Trivantis

The 'felitaur' Urmah are the current ruling class of the empire. They vary wildly in size and can be of any feline - big or little cat, quite frequently mixed, sometimes to the point of unclear. Unlike the centaur or sphinx, they lack human facial features or furless portions of their bodies, instead having feline heads to match that of their form.

They are obligate carnivores and once prone to sennibalism of 'lesser' or 'near-feral' races like the krin; such practices still occur, but are falling out of popularity due to increasing interest in discussions of 'civilized' philosophy.

The centaur were among the first to be touched by the wars of men – long ago many centaur suddenly defected to the enemy and while at first any reasoning was shrouded in mystery, there has been evidence over the decades to suggest they were brainwashed somehow and are now bred and raised as aggressive, basically zombified slave labor.

While they produced many great athletes who enjoyed contests of honor and sport such as racing and archery, they were a people more prone to the arts more than war and had established an accord with the minotaur - in exchange for the protection of their mazework, they would provide them with fine fabrics, jewelry, and wine.

They're among the more aesthetically inclined of the 'monster' races, prone to vanity and sparing no expense in grooming and adornment, their bodies once toned primarily for pride. They are also very successful cooks with lush farms, known for some of the best wines and baked goods in all the empire.

The free centaur have been entirely driven from their ancestral homes into the eastern remains of the monster empire - most if not all of their cities are now human occupied.

The minotaur are widely considered brutes by the nations of the northwest, but such is a complex misconception turned to dark half-truth. The minotaur are of the oldest people of the middle lands, who traveled between homes in certain seasons from the many islands off the western peninsula to as far as the western coasts. They were among the first to be met with war from the north and are still the first lines of defense against the uniting of the western kingdoms. They carry the oldest grudges against mankind and tolerate them the least of all known races.

They are not all bovine in nature – some are more like goats or antelope. What sets them apart from most other similar 'beast folk' are their greater size and number, natural tendency towards birth with elemental magic, and primarily carnivorous nature, which shows in their predatory teeth.

They are well known for intense mind altering substances, some plants their people are well accustomed to in a way unlike any other race can handle. There are whispers of ancient ritual gatherings held by the elite in the islands, great intoxicated parties of spiritual communion and celebration of life. They're also more than omnivorous - they're almost primarily carnivorous and blood drinkers to boot.

They have always been able to consume blood without problem and find enjoyment in it, but have not always needed to and also used to have more peaceful methods of engaging in what for most is still only preferred taste and dietary supplement. When men came from the north with their arcane sorcery, the elemental users of the monster realm were unprepared to face it - with the exception of the alchemist minotaur, who turned to blood magic, among the darkest of all life based magics.

In the beginning they took the blood of their enemies and even willing allies to bolster the strength of their warriors, but in time such practices proved addictive on top of wildly effective. What was once more underground spiritual practices attached to the consumption (and enslavement) of 'lesser' others gained great prominence. Eventually, enough prominence to be a dominant influence in minotaur culture, which had lost many of their more pacifist kind to the waves of bloodshed. They remain, but are few in number and holding on to dying traditions perhaps too far altered to save.

Now, man flesh is a rare delicacy sought out for religious purposes in defiance of the law, seeking blood and power in which to strike their enemies. This has partially informed the minotaur also becoming known as slavers of men and other humanoid people. They tend to have relations with vampires more than others and while considered a corrupted people by many for such associations, they remain honored warriors and with great influence in society due to their now longstanding place as effective protectors and keepers. It helps that the Urmah, while at face value are trying to establish a distance from it, have a long standing history with sennibalistic practices – which remains strong in the elite classes.

Not just warrior alchemists, the minotaur are also known for labyrinth magic - maze working with earth magic of both stone and vegetation above and below ground. Their art and tattoo work features dizzying patterns of such reminiscent natures.

Ironically, minotaur are one of the few races that can successfully breed with humans and possibly elves - such offspring rarely come to term and are often unhealthy even then, but such has been known to occur. They more commonly have bred with unicorn and pegasus of the 'beast people' variety, producing odd horns and the occasional winged minotaur.

The Greater Sphinx come from a large peninsula off the mainland to the southwest, where for generations beyond myth they selfishly guarded their homes high in the mountains. In the rocky formations and lush green of the forests wreathed by fog they could distance themselves from the world. A proud and haughty people that set themselves above others, they drove out all who might trespass with their innate magic and legendary warriors - until the western invasion reached the doors of their mountain passes. It was an attack they did not foresee - men and beast folk, even tauric people turned on their own, armed with strange and powerful arcane magic they could not hope to defeat, a magic that tore them from the skies.

