Who’s That With Your Wallet?
Your guide to the people and semi-people of World Book
By Ebinizer Cake

Part one: World Book: a Land of Many Faces

World is full of different races, and telling them apart can sometimes prove to be quite difficult. For instance, you are walking down a street in the bustling acropolis of Cirith, and a small brown being with long pointed ears and a pointed leafy nose leaps out of an alleyway and brandishes a knife at you. Can you name the species, which has attacked you? No? Well, you have just been threatened by the common Brown Streetgoblin, and are in very deep trouble. So we establish that it is difficult to know how to tell one specie from the other. As well as trouble you may face trying to tell the numerous races of world book apart, you will also face difficulties interacting with them, do you know how to invite a golden elf to dinner? Or how to challenge a troll to a race around the monolith? Well, for your information, golden elves do not interact with mortals and so in turn don’t eat, and as for racing the troll, well, you just don’t. So read on and discover how to tell the different races apart, and also how to interact with them in normal society.

Part two: Fey Folk (street and otherwise)

What defines fey folk? Well it is accepted fact that all feys evolved from plant life, photosynthesising to gain energy and taking root when they age. This however will not really help you when you are trying to tell them apart. So how do we know they’re fey then? Well most fey folk are green, or at least green tinted (in the case of the common Brown Streetgoblin) they have generally pointed features, and skinny frames. All fey folk have at least partial control over some form of magic, although this is less apparent in streetfey, however they have been known to use magic when threatened.
  Goblin: Goblins are characterised by their large pointed ears, large pointed noses, and large pointed knifes. They come in a range of different colours from yellowish to deep brown, although all are green tinted. They are medium sized, and live closer to humans than most feys. Their language is rudimentary, however most have learnt Man. Goblin society is very close knit but if you are lucky you may be integrated into a family group, or failing that, befriend a lone goblin. It is probably best to treat goblins with at least a small amount of respect, lest you lose your wallet, or in more extreme cases, an ear.
  Elf: Elves are characterised by their tall elegant frames, their light green skin, and their pointed ears. There are three distinct species of elf: Bronze, Silver, and Golden. To tell the difference one need only to look at the eyes, as they are coloured respectively. Most elves are taller than they average human, and live away from large societies in small communities nestled amongst a group of trees, however there is still a large elf community in most of the major cities. Elvan language is almost impossible to understand, as most of it exists in other dimensions, which can be quite disconcerting to listen to. All elves have a great control over magic, and, because of this, all other fey folk hate them. Don’t bother trying to befriend an elf, as it wont work unless you are at least part elf, or, at a stretch, a quarter. Be respectful of elves, and try not to offend them by breathing or being born.
  The Wee: The Wee is a term used to describe whole manners of fey that are miniature sized. This encompasses gnomes, pixies, fairies, and sprites. The reason they are spoken of collectively is because they are of the same family (miniculus) and have evolved differently because of environment. You will know a Wee when you see one because they are absolutely tiny and almost impossible to miss (well, you know what I mean) they come in varying shapes, ie. Gnomes tend to be squatter than pixies, and sprites and fairies are very skinny to enable them to leave the ground (also their bones are hollow like a birds for the same reason) The gnome is the only fey which is not green, tending to be white or brown, and more humanlike. Language is spoken at too low a pitch to understand fully, except for one known as the Speaker, who is chosen by Wee society to speak for the community. Wee are the least magical of all fey, having next to no magical powers. Its physically impossible to enter Wee society so don’t try because all you’ll achieve is breaking their church. Wee are generally friendly and happy to interact with others.

Part 3: Man (Large, Small, and magical)

The species man has many different guises, although all are similar in at least three characteristics. All are humanoid, all are bipedal, and all are kind of dense on an ethereal basis. Men evolved from dirt and rain, this explains their tendency to build cities on the ground, and bury their dead under soil. It is relatively easy to place a man when you see it; they are brown or white, grubby, and often wearing excessive clothing on their person. The features of a man are flat and curious; most are of large build although this is not a rule. Of all the species of World Man has the least control over magic, so small is his control in fact, that often, very often, man has no idea he is even using it. There is an exception to this rule; this is the Witch or Wizard, but more on that later.
  Human: Humans are characterised by their medium stature, average build, and complete lack of interesting characteristics. The colour of a human is rather varied, ranging from anywhere to deathly pale, to deep chocolate brown. They grow a fair amount of facial hair, but, unlike some other species of man, it has no sway over their social status. Human language is hard to understand and ridiculous, however you will probably learn it eventually if you persevere or are tortured. The most remarkable thing about humans is their society’s, it is accepted that although humans are not the most amazing species, they have at least partial control over nearly everywhere on World. Man has a tendency to branch out and take over towns or cities, so, with this in mind it is relatively easy to enter human society, but that doesn’t mean you should. Humans have vague control over magic, but it tends to fall into luck and coincidence.
  Dwarves and Giants: Contrary to popular belief, Dwarves and Giants are actually of the same species. And, as different as the two are, they share many characteristics that may surprise you. Both, for instance, use facial hair as a sign of maturity and status, ie. The more beard one has, the higher up they are status wise. Giants as well as dwarves live underground; the only difference is that giants tend to live inside mountains, whereas dwarves live under the earth in tunnel systems. The features of a dwarf or giant are flat and chunky, with large square noses and jaws, and heavy foreheads. Dwarves are of stocky build, whereas giants tend to be lanky, both are, however, immensely strong, and could beat, say, a bear in a fight. Colour wise Both Giants and dwarves run the same way as most other Man, that is, white through to brown. Dwarf society is almost impossible to enter, the only way being through invitation, giant society, however, is friendly and welcoming, one should have no trouble entering and being accepted. Dwarves and giants have minor control over magic, and what they do have is mostly sensory, (hearing, sight, etc), however occasionally teleportation or levitation has been achieved.
  Witches and Wizards (Magic Folk): At first glance it may seem as though a witch or wizard is nothing more than a human being or a stunted giant. This is because they are almost identical, at least externally. Internally is another matter, magic folk are blessed with more ribs than the average person, and a bony plate instead of a spine, this is because of the homunculus which is a pear shaped internal organ which is assumed to be the source of magical power, [this is restricted only to witches and wizards, fey and other races have their own magical source] removing the magic from a witch or wizard therefore becomes a painful operation. But all this detail still doesn’t help someone who wants to recognise a witch or wizard does it, and I’m afraid I cant help you, because nothing short of disembowelling a witch or wizard will help you recognise one. There is no such thing as magic folk society, witches and wizards tend to work alone or in small groups, and only socialise to decide on matters of great importance and cook up a wicked stir-fry. Witches and wizards have great control over magic, being able to conjure and attack using spells and charms, however this can only be done through learning, so most just cant be arsed.

