Dragonborn:
The once-mighty servants of the Dragons are now as nearing extinction, if not closer to it, than their masters. By making a pact with the Spirits of the world, the Dragons themselves became Spirits and managed to survive. While the Dragonborn could be thought of as Spirits in their own right, they had no such luck.
With their masters having withdrawn from the eyes of the world, they had no purpose and no hope for survival. The magic and majesty of their society was long gone, wiped clean by the Cataclysm. Few Dragonborn exist any more, they are exceedingly rare, and are given a bizarre sort of value by the world for their strength and mystique.
Little is known about their past culture except amongst the few Dragonborn still alive. They themselves have certain customs, sayings and ways of prayer and magic that are poorly understood by society at large.
Dwarves:
Dwarves survived the cataclysm. Their numbers are high and their culture thrives today still, one of unyielding loyalty, honor and determination. Dwarves were rescued by the spirit Trudgar, one of their kind who ascended to god-hood before their very eyes due to his righteousness and resolve.
Dwarves hold in high regard qualities of single-mindedness towards tasks and unwillingness to accept defeat or failure. Dwarves are skilled with their hands. They value above all else something they make through effort – hand-crafts and smithing are great talents of theirs.
After a certain age, dwarven men cease shaving – one can tell the long-lived dwarves by their full beards. Dwarven women instead grow their hair very long, as they do not grow the beards dwarven men do. Dwarves are very religious. They keep shrines to Trudgar in particular but also worship Ravindra’s unyielding justice. They practice a form of ancestor worship as well, where they believe that their dwarven family members will some day become spirits.
This, however, does not keep them from being annoyed by, and exterminating, any dangerous or pesky spirits like Pekor swarms. They have a clear distinction of spirits that deserve worship and admiration, and those that are no better than the common beast. They believe one type originate from the humanoid soul…and the other type is merely there.
Grand dwarven architecture of noble houses is very exotic and often brought to other nations. The most majestic dwarven halls have vaulted roofs that are composed of many tiles meticulously crafted together. From the outside the four sides of the roof slope very slightly and connect to a flat plane from which seems to jut out a tight triangular shape, highly decorated.
Dwarf-made weaponry and armors are legendary for their quality, and it is said that the master dwarven smiths practice their crafts in a state of supernatural enlightenment that allows them to produce incredible weaponry that is only given to worthy heroes. Dwarves reside in the central Noye mountain range and the Noye valleys therein.
Their state of Noshiki holds, and supplies other nations with, the largest quantities of raw material and precious metals and minerals in Adel. Their nation is thus very rich, and controlled by the ancient Mithral Throne, the royal dwarf family.
Dwarf culture is tightly honor-bound and while they accept (and have incorporated) many races into the culture of their nation of Noshiki, they are ever vigilant that law and family will be upheld, and that profit will not run rampant.
Elves:
The long-lived elves are at the twilight of their race. However, unlike many other races, they hold on to their identity. Ancient songs, scriptures, tales and snatches of history survived with them and they guard their identities jealously. Elves rarely mate with other species anymore and consider racial purity and nationality of high importance.
These elves, the majority of the race as it is now, see Half-Elves and other interbreedings as crucial mistakes that led them to what they have become now. Certain elves hold their brethren in low regard, feeling that their undoing will come from wanting to segregate themselves from the world, and these associate more with the other races.
The populations of elves are scattered. The highest exists in small pockets of territory in Selvage that they have claimed as elven sanctuaries. Neither the locals nor Vedaria particularly likes this move, but Periterim and Andaliel support it, and the other nations are relatively indifferent to it. In these small places, populations of maybe a hundred to two hundred elves, consisting of ten to twenty major family bloodlines of the area, try to keep alive elven architecture, history and culture.
Elves worship the spirit Paikar to protect them in their forest sanctuaries, but have their own dead gods they worship over any Spirit. Elves can be found mingling with other races in Andaliel, Periterim and Sargasso, as well. Drow elves are the worst off. The few remaining Drow elves have no real community, and exist as hired blades and assassins in developed areas. It is said that perhaps small colonies of Drow retain their old culture deep within the cavernous aberrant ruins in the mountains.
Haflings:
Halflings are known as the “Race of Lost Children” to the folklore of Adel, but none of them really mind it. They never had a great empire nor kingdom nor even city-states. They were plains outriders, swamp dwellers, sometimes nomads, mostly mixed in with other cultures, taking what they liked from the lore and knowledge they found.
Their numbers are reduced, but their identity and culture is not in shambles as are those of the elves and other “high races” – the halfling’s lifestyles and cultures never depended on numbers and opulence, so even in the small family groups they mostly exist in now in the wilds, they can continue to live as though nothing had changed.
But something has – their race has been severely cut short in the prime of its life. Halflings do not struggle for identity, do not believe in racial purity. They don’t have to, for they have no pride in such things.
They mate with other races, mingle with the major cultures, and lend their skills where they are needed. Some have even joined higher education and politics. There is at least one halfling senator in the Andaliel parliament at any given time – and unlike certain Elf senators, the halfling is not vehemently trying to carve a niche for his lost brothers and sisters. Mostly, halflings lead normal existences, undaunted by the circumstances. If anything, one can say they have come out relatively well.
Humans:
Humans and Half-Elves band together to form one racial group now (though they are still distinct races), along with any elves who reject the Pure Elf Doctrines of the high race. They have little to no culture. Unlike the elves, they have nothing sacred left from the ancient days, and unlike the halflings, they long for an identity.
Instead, they take bits and pieces of lore and tradition from the areas where they live and from other races. They take well to the Iomadi and Athirua in particular. Humans are nearly extinct, but their population hasn’t taken the same horrible shot as the Elves have. There are perhaps 4 humans and half-elves to every elf – though there are many more of the other races to humans.
Tieflings:
Like the Dragonborn, Tieflings were extremely powerful, or so they believe, before the Last Cataclysm swept their cities into the sea or cast them into the dark pits of the world. Tieflings are not as incredibly scarce as others, but nowhere near thriving. They seek remnants of their past, to try to find an answer for their decline, or at the very least proof of their old power to satisfy their pride. They believe that the Rhonnu descended from them. The Rhonnu punish them for this belief wherever they can.
Tieflings are downtrodden and distrusted. They do nothing to alleviate this concern. Many tieflings are lowlives and thugs, or practitioners of dark and deadly arts. Their pride, while not as sharp and violent as an Elf’s, is their primary negative trait. They will stand up to the foot that steps on them, no matter which it is nor why it does. Tieflings fiercely value any freedom or strength they have, including freedom which does not exist except in their minds.
