Creature:Deiwos

Deiwes (singular Deiwos) is the collective name given to the dominant humanoid species of Koldenwelt.

Etymology
The word "deiwos" appears to be the name given to sapient beings in an ancient language that predated the Old Tongue. Over time, as races diverged, the concept of the "deiwes" as a collective group died out and the word began to refer to legendary ancestors instead. Perhaps due to a period of ancestor veneration, by the time of the Old Tongue, the descendant "deus" had acquired the meaning of "powerful supernatural being" or "god".

Biology
Deiwes are typically between 1.5 and 2.5 metres tall, with the exception of the Northern (shorter) and Southern (larger) subspecies. Most Deiwos tribes are known to have diverged from each other between 20,000 to 5000 BNA, and for this reason, they usually share many similar features, such as slim bodies, pointed ears, resistance to extreme temperatures, and skills in magic. Another common feature of Deiwes is lack of ageing, so most Deiwes do not die by old age, and if they are not killed by another cause, they can live indefinitely. For example, some Urindalë of the Northern Region have lived for more than 10,000 years. However, it should be noted that members of many Deiwos races have a low life expectancy due to environmental factors, regardless of their natural potential lifespan.

History

 * See Koldenwelt History

The earliest records of the Deiwes are small golden statues of bearded hominids dating from the early Orichalcum Age. Strangely enough, the culture who made these statues does not appear to have been that of these Paleolithic proto-Deiwes, the first traces of which appear several thousand years later, after the fall of the former civilisation. The earliest Deiwos culture, known as the Orichalcum Elves, forms a continuous record from the early Orichalcum Age through to the end of the Adamantine Age, by which time it had unified most of the Deiwes into an Elvish Empire.

The group with whom the name "Orichalcum Elf" is particularly associated with were the leaders of the Elvish Empire. The earliest remains of them date from 29,000 BNA, around which time they split from the ancestors of the Archipelago Elves to create what they believed to be a superior bloodline. After 20,000 BNA, their empire had collapsed and use of the Old Tongue died out. Over the next few millennia, the Deiwes spead across the main continent of Koldenwelt, split into their different races and formed many seperate societies, and most of their languages evolved dramatically from the Old Tongue so as to be almost unrecognisable.

Races
There are four main subspecies of Deiwos: Western, Southern, Eastern and Northern, colloquially known as Elves, Giants, Men and Dwarves respectively.

Western Deiwes

 * Arbormer
 * Archipelagans &dagger;
 * Avek
 * (magically-altered)
 * Calledian Elves
 * Eltmir
 * Urindalë
 * Voledari
 * Voledari

Western Deiwes, also known as Elves or True Elves (dryadalum in the Old Tongue), are the most common type of Deiwos, and fit the typical Deiwos phenotype (of course, the phenotype is only typical because it belongs to the most common Deiwes). They are mainly found in the Western Forests, but the Urindalë and Voledari inhabit the far north of Koldenwelt while the Archipelagans made their home on islands south of the Tropical Lands.

Southern Deiwes


Southern Deiwes, also known as Giants or Giant Elves, are tall and muscular, with very few being less than 2.5 metres in height. They are the descendants of the Orichalcum Elves from after the downfall of the Elvish Empire.

Eastern Deiwes

 * Islanders
 * Mankind

Eastern Deiwes or Men have broader faces, bulkier bodies, and rounder ears than Western Deiwes, and they have a limited lifespan that is usually only a few centuries at most. The Eastern Deiwes are so named because they originated on the Eastern Plains, although some have since migrated westwards.

Northern Deiwes

 * Calledian Dwarves

Northern Deiwes or Dwarves are shorter than 1.5 metres in height, often adapted to living in mountains (not necessarily around the Northern Region). They are sometimes Elf-like, but the mountain-dwelling races tend to be even bulkier than the Eastern Deiwes, and have similar lifespans.

Culture and Religion
Deiwos culture typically revolves around the veneration of nature. In many societies this is connected to the worship of the Source, which is considered to be a fundamental aspect of the universe. The Source is often represented as a deity, one example being the Goddess in the Dio-Eigtantia philosophy of the Urindalë. Elvish ritual objects of the Orichalcum Age show that the Source was initially thought of as simply being an impersonal aspect of nature, with personification being a later development.

A few cultures follow distinct cults, however. For example, the Shiarchon venerate the Colossus, and the Voledari have a blood cult involving the Great Blood Wyrm Larsangua. In the latter case, the cult has had such influence over them that the Voledari are no longer capable of surviving without spilt blood. Some polytheistic religions are also known, such as the worship of the Sweis Pantheon in the.

In modern societies, this attitude to nature is mainly found amongst the Elves, with Men and Dwarves having a greater focus on industry and technological development. Men also tend to be more secretive, although arguably not to much more of an extent than other races. The attitudes of Giants are much more varied. The reasons for these ideological differences are unknown, but are presumably connected to the divisions of the subspecies and the downfall of the Elvish Empire.