Races

Six major races are known to humans according to the library of the Thaumaturgical Academy: humans, succubi, elves, dwarves, Zirantians and halflings. A few other groups of sentient creatures do seem to exist, but how they relate to these six is unclear.

Humans
Humans can be found all over the world, and form a large portion of the population of Arclent. Somewhat surprisingly, they are one of the more long-lived among the six races, which combined with their moderate breeding rate makes them the most common in the world.

Humans are not ethnically or culturally homogeneous, and national peculiarities exist even within the same continent. For example, green hair is somewhat common in Yhilin (e.g. Megail); the Givini are a dark-skinned people whose kingdom was overrun during the war, leaving a diaspora of refugees in the neighboring countries. Humans speak "Clentian" which is the dominant language in the world.

There is no "patron goddess" for humans, but the Church of Ivala is the dominant religion for humans on Arclent. The Church also managed to create an artificial sub-group of humans who have no sexuality called Unpeople. In addition to the Church of Ivala, some humans worship the Goddess of Magic in Ari-Yhilina.

Succubi
The succubi are an all-female race of lust-driven sex-demons who can drain people's life energy. They are mostly human-like, with pointy ears, and often have other demonic attributes like horns, bat-like wings, and pointed tails. Along with orcs, succubi fill the armies and retinues of the Incubus Kings, though independent groups do exist. Unlike orcs, succubi tend to be at least as intelligent as humans, and can have quite varied characters and worldviews.

Like humans, succubi can be found all over the world, and they are the dominant population on Renthnor. In the countries where succubi are the majority, they are usually ruled by Incubus Kings. In other countries, succubi use illusion magic to disguise themselves as locals in order to feed off the sexual energy of locals. The exception would be the multi-ethnic Ghenalon, where succubi live in peace with other races.

Compared to humans, they reproduce very quickly, but live much shorter. Succubi reproduction is... unusual. While they give birth the usual way, succubi conceive only when they want to. A male partner is required, but their seed can be absorbed anywhere. The child is always a succubus, but reflects the father to some degree - how much exactly is a subject of dispute among the succubi. Orcs are able to impregnate succubi, but they appear to have no influence at all on the children, and while this allows for population maintenance, succubi prefer to seek partners among the other races. Succubi who use "futa spells" to grow penises are able to have children with other succubi, but not with any other race's females, for unknown reasons.

Succubi reach maturity and age faster than humans. The average lifespan is just about 40 years, with rare exceptions: Riala is legendary among the succubi on Arclent for her age and power (the explanation of this anomaly is revealed at the end of Chapter 3). While they don't age the same way humans do, succubi do start to feel a decline in power after around the age of 25, which has psychological consequences similar to the mid-life crisis in humans. Because of the different rate of aging, all succubus characters on the wiki have both their chronological age and the equivalent human age listed in on their pages.

Succubi don't need sexual energy to live, but they need it to thrive. Like humans, they can survive only on food and water, but this is detrimental to their well-being: among other things, their hair gets dull and wings go limp. While it is generally assumed that succubi consume sexual energy by eating semen, it has been theorized that succubi can feed off of sex itself. Additionally, succubi can forgo sleep if they are sexually charged, but they can't do so indefinitely.

There is believed to be some connection between succubus appearance and their power and status. Black hair is traditionally associated with elite succubi, though there are exceptions. The librarian succubus of the Orgasmic Palace attributes the connection at least in part on social conditioning. Most succubi have white hair, a smaller number - green, and even a smaller number - black and other colors. A succubus with a natural bright pink hair is unheard of, though she's "probably perfectly normal".

During the Gathering, we have the opportunity to discover that there are various different phenotypes like the Ghenalese Succubi or Draconian Succubi during the Succubus Hunt or the succubus meeting. Lamias also identify themselves as part of the succubi race, but they face discrimination by other parts of succubi society. .

Succubus culture revolves around sex. Sex is used to worship, to raise children, and form relationships with others. According to Nalili, kids who don't have sex with their parents grow up to be weirdos. Because succubi almost always seem willing to have sex, succubi also seem to have trouble understanding consent. Their society is also very inefficient, because most succubi would rather work in a brothel or as a soldier instead of doing needed office work.

Most succubi appear to be bisexual; in general, they are easily and often aroused, always ready to jump whoever they find attractive. Despite using lust in combat on everyone possible, they do have personal preferences in their choice of partners.

During the Third Arclent War, a new sub-type of succubi appeared. The Unsuccubi were the Incubus King's answer to divine anti-sex magic, being totally immune to its effects, as their sexuality had been stripped from their souls by the Incubus King. As succubi's souls are inherently intertwined with their sexuality, the process of converting them to Unsuccubi rendered them little more than rampaging feral monsters who felt constant agony. This meant they had no sense of loyalty to any causes, although they would not attack each other. Their strength varied, but the presence of their broken souls unnerved those who could feel them. Some whose transformations were incomplete were restored by Simon (although there were some who could not be saved), although they bear permanent scars of their ordeal. Recovered Unsuccubi share a special bond with Simon, leading some of them to choose to join his palace guard. Although their experiences have separated them from the rest of the succubi population, their unique traits have actually made many of them more attractive to other succubi.

