Humans of Kerebra

The most numerous inhabitants of Kerebra are humans. These people have lived in the fertile fields and rolling hills of this world for as long as even the oldest shardborn can remember. As far as anyone knows, there has never been a time in Kerebras history when it was not inhabited by humanity.
The humans of Kerebra vary significantly in appearance for some unknown reason. Skin tone ranges from fair to dark brown, and every shade in between, even though the size and climate of Kerebra would normally suggest much less variation. Kerebrans don't consider this odd in any way. For them it's simply the way of things.
Likewise, hair color is very varied. Both fair and dark hair is common, and some individuals and families even have much more striking hair colors like vibrant green or blue, or even bright red or pink. The reason for this variance is not know, nor is it something most Kerebrans even think about.


In the central plains, where the climate and temperature is most stable and comfortable, humans have built their villages and towns. Farms dot the landscape, and large portions of the plains are tilled fields and bountiful crops as far as the eye can see. These villages and towns are for the most part small, tight-knit communities where everybody knows everybody. The largest towns have a few thousand inhabitants, and most of these communities are made up of artisans and craftsmen who trade their services for grain and produce to the surrounding villages and farms. These towns are also the religious centers of Kerebra, and the largest temples of the three faiths draw pilgrims from all over the land for holy days and religious festivals.
Most peoples lives revolve around their trade. Farmers produce food and goods for their own consumption and to trade with neighboring communities for goods and services or for money.
Kerebra has an economy based on barter, supplemented with coins made from precious ores mined from the crystal mountains that lie at the heart of the plainslands. The mining towns that produce most of the metal and crystal on Kerebra mint coins from gold, silver and copper to trade for food and goods from neighboring communities, and these are some of the largest towns in Kerebra. The coins minted in these mining towns are accepted as currency all over Kerebra, and even the smalles hamlet on the outskirts of the Gravewood will trade in these coins.


All of the knowledge and skills of the human artisans and tradesmen of Kerebra comes from the Worldmind. Without the knowledge dredged forth from its depths by the Dreamdivers, arts like metalworking, weaving and animal husbandry would be all but unknown and humanity would be in a much more primitive state. It is from the Dreamdivers that the knowledge of mining and minting coins for currency originate.
This is also the reason why the people of Kerebra were able to produce weapons and armor to defend themselves aganst the first attacks of the horrors of the Rot. After it became apparent that the Rot was spreading and that peoples lives were at risk, Dreamdivers delved deeply into the depths of the Worldmind to find solutions, and they came back with the knowledge and skills to craft arms and armor.
Scholars among the Dreamdivers suspect that all knowledge on Kerebra once came from the Worldmind, and that once humans lived naked as animals until they first Dreamdived and learned how to tame the land, clothe themselves and build shelter from the elements.


Perhaps the one word that describes humanity better than any other is "social." Wherever they go, humanity forms societies that bind different individuals together in companionship. This is no different in Kerebra. Humans have close relations to the other races of the world, for the most part positive, and many shardborn, dreamlings and voor are integral parts of human communities.
Of the three, the dreamlings have perhaps the closest ties to humans. Dreamlings need humanity in two ways which bind the two races inextricably together. They depend on humans to breed, born as they are from the dreams of humanity; and they also require dreaming humans to feed themselves. Its not wonder, then, that dreamlings live in and around all human settlements. Many dreamlings feel a close connection to the human that dreamed them into being, and for the most part these humans share the sentiment and keep the dreamling around as a strange combination of friend, child and pet. Dreamlings will often leave their adopted home for extended periods of time, but sooner or later they almost always return to their "parents."
Walking down the main street of any town without stumbling on a curious dreamling is very rare.
The voor, on the other hand, have almost no ties to human settlements, yet they are drawn to them like moths to a candle. Humanity fascniates voor endlessly, and during their active periods most voor gravitate towards human settlements to learn and experience these strange, fascinating creatures. Many voor will try to insinuate themselves into social circles and communities, trying theis best to figure out the minutae of human interaction and asking endless questions about human relationships and emotions. While this can annoy others to no end, the voors motives are genuine curiosity and a deep desire to belong. Humans that recognise this and try to accomodate the voor will find themselves with close, lifelong and steadfast friends.
Of the non-human races, the shardborn are the ones who interact with humanity the least. Or, thats how it used to be until quite recently. With the forests of the gravewood completely lost to them, the shardborn have been forced to settle in the plainslands at the heart of Kerebra. This has brought them into close contact with humans, who have mostly recieved them with open arms as humans so commonly do.
Most shardborne see all of Kerebras creatures as holy and worthy of their protection, but humanity especially have earned their respect and even love. Humans for their part find shardborn odd, even disturbing; shardborn seem so strange and other, and they behave so coldly and distant that many humans find it difficult to trust them. The shardborn recognize this, and many attempt to earn trust and build relationships by offering their aid in guarding and protecting the farms, villages and towns close to their own settlements. In this age of darkness such offers are almost always recieved with heartfelt thanks, which is why the relationship between humans and shardborn is quickly growing into something enduring and strong.