The Peoples of the Fantasy Americana
A primer on the intelligent races of We the Immortals.
As with most secondary worlds of epic fantasy tradition, The Fantasy Americana features a pantheon of intelligent races each serving specific archetypal and thematic functions. Unlike most fantasy worlds, though, we draw our people groups from the mythos of the United States—but with a twist.
What are these so-called intelligent races, and how do they contribute to the mythopoeia of our anthology? Hang on ter yer hats, pards, ‘cuz we’re a-gwine find out!
Humans
Humans are the dominant race of The Fantasy Americana and the primary drivers of its overarching conflict. At the height of the Eunician Epoch1, humans have spread across the globe, conquering and colonizing all who stand in their path.
Many non-humans live under the yoke of humanity’s ever-growing civilization, which has led to ongoing conflicts for liberty, recompense, and, ultimately, survival.
The key to humankind’s success is two-fold: population growth and technological supremacy. The first is self-evident; humans have simply outpaced all other groups, leaving the species with a seemingly limitless supply of cogs to maintain the machine.
The second is not as simple but just as easily understood. In contrast to The Fantasy Americana’s other intelligent races, humankind’s violent nature and wars against its own species have given rise to many technological advancements, especially those concerning matters of conquest and sea travel.
Though humans observe a wide spectrum of social and cultural practices, they tend to be polytheistic and polygamous. They are also the most ethnically diverse species of all the intelligent races and boast numerous breeds, creeds, and countries.
Native to the Eastern Theater2, humans seek to “bring order to a world in chaos” as they pursue the ultimate and most elusive prize: the lost Birthright of immortality and magic.
A destiny, according to humans, stolen by the next group on our list.
Angels
Angels—or, as they call themselves, the Chorawi3—are a race of winged humanoids native to the Western Theater4. They are a mysterious, beautiful, immortal, magical, and endangered people group—the latter due to the forever war with their human counterparts.
Separating The Fantasy Americana’s angels from classic fae archetypes, these are not the vestiges of a superior civilization in decline.
In the many epochs before the coming of humans, the angels lived analogously to nature spirits, and neither crafted weapons of any kind nor built palaces and cities. They assembled in numerous tribes across the land, taking refuge in caves and bowers or constructing wikiup-like huts from sod and debris.
The angels share the greatest sense of cultural unity of all The Fantasy Americana’s intelligent races because of their ability to fly5, unique intertribal expressions and interpretations notwithstanding.
The angels believe in a unifying Over-Soul in lieu of an incarnate deity, marry one spouse, and operate as a gatherer society, flying forth to collect food growing naturally from the land. Under no circumstances do they consume animal flesh.
Because of their longevity, angels seldom reproduce out of fear of hastening the planet’s ecological destruction. However, after the invasion of humans and their subsequent wars therewith, the angels have initiated a program of mass reproduction, hoping to one day foster a population large enough to overthrow their enemies completely.
While most states have strict anti-miscegenation laws to discourage interbreeding, angel-human hybrids do occur, called ‘rawbrawds pejoratively, and are considered second-class citizens by both races.
The angels are personifications of the wilderness and live in perpetual strife with all proponents of “civilization.”
Mothmen, fairies, sprites, pixies, and ‘Rawi are all nicknames given to the Chorawi people by humans.
Sasquatch
The most ancient of our humanoid-class races, and the only species to be scattered across both supercontinents after The Great Divide6, the Sasquatch were once shoreline dwellers and builders of giant ziggurats devoted to venerated ancestors—those they call paragons.
After the emergence of angels and humans, however, both whom have oppressed sasquatches for different reasons throughout history, many hordes fled into the mountains, carving out vast underground strongholds for survival.
Because of their separation and oppression, these harry hominins have developed a diverse and complex set of civilizations, making them the most decentralized group in The Fantasy Americana.
During the Eunician Epoch, much of the race exists in a state of chattel slavery to humans, laboring under harsh conditions to further enrich the economic power of the Federal Republic.
On average, Western Theater sasquatches stand seven feet in height, while those of the Eastern Theater variety tend to grow under six feet—excepting the so-called “abominable snowmen” of the Zhalun Mountains, whose bodies are mature similar to their western counterparts.
Sasquatches are mortal but longer-living than humans and are considered barbarians despite their masterful artisanship and highly developed civilizations.
Manlings
Manlings, also known as melon heads, are perhaps the strangest of all the sentient races of The Fantasy Americana. Manlings are halfling-like creatures created by humans, sporting the bodies of children with the brains of adults, thus giving them the massive skulls for which they are known.
Through a Frankenstein-like process of science and sorcery, Manlings were created as an experiment in necromancy but have since become a novelty and status symbol for the elite class.
Similar to court dwarfs of early-modern Europe, Manlings are slaves, and serve as butlers and estate managers for their masters, often placed in charge of accounting and other clerical duties—in addition to entertaining honored guests.
Manlings have the shortest lifespan, with a life expectancy of around twenty years.
Greatbeasts
If the Sasquatch are considered The Fantasy Americana’s oldest humanoid race, our next group would be the eldest of the intelligent beings altogether. Greatbeasts are a special class of animal and mascots of nature.
As with our angels, Greatbeasts are immortal and inborn wielders of magic—a power, they believe, bestowed unto them by the Godbeasts: self-exiled animal deities living on the moon.
Greatbeasts act as chieftains to their respective species and, in some cases, have the ability to speak.
Greatbeasts are an endangered class in The Fantasy Americana, hunted by humans for their flesh and parts, which are consumed to obtain temporary magical abilities.
During the Eunician Epoch, several species of Greatbeast have been poached to near-extinction, and many of the surviving members have joined pan-tribal angel confederations to make war against humankind.
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The period of history beginning with the birth of the Federal Republic of Eunicia and ending after its gilded age.
The supercontinent located in the eastern hemisphere.
“The flying ones.”
The supercontinent located in the western hemisphere.
Angel nations share many common cultural concepts, such as an official endonym, because their ability to fly allows them to intermingle easily. This results in the spreading of loanwords between the five major language families and their daughter languages respectively. Eventually, a lingua franca emerges—of which the word Chorawi becomes that endonym.
A cataclysm which split the original supercontinent into two smaller supercontinents.
This is very cool. I had never considered using an angel like being as a mortal, but it is very intriguing, especially as this interpretation is evoked by the old paintings. Now that I think about it, it brings to mind REM's Losing my Religion video.