The wellyn are a small people who blend in well with their forest homelands, which helps them to pull off the pranks for which they are famous.  They are quite short, usually between two to four feet, although they often seem smaller, as they are prone to running (astonishingly quickly) on all fours.  They are covered in a layer of fur that ranges from light green to dark brown, often striped, which makes for good camouflage. Their long tail is agile, and can be used as an extra hand.  Their life span of about 55 years is shorter than others of the Ten Races, who live anywhere from 70 to 180 years of age.

The wellyn are known all over the Tamarran Continent as tricksters. Depending on who you ask, this might be a good thing or a bad one.  Some believe that they bring a little levity into a world that has too much sorrow.  Others consider them a dangerous blight on society, causing massive collateral damage to satisfy their infantile need to outdo their rival.  On some rare occasions these pranks escalate to the point of causing mortal damage.  

One of the most infamous wellyn pranks of all time was performed by two wellyn simultaneously.  Slendil planned to hide in the closet of  his friend, Gorlin, until Gorlin came home, at which point Slendil would jump out and frighten him.  Unbeknownst to Slendil, Gorlin had planned to perform the same prank on Slendil on the same day.  The two were so committed to their task that they refused to leave until the other showed up; as a result, both starved to death.  This is considered one of the few times in wellyn history that a prank competition ended in a draw.

Many scholars have speculated as to why the wellyn behave the way they do.  Some believe it is their relatively short lifespan that pushes them to live life to the fullest and ignore the consequences.  Others say that their strong affinity with Shadow Energy drives them to break the rules as often as possible.  Whatever the reason, people have to be on their toes when wellyn are around, or they may find themselves the target of a practical joke before they have time to react.  

Since their inception the wellyn have lived in the tree-tops, so their most natural home is in the forests of the Tamarran Continent.  This living space has always provided some amount of safety from their many predators, who are drawn to them because their small size makes them vulnerable. However, for the last several centuries it has been quite common to find wellyn living throughout the continent, especially in its many cities, where they can find endless opportunities for pranks.

Pranks aside, if wellyn can redirect focus to a more productive task, they can be quite useful.  They are excellent at sneaking around and getting into and out of places they are not supposed to be.  Their affinity for Shadow Energy makes them nearly unrivaled as master Umbrists.  Mix that with their love of tinkering and a passion for creating automata and you’ve got a useful companion or a fierce foe, depending on the circumstance.

There is much more to be said about wellyn society and the unique mix of skill and guile that makes them tick, but we’ll save that for another blog.

Humans are, well, just what you would think.  For the most part.

Physically, humans in Tamarra look the way you would expect.  They stand anywhere from four to seven feet tall, though most are in the center of that range.  They have the usual two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, one nose, and one mouth.  They are not the strongest or fastest of the Ten Races, nor are they the largest or the smallest.  

There is one notable difference between human physiology in the Beyonder world and humans in our world.  In the Beyonder world humans are able to exhibit a wide range of hair and eye colors.  When they are young, humans have the ability to change their hair and eye colors at will, which is a source of great fun.  There are frequent schoolyard contests to see who can produce the most outrageous colors in the shortest amount of time.

As humans reach adulthood, their ability to change hair or eye color is much reduced, as is the range of colors.  It usually happens when Emotion Energy runs high.  Sometimes this is involuntary, when the human (the Player Character, or PC) temporarily loses control.  Suffice it to say that when a human becomes an adult they will choose an eye color that will become, for the most part, permanent.  This is an important decision, and usually involves a great deal of discussion among family members and close friends.  Their adult eye color becomes part of a coming of age ceremony that introduces a human child into the adult world.  This, along with the presentation of their adult name, is the core of most human ceremonies of the rite of passage.  We’ll talk in more detail about this ceremony, typically referred to as the Alinsan Ahtifal, in a later blog.

Humans are good at noticing social interactions, and they are often highly skilled Charismatics. Because of their strong affinity with Emotion Energy, they have outstanding social skills, and are best known across the continent for their excellence at working in groups. They are excellent collaborators on a small team, and can contribute just as meaningfully to a large social organization such as a city government or the far-reaching interpersonal networks of kingdom or nation.  

Given how socially adept they are, it will come as no surprise that humans are at ease in any place across the Tamarran Continent.  More than any of the Ten Races, they will be found almost everyone you travel.  They are similarly adaptable in the kinds of homes they inhabit: they tend to live in whatever housing is standard for a given area.  

We have only skimmed the surface of what there is to know about humans and their societies. Although they blend in with most any social network or community, there are some organizations that are created solely by, and for, humans.  We will talk about these secret organizations, and more about humans, in blogs yet to come.

The kamari are often referred to by the other Ten Races (and other sentient creatures of the Tamarran Continent) as the greenskeepers. They have a deep love of forests and all the flora that inhabit them. They are a free-spirited people who prize life and laughter, and they value their independence.

Kamari love for the natural world, and the woodlands in particular, is a part of their ancient lineage: they are one of the Ten Races descended from the ancient Elzheni race.  The Elzheni lived during the Second Era of the current Fifth Age of the World (we currently live in the Third Era of that same Age of the World).  Each race descended from the Elzheni (the kamari, heola, ishiri, and zweyjen) inherited some unique quality from their Elzheni ancestors.  We’ll talk more about the ancient Elzheni in a separate blog post.

The physical makeup of kamari closely resembles the forests that they love so much.  They are tall and lanky, with skin and hair the texture of small roots and branches or tree bark.  Their coloring is a mix of many hues of brown and green.  All of this combines to give kamari a natural camouflage in their forest surroundings.  When you add to this their extraordinary quickness and skill with weapons of all kinds (they are without parallel among the Ten Races for their use of ranged weapons, such as a bow), they are a formidable foe to any who might make the mistake of invading their lands.

Perhaps the most distinctive physical characteristic of the kamari is that, unlike any of the other Ten Races, they have three genders; male, female, and tree.  These trees, while conscious and sentient, appear ordinary to anyone who is not able to speak with plants. Tree offspring are created when male and female kamari pollinate the tree; months later, their “child” sprouts from the ground.  (We recommend that you do not create a character that is a tree kamari, unless your idea of an exciting adventure is having birds make nests in your hair!)

It is not surprising that kamari make their homes in forests throughout the Tamarran Continent.  It is estimated that there are hundreds of kamari tribes in the vast reaches of the Great Western Forests alone.  Although they love wooded lands, kamari can also be found in every major city.  Even in urban settings their houses are often filled with plants, and the outside of their homes may have trees or vines growing up the sides.

The kamari have a strong tribal structure.  This is most pronounced in the forests, where the territories of different kamari tribes are clearly demarcated and infringements of those boundaries are met with fast opposition.  In the cities of the continent, where they live within a more informal community with their fellow kamari, those tribal structures often break down.

There are many tales to tell of kamari tribes, of exploits comedic, deadly serious, and brave.  We will cover those in upcoming blogs.