Races of the Empire

Races of the Holy Solarian Empire

While the Empire is ideologically unified under the worship of Solenara, it is home to a diverse array of peoples whose traditions and histories often run deeper than the Empire itself.

Solarian Humans

The Dominant Majority

• Heritage: Descendants of the First Kingdoms that unified under Solenara’s banner during the Age of Dawn.
• Cultural Role: The cultural and political elite of the Empire. Most clergy, nobility, scholars, and imperial administrators are human.
• View of Solenara: Often see themselves as the “Chosen Race” of the Sun, divinely appointed to bring order to the world.
• Strengths: Adaptability, military and bureaucratic dominance, deep entrenchment in every level of power.
• Tensions: Often exhibit a patronizing or paternalistic attitude toward non-human subjects.

High Elves (Sun-Elves)

The Enlightened Stewards

• Heritage: Ancient allies of the early Solarian founders; many claim to have been present at the first revelation of Solenara.
• Cultural Role: Scholars, magi, and archivists. Many serve in the Radiant Assembly, particularly in the Luminous Archive and Celestial Observatory.
• View of Solenara: More philosophical than fanatical. They revere her as a cosmic force of order rather than a personal deity.
• Strengths: Magical prowess, long memory, deep understanding of celestial and arcane phenomena.
• Tensions: Their aloofness and tendency to question orthodoxy places them under Inquisitorial suspicion.

Dwarves (Forge-Kin)

The Faithful Artisans

• Heritage: Once great mountain clans, many dwarves converted after seeing Solenara’s flame as kin to their own forge gods.
• Cultural Role: Artificers, armorers, stonemasons. Vital to the industrial and military might of the Empire, especially in places like Brightforge.
• View of Solenara: They honor her as the Great Forge-Mother, the divine fire that tempers the soul.
• Strengths: Craftsmanship, endurance, strong martial traditions.
• Tensions: Deep cultural pride and clan loyalty can clash with Imperial demands for conformity.

Beastkin (Often Lupine or Leonine Clans)

The Tamed Wilds

• Heritage: Semi-nomadic tribes integrated by force or diplomacy into the Empire’s frontier regions.
• Cultural Role: Scouts, hunters, skirmishers in the Imperial military. Some serve as trackers for the Inquisition.
• View of Solenara: Mixed. Some venerate her as a solar totem; others remain secret animists despite outward conversion.
• Strengths: Natural agility, survival instincts, strong community ties.
• Tensions: Often viewed as “civilized savages,” rarely allowed into positions of authority.

Half-Elves

Bridges Between Worlds

• Heritage: Born of mixed human and elven bloodlines, often tracing ancestry to early alliances or courtly unions.
• Cultural Role: Diplomats, envoys, and liaisons between human and elven interests.
• View of Solenara: Tend toward personal interpretations of the faith, blending the mystical and the political.
• Strengths: Charisma, cultural fluency, adaptability.
• Tensions: Accepted in most courts but never quite “pure” enough for either lineage.

Halflings (Hearthfolk)

Keepers of the Quiet Flame

• Heritage: Rural and pastoral communities absorbed peacefully into the Empire through trade and shared reverence for the sun.
• Cultural Role: Farmers, brewers, hearth-keepers. Their festivals and rituals are quietly woven into the seasonal calendar of Solarian life.
• View of Solenara: Seen as the Hearth Flame—protector of families, fertility, and community.
• Strengths: Endurance, social cohesion, deep-rooted traditions.
• Tensions: Some clergy consider their simple worship “rustic superstition,” unfit for proper doctrine.

Aasimar (Children of the Sun)

The Living Icons

• Heritage: Born from divine bloodlines or miraculous signs, many are raised by the Church from birth.
• Cultural Role: Priests, prophets, Inquisitors, and oracles. Often fast-tracked into positions of spiritual authority.
• View of Solenara: Personal, visceral, and absolute. Many believe they were created for a divine purpose.
• Strengths: Natural charisma, magical blessings, perceived spiritual authority.
• Tensions: Idolized or feared—sometimes both. Their humanity can be forgotten beneath their symbolism.

Summary of Roles in Imperial Society