(Taken and updated from a Study guide of middle school teacher Farrah Izden, at the elven colony of Yoriruk)

Humans – – Regular race, all around. Human prime is in 20-30s and average lifespan is 79 years. Varying skin tones from black-brown-yellow-olive-pink-pale and everything in between. One of the newer races has been under imperial rule for 1,000 years. They returned to the galaxy after discovering mercury and Pluto were ancient machines that kept them trapped in an alternative dimension.  Once regarded as a respected and feared species in the Ancient age before their disappearance from the known galaxy, humans are then regarded as being extremely different Some even claim that the humans were different species entirely back then before becoming the modern humans they were now.  Some in the galaxy treat humans as newcomers or “disappointments” as the rest of the galaxy assumed that only a species that was respectfully dangerous enough would warrant an exile from the Abyssal forces. The Astral are very wary of them, seeing them as a potential threat if left unchecked, remembering their failed rebellion angered the abyss greatly. Thus the Empire took control over the humans by force, terraforming their planet’s climate and forcing some residents off world. Humans also have been encouraged to come off-world and become involved across the galaxy as explorers, fighters, wizards, smugglers, politicians, colonists, imperial citizens, and more.  This has been a tactical ploy by the Astral Empire to keep humans separated. However, some humans have willingly separated from the empire and have joined the Coalition, while a majority of humans remain on Earth, Uninterested in the politics and alien races of the Galaxy.

Dwarves – Not to be confused with the ‘Dwarfism condition’ in humanity. Alternatively described as “The Deep Enchanters.” These are human-halfling descendants and came about when the Halfling race that started to die out during the Age of Dark under a disease unleashed on Halfling worlds. Because most of ancient humanity what remained of humanity was exiled out of the original dimension, human-halfling offspring only became dwarves. the original dimension. Due to heated tensions with Gnomes and Knomes, the Dwarves were forced to reside and built kingdoms within Asteroids where they mastered the art of forging, mining, and enchanting. Some Dwarves even have converted asteroids into space battle stations, dreadnoughts, and terraformed planets. Most Dwarves have a good relationship with the Empire but mostly on basis of business and honor, with some clans providing their services with outside factions such as the coalition, omega marches, and others. To this day, the Dwarves still hold a grudge against the Gnomes and Knomes, considering them as too proud for their own good and not making the most of out of their natural resources. Dwarves officially believe in a strong but chaotic blending of the natural and artificial world. When a dwarf Kingdom/Clan is established across an asteroid belt it’s called a “halo”. (So the Queen Tella Dosca of the Dosca Clan would rule Dosca Halo)

Tieflings – A group of horned people located in the Sea of Wraiths to the Galactic North. They are designers of the first laser firearms and have a very gothic-inspired style to their architecture. They fight in a never ending skirmish against hellish demons and devils to maintain their independence during the Abyssal Age. It was rumored their early ancestors such as Stand the demon-ranger-hunter cut off their tails to separate themselves from beastly/devilish nature but kept horns to display might. Previously they were a fully military government before joining the Empire, and since joining some have embraced new occupations such as jewelry-making, music, and bodybuilding. Outside races tend to be superstitious or fearful of tieflings for their intimidating appearance and strong influence in the weapons industry – and tieflings either take advantage of or try to lessen such fears. They are currently ruled by Commander Tale-sun-Joffee and Senator Byrne, who both tolerates imperial control only because the Empire helps them keep the demonic forces at bay. The concept of democracy and moving away from military control has resulted in some tieflings infighting with each other.

Dragonborn – These short reptilian-like species sport colors similar to dragons in fantasy with wild variations of color on their flower-like manes, scaly bodies, and crystal-like nails. When a Dragonborn comes of age they will usually set their sights around becoming one thing in life – an admiral, a wizard, a blacksmith, a rich person, a cool poet – striving to make a name for themselves no matter what. They are biologically mono-gendered but choose pronouns they come of age and even change their biology like frogs. As custom of theirs Dragonborn names are purposefully meant to sound like puns in other languages, like Brooks Ancranies.

Firbolgs – Easily identified by their tall bodies, pastel skin colors, and wide range of hair colors like brown, green, and pink, the Firbolgs are a super chill and hippy people, with a stone connection to nature.  Thus they used to be very absent from galactic politics until the formation of the alliance. They are one of the oldest races in the galaxy but also the only extra-galactic race that didn’t come to the milky way with the Orcs, Niko, and Kenku. They are very rare in imperial territories. Firbolgs are rumored to be descendants of ancient space-faring giants that were altered by fey magic to be much smaller.

