Dragons of Tirenia

There are humans who share the spiritual essence of angels, demons, fairies, elementals, and dragons. In all of these cases, they have inherited abilities from their progenitors. But there is one group who have abilities from an unknown race. The rare Changelings are born with the ability to change their face to look like anyone they have ever met. From where do they get this ability? They themselves do not know. Scholars theorise that there must be a hidden race of shape-changers living among humanity. They must be beings of great spiritual power, like unto the Host, but they have left barely a ripple of their presence. Who are these secretive progenitors? Why are they hiding, and what do they want? Art: 'Anatomical Study.' Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1500.

Tortles are a very rare race of intelligent humanoid turtles who have only arrived recently in Tirenia from foreign lands. They are good-natured and inquisitive travelers. Tortles like to make friends, and they help any people in need that they meet, whether that means helping out on a farm or fighting monsters. Tortles tend to ally with humanist groups against the dragons. Tortles reportedly live to a grand old age, although no one has met one of their elders: they revere the elderly and listen to their advice, but believe that everyone needs to make their own decisions. Tortles are also very artistic, and they are interested in learning about the different art forms they encounter. The truth about tortles is slightly more strange than anyone knows. Tortles are not from Tellaia: they have traveled the streams between worlds to enter this one, and when they are done, they will leave again. They believe that no one needs to know about the worlds beyond this one, so that they can de...

Many races are the result of souls mingling. Only one race tried to do it to itself, with terrible consequences. Kobolds were originally goblin-folk. They noticed how many races were created by angels, demons and fairies. And so one group of goblins attempted to do this to themselves. They would infuse themselves with the power of dragons! Then they would be the most powerful of all. The goblins cast a mighty spell, infusing themselves with a draconic essence. However, they did not expect the consequences. The goblins shrunk even further. The sun hurt their eyes, and they had to hide themselves. The spell had worked imperfectly, and their entire race would forever be damned by the consequences. Kobolds now live underground in isolated areas. They are great cowards, and scavenge for food and supplies - nearby communities may find themselves missing the odd chicken or a tarpaulin that can be made into loincloths. Their low population numbers mean that they are commonly inbred. They ...

In the remote parts of the world, people are still afraid of the orc hordes. Driven by bestial desires, they swept across the land, killing indiscriminately. Orc-kind have great variety, and scholars have given names to some of the more common varieties: 'goblins' are the smallest and most intelligent type, which can sometimes be found in civilised areas; 'bugbears' are larger but more stealthy; 'hobgoblins' have an instinctive grasp of tactics, while 'orcs' are the most common (and violent) type. These terms can be misleading, since they are all the same race, and have an immense variety of physical forms.  During the Hostwar, orcs and their kind were created by demons to be their foot soldiers. Orc-kind were driven back to the hinterlands by the Auromian Empire, but were a constant pressure on its borders, and their incursions contributed to the fall of the Empire. They have been pushed back once more, and are now more remembered in folklore and t...

Not all humans went to the cities. The Wild Men, also known as wood-wose or shifters, are humans who live in the wilderness, closer to animals. They are popular subjects of art, where they are depicted covered in hair, or with bestial characteristics. There are also stories about people who are stricken with madness, who live in the wilderness and become indistinguishable from animals. Shifters are exoticised and romanticised as being more natural and having an instinctive wisdom. There is a fashion among rich nobles to find shifters and bring them to live on their estates as a form of living ornament.  For all that shifters are seen as being wild, they are no less intelligent than civilised humans, if less educated. In times of need, a wood-wose who knows human languages may approach a local rural community. They will not venture away from their homes, or into a city, unless the need is very great indeed. Art: Detail from 'Histoire d'Alexandre.' Jean Wauquelin,...

When a person dies, their soul travels to Purgatorio, to be purified and eventually reborn; or else to Paradiso or the Inferno, if they were particularly virtuous or sinful. Sometimes, however, a soul lingers for a time. Ghosts are created when someone dies with extreme emotion and some unfinished business. Rarer still are the times when the soul of the dead returns to its own body, to finish its dying wish itself. These revenants have effectively reincarnated in their own dead body as a result of their great willpower and overpowering emotions. If their will is disrupted, or their emotions settle, then their soul continues on its journey, which usually happens when they have resolved their final task. It becomes harder and harder for a soul to sustain itself in its body over time, which can also lead to the revenant moving on. Art: Detail from 'Death and the Miser.' Jan Provoost, c. 1520

Stories of bird-people are usually dismissed as no more than travelers' tales, but they are true. During the Hostwar, the angels took the souls of the dead and created avian bodies for them, so they could serve as scouts and aerial troops. As a result of their origin, their souls are unable to move on. They cannot die except by violence, and their souls are then bound to Tellaia, unable to reincarnate. What's more, they are unable to have any children. Most bird-people have withdrawn from a world that instinctively fears them, and they dwell in the most isolated places. They live lives of austere purity, praying to the Supreme One to intervene and undo their creation. Occasionally, one of their ever-dwindling population will leave home in disguise, trying to discover the secret of how their race can die once and for all. While the bird-people originally accepted their curse voluntarily, one tribe cursed Paradiso and turned to other masters for their aid. These corvid-headed...