The population of Ethoria is a fractured tapestry of native survivors and planar refugees, all united by the singular trauma of the Shattering. Before the cataclysm, humans were the sole inhabitants of the world, but the opening of the Portals introduced the “Others”—diverse races pulled from their own dying realities and stranded in a landscape that was entirely foreign to them. Today, these races—Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Vampires, and Lycans—struggle to coexist under the suffocating order of the Empire, their identities shaped as much by their biological origins as by their utility to the state.
Humans remain the most numerous and adaptable race, viewing themselves as the rightful, native heirs to Ethoria. They are the backbone of the Empire’s bureaucracy and military, driven by a desperate need to reclaim the stability of the Era of Man. While they lack the inherent planar connections of the newcomers, their sheer persistence and willingness to embrace the Empire’s brutal logic have allowed them to dominate the political landscape. To a human, survival is a matter of stone, iron, and law, and they often view the non-human races with a mixture of guarded necessity and deep-seated suspicion.
The Elves and Dwarves, known collectively as the “Arrived,” carry the physical and cultural scars of their lost worlds. Elves are lithe, elegantly pointed-eared beings with a fading connection to the otherworld, often marked by solid violet irises or faintly glowing silver pupils. They are frequently viewed as tragic figures, mourning a grace that Ethoria’s harsh reality cannot support. Dwarves, by contrast, are stout, industrial survivors with heavy jaws and pronounced brow ridges. They have adapted to the Shattering by turning to the earth, decorating their beards with copper rings and stone-braids, finding purpose in the extraction of the very relics that the Portals bleed into the world.
Far more feared are the “Cursed”—Vampires and Lycans—whose existence is defined by supernatural affliction. Vampires are immortal, blood-bound pariahs with skin like cold marble and unnaturally pale complexions, often operating as secret rulers in the high courts or as hunted scavengers in the slums. Lycans are shapeshifters bound to a predatory instinct, possessing wolf-like facial structures and coarse fur. Unlike traditional folklore, Ethoria’s Lycans exist in a constant, unsettling hybrid state, marked by glowing yellow predator eyes. Both races are viewed as biological threats by the Inquisition, often leashed as high-risk assets or purged to maintain the "purity" of the Imperial citizenry.
Social standing in Ethoria is rarely determined by race alone, but by a character’s “Life Path” and their adherence to Imperial doctrine. Whether one is an Embedded Commoner working the soot-stained factories of the Heartlands or an Exceptional individual mastering the dangerous Magic Arts, the Empire demands total submission. In the eyes of the Emperor, an Elf’s long life or a Dwarf’s strength are merely variables in a survival equation. In this grim reality, the ancient cultural heritage of the races has been largely ground away, replaced by a singular, collective struggle to endure another day on the edge of the void.