Race: Uruks

What is an Uruk?

In other settings, one might define uruks as orcs, but that simplistic comparison does not tell the full story. For the most part an uruk does share the usual orcish appearance; uruks are quite sizable beings, most being between 6 and 7 feet tall. Both males and females are extremely well muscled and as a result their average strength easily surpasses the other races of the Bay.

Their skin is greyish-green, trending more heavily toward the green end of that spectrum, and they have sharp fangs that give them a feral look. The features that set them apart from orcs are their pointed ears and startling violet eyes. Uruks have very little body hair, and they never grow facial hair; the hair on their head is jet black, but a large proportion of the population routinely shave their heads, so an unknowing outsider might assume they are naturally bald. Lastly, many uruks have upturned pig-like noses, further setting them apart.

What are Uruks like?

The collective viewpoint of the uruk race is one of equality. Because of their appearance, it has been common through history for uruks to be feared and reviled, even declared outright evil and slaughtered without a second thought. These events have left a mark on the race’s consciousness, and they are now devoted to forwarding the cause of fairness and equality, to save others from undue suffering as they have been subject to. If a situation seems unfair or unbalanced, the uruks will be there to advocate a change.

This single-mindedness, however, can sometimes result in short-sightedness. Once a cause has been taken up, an uruk will not rest until the wrong they perceived has been righted, which ultimately means that they can be just as stubborn as the alfar, refusing to budge even an inch. Conflicts are routinely escalated because an uruk stepped in to help the situation, but in the end only made it worse. The prime example of this escalation is the Academy’s bid for membership in the Belltower Council, and the fallout of that effort which is the ongoing war.

Uruk Society

On the other hand, the uruk’s devotion to equality also arguably makes their society the best to live in. The law is strictly enforced and everyone is allowed to contribute in whatever way they wish. Their leadership is all elected and the law allows the people to remove a leader from office if enough disagree with his or her administration’s direction. Taxes are high, but the government’s primary job is to ensure the well-being of the people, so everyone is guaranteed a minimum standard of living.

Gender is effectively considered irrelevant among uruks; it has no bearing on your position or rights in society. Likewise, sexuality is a topic that is largely ignored, you simply have relationships with whomever you wish, and no-one thinks twice about it. Labels such as homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual simply do not exist, there is no reason to categorize people in such as way. While in other nations one might be discriminated or disliked because of their race, that is not so among uruks; even the svugar half-bloods, reviled for their disturbing appearance, are afforded the same place in society as everyone else. If you hold a position of authority, it is because you have earned the trust and respect of others, not because you come from a rich or well-respected family, and not because the alternative was a member of a different race. As a testament to this, one of the Commanders in the combined Uruk-Elben militia is a svugar by the name of Marthon am Vale.

Uruk Faith

For the uruk’s, faith in Voland and the Order is seen as a unifying force. The Order is the force that ultimately brought them into the fold of greater society and as a result they hold perhaps a greater reverence for it than any other race. Even at the beginning of the Freeze, when the other races had allowed many of the old customs such as namelessness fall to the wayside, the uruks continued to hold them in highest regard. Uruks nearly all carry saeges modeled directly on Bishal’s blade as described in the Libram and they hold most strictly to the rules of namelessness; children have the strictures drilled into them in the year leading up to their namelessness.

As with the other races, the uruks have their own take on the story of Voland and Bishal. To uruks, Voland represents the force of order and civilization, he organized the world in an orderly manner as he created it; civilization and the thinking beings were the pinnacle of that effort. Bishal was little more than a wild and jealous beast, and indeed he is more often referred to as the Beast among uruks than by his name. The Beast is the wild, uncontrolled animal side of the world, while Voland is equality, order, and civilization. Another aspect of this is that the Beast represents terror, while Voland stands for honour and courage in the face of horror.

Monday: The Uruk Nation

Race: Alfar

What is an Alfar?

The alfar are, in many ways, very archetypal elves. Their alabaster skin is compared by some to porcelain, and though somewhat delicate in appearance they are as hardy as any human. Like the elben, all alfar have dazzling green eyes that seem to sparkle in the light. Unlike the elben, whose hair is black, the alfar all have blonde hair, which ranges in tone from yellow to pure white. It is common for both males and females to wear their hair long.

