Ailor

Ailor

Pronunciation: Ay-lor.

Common Nicknames: Humies, Humans, pink-skins.

Classification: Human.

Max Age: 90 years.

Naming Customs: Culturally diverse among the various groups.

Languages: Common-Tongue(Ceardian), Alt-Regalian, D'Ithanie, Daendroque, Dressolini and various Northerne languages.

Subraces:

None

From the warm coastlines of Daendroc to the icy ranges of Ellador, the Ailor Humans are the most numerous on Aloria. Known for developing a large variety of government forms and sprawling bureaucracies, Ailors consider themselves the height of civilized life in Aloria, and measure all others by their standards, often to the disdain of the other races. Ailors once began as the fiercely barbarian and tribal people of Ceardia, eventually giving rise to many states and above all, the Regalian Empire. Proving to be both resourceful and aggressive, Ailors have conquered much of the known world under the banner of their various Kingdoms. While also being incredibly numerous, the Ailors are perhaps also the most divided people on Aloria, more so than even the Elves. The Ailor state of Regalia now exists as the largest sovereign entity, competing with the Qadir Sultanate over power in the known world.

Physical Characteristics

The best way to describe Ailors is to simply call them average. Over the past centuries, it has become apparent that using the Ailors as a standard point of view when analysing the other races is easiest. This is caused by the fact that Ailor have no exaggerated proportions, and are generally seen as the middle point between all other races. Ailors are of an average height between Elves and Dwarves. They are less strongly built than Qadir, but larger and more well built than Ch’ien-ji. The fact that perhaps does set them apart is their wide diversity in looks and aesthetic presentation. Ailors often accuse other races of all looking alike, with their limited physical characteristics and generally uniform appearance. Ailors can have a wide variety of eye colors, ranging from any green hue to blue, brown and all mixtures in between. Their hair can be as brightly blonde as the light of the sun, or as pitch black as the darkest abyss. Their skin colors range from soft olive creamy tones to harsh bleak pinks.

Mental Characteristics

Ailors are commonly known for their tendency to categorize everything, and have extreme conflict-oriented views of everything that isn’t part of their own group. This grouping mentality has caused severe fracturing of the cultures as well as inherently making Ailors aggressive beings often resorting to violence to get their way. However, it should also be noted that Ailor are capable of great feats of diplomacy and ingenuity. Ailors generally are inquisitive, progressive and intelligent, giving them great capability to reason, or devise the most unspeakable things that would even make the decadent Elves seem tame in comparison. Ailors generally believe they are the greatest race in the world, which is further reinforced by the growing religion of Regalian Unionism. This makes them generally known as arrogant and self serving to other races.

History

The earliest known existence of Ailor Humans was around the beginning years of the Elven Empire. These Ailor ancestors were more commonly referred to as Humans by Elves, the shared ancestor of the Chii|Ch’ien’ji, Qadir and Ailor. Humans as a term comes from the Elven word Humwë, which is generally invoked when speaking to a dumb person. It is unknown when or how the Ailor distinctly developed from the proto-Humans, but it is generally accepted that the Ailor are physically closest to the common Human ancestor. Ailor have an incredibly slow developing history. For nearly ten centuries, Humans did nothing but live in huts, fight each other and die from disease and other calamities. The catalyst that caused explosive growth among Ailor was the collapse of the Elven Empire following the Cataclysm

The Void Invasion wrecked the northern hemisphere of Aloria, but spared most of the areas where the largest concentration of Ailor kingdoms found themselves. This event caused many of them to reconsider their past habits, and decide that future cooperation would suit them best in the rapidly emerging new world order. Additionally, the Elven Empire collapsed in its wake, allowing the Ailor to expand with virtually no obstacles. The newly created Regalian Empire was the first to rise from the ashes, and it quickly assimilated the other almost defenseless Ailor groups around it. Over a period of 100 years after the Void Invasion, Regalia consolidated its power on the Regalian Archipelago and spent the next two centuries expanding beyond. As Ailors multiplied in large numbers, so did their statehoods and philosophies. As population groups became isolated from one another, or simply developed differently, the large collection of cultures was born that we know today.

Society

Ailor Society is mostly known for being systematic, bureaucratic and adhering to a strong sense of hierarchy, at least in most cases. Additionally, it is also known for being incredibly diverse, giving birth to many different cultures which put the race in stark contrast to other races which often have only a single culture. Ailor society is generally seen as ruthless, serving only the upper echelons of society. They are incredibly xenophobic and racist, particularly towards what they consider “Non-Humans”. The societies of the Ailor states differ wildly from state to state, so it is difficult to truly identify a single Ailor society. Still, trends and cultural similarities are present.

Politics

Ailor cannot be attributed to any single political flow or government form. In general, Ailor are greedy, power-lusting, and selfish, or so history would dictate. This makes Ailor more inclined to create monarchies or dictatorships, but Ailor democracies also exist, as do anarchic societies. In the northern lands inhabited by Ailor, monarchies are the preferred type of governance. In Regalia, the imperial administration is popular, and in the east, strong aristocratic societies with hints of democracy are prevalent. The biggest factor that all Ailor governments share however, is a strong sense of aristocracy. Ailor are excellent at elevating one social class over the other, resulting in a clear distinction between poor and rich in Ailor governance.