The once proud race was driven from their ancestral home and into the northeast, where they have had to learn to adapt to living among the 'common' races. In the past few hundred years they have struggled to hold on to the customs of their culture and even more so the few strongholds and holy places they have left not yet taken among the southern isles. The younger generations have begun to be affected by such change and lack the fierce pride of their people, considering themselves honorary Urmah to some extent.

Among the things they are known for is glassworking - using sand collected from secret locations and elemental magic, they were without rivals in this art. The Greater Sphinx are credited (among other things) with the invention of corrective eye wear, a secret they jealousy held on for some time until the call of profit overcame the loyalty of culture.

The greater sphinx are always winged and cat-like of body; like the minotaur with whom they share many cultural values, they are very close the Urmah and tend to look down on their 'lesser' kin from the southeast. The greater sphinx are typically larger than their cousins, but cannot fly naturally beyond a young age - they are dependent on their magic for flight, which luckily expresses in most of their people. It's considered most unfortunate to be a 'runt' or grounded sphinx with useless wings.

The so-called 'lesser' sphinx or sphanx are smaller and less magical than their northern cousins, looked down by them for their lack of wings, more variable body types, and 'weaker' abilities. The feeling is mutual and the lesser sphinx have literal tolerance for the 'high and mighty' ways of their cousins. The two people have been separated for longer than written memory can recount, by both land and sea - lesser sphinx come from across the waters to the south, into the deeper heat of rolling sands and thick jungles.

While they generally have the forms of predators, examples to the contrary are numerous. They are also omnivorous with a love for fruit, which perhaps has aided a more relaxed and peaceful lifestyle - not to say that they lack excessive pride. They may not be as quick to judge as their western cousins, overall much more relaxed and prone to enjoying the pleasures of life, but still consider their homeland a place of 'milk and honey', a civilized paradise of plenty. There are many lesser sphinx prone to worshiping gods of a 'party' nature, like Dionysus.

'Lesser' Sphinx are a less frequent sight as they do not like to leave their cherished home.

The very odd cousin out, the 'mantyger' or manticore is technically a type of exaggerated lesser sphinx who live in crude tribes as far from civilization as they can get. They are considered to potentially be sphinx who have been cursed in some way and most come across as savage and near-feral brutes, but a handful (particularly their spiritual leaders) can be reasoned with.

The Therioceph are a very seldom seen people, theriocephalic in form or animal headed with otherwise very humanoid bodies. They are sometimes called 'reverse sphinx' but they are more powerful by far and as long lived as to be considered immortal - some consider them children of the gods.

The monster lands have always been a thriving safe haven for dragon folk, who while demonized in the west as foul lizards are here held in high esteem as naturally intelligent, long lived, multi-limbed, all around powerful magic users, shifters, and elemental manipulators.

They also tend to thrive in the local environment, which offers a warm climate, seas, mountains, forests, and plenty of options for collecting - wealth in gold and gems or otherwise. A rather remarkable number of them can be found in the city, perhaps as high as several hundred.

A small, rodent like slave race. WIP.

While not looked upon with the same judgment afforded to the dark elves or vampires, they are still a minority race considered on the lower end of the social ladder. In particular the minotaur despise the 'fiery haired invaders from the western coasts' and carry deep grudges towards past transgressions.

There have always been humans around and many theorize they are among the earliest of races due to similar appearances among monsters, but many contest this idea and nobody really knows exactly when they arrived - just that the oldest remnants of their truly ancient cultures are found in the far north.

They have slowly been expanding down the coast line and upper lands ever since.

However, in the past few hundred years the northwestern kingdoms have begun amassing power and gathering under a flag of tyranny and conquest, fueled by arcane arts that only seem to keep developing. There are many human populations all over not aligned with the enemy and old relationships allow them to freely live in the empire, but trust is waning and paranoia of spies on the rise.

While there are plenty of elven cultures in the east and far southeast, their population in the city is low outside of traders - they tend to not be able to culturally stand the 'barbaric' ways of the empire, but an exception is made for the dark elves who enjoy their place in the Underworld, the rare drider (whom straddle the line between monster and elf like no other) and most notably, the stranded [name replacement here]; a cult culture of elves from [changes to race being made], whom have named themselves the [-], meaning 'incorruptible'.

They are not only a numerous minority class in numbers among several thousand, but are considered by most to be little better than the slave race kallin and certainly worse than men; pests who bring questionable foreign magic and who breed nothing but contempt among themselves for others, voluntarily alienating themselves in religious fashion. They are barely tolerated as troublesome and zealous refugees, largely self-regulated to the 'elfslums' or shantytown along the river where they primarily live and self-sustain on gardening in cooperative fashion.