Like the elben, an alfar’s facial features are well defined, but unlike the elben, their features are not severe; rather, they tend to be quite attractive, almost perfect physical specimens. The primary departure from the common appearance of an elf is that the alfar’s ears are not pointed, but are instead rounded like a normal human’s. Because of the alfar’s greater tolerance for the cold, they are often seen wearing less cold weather clothing than others, and in the warmer months often wear little more than a loincloth.

What are Alfar like?

What most alfar have in common is a strong sense of intuition. They value their gut feelings tremendously and as a result are often arrogant. They especially see themselves as being above those who spend long hours agonizing over decisions, because an alfar simply makes a decision and moves on with his or her life, living with the consequences if necessary. Alfar rarely change their minds after the fact, believing that their first thought on the matter is the purest and is therefore correct.

Despite their arrogance, the alfar are generally a kind people. They are happy to give food and supplies to those in need, following their natural instinct for community and trusting that they will be helped in turn if they are ever in need. Alfar are also very loyal to their friends and family, supporting them no matter the situation, and so they have proved a powerful force in the defence of the Bay from external threats. Their loyalty and stubbornness, however, are the primary fuel behind the war, and the reason why a diplomatic solution is unlikely to be accepted.

Alfar Society

In many ways alfar society is very simple; you do what you need to survive and you never second guess yourself. Respect and equality are very strongly linked; if you are able to earn people’s respect through your actions you gain elevated status. The other side of this is that if your family has high standing, then you don’t actually need to earn respect yourself, though it is fully possible to lose respect, and thus status, especially by changing your mind on a subject. As a result, there is a pressure to fit in with society or risk bringing dishonour to your family, diminishing the status of them all.

Many alfar spend much of their time in the wilderness, being one with themselves and with nature. The kinship and trust in the natural order is what drives so many of them to join the Kindred. It is also very common for alfar to keep pets, often wild animals that they have tamed themselves; these pets are viewed as members of the family, effectively a brother, sister, or child to their owner. There is even at least one notable instance of an alfar family raising a varker as one of their own, and she went on to become the Arch-Shaman for a time.

Alfar Faith

The way the alfar view their faith and the Order is in many ways the same as the elben, but differs on key points. The Libram is viewed more as parable that statement of fact, almost fable-like with a specific lesson to take away from each one. Again, however, Voland and Bishal are important figures, and their story is central to the way the alfar view the world. When Voland was born he began to craft the world, creating the earth and the sky and the sea, creating every leaf and every seed, creating every creature from the lowliest worm to the fiercest whale. He finally created the thinking beings, but that final act was not separated from the rest, it was simply the last step. Alfar and the other races were not distinct from nature in the eyes of Voland, and so they should not act as if they were. Like a worm, or a wolf, or a whale, they should strive to follow the instincts and intuitions that Voland instilled in them.

While Voland was doing his work, Bishal was watching and plotting, studying Voland’s creations and trying to comprehend what he was doing and why. Bishal dissected creatures and plant, experimented on nature, perverting it into demonic forms with his unnatural magic. And when, finally, he believed he had learned all he could from Voland, he set out to destroy him once and for all and claim the world himself. In short, instinct is of Voland and of nature, thought exists so that instinct can be understood, not so it can be reasoned against and countermanded.

Monday: The Alfar Nation

Race: Humans

What is a Human?

The humans of Butter Bay are very much what you would expect; they look very much like us, act much like we do—they essentially are us. The majority of humans are between 5’6” and 6’6”, but there are always anomalies, meaning that you could very well find a human that is much taller (or shorter). Some humans are as tall as 8 feet, but those are exceptional individuals and are not to be taken as the norm. Humans are sometimes extremely short as well, even being as short as hodekin in some cases, but again these are unusual cases. Most humans living in the Bay are much closer to 6 feet.

In terms of other features, the majority of humans in the Bay have light skin, though usually not as pale as an alfar. There are also a small number who have dark skin like an elben, and it is even theorized by some that the darker tone is a result of elben blood, but the theory is unconfirmed and those individuals do not share any other elben traits such as cold tolerance. The usual hair colour for humans is a neutral brown, but there is variance and some humans have blonde hair like alfar, or black hair like elben or uruk, or even red hair like hodekin. More than half of all humans in the Bay have brown eyes, but a sizable minority have blue eyes instead, often being quite vivid in hue. Some humans with uruk blood may even have brilliant violet eyes, but humans never have green eyes from alfar or elben blood.

