The Peoples of Aithyris: A Traveler's Guide

Written by the Chronicler of the Silver Blade

I have walked the marble halls of Vespyr and the mud-slicked docks of Kourvan. I have broken bread in the deep silence of the stone holds and bled upon the battlefields of the Five Seas. To understand the history of Aithyris is to understand its children—the disparate notes that make up the symphony of our world.

If you are to travel this land, you must know who walks beside you. And be warned: the truth is often stranger than the legends.

The Children of the Eternal Song

The Kali (Humans)

(ka-LEE)

The Burning Flame

by Val Saraven

To the shandaryn, they are the Kali, named for the central plains believed to be their cradle. To history, they are the engine of change. Humans are the youngest of the great races, possessing lives that flicker and fade with terrifying speed compared to the elder kin. Yet, perhaps because their time is short, they burn with a passion and urgency that can reshape empires overnight.

They are ambitious, resilient, and dangerously innovative. From the martial sprawl of Therysia to the chaotic free ports, their kingdoms are centers of trade and war. They build monuments to be remembered, for they fear being forgotten by a history that outlasts them.

• Common Terms: Kali (Polite/Shandaryn), Hands or Lemons (both are specific to people of Wycliff, Lemons is Derogatory), Rooster, Cocks, or Dicks (Derogatory, specific to people of Rosting), Young Ones (Derogatory/Shandaryn), Gypsies (Derogatory to the Zhorsh people).

The Shandaryn

(SHAN-drin)

The Ancient Grace

My mother’s people. Similar to the elves of legend, the shandaryn are beings of immense longevity and natural grace, deeply attuned to the artistic and spiritual currents of the Grand Composition. They are the architects of the sophisticated Qyendom of Vespria, a culture that values tradition, knowledge, and intricate beauty above all else. They watch the centuries pass as humans watch the seasons, often leading to a detachment that others mistake for arrogance.

• The Elowyn: A distinct culture within the shandaryn, the Elowyn turned away from the stone cities to live in deep harmony with the living world. They are masters of woodcraft and healing, inhabiting the ancient forests and remote isles like Aille, guarding secrets the rest of the world has forgotten.
• Common Terms: Alfir (Nord origin, common in the Eleysian Islands), Immortals (Derogatory), Wisps (Derogatory), Nightcallers (Derogatory, used by the Sacred Radiance).

The Orfian

(OR-fee-an)

The Chameleons of Twilight

by Val Saraven

Forget what you know of the "little people." The orfian are the "Children of Aithyris," a fey people believed to have sprung from the world itself. In their true form, they are spindly, moonlight-skinned beings of the twilight. Yet, you will almost never see them as such.

They are masters of a profound, biological mimicry. An orfian living among humans will appear as a human child; among shandaryn, a young elf. They hide in plain sight, adopting the forms of their neighbors to live unnoticed within their societies or in hidden grottos. They are gifted artisans and observers who understand that the loudest voice is not always the most important one.

• Common Terms: The Little People, The Children, Stunts (Derogatory).

The Klash-kal (Stone People)

(KLASH KAL)

The Living Earth

by Val Saraven

I have found no stauncher allies than the "Stone People." But do not mistake them for mere short, stout folk. The klash-kal are biological golems, born of the deep earth. Standing perhaps five feet tall but immensely broad and dense, their "skin" is a segmented carapace of living stone—granite, slate, or obsidian.

They are androgynous and seemingly ageless, their faces often obscured by cascading "beards" of symbiotic moss and bioluminescent fungi. They do not just shape stone; they can swim through it as others swim through water. They are the unparalleled masters of the underground, emerging rarely, but bringing with them the unyielding strength and alien stoicism of the mountain itself.

• Common Terms: Stone People, Rock-Kin.

The Hybrid Peoples

The Bridges Between

The history of Aithyris is one of convergence. Over millennia, the blood of these distinct peoples has mingled, creating new lineages with strengths all their own.

by Val Saraven

The Shin’misal

(shin-mis-ALL)

Born of the union between human and shandaryn, shin'misal are the half-bloods. We possess the adaptability of the Kali and the grace of the Shandaryn, often serving as the bridge between two worlds that do not always understand one another.

• Common Terms: Half-bloods, Mongrels (Derogatory), Halfalfs (Nord/Derogatory), Omia (shin'misal of Elowyn/Asokee culture).

by Val Saraven

The Fliis

(FLEECE)

The Fliis are a rarer and truly unique union of the klash-kal and the orfian. Imagine a being the size of a human child, but with the rugged, stone-like hide and mossy hair of the klash-kal, combined with the agility and shadow-affinity of the orfian. These tough, ingenious people are masters of invention and vibrational technology ("Artpunk/Musicpunk"), conquering the skies with a cleverness that rivals any scholar.

• Common Terms: Sky-Kin, Fleas (Derogatory), Gremlins (Colloquial/Derogatory).