General Human History
Quick Overview:
Humans are descended from the leftover troops and research teams
that came to the Nexus. There is rumor that somewhere on the Nexus Realm
is a gate back to their homelands, but no one has ever found it, and
very few people think it's more than a children's tale. Humans don't
have any outstanding racial abilities, but they can use leftover technology
that the other races can't. During the Great War human scientists didn't
want the other races gaining the advantage by utilizing their tech,
so they used a genetic biometric system on all technological devices
so that it only activates with human use. The ability to create these
things has been largely lost but that doesn't stop humans from still
using those items that still exist.
Humans tend to wear whatever they want. From primitive medieval clothes
to latex and leather reminiscent of the Mad Max movies.
Racial requirement: No make up requirements.
Racial Ability: Tech use
Human history today:
Today on the Nexus, Human life is not too different than the medieval ages back on Earth. Very little is left of the technologically advanced race that forced science to take them to the Promised Land. Most people live by subsistence farming, or at small trades. Once again, there are blacksmiths, cobblers, tailors, and bakers. The simple life that was fought for with the Gate War has become a gritty reality. Gone are the days of long lives, modern medicine, and a non-existent death rate for children. Disease ravages the landscape, and the medical wonders of the past rarely surface to fight it.
It has been many thousands of years since the Gate War, but racial hatreds still abound. The popular opinion of the Fey is that they are better dead than alive, especially the Fairy. Humans tell stories abound about Fey attacks on humans for something that a great-great-great ancestor did. They whisper that the Fairy steal children for torture and experiments of the worst sort; that the long lives of the Fey come at the cost of cannibalism and blood sacrifice.
The few humans that try to get past this hatred find the Fey don’t want their understanding. Fey are quick to return the hate in any way possible. It’s a common Human saying that nothing in this world hates as long or as deep as the Fey. This may explain why more and more skirmishes between the races are started by the Fey who refuse to believe the war is long over.
Only the rich have access to the wonders of the past, as it takes money or might to keep the tech they have. Even then, that might not be enough to keep other treasure hunters at bay. The rest of the population might just as well be living in the Dark Ages. Most families make their own clothes, and grow their own food. Three generations could go by without anyone caring what year it was. Reading is a lost art form left to the few scholars that reside in the Nexus.
Technology is a rarity worth more than all your credits and your first-born daughter combined. A working rifle with some ammo is worth even more. Sometimes these rare weapons are found, and small skirmishes break out over them. If you have a weapon of this caliber nothing can stand in your way, as long as you can keep hold of it.
Similarly, most Humans will do everything in their power to remove tech from alien hands. Non-Humans don’t deserve the technology their ancestors pioneered. It is a Human birthright to use these advanced creations and not for any Fey, or fur-covered creature to touch.
The world is arranged in small city-states with most people living in or around these areas for protection. There are some all-Human city-states, while others are mixed racially. There is a constant barrage of creatures being dumped out of Gates, and the city-states provide armed protection to its citizens and the outlaying farmlands. Usually there is a tithe or tax due for this protection, and refusing this tithe can cause all sorts of repercussions depending on the city-state in question. Some city-states are more lawful than others, however, the closer to the wild lands the more lawless the city. The criminal element finds the threat of the frequent Gates opening in the wild lands a good deterrent to pursuit.
Some rare Humans live in the wild lands fending for themselves. They are usually in contact with some of the Felinae tribes, or packs of marauding Beastmen. They have a reputation as tough frontiersmen. It’s often through these individuals that new lost tech gets found, making the prospectors some decent Credits in the process. Often the rumor of lost tech is all it takes for someone to pack up and head out into uncharted territory, as the lure of easy cash leads them on. Others head deep into the Nexus because of bounties on their heads. City dwelling is definitely easier than risking death in the wilds of the Nexus.
Most hard labor is done by hand now, with a few of the richer individuals either hiring out, or actually having some leftover tech to do it for them. It is not unusual for a collection of families to pay a Beastman to plow their fields if they can afford it, or if they can find one they trust enough to be near their homes.
There are no beasts of burden in the Nexus. Experiments early on in the exploration showed that none of the usual horses or mules could survive for long. The Nexus is a much more hostile environment then these animals evolved in, and they were easy snacks for the Void creatures. Indigenous creatures, straight out of nightmares, could not be domesticated.
Humans often wear a mish-mash of handmade clothes reminiscent of the medieval period of their history, and modern clothes left over in stockpiles. More and more hand made clothing are the norm, though, as the old textiles disappear or wear out. Synthetic materials are now more valuable due to this shortage. The plastics, rayon, and polyesters are now the sought after textiles of the rich. Peasant class farmers wear hand made, and home grown, cotton-like linens, while a cities lordling might wear vinyl.
Human behavior hasn’t changed much even in such an alien environment. There are still the pious, honest, and pure souls along with those black-hearted enough to prey upon them. Larger cities support more stability and law than smaller hamlets. Religions rise and fall regularly, and every city-state seems to have its own host of Gods.
Recently there have been more and more attacks and kidnapping from rogue Cyborgs. No one is sure why they are attacking, or stealing children, but any sign of cybernetics is enough to get a high bounty in any city-state. The betrayal of their own kind was enough for most Humans to hate the freakishly augmented before, but now with the recent attacks, vigilante hunts are not uncommon. Also, the more unscrupulous can make a quick credit on Cyborg parts.
A resurgence of dueling has occurred with Humans of the upper classes, or at least those aspiring to wealth and status, despite similarity to Fey behavior. In light of the incredible death count of the Gate War, this is seen as a much more rational solution to any warring faction. Arms cannot be spared in all-out war anymore. The number of random Gates never goes down, and no city-state is going to risk their militia on a war, leaving itself unprotected. Some of the wilder young adult Humans use dueling as a way to gain prestige, and show their prowess with blade or magic.
Most Humans dabble in some magic, along with some weapons use these days. The Nexus is a dangerous realm, and a parent would be poor indeed if they didn’t teach children how to defend themselves to some degree. You never know when a Gate is going to open, or when one of the other races is going to attack.
Humans are adapting because that is what they do best. Some are even thriving in this dangerous environment. But gone are the past glories when their science rivaled the Gods. Now is a time for this race to rebuild itself, and try again. No one knows if this is the last pocket of humanity, or if they have long-lost relatives waiting at home wondering about the victims of the Gate War, but no one is getting out of the Nexus Realm now. It's home.