What are Humans like?

Humans are a varied lot; they don’t have one specific trait that is common to most individuals like the other races. The one thing they do have in common as a race is that they are survivors. Barton Butter is seen as the ultimate symbol of their drive to live on, a simple man who saw what was happening and the coming consequences and did what was needed to stop it. Humans are viewed by the other races of the Bay as arbiters and peacemakers, primarily because of Barton Butter’s actions.

How humans see themselves is a more complicated matter as it depends on the individual. Some embrace the role of arbitrator of disputes, some become haughty and try to enforce their views on others, some shy away from expectations and refuse to get involved in the disputes of others. Only a small few truly accept and understand both the privileges and responsibilities that come from being seen as leaders, and see the difficult position that the war has put the humans of the Bay in. The other races expect the humans to step in and bring an end to the war, but both sides see themselves as being in the right; Baron Ebraen Coel fears the fallout of choosing either side as it could tear the society of the Bay apart completely. Both sides will always see themselves as right, and if the humans pick either side there will inevitably be resentment from the losing side.

And so the humans collectively walk a thin line, trying to be fair and hold the people of the Bay together. If they fail, the last century-and-a-half will be lost, and the legacy of those first struggling survivors of the Freeze will be destroyed. Leadership, real or imagined, earned or granted, is a heavy burden, and one that all humans share.

Human Society

The society of the humans of Butter Bay is perhaps more what you would expect of a medieval culture than of the other races. For most life is quite simple, they do their work in the fields or the mines, they hunt or they fish; in the towns merchants peddle wares purchased from craftsmen from around the Bay. The majority of humans are fairly poor, but the Baron’s government is devoted to maintaining the well-being of its people and even the poorest can be assured enough food and clothing to sustain them. This large lower class keeps the wealthier middle class merchants and artisans afloat. At the top of the heap are the nobles such as the Baron and his family, and the Lords of the various townships. Even the nobles, however, do not have the grand riches that one would expect of nobility; before the Freeze these were just petty aristocrats in a far greater empire.

Women are treated well among humans; though they don’t enjoy the same entrenched legal protection as they would in the Uruk nation, they are still far more equal than yadekin are among hodekin. Women generally take care of the home and children, rather than doing the heavy work of mining, but when the growing season comes they work the same long hours in the fields as men. In fishing villages many women serve as crew on the trawlers and there are even a small number of female captains. Finally, women do serve in the militia, but mainly in support roles; even so, a woman serving on the front lines in heavy armour may be unusual, but it is not considered surprising or controversial. Most people have at least some basic combat training, male or female, and all carry their saeges with them at all times, so no-one is ever without some protection.

In the Bay, survival and the propagation of the people is considered important, so everyone is expected to marry and have children, at least enough to replace themselves. Despite this, same-sex relations are quite common, especially among militiamen. While the hodekin don’t consider same-sex relations to be sex, the same is not true among humans. Cheating, however, is a less grievous offence, so long as you are discreet about it. Most women are willing to accept their husband having a bit on the side, so long as he comes home at night. It is also not uncommon for women to philander a bit, both with other women and with family of their husband. This is seen as acceptable because though the children a man raises might not be his own, they are at least blood.

Human Faith

The teachings and faith of the humans is the baseline from which the other races’ faiths are compared. Their story of Voland being born from the holy fires of Muspel and setting out to create the world is that which the others' are based on. It is said by some that Voland created humans first, that they were his most trusted and beloved children; he created the other races in attempts to improve upon his first creation, but was never able to surpass them. This isn’t generally understood to mean that humans are better than other races, only that they are the most basic, most even, and most versatile form of thinking being there is. Alfar may be wiser and elben smarter, uruks may be stronger, hodekin sturdier and yadekin nimbler, but humans have a strength of spirit that is unmatched.

The stories tell that while the other races raged against Bishal, trying to destroy her icy grip on the world, the humans were the first Keepers, watching over Voland’s body and healing him with their faith and love. Though other races held Bishal at bay and fought her demonic spawn for every last inch of the world, it was the humans who brought Voland back and stood by his side when he banished Bishal and her brood back to the frozen wastes of Nifel. This legacy of leadership and faith has lasted through the ages, through the kings of great empires, and finally through to Barton Butter, resulting in the survival of the Bay.

