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Races of Xelthar

The continent of Xelthar is home to Humans and the ancient Non-Human Races—each defined by distinct biological traits, cultural philosophies, Mana Density, and Elemental Affinities.

Racial Comparison Matrix​

RacePrimary HabitatMana ReservesMana DensityElemental AffinityDefining Traits & Technology
HumansAcross the Empire (Aerium & 8 States)LowDiverse (Varied)Diverse (No Fixed Affinity)Physically weak, but unmatched in creativity, arcane innovation, and adaptability.
GiantsThe Frozen North (Beyond Isen)Low – MediumHigh DensityEarthOver 5 meters tall; worship Mother Nature & the food chain; primitive armor and basic magic.
ElvesTreetop Forest RealmsMedium – HighLow DensityWindPale skin & pointed ears; adopted Calion-era magic; medium armor tech, high-tier spells, low creativity.
VampiresHidden (Vampire Lord's Castle Unknown)High—Blood Manipulation (Non-Mana)Concealed for 500 years; closely track human technology; Vampire Hunters are now extinct.
DwarvesRuins / Rumored East of Zephyr——Master Forging"Humanity's first friend, final victim." Unmatched smiths of armor and the Imperial Swords.
DemonsEastern Volcanic MountainsColossalHigh DensityFireWalking calamities; cannot die until their mana is depleted (decapitation or heart-destruction fails).
DragonsPrimordial Realms / Inscription LoreTranscendent / IncalculablePrimordial SupremeEarth, Fire, Ice, Wind, Water (Xyronath: Unknown)Colossal titans with impenetrable scales and primordial magic mastery; universally regarded as invincible; absent from the continent for eras.

1. Humans (Human & Empire)​

  • Mana Profile: Low Mana Reserves | Diverse Density | Diverse Elemental Affinities
  • Physical & Intellectual Traits: Biologically, humans possess the weakest physical frames and lowest baseline mana reserves among the races of Xelthar. However, they compensate with extraordinary creativity, ambition, and theoretical ingenuity—displaying no single racial affinity and instead mastering every element and martial discipline.
  • Political History:
    • Pre-Golden Era Fragmentation: Before the Golden Era, humanity was divided into numerous fractured kingdoms mired in endless political turmoil. Even in the face of existential threats from non-human races, forging a united human front was nearly impossible.
    • Unification & The Enslaved Labor Bedrock: Under King Laius during the Golden Era, humanity united under a single banner for the first time in history. Laius captured and enslaved Elves, Giants, Trolls, low-level Demons, and various beasts, deploying them as forced labor in agricultural fields and villages to build the economic bedrock of the Golden Era.
    • Collapse & The Modern Empire: Following Laius's fall against Xyronath, the enraged enslaved races rose in the Great Rebellion. Out of the ashes of that catastrophic war, humanity established the enduring system of the Royal Crown (centered in Aerium) and the Eight Great Families, which has preserved the Empire to the present day.
  • The Steppe Nomadic Lineages (Kökbörü & The Dual Tribes):
    • Ancient Heritage from Laius's Era: Roaming outside standard imperial feudal bounds, the nomadic warrior tribes trace their lineage back five centuries to the era of King Laius.
    • The Two Rival Nations: Divided into two distinct branches—the northern Kökbörü (led by Tuluğ Kağan) and the unnamed Southern Steppe Tribe. While entangled in deep generational blood feuds, the two tribes strictly respect non-overlapping migration borders.
    • Seasonal Pastoral Cycles: Nomadic movement is dictated by seasonal climate cycles; to protect livestock and horses from freezing in sub-zero winter temperatures, the tribes migrate cyclically between summer grazing plains and sheltered winter ranges.
    • Trade & The Bandit Deterrent: Engaging in vital trade across the plains and southern markets, their mounted warriors ruthlessly clear trade routes of bandits and monsters. Because they maintain frontier order at zero cost to the treasury, the Emperor intentionally tolerates their sovereign existence, despite the tribes swearing no direct allegiance to the throne.
    • Pervasive Racism & Social Ostracization: Nomads face severe discrimination from imperial citizens as "uncivilized savages." Due to municipal bans and societal hostility, leaving the tribe to settle down or purchase land within imperial cities is nearly impossible—trapping tribal folk within their ancestral steppe lifestyle.

