Welcome to Gaia! ::

Benefit: Can breathe minimal fire. Tough skin.

Disadvantage: Bad reputation. Prone to respiratory infections and colds. Poor adaptation to extreme temperature changes. Infertility is common.

Life Expectancy: 150-200 yrs, if they remain healthy. Ejderha age at roughly 2/3 the rate of humans and maturity (~25) is reached in ~37 human years. They do not appear young forever, just age more slowly. (Chronological Age x 0.66 = Physical Age)

Appearance: Ejderha are mostly humanoid with notable differences including scalloped ears, small to medium sized draconic wings, and horns. In terms of color, horns and wings are generally the same color, though it should be noted that horn shape can vary wildly. Ejderha's hair colors span the rainbow and their eyes come in bright jewel-toned colors with slitted pupils. The average height of Ejderha is slightly taller than humans. Ejderha fingernails are distinctly claw-like unless filed.

Culture: The Ejderha are known for being the most territorial and militaristic of the races and it is said that the sea and mountains surrounding Ejderha country do not protect the Ejderha from invaders, but other nations from the Ejderha. Strength and military service are held in the highest esteem within the Ejderha culture and all Ejderha must perform mandatory military service of at least 3 years upon their 22nd birthday, though many make a career out of military service.

In terms of religion, the Ejderha recognize an Ares-like goddess of war named Esma and while offerings are made to her to protect cities and do well in battle, the Ejderha as a whole are not a terribly religious people. There are few greater honors to the Ejderha than dying in battle so that they can ascend to join Esma's army. That said, the followers of Esma are not generally noble honor-bound warriors and instead the Ejderha are generally taught to believe that winning is most important, no matter the cost.

Most Ejderha have little contact with the other races outside of trading and due to recent events, most are inherently suspicious of humans. Unsurprisingly, Ejderha are most interested in trading in military goods.

Names: Ejderha names are heavy on A's, I's, E's, K's, Y's, and Z's. Within their own culture they do not have surnames, but those who have assimilated into mainstream culture are known to take them. Examples include (F) Zekiye, Meliha, Nadire, and Kajdaya; (M) Fikri, Kiranz, Pazil, and Calayan.

Additional Notes:
• Legend has it that many centuries ago, humans and dragons intermingled to create the Ejderha. However, all Ejderha nowadays are full-blooded Ejderha and will be horribly insulted if you insinuate they're Half-Breeds.
• The legends have more truth to them than the Ejderha would like to admit and they are essentially a race of Half-Breeds who managed to adapt and survive. Their numerous medical issues are a result of their Half-Breed origins.
• The Ejderha are the youngest race to appear in Aludra, being younger than five hundred years old.
• Despite their potentially lengthy lives, the Ejderha have a small population, primarily due to sickness and early infertility.
• Ejderha cannot turn into full dragons, as it is simply not a racial trait of theirs.
• Commonly, Ejderha can breathe enough fire to light a candle. If you wish to have a more impressive breath ability, allot points to magic/other.
• Ejderha are unable to support themselves for full flight using their wings, however many are able to at least hover a few inches off the ground.

Benefit: Poisonous. The bite from a Lamia hurts very badly, but the poison takes about 25 minutes to kick in and isn't lethal unless you're allergic to Lamia. In many ways it's similar to a really big bee sting.

Disadvantage: Difficulties with stairs. Cold-blooded and become lethargic and ill if they get too chilly.

Life Expectancy: 90 - 100 yrs.

Appearance: Lamia are human from the waist up, but below that they're very much a snake. They move by slithering on tails that are usually about 4-5 times the length from the individual's head to pelvis. The colours of a Lamia are always very natural, and they don't get any more colourful than what's already found on our Earth, which is to say that we will have no purple Lamia unless you can bring us proof of a naturally occurring purple snake. Lamia typically have black or brown hair, but may on occasion have hair matching the colour of their tail. The same goes for their eyes, which are typically (but not always) brown, gold or green. Their skin is medium-to-dark, never Caucasian. They have fangs, and pointed but slightly down-turned ears.