Monday: The Human Nation

Threat: Merrow, Part 2

What are Merrow like? What are Vellans like?

Merrow largely keep to themselves, they do not live among or interact with other races except for their slaves, and very little is known about them by the people of the Bay. Encounters with merrow invariably end in conflict, as the aquatic beings are extremely territorial. Their borders are not marked in any visible way, the merrow simply expect outsiders to know and react accordingly. This means that vessels sailing out of the relative safety of the confines of the Bay risk provoking the ire of the merrow at any moment, and being blown about by a storm is all the more perilous.

Vellans, on the other hand, prove extremely docile when encountered. After generations of enslavement few, if any, consider the possibility of their lives being different. Those who are aggressive are weeded out and killed by their masters, so even when confronted by non-merrow they rarely attack. If ever they do, it will be at the urging of their masters, and they will run from combat as soon as there are no longer any merrow to force them to continue. The merrow use vellans for all the most dangerous and labour-intensive jobs, especially those that involve going onto land for long periods of time, such as mining useful ores.

Merrow Society

Most of the information in this section is unknown to the people of the Bay, even the most well studied individuals. As DM, it is at your discretion to decide what details are known to the player characters. The society of the merrow is very clearly separated along caste lines and it is almost three distinct cultures.

Warriors keep largely to themselves; strength, skill, and survival are the key factors in determining rank; the oldest are usually the highest ranking. Sometimes a warrior of lower rank might challenge a superior’s authority; the matter is settled with a duel to the death. The warriors patrol the borders of the tribe’s territory, killing first and asking questions never. They are also responsible for keeping the vellans in line, serving as guardsmen, slave drivers, and executioners when the need arises. Warriors live in communal barracks with their brethren, eating simple food and having few tangible luxuries.

In contrast, the royals live in opulence. They still live communally, but rather than in cramped barracks they live in the spacious tribal palace. Royals have fine clothing, fancy decorations and jewellery, and nearly any other indulgence you can imagine. Meals are great feasts with rich and varied dishes, often featuring the flesh of specially selected and plumped vellans or, more rarely, other races like those that live in the Bay.

The worker caste is the glue that holds the race together. They are the most numerous, and do a large part of the work that keeps their society functioning. Workers oversee and direct the efforts of the vellans; they see that sufficient food is produced; they are the bureaucrats, administrators and servants. The workers of each tribe usually live in a large town surrounding the palace of the royals, but also have other smaller communities elsewhere. The worker caste also live among the warriors, seeing to the more technical aspects of supporting armed troops. Each worker belongs to a brood, a large group of workers hatched from eggs laid at the same time; the brood is like their family, and each brood usually takes on a specific task with all its members working to the fulfilment of that goal. Some workers take it upon themselves to learn magic that might be beneficial to the tribe and so are found among the warriors serving as healers and artillery.

Each tribe has a Queen, one female royal who rules over the tribe and is never questioned. The Queen is larger than the rest of the female royals, her torso is roughly the same but her tail swells up until it is nearly 6 times the size of her torso. She rarely moves from her throne; the royals have all their feasts there in the throne room to accommodate her presence. Whenever a tribe’s Queen dies, her corpse releases a chemical into the waters of the palace that causes the other females to become engorged as they produce a single extremely large egg. Whichever female lays her egg first is selected as the new Queen. She then devours the egg and promptly falls into a coma as her body transforms into that of a Queen, a process that takes roughly a month. Once the transformation is complete, she awakens and begins producing and laying eggs at an increased rate. The new Queen rules until she dies, when the process begins again. Occasionally females take this opportunity to begin their own tribe, in which case they travel to a new territory with at least one male and devour their egg to begin the transformation; members of that Queen’s original tribe are generally hostile toward the new tribe, seeing them as traitors.

Using Merrow and Vellans in Play

To use merrow and vellans as opponents in your D&D game there are a number of options. For vellans, you can use the same sort of monsters as you might use to represent varkers, simply add a swim speed and give them the aquatic keyword. Merrow are a more complicated matter; your players should rarely ever have to face royals, but warriors and workers would appear in combat. You can use such creatures as sahuagin, craud, or even chuuls to represent these castes, but given the scant nature of available stand-ins, I plan to post a number of example monsters in the future. These will give you a better idea of how they operate in combat and serve as a starting point for you to design or modify your own.

