004. RACES & MEMBER GROUPS

THERE ARE THREE RACES IN YUMIRIS. Humans, halfings, and Ancients. Humans are essentially 60% of the core population, whereas Halflings—half-animal and half human species—are the other forty. Ancients are a very rare race, also human, that live in the clouds far above the chaotic surface of the world and are NONPLAYABLE. Same goes for SUMMON SPIRITS, as of right now.

So what does that mean? That you have a wide variety of factions and membergroups unique to humans and halflings. This guide will give a very brief run-down of some choices you have, and we ask that you NOT CREATE NEW PEOPLES OR CULTURES. (Unless, say, they happen to come from an area that was destroyed or a hidden village.)

However, you can play around with any the choices we give you. Some examples? Creating a halfling who's basically a mermaid or a magician from Drasil that has the ability to shapeshift. Anything is fair game, unless staff says otherwise.

• ANCIENTS - living in the floating isles above Yumiris, they have an abundance of advanced technologies and strong magical abilities. Curiously, they are the only humans capable of reading the future and speaking with the Spirits. They are often pale, and have white hair and unusual eye colors.
  
  
• THE EMPIRE - built behind and along the mountains of the Great Falls of Undine, citizens and soldiers of the Empire are usually against the Guilds in philosophy and politics. It is sharply divided into the rich and the poor, which creates many REBEL GROUPS.
  
  
• THE GUILDS - led by the Three Guilds, they have been at war with the Empire for the last twenty years as they try and leave the Fallen Lands of Efreet. Some towns are literally suspended above a broiling lava pit, and skin colors are both naturally dark or light. They accept peoples from throughout Yumiris, and are very diverse.
  
  
• ILLEIANS - although protected by the Empire, they are self-governed peoples who live in villages hoisted in the jungles surrounding the falls. As Illeia is considered sacred, they have little experience with war or the outside world.
  
  
• EASTERNERS - resembling the Asian cultures, they have a religious connection to dragons and zen spirituality. Built entirely into the mountains, they suffer many earthquakes and have large deposits of Catalysts to draw from. They are neutral.
  
  
• BASEEMIANS - still found in the ruins of Old Baseem, they have a rich cultural heritage—but their lands are dying. Pushed back into a series of caves spread throughout the mountainsides and underground, they have light or dark skin and exotic hair colors. Many of their cultural practices are kept secret, and they dislike outsiders.
  
  
• DRASILIANS - these are the mages just past the boundaries of the Thunder Plains. Single-minded and oftentimes living side-by-side with danger, they are independent and practical about their goals. Now considered a free state, the Drasilians are well-respected by the Empire and the Guilds. The city is a curious breed of magitechnology and old style architecture.
  
  
• HALFLINGS - originally they hail from Nam Cobanda, an island of entirely halfling peoples. Now, halflings have spread throughout Yumiris. They have cat ears, tails, bird wings, and other animal-like traits, and odd or exotic appearances.
  
  
• ROGUES - mercenaries, pirates, hermits, treasure hunters or anyone else who shuns the rest of the world. They are neutral, and might join with any side that happens to intrigue them (or give them the most cash). They are separate from the Guilds and the Empire, but may have raider groups or secret societies they belong to.
  
  
• WONDER CHEFS & BAKERS - a very proud group that specializes in cooking. Usually they cleverly disguise themselves as dustbins and spinning statues to fool unsuspecting passerby. When discovered, they share . . . recipes.