Races of Gleden

Gleden is inhabited by four major groups of humanoid peoples: Demonfolk, Humans, Sprites, and Zoomorphs. This page exists to give an overview of each of these races and their sub-races.

Demonfolk
Demonfolk are a humanlike race who occasionally have psychic abilities. They tend to possess less spritely magic than sprites or humans, but this can vary.

Each of the four demonfolk races trace their origins back to lesser gods who transformed the existing human and sprite populations. This is a controversial viewpoint, as groups such as the Saelig believe spritely power is the only power that arises from the planet and that the demonic powers are in fact alien ones.

Ysef
The white-skinned, long-lashed Ysef are a desert race who originated in the tundra of Lasef and founded the kingdom of Dineria. They thrive in cold, dry climates, which has led some scholars to theorize that Ysef are related to White Elves. Ysef share blood with the Fury Ameegra, who impregnates a Ysef woman every few decades. The Ysef claim descent from the god of horizons, who arose from the meeting of earthy and sky. Because of this, borders are sacred to the Ysef, not as dividers but as the meeting place of two entities.

Moonfolk
The Moonfolk are a nocturnal race that worships and claims descent from the moon. The primary Moonfolk settlement is Moon, on the western continent of Tassiola. The people of Moon lead simple lives and maintain a strong oral tradition.

Shades
Shades are black-skinned demonfolk who dwell in forests across Gleden. They tend to be very private individuals who keep themselves well-hidden, so it is unknown if there are any large communities of Shades. They claim descent from the god of shadows.

Falen
Biologically, Falen are demonfolk of mixed Ysef and White Elf blood. Although there have been Ysef-White Elf unions since Ysef first appeared on Gleden, Iubitar Avaddon is traditionally considered by the Falen to be the first of their kind because the Falen claim their own ancestor god distinct from that of the Ysef, awoken in the War on Ethrogia and confirmed in the descent of the rebels from the mountains to the lowlands.

Humans
Humans are said to have originated on Gleden as a nonmagical people, although by the beginning of recorded history, a majority of humans are born with spritely magic. It is still common, however, for humans to be born with no magic at all.

Jackelese
Humans from the village of Jackel, on the western continent of Tassiola. Tend to be of a dark complexion.

Magid
Magids are humans born with a large amount of spritely magic, rumored to be the result of crossbreeding with sprites. Magids have settled all across Gleden but are most concentrated in the port city of Marlin, where the Marlin School of Magic is located.

Native Frioan
The original inhabitants of Frion Valley before the arrival of foreign settlers. They were a nomadic population but are now settled in farm villages with the foreigner population.

Teinish
Fair-haired people from Sarka, Terra.

Elves
Elves in Gleden are tall and humanlike (including their ears). They reach maturity at age 20 but age slowly after that point, spending roughly half of their long lives in what resembles the 20 to 50 age range for humans. After that point, elves age more rapidly than humans. This means that young-looking elves far outnumber older-looking elves and has led to the myth that elves do not age. A higher degree of interaction between elf and human populations in recent centuries has made the untruth of this myth common knowledge.

There are four main sub-races of elves: Standard Elves, White Elves, Red Elves, and Dazarethian Elves.

Faeries
Faeries are a diverse race of sprites who possess wings. This can be a confusing distinction, as faerie wings are not always visible and may take many different forms. Much of faerie magic is performed through dance, and a faerie ring may grow where one of these rituals takes place. Sub-races of faeries include standard faeries, banshees, leshe, nixies, and pixies.

Trolls
Trolls are large nocturnal sprites who turn to stone if exposed to sunlight. They have squat bodies and long, thin tails.

Arachnian
A spider-like race composed almost entirely of women because mothers eat their male young shortly after they hatch.

Kazza
The kazza are a cat-like race whose members each channel the quality of a species of cat. The quality that is channeled is not strictly genetic, although family members are likely to have qualities belonging to the same taxonomical family. Kazza are born with varying degrees of cat likeness. Many are mostly humanlike. Qualities include (Fela:) cheetah, caracal, leopard (inc. ocelot), serval, lynx, cougar, (Panthera:) lion, tiger, jaguar, and leopard.

Naga
Naga have the upper body of a human and the lower body of a snake. Due to the difficulty they have navigating spaces designed for bipedal creatures, naga tend to keep to themselves and form naga enclaves near major settlements.