Fantasy Witches and Wild Things - The Two Races

[Sharp Bones]

Witches and Wild Things

The Two Races

[class=picture] position: relative; display: inline-block; width: auto; height: auto; margin: auto; [/class] [class=text] position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0; opacity: 0; background-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.1); color: white; z-index: 2; border-radius: 100%; [/class] [class name=text state=hover] opacity: 1; transition: 0.5s; [/class] [div class=picture] [div class=text]

WORD

[class=picture] position: relative; display: inline-block; width: auto; height: auto; margin: auto; [/class] [class=text] position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0; opacity: 0; background-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.1); color: white; z-index: 2; border-radius: 100%; [/class] [class name=text state=hover] opacity: 1; transition: 0.5s; [/class] [div class=picture] [div class=text]

WORD

[/div]

[class=picture] position: relative; display: inline-block; width: auto; height: auto; margin: auto; [/class] [class=text] position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0; opacity: 0; background-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.1); color: white; z-index: 2; border-radius: 100%; [/class] [class name=text state=hover] opacity: 1; transition: 0.5s; [/class] [div class=picture] [div class=text]

WORD

[/div][/div]

[class=picture] position: relative; display: inline-block; width: auto; height: auto; margin: auto; [/class] [class=text] position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0; opacity: 0; background-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.1); color: white; z-index: 2; border-radius: 100%; [/class] [class name=text state=hover] opacity: 1; transition: 0.5s; [/class] [div class=picture] [div class=text]

WORD

[/div][/div]

[/div]

History

In the land of Albion, humans once ruled over dumb, unintelligent animals. Well, 'ruled over' is putting it strongly; animals lacked the intelligence to be considered subjects, reduced to mere cattle, prey, or pests. Occasionally, they might be a prize to be won in a hunt, but that was the greatest height to which an animal might ascend in the eyes of humans.

Come the Great Eclipse, which transpired in the light of the full second moon over Albion, this all changed.

Dumb animals still existed, and exist still today. However, during the Eclipse, something changed in some of the animals. Intelligence was bestowed, and alongside it, magic. The race known as the Beasts emerged, descending from all animals, occupying a form between their animal ancestors and the bipedal forms of the humans. The Beasts could not explain their origins anymore than the humans, and at first, they were hunted by the humans as monstrous demons. Fortunately for the newly changed Beasts, it was they, not humans, who discovered a knack for magic.

Magic is a force ingrained in the very bones of Beasts. All Beasts can preform the simplest magic, though it is a rarer talent to be proficient in the art. In the Black Sun Wars, Beasts came to triumph over humans, and for six centuries they ruled over humans who occupied a blurred space between slavery and indentured servitude. It was only once it was discovered that humans could obtain some access to magic (albeit only through the sacrifice of Bestial parts) that humans were able to maneuver their way into citizen society. Though humans with an aptitude for magic are now able to earn their citizenship through many years of study and a proof of proficiency in the art, the majority remain in the position of servants to their Bestial masters. The issue of human liberation is an ongoing campaign, on the behalf of both humans and some sympathetic Beasts, but the still present memories of human-led genocide of the first Beasts remains a severe dissuader for humans regaining liberty and control over any resources.


Most humans who are granted an education in the magical arts study at human-only schools, which allow them to continue their serving duties alongside their studies. Dremmington is the only magical institution to absolve humans of their servitude for the length of their studies, all on the grounds that it will make them greater aids to society in the long-run.

The Beasts

The ruling race of Albion, the Beasts were not always so secure in their position. Hunted to near extinction only six and a half centuries ago, the Beast race is ever conscious of the violence it suffered. Beasts typically view humans are a violent, unpredictable, and selfish lot, with no concept of wider community. Most are distrustful of those humans who have earned their citizenship.

Beasts themselves appear a mixing of human and animal traits. Each Beast can be tied back to a particular animal, and they appear an anthropomorphic crossbreed of the two. All Beasts are capable of interbreeding with all other Beasts, and, it is rumoured, with humans. It is with great horror that it is confirmed that Beasts cannot interbreed with animals, even if they are their own ancestral race.

Each Beast will have particular characteristics based on its race. Herbivorous races are typically scene as milder, meek, weaker, and kinder. Carnivorous races are seen as more assertive, domineering, stronger, and better suited to leadership. Each subspecies also tends to have certain associated traits, e.g. Hen-Beasts are seen as prideful and stupid, Snake-Beasts are seen as cunning and intelligent, and Wolf-Beasts are seen as loyal and territorial. These reflect a general trend as opposed to some essential truth for each subspecies.

Beasts, like humans, wear clothing. The current dominant culture is created by them, and they are just as particular as human society ever could be. Beast society (though they'd never admit it) is much like human society. There is, however, a greater emphasis on community care, group mentality, and interdependence. This does not mean that individuals are incapable of being entirely selfish and ambitious purely for themselves.

The Humans

Humans were once the ruling race of Albion, alongside the rest of the world. Come the late middle ages, however, and the Great Eclipse changed all that. Religious superstition ensured that humanity's response to the Beasts was a fear response of genocide at best, a malicious, purposeful hunt in truth. It is a war they lost, and one that has cowed them into a resentful submission since.

Humans are, without the Beasts, incapable of magic. It is only through the consumption/burning/sacrifice of Bestial parts that humans are capable of accessing certain magic. As this particular breed of magic is inaccessible to Beasts, they are, for this reason alone, able to potentially achieve citizenship. All humans are born indentured to a Beast master (usually a member of the Bestial aristocracy), and will otherwise live out their lives serving this master, or whomever they are gifted to. Those who demonstrate an aptitude for magic (tested for by most masters, as selling a servant into a magical training program is very profitable) are granted the chance to earn citizenship. This has only been possible for the last few decades, and thus there are only a handful of humans living among society. They are rarely treated with fairness or kindness.

[/div][/div]

codedbycrucially| hover over pictures​