Anthros: All walks of the Animal Kingdom

An Anthro (named after the Anthro god Anthross [Anne-throh-sss]) is not difficult to spot. In fact if you cant tell the difference between an anthro and, say, a golden elf, then you are almost definitely mad. The characteristics of an anthro are thus; they are an animal with bipedal features, ie. An animal, say a jackal, standing on two legs and acting as though it were a human or a goblin etc. Skin colour is difficult to explain in the general sense of the word, so more will be explained when we get into specifics. Anthros quite definitely evolved from animals, this is blatantly obvious so I need not ego into detail. Your typical anthro is of medium build, tall when standing upright, and agile, fast, and nimble, this varies, of course, with species, but again, more later. Normal Anthros have no control over magic, however priests and pharaohs have a large control, as they are closer to Anthross than most.
  Am: commonly referred to as Mammal, Am are characterised generally by their fur, which can be coloured from black through to grey passing by brown and golden as it goes. Of course this differs once we get into specific species, rhinoceros Anthros for instance, are almost always grey, and giraffe Anthros are almost always yellow with brown spots. But as a general term black through to grey describes the colouring best. Am language is very guttural and consists of a lot of body language as well as speech; it is difficult to learn such a language for anything not anthro, purely because our mouths are the wrong shape. Most Am have what is known as a wild side, this is due to evolutionary throwbacks in their genes which cause them to occasionally revert back to the animal they are, this only happens however, during times of stress or fear, so one needn’t worry. Am society is welcoming and friendly, but on the whole there is no real society, Anthros are the only race, which lives together in harmony with each other, and so there is only really Anthro society. Am have no greater tendency for magic than any other Anthro, unless of course, they are a priest.
  Ep: Commonly referred to as reptile (and occasionally referred to as ‘lizard men’). Ep are characterized by their scales, which can be black through to deep green and then branching out into dark red or blue. Unlike Am there are very few species of Ep, well, no, what I meant to say was that most Ep look alike, being of medium build, slanted red or yellow eyes large crocodilian tail, and clawed hands and feet, whereas Am can be anything from furry wolves to stocky torti (although these should be referred to as Amph) The most distinct two species of Ep are snakes and lizards, the only real difference being the shape of face, which is more diamond with a snake, and the lack of legs, which is self explanatory. Ep language is hard to learn or understand, again because of physical differences, this time it being the tongue, which gets in the way. However surgery has been performed to remedy this on several different occasions. As said before the same thing goes for Ep society, although this is less apparent than with other species, as there are, in most cities, Ep communities that consist of only Ep. Ep have no greater tendency for magic.
  Ir: Commonly known as Birds. All Anthros are different, so they are quite easy to tell apart. But Ir are easiest of all, mostly because of the fact that for the majority of the time they are airborne. Ir are the only species to have reached flight on a grand scale, being able to fly for weeks at a time. Ir are characterised by their feathers, which can be a whole number of colours (often all at once) from green to white to yellow to red to black and mixtures of all of these. Ir are of small build with hollow bones, they have prominent chests, wings instead of arms, and beaks for mouths. It is owing to this that we can’t speak their language, which almost no other races can as it consists of tweeting, chirruping, and head bobbing, all three of which are impossible for anyone who is not Ir. Don’t try and enter Ir society because one: The whole Anthro society thing. And two: its just too high. Ir have a higher tendency to become priests or pharaohs than any other Anthro, and so in turn have more tendency to control magic. Anthro magic however, as aforementioned, comes straight form the gods, so it is not inherent in the body of the Anthro. It is because of this that there are no Anthro wizards or witches, only clerics. And it is because of this that all witches and wizards hate Anthro clerics and their shoddy stir fry’s.