There are similar slums along the banks of the inlet and on its other side, in the dark and desperate settlement of the quarry village where elves live among workers and slaves populating the crumbling ruin-based shelters alongside lepers, vampires, and the crime lords that all but rule the place. They run a good business there are the quarry guard have unspoken agreements to let them be a secondary policing force in exchange for relative peace.

A rare underground dwelling variety of elf - they are well adapted to some of the harshest environments, but underground living has rendered them pale, gaunt, and large-eyed. This in combination with their almost feral behaviors in the ways they prefer to crawl, climb, and crouch often has their kind mistaken for vampires.

A native race, the Kallin populate the underground areas of the land, inhabiting old ruins and deep caverns alike. They are mostly found in the settlements of the empire as their race have long been their slaves, but scattered tribes of free dwarves still exist in pockets - of note are an island to the south in the 'Sea of Kall' where they dwell in rich deposits of marble. This is where new slaves are sometimes captured or 'harvested' from the population.

The slaves of the taur for many generations, these 'poor souls' are children of the earth, long since lost to underground madness and rampant with feral savagery. So the story is put forth, of 'course. They're not treated the way the children have it explained to them.

They're made of various stones, gems, and metals with a difference between quills, eyes, and body. It's not uncommon to find them with silver quills - the softer and often more valuable the metal, such as in these, the more fragile stone body and more likely for them to be used as harvesting slaves rather than workers. There are rare mercury dwarves prized by alchemists and very seldom found, those of gold kept only by the sovereignty as harvesters for the treasury – these very rare 'golden quills' live a somewhat priviledged life as perhaps the most fragile of all kallin.

Sexless, they reproduce from the earth itself - the crumbled remains of ruined (natural death is most unusual) dwarves incubate and thrive on magic, which welds up in a pocket or 'nest' in the rock and ground. When a 'nest' of dormant dwarf eggs are found they are carefully gathered and kept within the 'quarry hatchery' - an area in the dead center of the pit surrounded by channeling crystals, so when a vein of duml (a very rare 'blood stone' with powerful alchemical properties found only in these lands) is hit the energy of the release will reach them and not just those in the direct vicinity. While direct correlations are still being worked on, it's believed that the remains of certain dwarves have the ability to 'seed' the ground. The problem is that when a vein is found it tends to deplete much of itself and no methods of detecting the stone or figuring out exactly how dwarves reproduce are known - they long ago seem to have lost any natural inclination to 'make' nests voluntarily and with it the ability to seek out veins, or at least reveal which can.

They are a slave race and as such live in terrible slums comprised of old ruins both in and surrounding the quarry; many of these crumbling limestone buildings (including newer parts of the wall in the main city) are made from the repurposed remains of their own kin. A particularly disruptive or uncooperative dwarf is likely to be 'broken down' and have their parts used for architecture and their core gathered for the palace alchemists.


There are a percentage of the kallin who can pass through stone if it contains enough material similar to their own constructs. They are those who evade capture and make the underground resistance even possible, but on top of being keen spies and escape artists, they run a good trafficking trade - a skilled stonewalker can bring non-dwarven beings through the stone with them.

The vampire population of The Underworld tend to do very good business with them indeed - entirely non-threatening to one another and both of persecuted status, they've found keen allies in each other.

There is little known about the people who lived here in the distant past except they lived long before any beast and were likely of very alien and inorganic nature - the tunnels of their ruins run far deeper than any air or light or life could possibly reach, yet it is here the most known about their culture and some of what they left behind has been gathered.

The most precious discovery among these, an incredibly rare substance sought after by the queen - a stone with remarkable alchemical and magical properties kept secret by those in power. It's rumored that they are sources of power or can give eternal life, but whatever the case a quarry worker that happens to find any amount of this substance is likely to instantly be granted freedom - as long as they get to a guard with a concealed discovery before someone finds out and a massive and bloodthirsty riot begins for its possession.

It is believed the dwaven slave race of the taur are remnants of this long dead civilization as this is the substance that 'hatches' them from their dormancy in the earth when a vein is struck, leaving only so much behind as the process burns most of the substance away. They are stone beings native to the region whom dwell in such places and display a 'core' that has similar properties to the highly sought after stone - however, it takes an incredibly uneconomical amount of dead dwarves to get so much as a gram of precious pure (stone).

Yet, not even the most loyal of them tend to return from being sent deep to find the stone. The rare few that do speak of horrors that cannot be described and hunted them in the stagnant darkness.