Monday: The Human Race

Threat: Merrow, Part 1

The coast and sea north and south of Butter Bay are the domain of the aquatic merrow. With their slaves, the vellans, they rule with figuratively iron fists and literally scaled bodies.

What is a Merrow?

The merrow could best be described as merfolk, though their upper bodies are covered in the same scales as their lower portions. Though naturally aquatic, they can come up out of the water for periods of time, resting on their strong snake-like tails. They can’t live out of the water on a permanent basis, generally requiring to take a swim at least every 12 hours or risk drying out. They can survive up to 30 hours out of the water, but it is in no way comfortable and they get progressively weaker the longer they are in the open air.

Merrow do not have genders as we know them; most of their people are genderless beings that never mate. Instead their race is divided into a number of physically different castes. The majority of their race is split between the warrior and worker castes.

The Three Castes

Warriors are extremely large and have an exoskeleton like a crab or a lobster, meaning that they are naturally armoured. They can also stay out of the water for about 50% longer than the other castes (18 hours comfortably, 45 hours before dying). The warriors’ shells are usually bright red, but variants ranging from yellow to nearly black do occur. It is common among most tribes to tattoo themselves with dark blue-purple markings that show their rank in the caste.

Physically, the worker caste is distinct because of the workers’ limbs; unlike the other castes they actually have legs instead of just a tail, and their tail is shorter and far less muscular. In addition to their four legs, they also have four arms where the other castes have only two. For most workers, one pair of arms is dominant, being stronger and larger than the other pair. The scales of the worker caste vary greatly, ranging from black to white, red to yellow, or green to blue; really nearly any colouration is possible.

The last caste is the royal caste, which does have normal gender. Females lay eggs without requiring fertilization, and those eggs will naturally hatch and develop into warrior caste. It is possible for a male to fertilize the eggs after they have been laid, in which case they will become worker caste, or the eggs can be fertilized before being laid through normal sex, which results in the eggs growing into royal caste. Within any given tribe it is usual to destroy most eggs not laid by that tribe’s queen.

In appearance, the royal caste are most like the archetypal merfolk; they have a humanlike upper body, and a long fish tail below. While they do have scales all across their body, some royal merrow have scales of a different colour above their tails, resulting in an appearance that the two halves are distinct and separate. The colouration of royals varies as much as the worker caste, but royals from the same tribe are usually similarly hued. Many royals also have small scaled tendrils that look somewhat like hair on their heads; these are always either pure white or pure black, or a mixture of the two.

What is a Vellan?

Finally, outside of the merrow race itself are their slaves, the vellans. Vellans are extremely similar to varkers, small furry rodent-like creatures. The difference is that vellans are aquatic in nature with oily fur that water simply rolls off of. If a varker would be compared with a rat or weasel, a vellan is more like a beaver or a muskrat. Because they lived largely on the coast, nearly all vellans have been subjugated and enslaved by the merrow, but it might be possible to find isolated free tribes further inland living in large lakes.

Friday: Part 2

Race: Elben

What is an Elben?

The elben are a noble looking race. They stand quite tall, usually more than six feet, and though not burly can hold their own against a human. They stand out from the other peoples of the Bay primarily because of their skin, which is far darker than the others (we would call it black), save for a few dark-skinned humans (who are believed by some to have forgotten elben ancestry). Their hair matches their skin, being black or very dark brown, and it is usually worn quite long by both males and females.

Some elben’s green eyes are somewhat almond shaped, but there are just as many who do not have this trait. Another point of focus might be their ears; while the elben are what one would normally call elves, the elben do not have pointed ears like the elves of other settings. Finally, an elben’s facial features tend to be very angular and severe, with high cheekbones and sharp chins. Their noses are also generally longer than any other race’s, sometimes bordering on witchlike.

What are Elben like?

Compared to the average citizen of the Bay, the elben are highly intelligent beings. With that intelligence, however, comes a healthy (some would say unhealthy) dose of pride. Though they acknowledge the place of less gifted races in the world, they often make the mistake of acting dismissive and superior, which has earned them the ire of many alfar and hodekin.

