Hominid
Spawns of the Titans
A Hominid is a bipedal, sentient being with a roughly symmetrical body structure, including a head, torso, two arms, and two legs. This classification encompasses a vast range of species, from the graceful but diminutive Kinder to the towering, thick-boned Giantkin, the rugged and powerful Orcs, and the many species of the diverse Beastfolk, whose animalistic traits are seamlessly integrated with their upright forms. Despite immense variation in height, skin or fur texture, facial features, and innate abilities, all hominids share a fundamental skeletal framework and an advanced level of cognition that allows them to build civilizations, communicate through complex language, and manipulate tools with dexterous hands. Some hominids bear distinct adaptations suited to their environments—such as kinder with keen ears attuned to the whispers of the wild, or orcs with muscular builds designed for endurance and strength—yet all are bound by a common ancestral thread that ties them to the great, sprawling web of Aemaphia’s intelligent life.
Civilization and Culture
History
Fossil records indicate land-based lifeforms first developed sapience due to environmental pressures. Ancient Apefolk or Simiae, the distant relative of Terran, the many Giantkin, and Kinder were the original "sapient" lifeforms indigenous to Aemaphia.
The evolutionary track of the ancient Apefolk is common on most Oasis and Garden Spheres. Apes, like those found on Earth, tend to develop sapience quicker than other rival species. Thus Apefolk and their genetic cousins; the Giantkin, Kinder, and Terran as well as their abstract offshoots the Ogres and Orcs, are among the most numerous sapient species throughout the Cosmos.
Yet, many primal scholars are quick to note that like other Bestae, Simiae represent their environmental adaptional zenith. Bestae do not naturally evolve into beings like Terran or Kinder, let alone Orcs. In the same way that Simiae represent the pinnacle of natural selection, Hominids embody the ultimate results of genetic modification. Thus, any further 'anthropomorphic evolution' found throughout the Cosmos that moves a being out of the category of Beastfolk is a clear example of external alien manipulations.
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