Culture

Ailor culture is extremely diverse, more so than any other race due to the heavy splintering this race has undergone over the centuries. Most cultures can however be found to be derived from other cultures, so all cultures are generally grouped under: Regalian, Ceardian, Ithanian, Daendroque or Northerne. Regalian culture consists of a very strongly aristocratic culture that predominantly glorifies chivalry, honor, warfare and patriarchy. Regalian society often looks down on the others as barbaric or uncivilized. Ceardian culture is predominantly serf based, meaning it is heavily focused on exploiting the weak and poor in a feudal system. It is often seen as less developed than Regalian, though it maintains a few large differences, in that the Ceardians tend to value autonomy, family-oriented living, and honesty. Daendroque culture is often seen as exotic, where food, dance, and partiesare central interests. Daendroque is seen as the laughing stock of the other cultures, as it seen as unserious and too jovial. Ithanian is mostly similar to Regalian, except that it supports gender equality where Regalian does not. Those of Ithania are also fiercely anti-confrontational and anti-conflict, which is coupled nicely with their immensely materialistic personalities and surrounding. Central to them are fashion, jewelry and grandeur, all children of Ithanian richness and self-proclaimed ideas of sophistication. Finally, Northerne is seen as the most barbaric and uncivilized of Ailor culture. It is a culture that glorifies hunting, strength, and the wild life. It does not have a strong sense of social hierarchy, instead focusing on the power of those who have the means to take it.

Religion

Ailor have several religions, the biggest one being Unionism. The Unionists worship the Emperor of Regalia as the supreme being on Aloria, firmly believing in the divine right of Ailor to rule all of Aloria as the supreme race. This religion validates their racism and violent attitude to other races and civilizations. Unionism, however, is also seen as an intensely organized religion, more so than all others. In true Ailorian fashion however, Unionism is also diversely split among several sects, cults ,and heretical forms that are only mildly tolerated. Another popular religion is the Faith of the Old Gods, a faith based around the allfather Maedin. The Old Gods as a religion is slowly dying out due to successful and strategic conversion tactics by Unionist reverends and missionaries, as well as the fact that it is largely based off a Human interpretation of the faith of Estel. Especially the last mentioned reason plays strongly, as in modern times, The Old Gods is seen as an inferior religion with a false base. Other smaller religions exist: cults worshipping the Void, cults worshipping animals, the moon and other celestial objects. None of these have as much traction as the aforementioned religions however.

Combat and Warfare

Being a race that lives and thrives off of violence, the Ailor have a very rich history of warfare and a very creative arsenal of ways to kill. Ailor commonly utilize cannons, explosives and other new century weapons. Ailor are usually quick to adopt new methods of warfare as well, dedicating whole schools and individuals to perfect their method of eradicating their opponents. Ailor often rely on a sort of feudal levy system where nobility press peasantry and citizens into military service for their leader. This often results in very large, poorly equipped armies that simply rely on numbers to do their bidding. Professional armies are known to exist, with Regalia most notably possessing a few. Ailor predominantly use a shield and a sword, supported by bowmen and lancer cavalry. They prefer to defeat their opponent by sea however, and Regalia has a long tradition of naval warfare and naval supremacy.

Economy and Technology

Ailor economy is mainlybased around commerce and production. Base resources are produced by poorer states or regions, sold by middlemen to richer regions, then developed into goods and then sold once more to the richest regions. This has given birth to a massive system of bureaucracy, with people taking cuts along the way. It allows for a heavily centralized governance of the Ailor, but it also enlarges the gap between the poor and the rich. Most Ailor work in the primary sector, being agriculture and resource harvesting, but a flourishing financial sector exists where money lending, investing, and banking happens to such a degree it puts the other races to shame. Ailors truly have a skill for money management. Ailor are also generally considered the most technologically advanced race on Aloria. While the Dwarves may outdo them with inventions, Ailors are quick to adopt their work, even if they abandon it. High technological standing also allows for greater growth potential, whether it’s never truly running out of food, or advancements in medicine. Such achievements have stretched the ambitions of the Ailor far and wide, though arguably also caused the constant friction and downright genocidal nature of the Ailors in particular towards the Naylar.

Trivia

• Ailor see themselves as superior to Qadir and Ch’ien-ji, even though Ch’ien-ji are magically superior, and Qadir are both physically and magically superior.
• It is generally assumed if all Ailors set their differences aside and decided to prosecute all other races, they would inflict genocides of terrifying proportions. Luckily, as time passes, Ailors continue to divide and split.
• Ailor as a name comes from the name of the world, Aloria. It is not known where the term Ailor came from, most likely some Ailor came up with it to identify themselves with the world they intend to rule.