane society. There are examples of women who attained the highest ranks - the Shaman Empresses who ruled as Queens in the past being the most notable ones - but today their function is being wives or keeping shops, taverns and inns.

Speaking of shops, taverns and inns... Shops are houses where Mundanes trades specific goods for other goods or money. Usually one Mundane owns the shop and the goods - which are often manufactured by him or herself - in it, and all trade is done with this Mundane. There are cases, however, where shops also serve as a "gathering point" for those who wish to trade something; in this case, the shop owner provides the space for the trading to take place.

A tavern is not a common shop. The goods it sells are mostly inebriating beverages, usually produced by the fermentation of other beverages. Humans (mostly men) drink these beverages in greater or lesser degrees, depending on what they seek. The socialization and the search for fun require little drinking; groups of men gather in the taverns to drink and chat, away from the problems presented by their families or work. Those there are, though, who use the temporary state of lack of contact with reality ("being drunk", as they say) caused by the ingestion of too much beverage to flee from their problems. This, however, puts the human consciousness to doubt: once the effect is gone, the problems are back, time has been lost, and it is probable that the person in question will try "escaping" again the same way: a cycle few have broken, and which only gets worse with time.

The inn is the simplest of shops. It is a large construction divided in many rooms, all prepared for one person or more to spend a night with some basic comfort. The patron pays a set price and has the right to use one of the rooms until the next morning. When traveling to cities other than the one of their residence, humans often find themselves resorting to inns for safety and rest.

Mundanes "produce" little "culture". They lack in imagination, so it is difficult for a Mundane to write a novel or a treatise on something, as well as painting a picture or composing a song. Some Mundanes, however, have abilities which surpass the commonness. The Wizards are some of these uncommon Mundanes: they are able to tap into the elemental powers of nature, in a degree lower than that reached by Aislings, but much higher than the vast majority of Mundanes reach. There are also the Apostles, who can to communicate directly with the higher beings the humans worship. Healers, as Wizards, can use natural powers, but their goal is curing. Some Mundanes can train themselves to become master Warriors or Rogues, too, but their abilities are again easily surpassed by most Aislings.
 

Aislings

Aisling is a Mundane who received the "Spark of Deoch", which gives creativity to the recipient. Deoch is one of the eight deities humans worship. Why some Mundanes are granted the Spark and some are not is a mystery. The exact changes which happen to a Mundane when he or she receives the Spark are unknown, but it is clear that they become stronger, wiser, and can improve their abilities beyond that of the best trained Mundanes. Most Aislings have the creativity to write novels, treatises, paint pictures. All of them are much more powerful than the average Mundane, even when only a simple Peasant.

Peasant... Like many beings evolve and change their forms throughout their lives, Aislings, too, have steps to take. Once they receive the Spark, they are Peasants. Experience in hunting or learning from other Aislings or Mundanes grants them more knowledge, more strength. The first step Aislings must take is a decision which will affect the course of their entire lives: they must choose a "Path". Once a decision is made, the Aisling must find one already following the path of his or her choice to be initiated into it - this person will be the Aisling's Guide. Aislings can be of five major "Paths", in no particular order: Warriors, Wizards, Rogues, Priests and Monks.
 

Warriors

A Warrior is one who uses mostly brute force, relying very little on any skill other than the swing of a sword. They are easily recognizable for their metal armors, which provide the protection they need when facing their enemies.
 

Wizards

Wizards are those who control one or more of the four basic elements of nature, which humans divided in Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Their power is in their minds, not their muscles - in fact, most tend to be very weak physically. Their clothes represent solely their status, their power; as they do not go into close combat, protection is not a necessity.
 

Rogues

Skillful Aislings, swift, dexterous, quick. Rogues are those who rely the most on their imaginations and ability to put their ideas to practice. Their hands are the only ones capable of polishing a gem or giving a new look to the hair of other Aislings. Their hunting techniques are very odd: they provoke a creature, usually by throwing some sort of knife at it, and run, setting traps along the way; the creature walks over these traps and is hurt. The simple setting of a trap requires much skill, and Rogues do this with enemies running after them, in any terrain, and always hiding the trap so no one can see it.
 

Priests

Priests dwell in the "Sixth Element", Light. They are healers, basically, but can also use light to cause damage or put enemies to sleep, among other things. Their purpose is not mainly fighting, although they seem to be invaluable in battles. Priests hold most of the religious tasks of humans. More on religion will follow.
 

Monks

A Monk can be said to be a sort of Warrior, but this definition is wrong. Monks are very strong and dexterous, but do not use weapons. They rely on nature for most of their needs, and are able to prepare potions against most ailments. Monks also know some natural magic, but nothing comparable to the elemental or light spells of Wizards and Priests.
 