2. Giants (Lords of the North)​

  • Mana Profile: Low to Medium Mana Reserves | High Density | Earth Affinity
  • Physiology & Habitat: The undisputed masters of the far North, thriving in sub-zero wastelands that would freeze a human solid. Towering at over 5 to 6+ meters in height, Giants resemble humans in outward silhouette, yet diverge completely in intellect, mentality, and worldview.
  • Culture, Faith & Combat:
    • Worship of the Food Chain: Giants revere Mother Nature and worship the natural food chain itself—viewing predation and survival of the strongest as sacred law, and considering humans to belong in their stomachs.
    • Primitive Warfare & Warrior Giants: Possessing virtually no technology, they wear crude armor or rags and cast only rudimentary spells. However, because they possess High-Density Mana with an Earth Affinity, their hides and physical strikes carry mountain-shattering weight. In Volume II, a lanky, bearded Nameless Warrior Giant standing over 6 meters tall descended from the mountains into Isen to eat villagers, shrugging off multiple Hero-tier fire and wind slashes before being jointly brought down by Zaek Evarard and Vahram Kaelgrin.
  • Character Directory: Giants | Nameless Giant (Volume II)

3. Elves​

  • Mana Profile: Medium to High Mana Reserves | Low Density | Wind Affinity
  • Physiology & Habitat: Instantly recognizable by their pale complexions and pointed ears, Elves inhabit dense woodland realms, constructing their homes high in the canopies in seamless harmony with the forest.
  • History & Militarization:
    • From Arrogance to Vengeance: In ancient times, the Elves looked down upon short-lived humans with disdain. Being conquered and enslaved during King Laius's Golden Era filled the entire Elven race with an unquenchable fury.
    • Adoption of Calion's Reforms: Though Elves lack human creativity, they pragmatically studied and adopted humanity's Calion-era magical breakthroughs (Castflow and Body-Embrace), completely overhauling their military doctrines. Today, they seize every opportunity to wage war against the Empire.
    • Arcane Specialization: Aided by their innate Low-Density Mana and Wind Affinity, Elves excel at weaving complex, High-Tier Magic while equipping their armies in medium-grade technological armor.
  • Character Directory: Elves

4. Vampires​

  • Power System: Superior Physicality & Blood Manipulation (Distinct from standard Mana/Magic)
  • The 500-Year Shadow: Immortal blood-drinkers who have hidden their true faces from the world for five centuries. Even today, the location of the Vampire Lord's Castle remains one of Xelthar's greatest mysteries.
  • Capabilities & Modern Advantage:
    • Blood Manipulation: Beyond their superhuman speed and strength, Vampires command Blood Manipulation—an ancient art separate from conventional mana sorcery (from which humanity derived Blood Contracts).
    • Extinction of the Hunters: Far from being isolated relics of the past, Vampires closely monitor human technological and political advancements from the shadows. Meanwhile, during their 500-year absence from public view, the ancient orders of Vampire Hunters have completely died out—leaving the modern Empire dangerously unprepared for their return.
  • Character Directory: Vampires

5. Dwarves (Humanity's First Friend, Final Victim)​

  • Legacy: Master-Smiths of the Old World
  • Tragic History: During the Golden Era, the Dwarves were remembered as "humanity's first friend, and its final victim." After forging the greatest weapons in history—including the Eight Imperial Swords—their civilization was betrayed and annihilated by King Laius, leaving behind only silent ruins.
  • Lost Craftsmanship & Rumors of Survival: Even five centuries later, modern smiths and scholars cannot comprehend how the Dwarves forged their legendary blades and armor. While Imperial history declares them completely extinct, persistent eyewitness rumors claim that surviving Dwarves can still be found in the uncharted lands east of Zephyr.