Lamias
Lamias are a subspecies of succubus with serpentine lower bodies, no wings, and sometimes snakes in place of hair. In other respects, they are generally similar to normal succubi.

Lamias are used as guards and other "muscle" roles, but are rare in many parts of succubus society. Some of this is for practical reasons, as they can't sit on normal chairs, climb stairs, walk easily in narrow spaces, and other actions common to humanoids. However, much of it is because lamias tend to be discriminated against, even by other succubi (at least in the Orgasmic Empire and Arclent).

Elves
Elves are the typical pointy-eared, gracile humanoids, but contrary to the usual fantasy trope, in this world they live shorter than humans (but longer than succubi) and mature slightly faster.

They form another large portion of the population of Arclent, and apparently can also be found on Thenours. Most of their kingdoms on Arclent were wiped out during the invasion of the Succubus King, leaving only the two isolationist countries in the great southeastern forests. Those who escaped the Incubus King live as a diaspora in human kingdoms. Most of the elven diaspora live in slums, but Yhilini elves with magical talent can get out of the slums. On Thenours, the kingdom of Ghenalon appears to be multi-ethnic, but it has a elvish-sounding name and it is ruled by the elf queen Fheliel.

Apparently, Arclent humans stereotype elves as "flighty, mischievous, and promiscuous", and while Simon doesn't find the characterization fair, he admits that it applies to many of them. To that, Yarra can add only the opinion that they are excellent breeders. According to Lynine, this is because Elves are extraordinarily susceptible to lust magic.

Little is known about elf culture. According to Simon, Arclent elves used to be as culturally diverse as humans before the invasion of the Incubus King, when their "great kingdoms" were destroyed. The remaining elves are either forest-dwelling isolationists or refugees trying to fit into the human societies they inhabit. The mage Altina, the first elf you encounter, wears "human" clothes and equipment, much to the dismay of the only forest elves you've met this far.

Elves have their own language called, but many speak Clentian.

While some elves worship Ivala or the Goddess of Magic, most in the elven countries worship the Mother. The most devoted followers are called the Mother's Guard, but their ascent to the power is very recent. While most elves acknowledge the existence of other deities, they believe that the Mother is the patron god of elves. Worshipers of Ivala are allowed in eleven forests, but they are suppressed to a certain extent.

Dwarves
From the little we've seen of them so far, dwarves also follow most of the usual tropes - they are short, stout, and fond of mining and metalworking. They are the most longevous race, but their extremely low reproductive rate has put them on a path to extinction.

Arclent has the largest dwarf population in the world, and even there they are a small, dwindling minority that rarely ventures outside of their subterranean kingdom of Eustrin. Due to declining power and proximity to Aram, Eustrin has become a vassal state to Aram. Within Ghenalon, there is a sizable dwarven colony called Suorin.

Dwarves apparently prefer to live underground and don't let outsiders any deeper than the outermost layer of their tunnels. All dwarves venturing outside or dealing with non-dwarves seem to be male; female dwarves stay (or are kept) in the deepest tunnels.

The have their own language, but many speak Clentian.

Dwarves uses to worship Tertia, the "Goddess of the Earth", because it is believed she created dwarves from stone. Most have stopped worshipping her because they believe that she has either abandoned them or died.

Halflings
As expected, halflings are smaller than humans, but not as tough as dwarves. They tend to live (slightly) longer than humans. The only known halfling kingdom is on Thenours, though a few do live among the humans on Arclent.

Because of their lack of physical prowess, they tend to focus their efforts towards magic and trade. One of the noble houses of Yhilin, a kingdom famous for its magic use, is the halfling House Rose. Those who live in human nations seem to try to assimilate to the country they live in.

Unlike the other five main races, halflings seem to not have their own patron god. Those who live in the human nations of Arclent are free to worship Ivala. They are able to also rise up in the church, so halflings like Sarai can become high priestesses.

Zirantians
Zirantians are a very diverse group of humanoids with some animal features - eyes, ears, tails, etc. Despite appearances though, they are more closely related to succubi than to animals. Their form is subject to a great variation. There are Zirantians with features of cats (Lexande, Kia, and Nia), birds (Biyue), lions (King Kanfuor), goats (Yuanuon‏), rabbits (Fuani‏), foxes (Allue and Alluon), and many other animals.

Zirantians mature very fast and their lifespan is slightly shorter than humans. Unlike other races, female Zirantians can breed only when they go into estrus.

