Furtasia: Humans of Furtasia

Story by Lycanthris on SoFurry

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#6 of Furtasia - World Building

A description of the types of humans found in my fantasy world of Furtasia.


Humans of Furtasia There are a great variety of humans and human-dominated lands in Furtasia. Humans are the second most populous race in all of Furtasia, after goblins. Physically, Furtasian humans are almost identical to the humans of our world. Their patterns of facial features, skintones, and hair types and colors match those of humans in our world. That is to say; there are groups of Furtasian humans that resemble caucasians, groups that resemble Asians, groups that resemble Africans, groups that resemble Native Americans, and pretty much any other ethnicity of humans in our world. The main physical difference of Furtasian humans is that they have a greater range of eye colors than humans of our world. There is an almost infinite variety in the shades of blue, green, gray, violet, and brown that Furtasian humans exhibit in their eye colors. The genetics of eye color also work somewhat differently in Furtasia. Wherein our world, only a person of Caucasian descent is likely to have blue, green, or gray eyes (because the genes for brown eyes are dominant), among Furtasian humans, a person of any ethnic group is as likely to have a particular eye color as a person of any other ethnic group. There is a great variety of the types of civilizations found among Furtasian humans; though none are anywhere near as technologically advanced as our world has become. Some humans in Furtasia live as barbarians; eking a hunter-gatherer existence from the wilderness and trading or scavenging for things such as metal tools and weapons from the fringes of more technologically advanced cultures. Other Furtasian humans are quite advanced, with civilizations and technologies rivaling or exceeding those of ancient Rome or a high-medieval culture. Some human cultures have even progressed to discovering technologies such as black-powder, flintlock muskets, and lighter-than-air balloons. Hereditary, absolute monarchies are the most common form of government among the humans of Furtasia. Occasionally there have been cultures that have developed more representative forms of government, such as monarchies with advisory councils, and even a few true democracies and republics.

These are just a few of the various human civilizations that exist in Furtasia:

Atlantis Atlantis was the oldest and greatest civilization of humans in Furtasia. They developed magics and technologies that have never since been equaled in all the many tens of thousands of years since Atlantis fell at the end of the First Daemon Age. Most monarchies in Furtasia claim Atlantean descent (most falsely so) as a myth to legitimize their right to rule.

Ascandion The Queendom of Ascandion is a monarchy in West-central Furtasia. It is bordered on the East and North by tall, rugged mountains, to the South by marsh and swampland, and to the West by a great river. Ascandion has a temperate, slightly cool climate, and receives plentiful rainfall, which makes it well-suited for agriculture. Meadows and pasture-lands dot the mostly wooded landscape, and it is frequently crossed by small rivers and streams coming down out of the Eastern mountains to meet the great river on the Western borders. Ascandion is currently ruled by a queen, but the throne will pass to the eldest living child of the monarch regardless of the child's sex. Though Ascandion is ruled by a human family, and is mostly populated by humans, it is a cosmopolitan queendom that is also home to many of the Noble Races, Elevated Races, and even a few tribes of orcs. All peaceful people who are willing to accept the Queen's rule are welcome in Ascandion. Slavery, serfdom, or any other form of forced servitude (except for prisoners who have been duly convicted of breaking the law) is forbidden in Ascandion. There is also representation, after a fashion, for the subjects of Ascandion. There are two classes of territorial lords that act as vassals of the queen, but also have the duty to bring the concerns of the people in their territories to the attention of the queen. The first class of territorial lords are barons and baronesses. These lords govern large towns or other economically important areas, such as a wine-producing valley, or mining village. The second, higher-ranking class of territorial lord in Ascandion are counts and countesses. These lords each govern one of Ascandion's nineteen counties. Barons and baronesses report first to the count or countess of the county in which their town/economic zone lies, but ultimately they owe their allegiance to the Queen. Aside from the territorial lords, each race that resides in Ascandion has a duke or duchess. These lords help keep ensure the peace between all of the races that live in Ascandion, and make sure that none are being exploited or treated unjustly. If, for example, a particular race in a county feels that the local Count is discriminating against them, they bring the matter to their Duke. The Duke then brings this concern to the Queen, who will have the matter investigated, and make a decision. These positions of nobility in Ascandion are usually hereditary, but the Queen can revoke a lord's title and appoint a new lord in his place if she believes the lord is abusing their position or not doing their duty to her or the people for whom they are responsible. The humans native to Ascandion tend to be fair-skinned, or occasionally of a light-tan complexion, with any type or color of hair. Because of the fair and just rule of the Ascandonian royal family, there have been many immigrants and refugees from other human lands, so that now nearly any ethnicity can be found among Ascandion's human population.

Shen Hegemony The Shen Hegemony is a large nation on Furtasia's far eastern coast. The Shen Hegemony is an empire of humans for humans. It was founded at the end of the last Goblin Age, when a human warlord led a band of refugees and former slaves of the Goblin Lords through the great mountains that form the Hegemony's western borders. The Shen's hatred of the goblins that once abused them has been extended to all non-humans. They believe that the only way they can ensure the safety of human kind is to dominate (or exterminate, if necessary) all non-humans. Even the other Noble Races have been relegated to the status of second-class citizens, though the Shen are greatly desirous of dwarven weapon-smithing, gnomish engineering, and elven magical knowledge. The Elevated Races, or Beast Races as the Shen refer to them, are enslaved, and orcs and other goblinoids are executed without mercy. The Shen Hegemony has reached a frightening level of technological advancement. They have mostly mastered cannons and matchlock muskets, and are experimenting with flintlock muskets. Fortunately, for the free peoples of Furtasia, they seem more interested in fortifying and strengthening their own lands at the moment than expanding their territory; though they do make raids into other lands to capture non-human slaves. They have several large cities with indoor plumbing, sewers, and excellent sanitation (at least in the human quarters). They are just short of an industrial revolution; about the equivalent of the early colonial period in America. The Hegemony is ruled by a military oligarchy that appoints its own members and rules by decree. Religion and speech are strictly controlled within the Hegemony, and any expression of thought against the Shen Hegemony, its ruling oligarchy, or humans in general is severely punished. The symbol of the Shen Hegemony is a black triangle on a red circle. This is meant to be a mountain set against a blood-red sun, which alludes to the ancient warlord leading them over the mountains to found their nation. The humans native to the Shen lands tend towards a fair or light tan complexion with straight black hair. However, the 'humans-first' policies have attracted a large number of human immigrants from other lands, and the long history of the Shen Hegemony means that now virtually any combination of traits can be found among the humans of the Shen Hegemony.

