SHARED: 11/30/2023
UPDATED: --/--/----
There are a wide range of non-human races in Broken Dimensions, not the least of which are Tartaruns and Aetherians, who are humanoid but not quite human. There are also races of sentient (psychic) Cats, mythical sentient wolves (Lio's Wolves; not the lycanthropic kind), and sentient, magical dragons—all of whom have human-levels of intelligence (or beyond, in the case of Feldspar's Cats). Svarenics, the original Mage race of horned near-humans that preceded both Aetheria and Tartarus, and whom eventually became the Shades, are also considered near-/non-humans.
There are also, however, a few other near-human races that have come about through various mythological means:
Can’in — human-like person with canine features, including full anthropomorphic canine bodies (think Tabaxi but canine instead of feline), dog-like ears, tails, claws, paws, lower canine extremities, etc.
Large range of presentations. Some are fully anthropomorphic human-like canine creatures, others are mostly human with canine ears, tails, and/or claws/fangs.
Usually have very good senses of smell and hearing, and have denser bones than humans. Tend to put on muscle easily and stay lean.
Endurance predators, speaking in terms of evolution.
Examples: Aviera Lance, Faine and Fawkes Djiian, Vixen Salvage, Halifax Deenheart.
Av’in — human-like person with bird-like features, including wings, bird-like legs, inhuman teeth or beaks, feathers, and various digestive tract variations.
Large range of presentations. Some will have wing-arms, other might have wings separate from their arms, some may or may not be able to fly. Full av’ins are more like large, human-like bird creatures (think Aarakocra).
Commonly have either really good eyesight or really terrible eyesight.
Made for speed, light on their feet.
Lighter, more fragile bones than the standard human.
**winged people are not considered av'in; their genetic makeup is not the same.
Examples: Summer Alderheart.
Fel’in (?) — human-like person with feline features and occasionally shapeshifting abilities (kavi’lin).
Large range of presentations. Some are basically Tabaxi, others are mostly human with feline ears, tails, and/or claws/fangs.
Exceptional agility, balance, and sense of space (similar to ziojic “grid sense”).
Speed and agility somewhere between an av’in and can’in; quick, agile, quick-thinking and quick-stepping, but not as light as an av’in.
Greater bone strength/density than can’in.
Examples: Thelia Sparkes, Halifax Deenheart.
Ursin’ai — human-like person with ursine (bear)-like features, including ears, senses, thick hair, big body types, and large hands with/without claws.
Large range of presentations. Some are like the Ursine race from DnD, others are nearly human with large, ursine ears and big hands.
Known for their brute strength, strong mental walls, innate stubbornness, and one-punch knockout abilities.
Typically have great senses of smell and peripheral awareness (not to the extent of a fel’in, but exaggerated from the human baseline).
Examples: Osborne Aldavage, Alex Salvage, Harper.
Most of these near-human races were created in early Era 2 or during the War for Balance at the end of Crisis 1—they've been here since the beginning like humans and Svarenics/Shades. However, they were created with significantly smaller populations and were not originally intended by the gods to survive beyond the period in which they were created (a negligent failure and oversight on their part that they assumed these races would just die off). When they did continue to thrive, they did so in relative secret, worshipping the gods who created them in wild places separate from humanity (on Earth) until early Era 4.
As for Svarenheil (and later Adreoni/Darekaeii), these races were much more accepted and less feared, which meant they were less frequently turned into ghost stories and dangerous myths, such as with the humans of [ x ]. As a result, a large percentage of the Shade population has can'in, fel'in, or ursin'ai features (av'in were less inclined to tolerate the cool, lowland living of the Shades of Svarenheil; much like the Aarakocra, they prefer high places).
Tartarus eventually accrued a large number of can'in, fel'in, and av'in peoples following the extermination/expulsion of the Seven Heathen Mages and their followers.
Modern E-10 Aetheria has very low populations of all of the above humanoids.
The most common presentation for can'in and fel'in people are those who are more easily seen as "half-humans"—meaning:those with human bodies and near-human facial structure, but canine or feline ears, tails, claws, teeth, digestive needs (carnivorous), etc. The most common av'in presentation is the "harpy" presentation in which a person has feathers mixed with or instead of hair, feathered arms or wings instead of arms, and long, feathered or fan-like tails. The most common ursin'ai presentation is as a full person-like bear humanoid (ex: Osborne Aldavage from The Lycanthra Syndicate).
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The stories in which you'll see these races the most are Fractal Alliances and The Lycanthra Syndicate because Tartarus and the Iron Archipelagos host the largest visiblepopulations of near-humans. [ x ] technically supports the largest population, but they are spread out, often relegated to remote communities, or forced underground (sometimes literally) or into the Waulfend nature preserves.*
*Can'in, fel'in, av'in, and ursin'ai people are often characterized as being very "close to nature," similiar to the stereotyping of real-world Indigenous Americans. In most cases, this is not true.
In the case of the can'in, fel'in, and ursin'ai, this stereotype persists because, for millennia, their races were culturally ostracized from normal human life. They were turned into stories and wild myths of hungry monsters (like werecreatures or murderous beasts or bloody cryptids), which made them outcasts and created a perception that they were "lower lifeforms" or lacked human intelligence. As a result, can'in, fel'in, and ursin'ai people built their own communities in the wild, separate from human society, where they depended on and respected nature to a greater degree than most humans of the time. This led to the (usually false) understanding that these races had a "deeper connection" to nature as a whole. In reality, only mages and worshipers of Waulfend, the original god of the wild, or Virri, the goddess of life, ever had such a connection.
The av'in, however, actually are much more connected to nature due to who their creators were: Waulfend and Kiridia, two of the nature siblings. By Era 10, they are also the most prominent worshipers of Heathera, the plant goddess and Waulfend's top student, which gains them heavy favor from her. Most often, av'in groups are the first to speak up against the stereotype that all near-humans are animalistic or nature-sensitive. However, their next word is usually about how the others are just "fakers," and the av'in have a real connection to nature the others do not. They are, by reputation, a haughty and isolationist people (though as with everything else, it depends on the group and the region).
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