Despite their frequent arrogance, the elben are usually quite willing to listen to reason and logic. If you give an elben a good enough reason to respect you, they will happily change their view. Their respect for reason permeates their culture, and it contributes to their tendency toward arcane magic, as learning it involves learning about the logic and mechanics of how the world works.

Though logic is an important part of elben culture, that doesn’t mean they shun emotions. Emotions, both positive and negative, have immense value as they give you information. The danger of emotions is that they can mislead you; not every fear should be heeded completely, and not every desire should necessarily be followed through with. Reason and logic allow an elben to evaluate their emotions and choose the appropriate response for the specific situation, rather than simply responding instinctively and perhaps acting rashly. In short, logic is a guide to better understand your emotions, not a replacement for them.

Elben Society

Magic is everywhere in elben culture. Most people know a little bit of magic, and the race’s constant exposure over the ages has resulted in an inborn ability to teleport short distances. Though the Academy is the source of complete arcane training, it is fairly common for children to be taught some simple magic in preparation for the future; whether that future includes attendance at the Academy, joining the militia, or simply becoming a farmer, herder, or woodcutter.

Equality, be it of gender, age, class, or profession, is not defended like it is among the uruks; it is simply taken as a matter of course and paid no special attention. Each person is measured purely by their own merits and accomplishments. Most elben do not seek money or fame, but instead seek to better themselves and the society of the Bay as a whole. A bladesmith would strive to make finer and finer klaethes, inching ever closer to perfection; while an arcanist might seek to increase food production through magical means.

Elben Faith

The elben differ somewhat from the other races in their view of Voland and the Order. The stories in the Libram are viewed more as parables than history; they are meant to teach lessons and instil values rather than to recount actual events. The story of the birth of the world and the encounter between Voland and Bishal is still significant, but it is a lesson about earning and using knowledge for the betterment of the world, and being ever watchful for those who strive to take without earning. Voland spent time experimenting, shaping first the crude features of the world, slowly working his way to creating life. And when he created life, he did not leap directly to the final stage, instead he worked slowly again from simple to complex, until finally, after many long ages, creating the thinking beings. They have taken that lesson to heart and value hard work towards a goal, and by extension the understanding and reason involved in that effort. If they tried to simply reach the goal without going through the journey, they would be little better than Bishal, trying to steal the world and credit for its creation from Voland.

Wednesday: The Academy

Race: Half-Bloods

Any person living in Butter Bay whose parents come from different races is considered a half-blood. Given that there are five races in the Bay, there are ten half-blood combinations.

What is an Aldech?

As a cross between an alfar and a hodekin or yadekin, aldekin share the same sexual dimorphism as their hodekin parentage; males taller and more slender, while females are bulky and muscled, though the difference is not nearly as pronounced. Aldekin skin, while still somewhat grey, has a polished pearly sheen to it that almost makes an aldech look like a statue. Aldekin do not have hodekin pointed ears. When living in hodekin society, aldekin are expected to conform to the accepted gender roles; living elsewhere the rules are often much more flexible. Because of the long-time friendly relationship between the parent races, aldekin are relatively common.

What is an Alp?

An alp is half-alfar and half-elben. Given the general animosity between these two races, alps are one of the rarest types of half-bloods. In terms of appearance the alp is a very unique being, their skin is not a simple middle-point between alabaster alfar skin and elben chocolate, but rather their skin features a marbled blend of the two. The two tones swirl around one another in some places and flow seamlessly together in others. This unique appearance means than an alp can in no way hide his parentage, it is printed on their face.

What is an Elruk?

Elruks are the children of the other side of the war, half-uruk and half-elben. Generally speaking, an elruk is the tallest being you are likely to find in the Bay, often reaching seven feet or more. They also share the uruks pointed ears, but not their fanglike teeth. The skin of an elruk is a dark mossy green, and their eyes vary between an elben’s green and the more common purple. Like the aldekin, elruks are quite common, and many are involved in the war effort. 

What is a Farul?

Though the two races don’t see eye-to-eye right now, that is a fairly recent development, and intermarriage between alfar and uruks is not uncommon. A farul is generally unremarkable in appearance, and it is quite possible to not realize you are speaking to one. The vast majority of faruls look just like alfar, with the exception that they have pointed ears like an uruk. Some also have an uruk’s purple eyes, but the majority have green as would be expected of an alfar.