6. Demons (Walking Calamities)​

  • Mana Profile: Colossal Mana Reserves | High Density | Fire Affinity
  • True Immortality Through Mana: Demons are living natural disasters. Unlike mortal creatures, severing a Demon's head or piercing its heart does not kill it—a Demon cannot die so long as it still has mana, and their monstrous mana reserves are nearly impossible to deplete in combat.
  • The Eastern Volcanic Domain:
    • Laius's Campaign: Demonkind is entrenched in the East of the Empire, gathered around the scorching Volcanic Mountains. In all of history, King Laius was the first and last human commander to ever lead a military expedition directly into their volcanic heartland.
    • An Ominous Silence: Because no Demon has approached the Empire's borders in a very long time (with Zaek Evarard being the last Hero to slay a High Demon decades ago), many scholars assume the Demon race is teetering on the brink of extinction. Yet whether they are truly dying out—or quietly gathering beneath the volcanic ash—remains an unsettling question.
  • Character Directory: Demons

7. Dragons (The Primordial Invincibles & The King of Dragons)​

  • Mana Profile: Transcendent / Incalculable Reserves | Primordial Supreme Density | Elemental Breeds: Earth, Fire, Ice, Wind, Water (Xyronath: Unknown)
  • Primordial Magic Dominion & Physical Apex: Dragons are universally revered and dreaded across historical mythos as the absolute pinnacle of living entities. Possessing colossal physical dimensions and impenetrable, indestructible scales, they are regarded by scholars, knights, and ancient races alike as fundamentally invincible. Their magic power is not merely vast—they wield a primordial, ancient mastery over magic itself that predates human arcane theories and dwarven metallurgy.
  • The Five Ancient Elemental Breeds: According to pre-Golden Era inscriptions, fragmented monoliths, and ancient ruins across the continent, dragons historically existed in five distinct elemental breeds:
    1. Earth Dragons: Living mountains clothed in diamond-hard earthen scales and immovable tectonic mana.
    2. Fire Dragons: Incarnations of primordial cataclysm capable of incinerating entire regions in self-sustaining apocalyptic blaze.
    3. Ice Dragons: Masters of eternal absolute-zero frost whose presence permanently freezes landscapes into glacial silence.
    4. Wind Dragons: Tempestuous rulers of the upper skies, wielding gale-force razor winds and untraceable aerial velocity.
    5. Water Dragons: Sovereigns of the ancient depths, commanding tidal currents and crushing oceanic pressure.
  • The Long Absence & Unsolved Vanishing: Dragons have been absent from Xelthar for an exceedingly long era. Even five centuries ago during the Golden Era, when King Laius conquered the continent and subdued the other ancient races, dragons were already completely unseen in mortal lands. The reason for their disappearance—whether a deep primordial slumber, a departure beyond the continental boundaries, or an arcane withdrawal—remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of antiquity. For millennia, the existence of dragonkind was believed to reside solely in myths and eroded inscriptions.
  • Xyronath — King of Dragons & The Dragon God:
    • The Apex Entity of Xelthar: Xyronath, the revered and terrifying King of Dragons (also designated in religious and historical archives as the Dragon God), is universally recognized as the single most powerful ancient entity in the history of Xelthar.
    • The Fall of King Laius: When King Laius stood at the height of his unchallenged continental conquest, possessing the finest dwarven blades and weaponized combat sense, he challenged Xyronath. Laius was utterly crushed and slain—a defeat so absolute that it brought an abrupt end to the Golden Era and plunged the world into the centuries of bloodshed known as the Ash Era.
    • The Unknown Element: While the lesser breeds of dragons are clearly categorized by the five elemental aspects (Earth, Fire, Ice, Wind, Water), Xyronath's elemental nature is completely unknown. No ancient inscription, mortal chronicle, or surviving record has ever succeeded in classifying the Dragon God's elemental affinity.
  • Character Directory: Dragons | Xyronath (The Dragon God)