The People of Taluma

There are many different civilized people that inhabit Taluma including the traditional fantasy lineages of humans who are the most populous, and the dwarves and elves also called rifafolk. Taluma is also home its own smalfolk called urchins

To learn more about each people, follow their link below as we complete their detailed description.

Rifafolk

In the land of Taluma, dwarves and elves are considered to be kith and kin, opposites of the same coin. While humans are people of all elements, of the fifth element of aether, the Riven (the Rifafolk, the Folk) are two related people, or folk, who each manifest only two of the four main elements each. Dwarves are folk of earth and fire, and their cousins the elves are folk of air and water

Legends say that the Rifafolk are descendants of the giants. In ancient times the giants were guardians of Eost, protecting it from demons. In a large war, the giants’ size alone was not enough to stop the demons’ advance, so they made a sacrifice called The Rivening to sunder their essences in two and offer half of their power to a select few of their people to make them more powerful. Those that sacrificed their essence not only reduced in power but in size. Those that gave up air and water became the dwarves of earth and fire while those that gave their earth and fire became the elves of air and water. In return for their sacrifice, the Caelestine empowered the riven with additional talent in the elements they kept.

Though they once were the most numerous people on Eost, humans would quickly take that position once they arrived. While not as numerous and therefore not as impactful as humans, Riven are as - if not in many ways more - civilized and cultured. Because of their ties to the elements, they have powers that humans can only dream of, but those ties are also what holds them back. If not for their connection to and reverence for the natural world, the Riven could dominate the land and all people. Instead, unlike ambitious humans who are as likely as not to misuse the resources around them, the folk are mostly content to live in cooperation with the environment and be unobtrusive to the plants, beasts and other people around them. Of course as mortals with unique personalities, the fae have people of all temperaments and there are some, though a much smaller percentage than humans, with ambition and drive that conflict with these morals.

Other Mortals

There are many other beings that are considered to be intelligent and/or have a soul, to be mortals, but are not counted among the ‘civilized’ people of Taluma. They are usually bipedal - humanoid - in appearance though there are some beast-like mortals.

  • Fiends - Fiends are infernal mortals, originally the offspring of a demon or devil. This includes demonkin or lesser demons, who are the result of two infernals or an infernal and another mortal mating, and the orc and their kin who are offspring of demons and mortals.
    orcs and orcneas orckin (ettin, oni, ogre); gnolls

  • Gargants - Gargants is the term for giants and their kin and offspring. The giants were the first mortals, carved from trees and given spirits, created by the Caelestine to defend Eost.
    cyclops, giants

  • Fey - The beings collectively known as the fey are uncanny, preternatural people considered to be spirits of the natural world. As protectors of wildlands and the natural world, they are tied to Eosta. As at least partially of divine origin, they straddle the line between mortal and immortal, the natural and the preternatural.

    Centaur, Drider, Dryad, Ettercap, Harpy, Pixie, Satyr, Sprite, Will-o’-wisp

  • Hexen - Hexen are a group of mortal beings with a shared strange, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting features including goblins and their kin inherited from exposure to corrupt magic. They include hags and their spawn.
    hags, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbeaars, trolls, fomorians, trogloodytes

  • Other Humanoids - Humanoid is a general classification encompassing many varied beings, all mortals who are not part of another specific classification (not a fey, orckin, hexen, etc.). Many of them are evolutions of gryms, especially when they are wicked or cruel (evil) folk.
    Aarakocra, Bullywug, Kenku, Lizardfolk, Merfolk, Merrow, Sahuagin