What is a Greun?

The first of the human half-bloods is the greun, whose other parent is an uruk. The most notable feature of a greun is his or her pointed ears, which are often even longer than a normal uruk’s. Secondly is the skin tone, a warm yellow-green colour that generally manages to avoid looking sickly. Human eyes are usually brown, which is true as well of greuns, but when the human parent has blue eyes the child’s eyes will be purple. A greun is shorter than an uruk, being closer in height to a human, but is naturally more muscled.

What is a Hodem?

Like their aldekin brethren, hodems display some sexual dimorphism. But where the half-human half-hodekin differs is that the gender variance is primarily an issue of height. While human females are often slightly shorter than their male counterpart, a female hodem is the same height as a hodech, while a male hodem is the same height as a man. Musculature among hodems is unpredictable; some females are well muscled and look almost the same as hodekin, while others look more like human children. Likewise, the males may be dextrous and skinny or more muscled like human males. Hodem skin tone and eye colour, however, always match those of the human parent, while their ears are always pointed like a hodech’s.

What is a Mondel? What is a Sonner?

Mondels and sonners are physically almost identical except for skin tone. Mondels, half-human half-elben, have their elben parent’s dark skin, while sonners, half-human half-alfar, have alfar skin. These half-bloods always have brown eyes as is usual in humans, and they appear as humans for the most part. They do, however, share their alfar or elben parent’s tolerance for the cold, and often wear little in terms of cold-weather clothing. Human hair is nearly always brown, but mondels have black hair like elben, and sonners have blonde hair like alfar.

What is a Svugar?

The hybrids of elben and hodekin, the svugar, are mysterious-looking creatures. Their skin is ash black, and their sunken eyes are black or grey. Because of their appearance it is sometimes remarked that they look sickly or dying. While extremely skinny, their strength is comparable to that of their parent races. Svugar share the hodekin stature, rarely exceeding four feet tall, and many walk somewhat hunched over, diminishing their height further. The other distinguishing features of a svugar are a complete lack of external ear, instead having just an ear hole, and thin hair that hangs limply.

What is an Urdech?

Lastly, urdekin are half-uruk and half-hodekin. It seems that uruk blood is somewhat stronger than hodekin, as both male and female urdekin are similar in build. Though shorter than humans, the average urdech is about the same height as a yadekin. They are bulkier than a yadech, but not as heavy-set as a hodech. The skin of an urdech is also something of a surprise, being not grey like the hodekin or green like the uruks, but rather blue; it ranges from pale greyish blues down to dark rich blue, but never as dark as navy. Most urdekin share the hodekin eye colours of grey to black. Because both parent races have pointed ears, this is also true of urdekin.

Children

Half-bloods can have children as well, and the racial nature of that child depends on the race of the other parent. The following chart shows how to determine the child’s race.

Parent 1	Parent 2	Child
Race A	Race A-Race B	Race A
Race A	Race B-Race C	Race A-Race B or Race A-Race C
Race A-Race B	Race A-Race C	Race A-Race B or Race A-Race C
Race A-Race B	Race C-Race D	Race A-Race C or Race A-Race D or Race B-Race C or Race B-Race D

Half-Bloods in Society

The reaction to half-bloods varies depending on the nation and the type of half-blood in question.

In general humans are fairly accepting of half-bloods, but prefer half-humans over other types, and prefer pure-blood humans more. Half-bloods running from the prejudice the war has inspired have flooded into Human territories, creating tension in the nation. Few svugar ever leave the Elben-Hodekin border region, where they primarily dwell, because of public reception to their appearance; many potential romances also fall apart because their children would be svugar.

Since the war began, alps and urdekin, as well as svugar and faruls and anyone else with the opposing side’s blood, have been viewed with suspicion by both alliances, though more so by the Alfar and Hodekin. In something of a demonstration of the uruks’ devotion to equality, Marthon am Vale, a svugar, has risen to the top rank of Commander in the Uruk military during the war. Also in contrast to the suspicion put on some half-bloods is the fact that aldekin, and to a lesser extent elruks, have gained increased respect; they are seen as a physical symbol of each alliance.

Monday: The Elben Race

Race: Hodekin

What is a Hodech? What is a Yadech?

