Out of all the many races that walk this realm, none are as unusual as the humans. Humans are the most diverse, individualistic, yet dependent, violent, yet adaptable, and widespread, yet self-destructive race there is. For each human there are 9 opinions, and for each human civilization, there are at least 90 faction of varying goals and prejudice. They are the most widely observed for their uniqueness, and most often feared for their violent, unwavering ambition. No two humans are exactly alike, and this irritates dwarves to no end. They care little for the worries of the distance future, and only strive to perfect the innovations of our time, which drives elves nuts. However, humans also strive to bring order and law among the inevitable chaos that ensues from human civilizations, an admirable trait to the dwarves. And the humans are more individualistic than any other race, and elves find this trait very worthy of praise.
Society[]
Human society usually organizes into the same three classes in all of Glanodel, upper, middle, and lower. Royalty and nobility are the upper class. These men and women are Monarchs and Lords and they have undisputed power over many subjects who act as tenants of this land. The middle class is usually composed of a select few of the common born humans who are given power by the upper-class over their fellow commoners by a nobleman, monarch, or they become part of the church gaining this power from the church. The middle class consist of knights, religious leaders, constables of the guard, common-born military generals, and tax collectors. The lower class is everyone else. This bottom class is composed of people from all lots in life, from simple business owners to farmers. There are also slaves, thought they are not considered of any class because they are treated as nothing more than property.
Government[]
All human civilization in this region shares very similar forms of government. At the top of each kingdom's hierarchy is their king or queen, and over city-states one will usually find a lord or governor, sometimes elected. Kings can usually trace their lineage to the lord of a province (a smaller version of a kingdom) that initiated a unification of among several other provinces into a single larger kingdom several years ago. These provinces now serve as the capital of that kingdom. Second to the king, lords now represent local executive power over their provinces which incorporate the cities, villages, and towns that have sworn allegiance to the lord’s family. Most kings maintain their control over the masses and the other lords by possessing the largest amount of land which helps provide the largest amount of servants and soldiers and more money to fund more of an army than the others. Some kingdoms, like in Altland and in East Caro, there is a republican body beneath the king made of local lords and other nobility that acts as an advisory council and sometimes actual legislature. But in others, especially in West Caro and Perrel, there is no separation of power, and the monarchs hold absolute power.
Human Civilizations
Among humans in Glanodel there are 7 separate civlizations with distinct characteristics that separate it from the others. Below is the list of these civilizations and a brief description of what makes them different from each other.
Altland[]
The Kingdom of Altland is the country north of Celathon Forest and west of Fundur Mountains. It is south of the Frozen Ocean and borders a portion of the Thalimhar Mountains. The dominant and state language of this country is Altish, which originates from this locale. The state religion, like all Glanadian kingdoms, is Aucsolity. Altland's economy is based heavily on wheat, which is also its most traded resource, though the country also account for a great deal of the livestock in Glanodel like sheep and cattle.
Altland is currently engaged in a conflict with the Ynmish Isles in an attempt to annex the territory and convert the area to its religion.
Perrel[]
The Kingdom of Perrel is the country southwest of Altland and the Celathon Forest and northwest of West Caro. It also has a large river called the Perian River that runs through the center of the country. The most frequent and the state language of Perrel is Perian, which originates from this area. The state religion is Aucsolity like most human kingdoms in Glanodel. Perrel's economy is heavily based on it's trading of apples and pigs.
Perrel is always at odds with Altland and Caro due to shared borders but is not currently engaged in a war with any states.
Caro[]
The Divino Cari Imperium, Holy Carish Empire, or simply Caro, was at one point, and somewhat still is, one of the largest states in the area. In recent history, prior to the birth of Insolity, the Empire encompassed the entire Region of Glanodel, portions of Sinaba, and even areas beyond the Dirondel Forest and the Thalimhar Mountains. However, since the rise of this religion, the Empire has lost a great deal of influence, and was forced to succumb to the power of this religion or fall at it's hands about 400 years ago.
Caro is divided into two separate and mostly autonomous halves, West Caro and East Caro, sharing no resources and having independently fuctioning governments ruled by their own emperor. These rulers are mostly willing to work together, even though they are definitely ambitious and self-serving in most instances. This being the case, the Empire is currently under a Dyarchical system of government, though most other rulers call the Empire "a broken state", and it's halves two individual kingdoms. The decision to split the country in two was out of both an unresolvable dispute over the rightful heir to the Carish throne, and a need to rule of the "increasingly unruly" masses across the entire state.
The Empire's state and most frequent language is Carish, which is where it originated. All lands considered part of the Empire span a distance from all the land west of the Elenvaul Forest, land south of Perrel and the Grinarv Mountains, southeast of Fundur Mountains and west of the Hure region, areas west and south of the Norfeld region. The West's economy is based heavily on wheat production and fishing, while the East mainly relies on a surplus of poultry, pig, and cattle/dairy farms. Caro derives its name from the fact that it is the birthplace of the dominant religion and it houses the Domosancta, which is the central cathedral of Aucsolity, which is the state religion of both halves of the country.
Ynman[]
The Ynmish Isles is generally considered the large island north of Altland and Perrel, and all of it's surrounding islands that aren't connected to mainland Glanodel. This area is currently separate and un-united. Instead, it is made up of several autonomous areas ruled over by their own king. Collectively referred to as Ynman by Altish forces, this region all speaks Ynmish, which originates from this area. The main thing driving the economies of Ynman's states are goats, sheep, yaks, and potatoes. In Ynman, the dominant religion is referred to as Ynmish Mysticism, and is mainly nature based.
Currently, Ynmish kings are in a slow moving conflict with Altland as Altish forces attempt to annex their lands and convert the populace to the Altish state religion.
Nor-Hurian Region[]
The Nor-Hurian Region is the name given to the expanse of land northeast of East Caro, south of the Thalimhar Mountains, and west of the Dirondel Forest. Its name originates from the two tribes of legend that first settled int he area, the family of Hure settled in the north and the Norfeld family in the south. Members of the nobility within each of these areas is believed to be distant, descendents of one of these families. Since all claim to be descendants of the original families, all are considered to have a valid claim to the throne of the region. Because of this, both of these areas are not unified, like other areas, under a single ruler. Nor-Hurian states all vary greatly in their main source of income, and this variety of crops and livestock among the states make a generalization of the most common income source impossible. The "official" religion for all Nor-Hurian states is Aucsolity; however, there are still several cults/guilds present throughout this area that adhere to the old religion of the Nor-Hurian Region, which is referred to as Nor-Hurian Mysticism, though the church does frown upon the practicing of this faith.
The entire region is currently going through its Unification War, experienced by other states several hundreds, or in Caro's case thousands, of years ago. All Nor-Hurian states have become locked in a slow moving, civil war as their kings vie for dominance over one another and the title of king.