HUMANS
The Irim are among Tëimur’s most numerous and widespread peoples. Skin tones, eyes, hair, height and build vary widely between populations shaped by generations in different climates. Their lives are shorter than those of some long-lived peoples, and human generations follow one another more quickly. Customs, cities and forms of government can change within periods that other races still hold in living memory.
Some of the Irim’s greatest kingdoms and cities lie in Southland. Bloom is home to Splendor, Tëimur’s largest and most populous city, known for human hospitality and inhabitants from different continents. There is no single Irim culture: architecture, food, clothing and traditions can differ profoundly between two human kingdoms.
This adaptability has made the Älirim a familiar presence on trade routes, sea voyages and in relations between peoples. They build communities in different places and absorb knowledge from abroad. Splendor also grew through the presence of other races, becoming one of Tëimur’s great meeting places.
ELVES
The Eiravi are humanoids with long, pointed ears, delicate features and generally slender builds. Hair, eyes, skin tones and height vary between families and regions. They live considerably longer than the Irim and mature with a different sense of passing years. An Eiravi may remember events that shorter-lived peoples know only through the stories of parents and grandparents.
Many of their societies are associated with Arkandël. Danlien, Terilegur and Kulnalësi developed identities of their own: each region’s environment, history and relations with neighbouring peoples produced different customs and degrees of openness to the wider world.
Longevity shapes their view of the world. Knowledge can remain with the same person for immense spans of time, and ancient events need not survive only in books. Memory and tradition hold different meanings among the Eiravi, whose long lives unfold within a changing world.
DWARVES
The Pako are short, broad humanoids with robust builds. Their proportions are their own, with sturdy bones and compact musculature. Hair and beards can grow thick, particularly among men, and skin, eye and hair colours vary. They live longer than humans.
The Älpako established important communities among the mountains and valleys of western Arkandël. Okeoder and Okeldur lie there, territories where stone, height and depth are part of daily life. Ilonëdan stands in Okeldur, connected to the region’s great mountain formations.
Centuries in rocky landscapes have shaped their buildings, roads and techniques. Their knowledge of architecture, mining and working materials belongs to cultural traditions developed over generations. The Pako also include farmers, scholars, merchants, warriors and travellers: each individual finds a place within this civilisation.
ORCS
The Stiloer are among Tëimur’s most physically robust humanoid peoples. They are generally tall, with broad shoulders and pronounced musculature, while skin tones vary between communities. Lower tusks, strong jaws and striking features are among their most recognisable traits.
The Stiloer’s build lends itself to great physical strength, but does not determine their choices. Their temperaments, vocations and intellectual abilities are as varied as those of other peoples.
FAIRIES
The Anë are fairy humanoids recognisable by their wings and the features that distinguish them from other peoples. Their physical particularities, and the differences between individuals and lineages, form part of their identity.
Their home is Iellail, the Starry Forest in eastern Gaulan. Enormous trees with purple, lilac and pink leaves form a canopy so dense that little sunlight reaches the woodland, giving it the appearance of perpetual night. Kind and careful, the Anë became reserved towards the outside world after the great war thousands of years ago.
The Anë maintain an ancient alliance with the Dergur, embodied by the Forest of Colours, grown from seeds of both kingdoms. Ceremonies and festivals renew their bonds there. While guarding Iellail from the outside world, they preserve this friendship with the people they learned to trust.
GNOMES
The Dergur are small humanoids, shorter than most of Tëimur’s peoples, with proportions and features of their own. Hair, eyes, skin and build vary among them. Clothing, ornaments and materials express their cultural relationship with Priallus.
The Äldergur live mainly in Priallus, in western Gaulan. Much of the kingdom lies beneath a forest whose leaves remain gold, brown and chestnut. The place is known as Splendid Beauty and the Land of Everlasting Autumn. The Dergur’s pride is reflected even in the grand name chosen for their kingdom.
Their relationship with the Anë is one of Gaulan’s cultural foundations. The Forest of Colours is the physical symbol of that alliance and hosts shared celebrations. The Dergur preserve their identity while maintaining a lasting friendship with another people, on a continent difficult to reach and cautious towards outsiders.
GIANTS
The Hilne are humanoids of extraordinary proportions, the largest of Tëimur’s known civilised races. Their bodies are large and strong, and their society builds cities, raises families and develops a culture of its own. They are rare beyond their lands: many inhabitants of the world know giants only through stories.
They live mainly in Tulësev, the Land of the Five Beacons, in northern Dëlevar. Mountains and seas form natural barriers around their territory. Eiaöder offers still greater isolation: the island is dominated by great mountains and surrounded by violent waters that few sailors can cross.
The Älhilne keep their cities protected and carefully control access by outsiders. Few leave their territories, and fewer visitors know their communities. Encountering a giant far from Dëlevar is therefore an uncommon experience.
SEA FOLK
The Nerinimë are Tëimur’s Sea Folk. Mermen and mermaids belong to the same people: Nerin denotes a merman and Säme a mermaid. They share a maritime identity and adaptations to ocean life. Skin tones range through blues, greens and purples, with patterns in other shades; wide eyes, light or dark hair, and ornaments of shells and pearls help distinguish them.
Breteia, in Dëlevar, is their great point of contact with the surface. Its cities and dwellings are accessible to other peoples, making the kingdom a bridge between land-based civilisations and those beneath the water. Much of Nerinimë civilisation remains beyond the everyday experience of those who live on land.
Nerin and Säme share their cities and society; their differences do not represent two separate civilisations. Nerinimë remains the name of their collective identity: one Sea Folk, diverse within itself, whose maritime life shapes its appearance, culture and relationship with the world.
BEASTFOLK
The Irinime are humanoids combining different animal traits. Tribe and ancestry shape their faces, fur, claws, horns and tails. Two Älirinime may look very different and still belong to the same people. Their tribes are essential to understanding them.
Their great kingdom in Dëlevar is called Arvan. Its capital, Chipped Point, is known as the city that never sleeps. Tëimur’s second-largest city is a centre of trade and movement. The Arvan are warm, festive and welcoming to outsiders; their merchants cross the kingdoms in search of goods and alliances.
In Allusaër, Arvan means “furry”. Other peoples used the word to belittle the Irinime, but they claimed it with pride. An old insult became an identity and then the name of their kingdom. Irinime remains the name of the race; Arvan expresses this sense of belonging they made their own.
GOBLINS
The Vahivall are small humanoids with generally lean builds. They have angular features and eyes adapted to low light. Skin tones vary through greens, greys and ochres, while agile arms and hands lend themselves to precise work. Different communities have variations of appearance and dress of their own.
Their presence is associated with Älpellokë, the Land of Caverns. Goblinoid communities occupy underground regions and have developed ways of living suited to galleries, rock and scarce natural light.