 

As the reader can see from these brief descriptions, Aislings as a whole are basically meant to fight, even if some classes focus on other things. Being this so, rare are the Aislings who rely on Mundane tasks, such as agriculture or trade, for their maintenance. As mentioned earlier, though, not all Aislings fight. Some prefer to use their Spark to increase their wisdom, or to make better equipment and tools for other Aislings, or even dedicate themselves completely to a deity. One way or another they will progress in Aislinghood; if not by learning more battle techniques, then by creating works which will enlighten the lives of Mundanes, who will in their turn reward the Aisling for it with prestige and money. Other than these rewards given by Mundanes, Aislings can collect many things from the places where they fight, and also produce many other things themselves, which they can then sell for money to the Mundanes.

Although Aislings do not work like Mundanes do, all make use of the services provided by Mundanes. Aislings have their equipment repaired by Mundanes, sleep in inns owned by Mundanes, buy food from Mundanes, drink in taverns ran by Mundanes. They also require the assistance of the "lower class" when dealing with bureaucratic issues such as politics, but the greatest sign of dependency is that all the Aislings techniques and spells are taught by Mundanes - and without a spell or fighting technique, an Aisling is not much.

Something which must be noted about Aislings is that, beyond the initial Guide, the Aisling chooses a Mentor, who does not have to be of the same Path, and can be the same one who guided him or her into the Path. While a Guide's job is teaching the Aisling about the Path, a Mentor's job is teaching the Aisling about the human culture of Temuair. Mentorship is a strong bond between the Mentor and Mentee, and lasts for a lifetime.
 
 

I assume the reader is familiar enough with humans by now. I will move on to those above them.
 
 

Religion: Beyond humans

In my shameless exposition of humans' history, I mentioned the worship of gods. Here they are explained, up to an extent. The Temuairan pantheon consists of Danaan, Chadul, and other eight deities, called either Temuairan (Earth-Sea) Gods or Aosdic Gods, as it is said they were part of the original Aosda civilization. The majority of humans worship Danaan, Goddess of Light - it can be said "for safety", as Danaan represents Light, therefore can save humans from Darkness. A few worship Chadul, for one reason or another. Under these two come the other eight, each representing a concept. They are disposed on an octogram, and there are many relations between them - allies, enemies, opposites, trinities. Discussing these intricacies is beyond the purpose of this work, so here is a very basic explanation of each of them, in no particular order.
 

Deoch - God of Debauchery and Creativity. As said earlier, the creator of all Aislings is a minion of Chadul who fell in love with Danaan, forsaking his nature and master. He is inconstant, fast paced, mutable.

Ceannlaidir - God of War, lives for the beauty and honor of the battle, even if his followers think in other ways. The patron of Warriors seduced Glioca, and from this "love" Cail was born.

Glioca - Goddess of Love, daughter of Danaan. The only woman among the eight deities represents love in all its forms: passion, compassion, pure love. Glioca watches over all Priests, regardless of their affiliation.

Cail - God of Nature, son of Glioca and Ceannlaidir. His father forbade him from using weapons, fearing the son would be stronger than the God of War. Cail lives in as close contact with the wilderness as possible - as an example, his feet are always bare, so he can always be in touch with earth. Monks, who follow the ways of Cail, do exactly the same.

Fiosachd - God of Wealth and Chance. The most human like of the eight, Fiosachd, patron of Rogues, puts material possession above all else, and will do whatever it takes to increase his, "as long as his honor is kept", some say, but others counter with "as long as he is not caught". He learns the rules so he can find ways to use or break them for his gain. It is said he was cast out of the Aosda and wandered the world for many years before being accepted back.

Gramail - God of Law and Justice. The least prestigious of gods dwells in the justice of humans, although some say he represents the natural laws as well. Strict and solid as a rock, Gramail watches over Loures... and that is all.

Luathas - God of Gnosis, represents both divine and human knowledge and wisdom. Luathas is the one above all Wizards.

Sgrios - God of Decay and Destruction, and personification of the former. Sgrios is the gatekeeper of Chadul's Realm, and feeds on the souls of dead beings. Some say he is an evolved form of Dubhaim, but no human is certain about the origins of this creature - only of the fear it causes on them.
 

