Humans
Humans are the most populous ‘civilized’ race on the continent of Vaira. The humans, like the elves, are originally from the western continent of Kriterra. As a result there is a long history between Elves and Humans. Elven mythology states that when Vaira was created the elves were the first children of the goddess and that humans were the result of a curse on the elves who blasphemed against Her. Anthropological study of ruins and ancient records, however, indicate that humans and elves have co-existed on Kriterra for as long as records exist.
Indeed, this was all but proven true when the Kriterran Empire first navigated the Flow eastward and arrived on Apteros, finding humans living among the Dunesmen in Nham. The myths of these desert dwelling humans speak of divine guidance across the Flow during a time of great wars in the west. This aligns with the theorized First War of the Mages of Kriterran record, where much of the western continent was devastated by wild magic.
As a result of this split in ancient times, Humanity can be roughly divided between ‘Westerner’, from Kriterra, and ‘Easterner’, from Nham.
Western
Humans from the Kriterra view themselves as the most civilized of the races, having founded great cities, created laws to govern the lands, built roads and established trade. The average Kriterran has a pale complexion and stands around 172cm (5’8″). Kriterran humans have a wide range of hair and eye colors, though most have brown or blonde hair and green or blue eyes.
Eastern
Humans from Nham have a long history with the peoples of Apteros, of war with the Demons and cooperation with the Dunesmen. The typical eastern human has a darker complexion, with hair typically brown or black and eyes of slate gray color. Humans from the east tend to be larger than their western cousins, with the average height around 177cm (5’10”).
The humans of Vaira have an average lifespan of around 60 years, though the wealthy elite tend to live much longer thanks to more effective medicine and better living conditions. Humans have a remarkable capacity for interbreeding with other species, having much better odds of successful pregnancies between human and non-human races compared to any other race on Vaira, however this seems to come at the cost of human traits being recessive. A half-human will almost always retain many more traits from their non-human parent. Humans reproduce fairly quickly, able to have a child about once a year.