Races and Countries

Races

Archelle- These are one of the two main species that inhabit the continent of Marin.  They appear to look like normal human, but with the ears and tails of the beasts.  Their eyes have slitted pupils.  They come in variations like Cat, Fox, Wolf, Tiger, Lion, and Dog.  They fight using their natural weapons as well as weapons made of metal.  Archelle can not use magic.  They come in four forms, Human, Partial Human (Natural form), Partial Beast (Most used in the wild), and Beast.  No matter which form they are in, their eyes remain the same, with the slitted pupils.  Their strongest from is partial beast.  They live mostly in small tribes around the continent, in forests, deserts, tundras and plains.  There are 2 Archellen nation, known as Solas and Dorcha in the Archellen language.  Solas is mostly forest, while Dorcha is plains.  The Laochra Oíche (Night Warriors) have a base in each nation.  The Archelle hate the Zephire.  They see them as Tyrants that kidnap the Archelle and are forced into slavery for the arrogant Zephire.  Archelle speech is surrounded by<>.

Dragarin- The Dragarin, or Dragons as they are more commonly known, are another species that live on Marin.  They have large bodies with scaly wings and tail, (look like Western Dragons).  They are the most ancient of the races that live on Marin, and, accordingly, are the rarest and most secretive.  They come in varying colors and have different distinguishing features on their bodies, but for the most part are basically the same.  They use only their natural weapons and their breathe to fight.  The Dragons can breathe fire, ice, or poison.  They have two forms, Dragon and Human.  In human form they have pointed ears and more angular features, as well as different markings that are in the color of the dragon's scales.  They have no nation but live anywhere on the continent.  It's believed that they will form a bond with the one who "tames" them, though how to tame them is unknown, and may vary from Dragarin to Dragarin.  They find outsiders extremely hard to trust, for they are sometimes used as weapons in fights between the Archelle and the Zephire after being tamed.  Dragarin Speech is italicized and in "

Humans- They are not as prevalent as the Archelle or the Zephire, but their numbers are growing.  They have the same basic body shape, though all the features of it can very greatly.  The humans have only one form, and that is their human form.  They have no natural weapons like the other Species on Marin, but use weapons of metal, much like the Archelle, and magic, like the Zephire, though they need tomes.  They can use elemental, Light or Dark Magic.  They did not originate on Marin, but came form across the Serrun sea.  They have only one nation, along the coast, but are found in towns and settlements in all the other nations.  The human Nation is called Arret, named after the land they migrated from 2 centuries ago. They hate neither the Archelle nor the Zephire, and are seen as neutral by both.

Zephire- The Zephire are the second of the dominant species on Marin.  They are also human like in appearance, but have the wings of birds on their back.  They also come in variations like Eagle, Falcon, Hawk, Raven, Crow and Heron.  They fight using their natural weapons, or with their powerful elemental magic.  They also have four forms, Human, Partial Human (Natural Form), Partial Beast, and Beast.  The Partial human is their most powerful form.  They can't use magic in Beast form.  Zephire don't need tomes to cast magic.  They can use weapons, but most choose not too.  It is rare when Zephire Are born silent, or unable to cast magic. They live in the great cities in areas that are open or near water.  The six nations of the Zephire are known as Kasai, Mizu, Kaze, Daichi, Hekireki, and Aisu in the Zephiran language.  They each have varying climates and topography.  Mizu is an Island Nation.  These nations are at war with the Archelle.  They believe what they are doing is for the benefit of the Archelle, and believe the dissidents are ungrateful and stupid.  Zephire Language is surrounded by [].

Half-breeds- There are half-breeds, known as Migard.  The Migard look like the Archelle in their partial human form.  They are unable to transform into any other form, like their full-blooded cousins.  Their eyes, however; resemble normal human eyes and do not have the slitted pupils.  There are no Dragon-halves, or Drakes as they are more commonly known, to speak of, though it is possible.  Drakes can only be born from Humans and Dragarin.  Dragarin can not have children with either Archelle or Zephire.  There are Zephire/human crosses, called Harpies, though Zephire usually do not marry outside of their own species.  It is also believed that Zephire and Archelle crosses are impossible, but that is not confirmed.
Countries

Arret- The human Kingdom of Arret.  Originally, Arret was an Archelle province that was a part of the country of Solas.  There are mountains along it's border with Aisu.  Two hundred years prior to today, a War was fought between the Archelle of Solas and the Zephire of Aisu.  The Archelle warriors were pushed off of the province by the Zephire Magi, and for 50 years, the province was under Zephire Control.  As more humans began to immigrate from their own continent across the Sea, they settled in the new Province.  After 50 years of Human influx as well as many attacks by the Archelle, the Zephire handed control of the New Province over to the human settlers.  Not wanting to give the Zephire allies, the Archelle ended their attacks on the province.  The province was named Arret, after the human's home continent, and a ruler was chosen amongst their number.  Since then Arret has become one of the few places where Archelle and Zephire can walk along each other without too many problems.