With the exception of the Apostles, who can communicate with the deities, no Mundane seems to worship any god other than Danaan. On the other hand, the Church of Danaan is ran by a Mundane Priest, and is not officially followed by any Aisling. This church is somewhat dogmatic, as there is no concrete proof of its contact with the Goddess of Light. Some believe that, in order to worship Danaan, one does not need a church or priest, but only one's faith and devotion to Light. This probably only works in the case of Danaan, as her church provides no palpable rewards for its followers. For the other eight deities, there is no way to gain their favor other than being a member of their fellowships, so the idea of faith needing no channel is quickly made void.

As said, the fellowships of the eight deities are ran by Aisling Priests, in a simple hierarchy: a High Priest above all, then two or three degrees below is the Priest who just joined the sect. The hierarchy varies from sect to sect, but generally it is presented this way. There may be councils and divisions inside the fellowships. Other Aislings are always in the first step a Priest takes, but cannot go further.

Due to the reward given by the deities, it is impossible to judge an Aisling simply by his or her fellowship. Common are those who follow a particular deity to acquire specific favors from the god, while not believing in the god's ways at all. If humans really acted in accordance to what they think, the fellowship of Fiosachd would be the most numerous of Temuair.
 
 

This asks for another topic.
 
 

Politics: The inhuman

The government of humans is again divided between Mundanes and Aislings. They are two completely different systems, in fact.

Mundanes live in a "static" political situation. Loures is a monarchy - a single ruler -, and reigns over great part of Temuair. The other cities either have no apparent government, or are governed by a Burgess - the same, for uncountable years, such as Aricin of Abel; a monarchy in disguise, of course. There are no written laws in the cities ruled by Mundanes: it is assumed that all know the basic laws and that Aislings follow them as well. When some unusual directive is put to play, such as the prohibition of weapons in the city of Undine, Mundane Guards are assigned to make sure the order is followed by all.

Of all the human cities of Temuair, two are ran by Aislings: Mileth and Rucesion. The system is very different from that of the Mundanes. It is not a monarchy, neither explicit nor in disguise; it is a "democracy" of sorts. Leaders and law upholders are chosen by the people, but not through a majority of votes gathered by a certain number of candidates; instead, it is much like a popularity contest: those who can gather the support of a set number of Aislings are eligible to office for a previously defined period. Due to this highly competitive nature of the political system of Aislings, it is common seeing it lead them to fierce political battles, where everyone loses, the city suffering the most. It makes one wonder if politics should not be left only to Mundanes. In a way it is, because even the highest authority of an Aisling ran city is still under a Mundane Burgess - and Mileth and Rucesion both have one.

Cities ran by Aislings have laws written and voted by them and enforced by Aisling Guards. It is odd that Mundanes do not need a written code, while some Aislings must be forced to behave and will only abide to any order after it is made legal and the punishment is proven real.

Hierarchy. The Aisling political society is divided this way:
 

Commoners

Citizen: Has the right to support someone seeking office and of protection by the laws of the city. These rights are also possessed by all above this position.

Respected Citizen: The first step into the political arena, this resident was recognized as respectable and a model citizen. Respected Citizens are allowed to admit new Citizens into their city of residence.
 

Legislative

Demagogue: The first instance of law-making officials. The group of Demagogues writes, discusses, and passes the law proposed to or by themselves. They have the power to permanently exile anyone who does not have political support from the city where they act.

Burgess: Above the Demagogues are the Burgesses, in much smaller number. A Burgess accumulates all the work and power of the Demagogues, and must coordinate the Demagoguery as well.
 

Judiciary

Guard: Uphold the laws, make sure about the safety of Citizens, prevent crimes, solve minor criminal issues. They have the power to temporarily banish anyone from the city where they act.

Guard Captain: Coordinate, serve as model, mentor and helper of Guards, carry out investigations on other officials, solve criminal issues a Guard cannot deal with.

Judge: The top position of the Judiciary puts criminals to trial, appoints punishments, and solves major criminal issues.
 
 

Since trials were mentioned, humans carry them out this way: if someone commits a crime which cannot be properly dealt with by Guards or Captains, is too hideous to be punished with banishment or exile, or has details not foreseen in the laws, the suspect is brought to trial. In a trial, there is the accusing party, against the suspect, and the defending party, in favor of the suspect. Both parties present their reasons why the suspect is or is not guilty, and a group of citizens votes to determine if the suspect is indeed guilty of the accusation or not. In case a positive answer is given by a majority, the judge issues the sentence; otherwise, the suspect is free to go.
 
 

Conclusion

Conclusion? This is just a general overview of humans. All the facts, some theories and many opinions are exposed here. There is not much to conclude. Humans are one of many races of this world, despite thinking of themselves as the most important one. This work's goal is simply defining the very basic aspects of humans and their society the ways they define other races. If I succeeded it is yet to be discovered. May the humans and their deities forgive me for this.