THE PEOPLE OF THE SEA
OF SKIES, PLAINS, AND DEPTHS BENEATH
Introduction
Many gods sat in the great pantheon above, and from those many gods came the many races. Asyr gave birth to the first dragons that would roam the skies, whilst Valaan breathed life into elves from chestnut trees in the eternal twilight. Estia brought forth the first humans from the earth, whilst Krieg raised dwarves from iron and gold.
It is said that halflings descended from dwarves and men, lizardfolk reptiles altered by the magic in dragon's blood, kobolds, goblins, orcs, crafted from deep magic of powerful mages, or by the gods in their feuds.
Mankind, with endless adaptability, possessing a great capacity for both creation and destruction, along with the urge to do so, became most prolific through the Material Plane and even breached through its adjacent dwellings, coexisting with the myriad other peoples of this fertile land. The twilight realm is the place of elves, of wild magic, whilst the deep dark contains all manner of ghouls, ghosts, and demons, corrupted souls wandering its black mountains.
Alongside mankind reside the short-lived, "human-like" races, the halflings, the tieflings (devil-touched men), the aasimar (angel-touched men), and the gnomes. They readily intermingle, cross-marry, and accept each other as one of their own, in most cases, of course.
Then, there are the "further" humanoid races, those who resemble the bipedal, four-limbed creatures they are being compared against. These are the dwarves and elves, and further on the fringes of society the kobolds, goblins, and those most would regard as lesser, and uncivilised. Their cultures stray further from that of mankind, and are often older, and often there will be suspicion, mistrust, or a general subliminal rift between these, and the "human-like". Elves, especially, with their lifespan ranging from centuries to sometimes a millennia, often identify more with the dragons, than with their human kin.
Finally, the last major group of which society at large would call sentient (if not always "civilised"). Four legged, with two great wings and diamond-hard armour, the build of a lion, a snake, and an eagle, and able to harness deep ancient elemental magic coursing through their blood, come the dragons. Once they ruled absolute over all civilisation, across all continents of the old world, but now they have been exiled to the wilderness, the fringes, the shadows, or are still clinging on, proudly guarding their old traditions and old ways. Most men regard the dragons as monsters. Clever, devious, monsters maybe, but still to be kept well at arm's length, and ideally much much further. Even when they are seen as good, they are seen as no more than sentient animals.
Conversely, the sentiment goes the other way, as (perhaps, occasionally apart from elves) the dragons see man as either no better than beasts with no more rights than them, or weak vulnerable creatures to be protected.
Of the Skies, the Plains, and the Depths Beneath
Dragon
Dragons are generally considered to be the first of all sentient races to appear, having seemingly always existed as long as the Material plane had. There are ten colours of dragons commonly seen, five of which are chromatic, red, green, blue, black, and white; and five which are metallic, copper, bronze, brass, silver, and gold. It is generally said that the scale colour of a dragon (should they show you their true form) determines whether they are good or bad, and whether you might live or die. Metallic dragons are seen as good, while chromatic are seen as evil, but in practice, it is not so cut and dry.
The dragons themselves tend to split into family clans, going as big as several hundred family members and many cadet branches, to as small as one dragon. and see not colour but only clan allegiances and rivalries. These dragon clans see not colour but simply clan allegiances and rivalries. In general, though, it is more apt to group this race not into chromatic and metallic, but two terms in their own language, árakain and khánkain.
The former, árakain, can be translated into "Wildborn", and refer to those who choose not to live within society at large, maintaining far flung mountain lairs, or roaming the wilderness, occasionally butting heads with local duchies and cities. Generally árakain are mononymic, going by one given name only.
The latter, khánkain, are the more well known, and can be translated as "Regalborn". This group refers to the once ruling class of civilisation, and these dragon clans make up the old aristocracy, with many estates and riches and families several hundred members large. After the collapse of draconic rule, most of the khánkain have fell out of prominence, with only a few families maintaining hold over their titles and powers. They usually possess a house name, or in some cases an entirely non-draconic name alongside their given name.
Elf
The elves, a generally tall, graceful race, did not originate from the Material Plane but rather from its mirror place, the Twilight Vale. Being also an old people, their origins are likewise murky, and it is unknown when or where the first elves stepped foot into the material plane.
Elvenkind is generally split along three races, originating from the three "clans" created by Valaan's House. They are the winterfolk, commonly known as dark or drow elves, who follow Marí; the summerfolk, known as wood elves, who follow Cerí, and the skyfolk, known as high elves, who follow Valaan himself.
Long-lived, naturally proficient with magic, and with graceful demeanour, they are seldom seen in worldly places, and are usually treated with some amout of reverence by the common human peasantry. Elves of all races do not like to mingle with any others, preferring to remain alone or in their own small clans.
Of these, the wood elves are most amenable, least standoffish to outsiders, and are often found within other communities, often appearing as rangers, trappers, or healers and magicians. They live, as name suggests, near and within forests and wooded areas, preferring wild nature over civilsation.
The high elves are rarely seen, and their largest populations are in the Twilight Vale. They dislike interacting with outsiders (even if guests are accepted) and are rather solitary in nature. High elf settlements can be found in all secluded parts of the world, but often tend to be nestled deep within mountain ranges, hard to reach by foot.
Drow elves are the least known of the three races, and all is known is their hair is pale, and their skin is like night. They are the rarest seen in the material plane, and often treated with superstition and hostility.
Man
Mankind are the most numerous group, and came latest of all the races to the Material Plane. It is said that they were created from the earth around the longest river in the continent, the Velgra, which stretches from icy peaks in Marakar, all the way down to its mouth in the modern Crimon Tarthe. They are so numerous, in fact, that in the east mankind has been given the name fan, meaning "ordinary", "common".
Mankind does not possess long life, innate magic, or a particular hardiness to the elements, yet this short-lived race with an infinite capacity to innovate, settle, scheme, and conquer, managed to spread across the whole world, and over many thousand generations diverge into many human races with many languages, cultures, and appearances. Some readily interact with and get along with people of other races, whilst others are suspicious of outsiders, and incredibly suspicious of anyone with different mannerisms.
The Kingdoms of Man spread across the whole world, and rise and fall like the tide, ever building, conquering, and collapsing, constantly bickering with each other as well as outsiders. It was this that saw the kingdoms of man fall under the control of Dragonkind for two long eras - but even then, whilst the ruling class was different, they were still Man's empires, it was Man that tended, governed, and even ruled on behest of their lords, man who fought the wars, who tended the land, who built the cities, and who took their chance and overthrew their lords just a few centuries ago, starting the age of humanity.