Solas- Solas is one of two Archelle countries.  It is the largest country on Marin.  Solas is a nation of forests, with mountains along it's northeastern border.  It is primarily inhabited by Wolf, Fox and Dog Archelle, though there are some of the other types.  Solas was founded about 300 years ago by run-away Archelle slaves.  It used to be a part of the Countries of Aisu, Kasai, and Kaze.  The country was carved out after 20 years of bloody fighting by the Archelle to gain their independence from the Zephire Nations.   The leader of Solas is determined by strength, usually a Wolf.  This was decided in order to maintain the security of the Country, through the strength of the leader.  It is also believed that this is the nation of origin of the Laochra Oíche, the night warriors.

Dorcha- The country of Dorcha is 500 years old, as old as any of the Zephire nations.  Dorcha is the fourth largest country on Marin and is mostly plains. It is primarily inhabited by the Lion, Tiger and Cat Archelle, though the other types can be found here.  It is the only Archellen Nation that actually resembles a kingdom.  It is ruled over by the Lion Archelle, and has an actual line of Succession.  Dorcha has weathered many attacks by the surrounding Zephire nations and is believed to be impregnable.  They haven't had a major attack by the Zephire in the last hundred years.

Kasai- Kasai is the southern most of the Marin nations.  It is inhabited by the Hawk Zephire.  It is mostly forested, with some mountains along the northern border.  Kasai was created about 450 years ago out of the Nation of Hekireki.  It is the most lenient towards the Archelle.  In Kasai slavery is not forbidden.  However, it is forbidden for anyone to catch an Archelle for slavery within it's borders, though Kasai has been trying to abolish it.  It is probably the closest thing to an ally that the Archelle have in a Zephire Nation.  Kasai tries to remain neutral in all disputes between the Archelle and other Zephire nations.  

Kaze- Kaze is another of the six Zephire nations. It's partly forest, grassland and some desert, mostly due to it's location between the Kasai forest, the Dóigh Desert and the plains of Dorcha and Hekireki.  Kaze was Created about the same time as a Kasai.  The Crow Zephire call this country thier home.  They have a dislike of the Archelle and have attacked Solas and Dorcha numerous times throughout the course of history.  The Crow have taken up hunting Archelle for sport and will often cross the borders to attack the closer villages.  They allow the capture of Archelle and the institution of slavery.

Mizu- Mizu is an Island Nation off the southwestern coast of Solas.  It is inhabited by the Heron Zephire.  It has a tropical climate and all the things that go along with it.  The nation was created after the Heron immigrated to it after the Archelle forced them off of their land in what is now present day Solas.  The Heron hold no ill will towards the Archelle, and do not trade in slaves.  They do allow slaves in Mizu, but they are few and far between.  For the Most Part, Mizu has remained undisturbed since it's founding.

Daichi- Daichi Is probably the smallest nation on Marin.  It's inhabited by the Falcon Zephire.  Daichi is mostly coniferous forests, leading into the Tundra that sits to the north of it.  Daichi was at one point a part of Hekireki until the Falcon's seceded from the nation.  The Falcon's adopted the same stance on Archelle that Hekireki has.  They treat them as slaves and catching Archelle as slaves is considered legal.  Daichi has never been attacked by any of the Archelle nations.  

Hekireki- Hekireki is the second largest of the nations on Marin.  It's also one of the oldest, about as old as Dorcha.  Hekireki is ruled by the Eagle Zephire.  It has a wide range of climate and geography going from the southern plains by Dorcha, and the desert part in the south, to the coniferous forests in the north by the mountain range that separates it from the Tundra.  Hekireki's policy on Archelle is the strictest of all the Nations.  By Law, any Archelle may be caught and made a slave within it's border's.  It is also legal to kill an Archelle within Hekireki's borders.  The southern tip, known as the Dragon's Fang, is currently claimed by both Hekireki and Dorcha.

Aisu- Aisu is the third smallest nation in Marin.  It is held by the Raven Zephire.  It is a forested region with a temperate to cool climate.  It's northern and southern borders are mountain ranges.  The Raven Zephire like to act in Piracy and are effective slave traders.  They have a hatred of the Archelle from Solas, but can do little about it.  They once controlled the land that became Arret, for about 50 years, but sold it to the humans as their population increased, and the raids by the Archelle made it harder to hold onto the land they had acquired.

Reoite Tundra- The Reoite Tundra is the northern-most area in Marin.  It is not under the control of any Nation.  It's mostly ice and snow, with mountains and some coniferous forests near the mountain range that Isolates the Area from the rest of Marin.  It's not totally lifeless, however.  It's inhabited by Archelle, mostly fox and wolf.  They live in small tribes up north, hunting and fishing to survive.  There are no Zephire in the Tundra because they can not stand the conditions that are present in the Tundra.  The Temperature can reach almost 80 below at night and the normal high is in the 30's, and very little precipitation.

Dóigh Desert- The Dóigh Desert is the most foreboding place on all of Marin.  It's almost in the exact center of the Continent, and the Temperature ranges from anywhere in the 100's at noon to 40 below at night.  It has very little rain fall, but when it does rain the desert can get almost 30 inches.  It's bordered on the south by a mountain range.  But even here, life is able to survive.  There are Fox Archelle, as well as Hawk Zephire that live in the desert.  But the thing that truly makes the desert a remarkable place is that the Archelle and the Zephire live together in peace, usually in small, nomadic tribes.  This is the only place where Archelle and Zephire can be found co-existing.