Supplementary Reading - The Races of Erkedia

There are five known races on the planet of Erkedia.

In the countries of Seritemia and Oulpes live the Elves and the Cranitaurs. Both of these races tend to be solitary, with the Elves preferring to live in purified forests and Cranitaurs living in different regions depending on what animal they take after.

Elves tend to live in clans, but even then are reclusive compared to other races. Most families keep to themselves, with the patriarch of the family often being the one to address visitors. Children are more sociable but are taught by their parents to steel their emotions and focus on careers and scholarly pursuits. This has led to tensions between the Elves and other races, due to their unwillingness to reach agreements during deliberations. Unlike other races, however, Elves have extremely good magical attunement and are often able to tell where Mana Stones are, as well as who are able to regain their powers. Because of this, Elves are often brought over to work for other kingdoms as Magical Consultants or Professors to train royalty in the ways of Magic.

Cranitaurs are a race whose torsos and arms are that of a human, but their head and legs are of an animal. There are multiple subraces of Cranitaurs, which usually depends on what region they were born in and, in rare cases, what kind of Cranitaurs their parents are. Unlike the Elves, Cranitaurs are more free-spirited and willing to work with other races, rarely showing any disdain. While they have the potential to use Magic, the Cranitaur tribes often refrain from using some arts due to the risk factors; instead opting to use melee or long-range weapons to hunt and battle. Nobility tend to not acknowledge Cranitaurs except during wartime due to their skills in combat, but commonfolk are often friendly with them.

Humans encompass most of the population in the countries of Weissenland, Schwarzwalf, and Ferrenguld. Despite their numbers, Humans are not well-liked, even among themselves. While the Humans of Schwarzwalf and Ferrenguld tend to be more receptive to visitors, the Humans of Weissenland are considered unapproachable by the other races due to their prickliness and conceit that has built up due to the country's dominance over the kingdoms. The Kingdom of Leticié in particular is well known for its prejudice towards other races, particularly Beastfolk and Cranitaurs. Recently neighboring kingdoms have begun to revolt against Leticié for its outdated views and racism, with talks of a mutiny circulating throughout the alleys and taverns.

Juujin, more commonly known as Beastfolk, are the second most abundant race in Weissenland, Schwarzwalf, and Ferrenguld. Unlike Cranitaurs, Beastfolk are completely anthropomorphic animals with no human characteristics whatsoever. Like Cranitaurs, they often prefer using melee, although their attacks tend to be more feral due to the use of claws and bites. They have more Magic energy in their system, so some do use Magic Blasters as a backup weapon. They make up half of the population of Schwarzwalf and about a quarter of Ferrenguld's. Due to the prejudice surrounding Beastfolk in Weissenland, many opt to live in more rural villages there to avoid detection by the military there. Some Beastfolk who accept jobs from kingdoms will live in the cities but use the services of Transmutators to change their appearance to that of a Human. Such Magic is temporary, however, and must be applied regularly.

Finally, the Dwarves of Ferrenguld tend to stay out of Weissenland and Schwarzwalf's meddlings, preferring to stay out of diplomatic conversations as much as possible. Despite being the smallest country of the three, the Dwarves' innate ability to find gems and minerals help run the economy of Erkedia. They also create and supply new weaponry for kingdoms to use, often hiring Beastfolk to help test out new Magic Weapons. However, because the countries treat the race as just bankers, an animosity has been forming as of late between the Dwarves and the other countries. They tend to be friendlier to Beastfolk due to the Humans' tendency to only talk down to them. There is currently no record of a Dwarf regaining their Magic, so they have strictly stuck to using Non-Magic Weapons for the past few centuries. There are rumors of some Dwarves seeking out new land to escape from the pressure of their neighboring countries.