Culture: To our modern eyes, the Lamia bring about associations with folkloric gypsies with their behaviours, clothing and lifestyle, and they have about the same reputation. Their culture is eclectic and outgoing, and can therefore be a little overwhelming for some of the more proper races and social classes. Especially so when among the Lamia, it is verbal aggression, forwardness, seizing the moment and a love of life (and all material pleasures that come along with it) that they value above politeness and propriety. In fact, someone who is too polite and dances around problems is seen as rude and untrustworthy. This isn't to say that lying is frowned upon, however. Morality isn't valued nearly as much as protecting oneself and the interests of the family. While they are almost honourable amongst other Lamia, these snake people have little respect for other races, and most of them have been raised to feel a certain kind of superiority and entitlement. However, in civilized areas, Lamia very rarely hold positions of political power because they have a reputation for being cheats, thieves and liars at worst, penny-pinching and greedy at best.

While they have moved past a tribal lifestyle, their access to technology is limited and their lives are simple. They travel up and down the edge of the Relinswood in large caravans, each caravan identifying itself with a colourful name. These caravans do trading with each other and other races, and the goods they get their hands on can be very exotic (and illegal). These caravans separate the Lamia into tribes of sorts, though they are cooperative with one another and fighting amongst tribes is very rare. It's unusual to see a huge amount of Lamia outside of their usual territory, though it's equally unusual to see only a couple. Lamia are a very communal race and the "family" is very important to them, so inside larger cities, there will usually be a small and very tightly-knit community of Lamia that is difficult for outsiders to enter. Within the community, they usually know one another's names, where they're employed, who they're related to and more. This level of intrusion into peoples' lives is usually an accepted part of Lamia culture, but it can bleed over into their interactions with others. Many Lamia find their neighbours to be far too secretive.

Names: Lamia names sound mostly Greek and consist of a first name followed by a family name. Examples include (F) Nyssa, Clio, Iphianassa, Semele, Megare, Deineira; (M) Aristaeus, Laertes, Isidor, Silanos, Orthaeus, Tydeus.

Additional Notes:
• You will never see a half Lamia, because Lamia cannot reproduce with other races.
• Lamia consider Muscherons to be a delicious, delicious delicacy. They periodically go on hunting trips into the Relinswood to find them.

Benefit: Usually have a weakened form of one parent's benefit.

Disadvantage: Sickly, weak, unable to reproduce, high mortality rate.

Life Expectancy: Significantly shorter. Half-breeds rarely live to be much older than physically 40 or 50.

Appearance: Somewhere in-between human and the other race.

Culture: In general, half-breeds have difficulty fitting in with the rest of society. Most find it nearly impossibly to integrate into any culture but that of the humans, who are much more welcoming than the other races. That's not to say that prejudice against mixed breeds doesn't also exist in human culture, though.

Names: Generally matches the trend of wherever the child was raised.

Additional Information:
• Humans are the ONLY race that can reproduce with other races; so, a Muscheron cannot mate with a Duszek. It is impossible.
• Half-Pennier have small flightless wings that are usually deformed. This typically means the wings are of unequal size but otherwise just miniature versions of the Pennier parent's, but it can be as bad as the wings never growing feathers.
• The few instances on record of Half-Ejderha have had significant vocal cord damage and poorly developed wings, often to the point of merely having stumps. They typically don't survive past adolescence.
• Half-Duszek are easily the most heavily stigmatized by all of Aludra, suffering the brunt of their discrimination in the Duszek homeland itself. They are forever ill-looking, with grayish blue-green skin. The elegant features of the Duszek are no longer present - elongated ears manifest but they are considerably shorter than that of a normal Duszek. Half-Duszek are prone to having disproportionate limbs that often grow unevenly. They also have serious problems with physical development, and seem to develop slower than their bodies age.
• Half-Lamia are impossible.
• Half-Muscherons frequently have dry, flaky skin and suffer from migraines.
• Also worth noting is that Half-Breeds are frowned upon. The only reason they're listed as a race is to establish restriction for them.