Most firbolgs are Close allies of the coalition and very few are in the Empire, The Autumn heart family being the most politically active not just among firbolgs but all of coalition space.

Niko – A anthropomorphic feline race under the protection of the Empire, after having left a troubled “alliance” between the Niko and Orcs, who both came from the outside galaxies and were forced to reluctantly cooperate and share resources to reach the Milky Way. The Niko people believe in reincarnation and that it’s a peaceful process if you lived a good life while if you lived a greedy evil life your reincarnation process is painful. Niko can evolve their body in several ways through the use of augmentation, alchemy, magic, and exercise more easily than other species.  They act very much like real life cats.  Yarn, scratching, and fish are considered very important to them. They love sleeping in tight spaces and all their beds look like boxes.  A lot of younger Niko look like actual cats.

Orcs – Short for the Orcomsica people, a hardened group born in another galaxy, which had planets housing harsh climates and difficult environments. Despite numerous groups arriving within massive mobile space stations drifting through space alongside the Niko, Orcs are quite rare to encounter and have little recollection of what life in their home galaxy was like. Most view Orcs with just as much superstition as tieflings, thinking the orcs that arrived are part of a larger invasion force or are brutish barbarians, but there is no factual answer and is largely rooted in racist attitudes. Most orcs embraced the what they can remember of great defenders, bloodthirsty soldiers, and legendary warriors that originated from their home galaxy. Thus most assume they can only be found in leading mercenary groups, security teams, military squads, pirate crews, and tribes consisting of non-orcs. However one can find Orcs in a variety of professions especially the business and sports sector, valuing competition, strategy, and comradery. Some are seeking to use their keen intellect to help defend and support their people as well as others species, with one Orc known as Dravis Frostraam even becoming the first Orc council member on the imperial senate.

Gnomes/Knomes – Descendants of elf-halfling breeding, and came about when the Halfling race that started to die out during the Abyssal Era under a disease unleashed on Halfing owned-worlds. They hold a grudge against the dwarves, whom they see as taking advantage of the natural world rather than living and protecting it. Gnomes strongly believe that natural and artificial worlds should be kept separate and that people should only take what is necessary from the natural world to survive. They also place a huge emphasis on the pursuit of creativity and wellness, making them the most happy and content people in the galaxy. After fighting a bloody war with the Dwarves, the Gnomes were displeased to see them work with the empire again, though some Gnomes have made attempts to establish better relationships between Gnomes and Dwarves. Gnomes are considered to be a term used for the race as a whole while Knomes is a word that refers to Knomes living on more industrialized worlds and pursuing academic professions. Much like Fey Elves and Humans, Knomes sport a variety of Earthy Skin tones

Astrals – Naturals in Cosmic magic and natives to the imperial capital planet, Imperium. Skin tones, and Hair colors range from dark shades of brown, black, blue, purple, violet, and periwinkle with all have pupil-less glowing magenta eyes. Some having glowing freckles that match the constellations in the stars. They have a strong belief system in preserving government, religion, and law, though how they go about it usually different amongst them (For instance some prefer negotiating while others prefer force). Most Astral groups, including Paladin Gallistar an ally of the Exile who founded the alliance, were also the same people responsible for turning the Exile’s Alliance into an the Empire and thus hold high positions in the empire. A small group of Astrals was also responsible for helping seek out humankind and bring them back into the original dimension. When some members of the empire started to break away, the Astrals are concerned that they will begin to lose power and fear that the Empire would fall and the galaxy would go through a war. A treaty was signed to allow certain systems to secede peacefully without war.

Wood/Fey Elves – Fey elves are Naturals in elemental magic and come in brown-orange skin tones. Though very kind-hearted they have begun to move towards separating from the empire, recolonizing old colonies, and reclaiming old traditions with the assistance of the coalition as well as making up a good chunk of people in the Coalition. They are Often referred to as “Wood Elves” or “Fey Elves” for staying on elven planets filled with dense forests that carry much magical fey energy but others just call them “Elves” for simplicity. Many individual elves found inside and out outside of their ‘resistance colonies’ participated as wizards, sorcerers, scientists, adventures, and soldiers. Those that live in the Astral Empire (like Honz Cerberus II) have distanced themselves from the culture of their home planets, unlike the Elves who have returned back to their roots on Coalition worlds that used to belong to the elves such as Nyru and Yoriruk (Like Lilian). Before the rise of the Abyssal Age, Fey Elf language used to be a mix of so many different kinds of elvish from different ancestral clans (now referred to as old elvish) before adopting the simplified common tongue that came during the Alliance Age. Very few have even found scripts of old elvish and fewer have can even understand it.

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