To start with, most mortal races fall into 2 categories:
PURE RACES - These are the races that were either created by the gods as part of some purpose, or the original, unaltered races of the world.
CURSED RACES - Generally referred to as "demons", any being that was mutated as a result of the Four Meteor Calamity is considered a "cursed one". All cursed ones were once human, and branched off into their own species after the calamity. There were countless mutations as a result of the calamity, but only a handful were able to survive naturally as a species.
A third miscellaneous category will be used for this post to include the ones that don't really fall into either category. Note that I'll be talking about this with the Holy Age in mind. In later eras, the races start to get much more mixed up and are no longer found by region.
For this post, I'll only focus on the Pure Races. I'll get the rest on subsequent posts. And so...
--- PURE RACES ---
HUMAN
The human race is physically the weakest out of the pure races, but possesses the greatest aptitude for magic. Their lifespans tend to be on the shorter side, but tend to reproduce faster than the other races. The human race is the oldest race of Xhelia, having been around since before the four meteor calamity. There tends to be a main distinction between the human races of Phycos.
Western humans are concentrated around the Horis landmass in the west. They tend to look more like humans as we know them, with a more natural appearance. These humans tend to have a stronger physical side than eastern humans.
Eastern humans, on the other hand, are concentrated around the southeastern parts of the continent. Sometimes referred to as "Rilonians", these humans can have very strange traits due to their exposure to magic. Most notable are the radical variations between the colors of their physical features, such as skin and hair color. Sometimes western humans see them as cursed mutants but otherwise they are the same race, only with a stronger aptitude for magic.
AER
The Aer can be considered a sort of "superhuman" race. Aer are a sort of genetic defect among western humans, though calling them a "defect" would be somewhat inaccurate. Instead, Aer are very gifted humans. It's unknown what causes an unborn human child to become an Aer, leading society to believe that they are chosen by gods themselves. Aer look identical to humans with the exception of some unusual birthmarks.
The similarities end there, however. Aer are born superior in almost every aspect, ranging from physical strength, reflexes, intellect, and the like. Their only weakness is in their magic aptitude, having the lowest among the pure races. However, this is counteracted by the fact that Aer are born with a strong elemental alignment which leads some to believe that they are also partly magic beings. This elemental alignment is so strong that Aer can literally feel better or worse depending on what environment they are in. In some cases, such as fire elemental Aer, they can even regenerate wounds or lost limbs in the presence of the appropriate element. Above all, their most coveted trait is the fact that they seem to have an unlimited lifespan - no Aer has been known to die of natural causes as of yet.
SAAL
The Saal, or wolf race, were once humans who were given a new form by Juram, the god of technology and civilization. During the exodus from Krinakros, Juram granted his loyal followers this new form to better prepare them for the frigid nature of their new home. The Saal have grown since then, becoming one of the most powerful races for most of Phycos's history.
Saal tend to be stronger and faster than humans and often live longer, but they also have a much weaker aptitude for magic. However, Saal are gifted with great intellect, a parting gift from their god. Saal in general value technology for this reason, even if they don't believe in Juram. True to their form, Saal also possess a powerful sense of smell, but have generally weaker eyesight in exchange. For this reason, scopes and spectacles tend to be common accessories for Saal.
Saal tend to fall into two subspecies - the Zerden who are the larger, stronger Saal with thicker fur who live in the north, and the Zembul, the smaller, slender Saal with thin fur. The color of fur can vary from region to region, and to other races, telling between a male and female Saal can be nearly impossible.
FALDAX
The Faldax, or "lizard men", were created by the goddess of nature, Krinafalda, shortly after the four meteor calamity as a tool for rebuilding the ecosystems of the world. Like the Saal, their bodies are based on humans, but are a very different race. The Faldax were given their own minds after Phycos was remade, but they proved to be just as mortal as humans all the same. Once the native race of Phycos, most Faldax nations were destroyed by the humans and saal when they migrated to the continent.
The Faldax are born in a very unusual way, with the infants growing separate from the parents in a plant-like bud until they have grown enough to leave their protective shell. These children are "grown" by their respective parents through a strange and somewhat magic ritual where the parents sacrifice some of their genetic material to create the bud. Once born, Faldax possess a very strong connection to nature in general, though this could diminish over time. The distinction between male and female faldax is somewhat easier to make, with the females having whip-like projections growing out of their heads that resembles human hair, and the males generally having frills or thorns instead.
The Faldax possess a very acute sense of hearing that allow them to sense the presence of objects based on vibrations in the air or the ground from the sounds the object or creature makes. They also possess lightning fast reflexes, allowing them to make good use of these senses. As such, Faldax have been known to perform seemingly impossible feats like snatching arrows while they are in mid-flight, or detecting the presence of incoming creatures just by feeling the vibrations on the ground. These senses tend to get weaker the farther they stray from nature, so the Faldax tend to gather and live in certain environments.
There are primarily two subspecies of Faldax on Phycos, though each one has its own breeds in turn. There are the slender Xurax, or "southern lizards", who tend to have proportions similar to humans and saal but much thinner and taller in general. Xurax are very agile but are the most fragile out of the pure races. Nurax are found towards the south of the continent, and often have elemental alignments based on where they live.
The second subspecies are the Nurax, or "northern lizards", the much larger cousins of the Xurax. Nurax live in the northern parts of Phycos on the fringes of society, living in societies other civilizations would call "barbaric". Nurax tend to grow very large, with most adults being at least twice the size of a human, and have immense strength while keeping the same sense of hearing and reflexes. Although not as agile as their smaller cousins, they make up for this in sheer toughness and strength. Nurax are few and far in between, but those few found are often valued greatly as warriors.
Those are the 4 main races in Phycos, and the most numerous. I'll make a post on the other 2 categories soon after this.
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