Aeripa The Aeripan Empire is a large territory several countries to the West and South of Ascandion. Aeripans are a rather aggressive and warlike group of humans who have a feudal, clan-based culture. Blood Feuds between Aeripan clans can go on for centuries, sometimes resulting in entire clans being wiped-out. The Empire as a whole is ruled by the Aeripa clan, the largest and strongest of all the clans. The chieftains of the other clans manage their own territories but must provide tribute and hostages to the Emperor. The Emperor, in turn, mediates disputes, in attempt to keep blood feuds to a minimum, and marshals armies to keep active feuds from dragging in other clans. Aeripan men and women share a unique way of wearing their hair that makes Aeripans immediately distinguishable from other humans. The sides of their head are shaven into a mohawk, but the hair that remains is allowed to grow very long, and among Aeripan men, is often braided. The shaven sides of the head are then tattooed in Aeripan script with their clan's history. The Aeripans have a culture and level of technology reminiscent of Ancient Rome. Like Ancient Rome, there is slavery in the Aeripan Empire, though it is based around debt and prisoners of blood feuds, rather than racial or ethnic enslavement. The most unique cultural aspect of the Aeripans is their form of martial arts that is somewhat akin to savate or muay thai kick-boxing. Their martial art incorporates one-handed axes in addition to kicking. Other races do live in the Aeripan Empire besides humans, though they mostly try to keep their heads down and try to avoid becoming involved in Aeripan Blood Feuds, or going into debt and being sold into slavery. The humans native to the Aeripan lands range from fair-skinned to deep tan complexions, with brown or black hair. Several other ethnic groups of humans have been conquered/absorbed into the Aeripan Empire, however, and now virtually any mix of traits can be found among Aeripans.

Cimmeria The Cimmerian Isles are a series of large islands in the Murchadian Sea of Northwest Furtasia that are home to several related tribes of humans. Many are barbarous, with the most advanced of them reaching a low-medieval level of technology and advancement. Despite their lack of technology, Cimmerians do seem to be particularly gifted at magic, and their islands are also home to many faeries, dragons, and other magical creatures. Most of the Cimmerian islands are temperate rainforest, interspersed with moorlands and rugged mountains. A scattered few city-states of elves and dwarves exist within the Cimmerian islands. The human Cimmerians tend to treat the elves and dwarves with a mixture of fear and respect, and trade peacefully with them. Among themselves, the Cimmerian humans will occasionally make war on each other, and may take captured members of other tribes as slaves. The Cimmerian isles are also home to small groups of many of the Elevated Races; thladirans, vaskamet, morganan, skaethron, hallud, batlings, mervla, brock, wolvos, ferretine, etc. The human Cimmerians tend to deal with these groups on an individual basis; if a Cimmerian tribe goes to war with a tribe of vaskamet, for example, they only make war on that tribe and take slaves from that tribe, not all vaskamet. Cimmerians are mostly fair-skinned, with red, blonde, or brown hair. Black hair is somewhat rare among Cimmerians, but considered lucky/attractive by them. Their hair is frequently curly to frizzy, and freckling is common among Cimmerians. Tattooing, body-piercing, and body-painting are also common among Cimmerians. Their warriors, especially among the more barbarous, will go into battle completely nude, but with their bodies painted and tattooed, and having consumed psychotropic mushrooms and herbs. Cimmerian warriors can be particularly frightening to face in battle.

Lake Kingdoms In Northwest Furtasia there are a series of enormous, interconnected freshwater lakes that put the Great Lakes of North America to shame. Along the shores of these lakes are a series of small, related human kingdoms who make their living off of fishing, raiding, and controlling the commerce across the lakes. These people are essentially vikings, and nearly identical to the vikings of our world circa 800 AD.

Turorkan The Turorkan Battle Witches are a matriarchal civilization of women who mix martial art skills with aggressive, combat-oriented magic. They have little territorial ambition, content to maintain a single city-state on the northern edges of the Golden Ocean, an enormous desert that comprises much of central Furtasia. Instead, they prefer to amass wealth, magical knowledge, and military strength. Men are strictly slaves in Turorkan society. Most are prisoners forced to perform hard labor, a few lucky ones are used for procreation, though the preferred method of the Turorkan for increasing their numbers is to capture infant girls and raise them as their own, or trade their battle skills as mercenaries in exchange for infant girls. The vast majority of Turorkan Battle Witches are human, but they will take in girls of other races, especially if they are naturally gifted at magic. As a result of their adoptive method of procreation, any human ethnicity or appearance can be found among the Turorkan. The Turorkan are ruled by a hereditary queen, who is answerable to (and can be removed by) a war council of their greatest and most powerful warriors.