HUMANS in Midnight (Core Fluff)

[The Hive Mind]

HUMANS

The humans of Eredane were once a proud and unified people that shared a rich historical legacy born of invasion, expansion, and grand alliance. Now, the conquest of Izrador has left them a broken and divided people, increasingly suspicious and base. In once-great cities they live as slaves to the minions of the Shadow and in the wilderness they are savages only one step above animals. Most live in daily fear for their lives and those of their families. More isolated settlement drive off strangers or kill them outright, as long as they think they can get away with it. Towns and cities are lorded over by human puppet rulers that conspire with the terrible orc warchiefs and preening legates that back their authority. Every settlement pays tribute to the armies of the Shadow in food, supplies, and slaves, and citizens live in mortal dread of the day orc soldiers will be garrisoned in their town. But humans were not always the weak and hopeless creatures they are today; they once prided themselves on their noble ancestry, drawn from the Great Houses of the Dorns and the high castes of the Sarcosan Empire. And while the mixing of those two bloodlines has in some cases diluted the once- proud heritage of their ancestors, in other descendants the lineages have combined to create a diverse, adaptable, and quick-witted people. This new race of men, known as Erenlanders, are above all survivors. While many have bowed to the Shadow and let go of their proud pasts, some have risen up to fight for something even more important: their futures.