Zirantians form another large portion of the population of Arclent. They are the majority in the kingdom of Zirantia, but Zirantians can also be found in the human kingdoms, where they often suffer poverty and discrimination. Zirantia itself is rather young - it was formed after the war on some of the devastated territories liberated from the Incubus King and named after the mythical homeland of the race. Outside of Arclent, Zirantians also seem to live on Renthnor, in Philon. Zirantians seem to have a visible but dwindling patriarchal system, with unattached females being able to have positions of power, however attached females will tend to defer all conversation and discussion to their "breeders".

A common Zirantian language does exist, but so far it seems to be used only in Zirantia. All Zirantians originating outside the kingdom have spoken only Clentian.

The kingdom claims Antiala as the patron goddess of Zirantians, but it's unclear if she's worshiped outside Zirantia.

Orcs
Unsurprisingly, orcs are powerful and brutal, driven by their instincts to kill, rape and pillage even when they are not under the command of a higher dark power. The perfect disposable soldiers, orcs form the bulk of most Incubus Kings' armies, though there are also many without a master. On Arclent, "wild" orcs are either remnants of the invading armies of the Incubus King, or groups that have "leaked" from his domain.

The exact nature of orcs is unclear. During his stay in the Orgasmic Empire, Simon learns that they can impregnate succubi, giving some weight to the idea that orcs are the male counterparts of succubi, and some scholars even argue that they should be called "incubi", though the disapproval of the Incubus Kings has discouraged the practice. On the other hand, things are not as simple as they appear - the child of an orc and a succubus is always a succubus who inherits no traits from her father, and the orc breeding specialist Balia says that orcs are unlike any other race and describes them as "naturally-occurring constructs".

Learning more about orc reproduction provides further evidence of their strangeness. All orcs are male, and despite their extremely aggressive sex drive they seem to be able to impregnate only succubi. Somewhat paradoxically, orcs themselves reproduce asexually, via fragmentation - they grow bigger and bigger, until they split into pieces, each fragment becoming a new orc. The "child" orcs mostly inherit the traits of their "parent", but any deviations from the baseline (increased strength, intelligence, etc.) tend to get diluted and diminished among the rising number of offspring. This is why the process results in sub-par orcs when left to its natural course: orcs blindly follow their instincts and grow as big as they can, splitting into many pieces, and repeat the process again and again. As a result, one of the basic tenets of orc breeding is keeping orcs into narrow, confined spaces, such as caves and pens.

The breeding process itself is at least partially powered by lust magic, which is why sex does have a role in orc reproduction - orcs having sex accumulates lust energy. This also means that contamination with outside magic is possible if the process is not consciously controlled by a breeder. Contamination is one of the reasons for the appearance of unusual orcs and regional varieties, such as the "snow orcs" mentioned by Balia.

While orcs are somewhat diverse on the individual level, larger cultural and "racial" differences do seem to exist between the orc armies of the Incubus Kings, probably due to their directed orc breeding efforts. This is made evident during the Gathering, when Yarra's group meets the orc representatives, as well when Orcent fights in the orc tournament. Notable orc varieties include imps (on average, physically weaker than normal orcs, but just as dumb) and Erosian orcs (who, like everything Erosian, have an East-Asian theme). Skeletons in the service of Incubus Kings also tend to be orc skeletons and apparently some of them still posses a penis.

Most orcs are barely smarter than animals, but many do posses intelligence closer to the average human level (which is not much...), and some even above it. Aside from the most obvious examples (listed below), other intelligent orcs include the orc representatives present at the Gathering, as well as the Lustlord's skeletal palace guards and captains (one of them is even shocked when Balia produces a "mindless brute" during the tournament).

While orcs are still treated mostly as cannon sword fodder, you'll have the chance to meet a few remarkable ones with personalities of their own.

Demons and divine beings
Demons are mentioned several times as a distinct group of sentient beings (in addition to the mindless things that you have to fight occasionally), and we have seen several apparently divine beings during the intermissions between the chapters (most notably the blonde woman on a mountain and her sister Mithyn). Some of the Incubus Kings also appear to be demons or demonic beings: the Lustlord, the Incubus King of Arclent, the Skullcrusher and the Lord of Blood (the Empress is/was a succubus, the Fucklord is/was a human, Xerces might be/have been Zirantian, and at the same time there doesn't seem to be non-royal incubi - orcs are claimed to be the male counterpart to the succubi, and neither King looks like an orc).

The Fucklord's trophy During the Gathering, Yarra's group encounters a strange woman in the Fucklord's harem (we later learn she is called Sabitha). Despite being a captive servant of the Fucklord, she is rather proud and refers disparagingly to the succubi as "mammals", implying that she is neither a succubus, nor a human. After the third Arclent war the Fucklord and his Servant are seen in a tunnel that appears to possibly be the Tower that Mithyn talks about with the blond women on the mountain during the beginning of chapter 3 and part of the fade. Do to their comments during the scene at the start of Chapter 4 is revealed the Servant than more than a little familiar with the unknown place (possibly related to the The Tower). During the Erosian crisis we are able to learn that she is a demon.