While the race as a whole is usually referred to as hodekin, an individual female is called a hodech. Males, in large part due the physical differences from females, are not afforded this term, and are instead referred to as yadekin; yadech individually. The two sexes do have some similarities, most notably their short stature compared to the other races, but also including their pointed ears (as one would expect on elves in other settings). Both sexes also share the same skin tone, a somewhat stony greyish hue, and they are well known for red hair.

The typical hodech is perhaps best described as sturdy. They are extremely well muscled even compared to males of other races, but despite this are somewhat slower because of their stubby legs. Hodekin are also well known for being busty. Although in their youth a hodech is clean-faced like any other female, once they reach menopause their bodies begin overproducing testosterone and most grow voluminous beards.

Though not tremendously strong, yadekin are very nimble and quick. A typical yadech is somewhat taller and more slender than a hodech, but still considerably shorter than a human. Males never, under any circumstances, grow facial hair and, because beards are seen as a sign of experience and wisdom, males are therefore seen as dim-witted but pretty.

What are Hodekin like?

The hodekin are, in a word, proud; but that pride manifests differently in the two sexes. Females are proud of their place in the family; they are the source of both children and wealth, and they are incredibly protective of their children. For a hodech, family is everything, and the success of her daughters is her success. For a male there is a sense of duty, they are far more protective of one another. A yadech is still fiercely loyal to his family, but cares more for his sons; the success of a son is seen as an affirmation of the worth of all yadekin. Males also take pride in the fact that while females are the ones to carry and give birth to children, that act is ultimately impossible without a male. Some yadekin are more reserved, and many hodekin prefer it that way, because it was a male’s interference that killed Voland, which is seen somewhat similarly to the original sin of Eve in our world.

Hodekin Society

For the most part hodekin society is fairly static; you are generally born to your station and never really move. There is a very small noble class made up of Dames and Digems, and to a lesser extent Ritters and Rittrems. Below that is a somewhat larger class of artisans and other skilled workers. At the bottom is the serf class, the farmers and miners and other similar labourers. Finally there is the priesthood, which stands somewhat to the side of the normal hierarchy; joining the Order is the only easy way to rise in social status, but Keepers often serve hodekin of a similar status as they were born.

Yadekin are mostly expected to do the housework and watch over the children, but during the growing season they join the workforce alongside the females. Males are rarely allowed to enter skilled professions as the view is that they exist simply to makes the lives of females easier. Because many medics are Keepers, male physicians do exist in small numbers. Historically males have not been allowed to serve in the military; more recently, out of necessity, they have been allowed to enter armed service, but only as crossbowmen.

Sexuality among hodekin is a point of interest. The two sexes are viewed as wholly separate animals, and as a result sexual relations with another of your own gender isn’t really viewed as sex at all. Everyone is expected to find a mate of the opposite gender, and adultery is harshly punished, but same-sex relations, not being viewed as sex, do not constitute adultery by hodekin social mores or laws. The exception to the expectation that all hodekin get married are Keepers, who are instead forbidden to marry or have sex, but like all hodekin can have sex within their own gender.

Hodekin Faith

The religious views of the hodekin depart a fair bit from the traditional teachings of the Order, but are nonetheless served and taught to hodekin by the Order of the Bay. The primary difference rests in the fact that in hodekin faith there are not two gods, but four, two female and two male. The females take the traditional names of Voland, Dame of Fire, and Bishal, Dame of Ice. The males, unique to hodekin faith, are Orich, Digem of Light and husband of Voland, and Yarem, Digem of Darkness and husband of Bishal.

The story is altered so that Bishal was not initially evil, but rather helped Voland to create the world. Yarem, however, was jealous of the way that fire could overcome ice, and light could overcome darkness. To right this perceived wrong, Yarem slowly convinced his wife to turn on Voland for fear of being destroyed. Voland fell dead, but her husband Orich used his light to heal her and watched over her with the first Keepers.

Each kirkhall is made up of two identical sets of rooms with separate entrances and no connecting doors between the two inside. Hodekin and yadekin are segregated for services, and are never allowed to enter the other sex’s half of the kirkhall. As a result of this division, the Order is the only realm in which males have as much power and prominence as females, even being allowed to hold higher ranking positions.

Wednesday: The Order