Races in the World of Amahara

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Humans

Humans need no description, obviously, but form the majority of the world's population. The only things worth noting are that they come in more varieties (especially in terms of weird hair and eye colours and kemonomimi traits) than on Earth, and that they are not entirely alone. Amahara's world contains at least one race with which humans are incompatible.

Kemonomimi

Much like skin, hair and eye colour, various ethnicities in the world retain genetic traits in the form of animal ears and tails. They occur predominantly (but with various exceptions) in cultures that are not as civilised or advanced and are thus dismissed in derogatory fashion by westerners as "primitive traits". In fact, such traits tend instead to be associated with somewhat superior attributes in perceptual or physical fitness, though whether the relationship is statistically significant on its own (given such ethnicities tend to live active rather than urban lives) or even whether the relationship is causal is subject to fierce debate in modern scientific journals. One known fact is that these traits are recessive in heredity, leading to their gradual disappearance from the world.

Catgirls

Catgirls are thought to be the most common genotype and is associated with ethnic groups distributed throughout the old world. In many major cities, the communities of catgirls is of sufficient stability and size to maintain itself with no immediate danger of being phased out and there is even sufficient population that the notion of catgirl unity is of notable influence in the age of steam and beyond. Of most relevance to Amahara are the Miao people of Ryunan, who have been traditional enemies of Middle Kingdom and Amaharan colonists for centuries as well as the Ainyuu of northern Amahara and Ezo who were traditional pre-industrial enemies of Amahara as well. Cat ears and tail are stereotypically associated with somewhat superior perception and agility.

Wolfgirls

Wolfgirl ethnicities predominantly inhabit Sunflower Central Asia though the tribe's tendency to move distances has distributed them into neighbouring continental regions. These tribes are the traditional enemies of the Middle Kingdom before the Steam Revolution and are stereotyped as having tremendous martial skill, especially in the areas of archery and horseriding.

Fox Girls

The Kitsuyu had fox ears and were "close to the spirits". Originally inhabiting the northern areas of modern Amahara, they were conquered during the Watatsuki era and became extinct.

Fishgirls

They have spined fins in place of animal ears or some other fishy feature and often live on islands. A prominent example are the Eru of Amahara's inland seas and the Aru of the outer seas.

Vespuccians

Vespuccians are a race of lizardmen native to the continents of Iris and Rafflesia America. Unlike the human ethnicities distinguished by animals ears and tails, lizardmen are completely incompatible with humans and resemble them only in having hands and sentience. Their heads, for example, are unmistakeably reptilian, they have clawed feet, long tails and are covered in scales. They believe in Quetzalcoatl, chief amongst gods and herald of the Skyborn.

As a species, Vespuccians are generally stronger, tougher, and more resilient to hardship and disease than humans. The exception to this is the difficulty coping with cold that the majority of them face - this has historically kept them away from areas with decently cold winters. In those regions, the human kemonomimi tribes of Iris and Rafflesia America dominated prior to the arrival of Cthlumbus. The typically hostile terrain between the two was a region of heavy raiding from either sides depending on the season. Several populations of lizardfolk also remain on some islands of Anemone Polynesia close to America.

Ever since the arrival of westerners, the Vespuccian race has had an antagonistic relationship with them that stretched on for centuries - chiefly against Ezpana and Uragos for the first several centuries and followed thereafter by various others. This history of war has led to a steady decline in violence between their tribes and a steady increase in their level of technology. Their fortunes nevertheless hit a nadir during the Age of Steam, especially in the more open areas at the fringes of their traditional territory, where modern gunnery could be used with full effect. This resulted in a crisis throughout the 19th century until the achievement of the Seventh Alliance of the Children of the Skyborn.

Fabled Races

Amazons

The Amazons supposed live in Amazonia, the deepest and least explored part of Rafflesia America. Their exact nature is not understood.