Humans
The humans are the primary indigenous sentient species of the planet Earth (known to the elves as Mar). While they were once the dominant species on the planet, numbering in the billions, their population was catastrophically decimated by the Eldrim during the apocalyptic event known as the Sundering. Following this mass extinction, humanity fractured into several vastly different societies, both in the sky and on the surface, struggling to survive in a magically altered world.
Biology and Magic
Compared to the long-lived elves, humans possess significantly shorter lifespans, aging roughly ten times faster and living for only about a century. They possess round ears and generally lack the superior muscular anatomy, higher metabolisms, and ultraviolet vision inherent to the Eldrim genome.
Historically, elves believed that humans were completely incapable of wielding magic, specifically the lightprime abilities known as caladmain. However, this was proven false on multiple accounts. Approximately one in two hundred thousand humans is born with magical "Talent," though their abilities are almost exclusively restricted to darkprime magic. These human mages became the unwilling fuel for the Cothellon's floating sky cities.
In exceedingly rare instances, humans have demonstrated the ability to use lightprime magic. Notably, the human mother Jessica and her son Jason were both discovered to be lightprime soulsoothers and forcefinders, respectively, upending centuries of elven doctrine. Another notable human, John Ronald, was also revealed to be a Prime Mage.
Factions and Societies
Following the Sundering, humanity was divided into several disparate groups that evolved entirely separately from one another:
The Remnant
The Remnant (often referred to by themselves as the People) are the descendants of the one percent of humanity left on Earth's surface after the Sundering. Reduced to a primitive, scavenging lifestyle, they are fiercely isolationist, violent, and harbor a deep-seated hatred for the elves who destroyed their world. They primarily speak Low Remnant, a guttural language devolved from English. The Remnant value physical strength above all else and wear their hair in long, dirty dreadlocks known as jata hair. They were united two centuries prior to the series by the elven imposter Cariel (whom they worshipped as the god Magona/Segena), who taught them warfare, farming, and how to build fortified cities like Gulthurub, Lusvunub, and Falnarub.
The Splinter
The Splinter is a small, peaceful breakaway faction of the Remnant. Exiled or fleeing from the violent Remnant outposts, the Splinter established their own hidden settlement where they reinstituted a semblance of pre-Sundering normalcy, complete with a courthouse, doctors, and a desire to live without war. They are notable for being the first human faction to willingly open their gates to shelter elves, later integrating with them to build the unified village of Pano Sylrantheas.
The True People
The True People are a highly advanced, secret human society founded by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Anticipating the Sundering, this group took refuge underground, establishing the subterranean high-tech city of Gondor. While the surface Remnant devolved, the True People spent three centuries advancing human technology, mastering matter transference via quantum entanglement, high-intensity lasers, and significant life-extension therapies. They also secretly infiltrated the Cothellon's construction teams, secretly building the Escape Module into the unmapped mystery rooms of the sky cities' Unders.
Topsiders (Citizens)
The Topsiders or Citizens are the descendants of the humans abducted by the Cothellon to populate the floating cities (such as New San Francisco). They live in blissful, sterile ignorance of the world below, their minds routinely wiped of questions by Cothellon mindmasters. They are kept entirely dependent on magically transmuted synthetic food and water.
Underkids
The underkids are the orphaned, homeless, and castaway children forced into the mechanical labyrinth of the Under beneath the sky cities. Surviving in extreme squalor without adult supervision, they form tight-knit, often violent gangs known as Crews (such as Shock Crew and Her Majesty's Navy). The Under is home to the highest concentration of human mages, who use their darkprime magic to steal, fight, and survive. Underkids rarely live past their teens due to starvation, violence, or being abducted by the Department of Civil Service.
Key Events
The Sundering
Three hundred years prior to the events of the series, the elven World Council enacted the Soulsundering ritual to halt human-driven climate change. This catastrophic magical event killed 99% of the human population (over 7.2 billion people), resetting the planet's ecosystem while trapping the victims' souls in the dimension of Ambarhal.
The Clean Up the Streets Act
In the modern era of the sky cities, the Planners passed Measure K, forcing topside vagrants and the homeless off the streets and into the Under or Civil Service. This sparked massive human riots and bombings across New San Francisco, destabilizing the city's infrastructure.
The Integration of Pano Sylrantheas
Following the ultimate deactivation of all magic and the defeat of the Twins, the remnants of humanity and elvenkind forge a new path together. Humans from the Splinter and elves from Sylrantheas work side by side to build Pano Sylrantheas, marking the first time in history the two species coexist peacefully and openly. Simultaneously, the True People reveal themselves to the surface Remnant, offering their technology to help rebuild human civilization without warfare.