Although the term immortal is used for these people, many of them are merely long-lived. Immortal peoples are known for their magical nature, which provides powers that most mortals can not achieve.
Some immortals – and occasionally a mortal – gain so much power that they can do whatever they wish. Mortals fear these creatures. Sometimes, the mortals worship them in hopes that the immortal will protect them, or at least spare them from its anger. Other times, these immortals force mortals to become their servants. When a large enough group of mortals worships and sacrifices to such a creature, that creature gains even more power, and is called a deity.
Most deities are lesser deities, who enjoy the worship of small groups of people, sometimes given unwittingly through superstition and ancient tradition. Greater deities enjoy the worship of entire nations.
Since the Mortal War and the destruction of the hebdomad, there are no longer any greater deities on the land and sea of Inannak, or the Underneath. Even most of the lesser deities have been destroyed.
The hebdomad were a group of seven powerful deities that ruled over most of Inannak for thousands of years. They were daimons of ouranian, chthonian, tromian and agrian descent. They were defeated by mortals in the Mortal War several centuries ago. Most were killed, along with lesser deities that aligned with them. The rest were banished beyond the stars.
Titans were a specific group of deities that ruled for eons on Inannak before the God War. They were daimons of tromian descent. While most were killed or banished beyond the stars, a few were allowed to remain. Of these, some have even survived the mortal war. They likely hide from mortals if they are gathering their power to retake their place after the defeat of the hebdomad.
A daimon is an immortal creature which can move between the physical world and non-physical worlds without leaving their bodies. Sometimes these people will be referred to as spirits, but that word implies that they only exist in the world of spirit. There are at least five peoples that can be called daimons, but each is believed to have different origins, and they may not have originally been related.
Ouranians originated from the four planetary heavens, which one is unknown. Their name is not related to the name of the moon Oria, but to an ancient mortal word for the Overtop. Ouranians are usually humanoid, but whatever their natural form they are larger and more beautiful than the average. They often have glowing auras around them, or light mists raising where they step. Feathered wings are not uncommon. Note that an ouranian’s beauty is not an indicator of their altruism or goodwill towards mortals.
Chthonians originated in the underworld. Most are only vaguely humanoid, although there are some who are more or less so. They have scaly or leathery skin, horns, tails, and occasionally bat-like wings. Flames and smoke often surround them. The chthonians are the only daimons that originated in the world of spirit, as the other daimon’s origins are reached via the world of dream.
Agrians originated on the moon of Oria, but also enjoy the wild places on land and sea. They resemble the natural things of the physical world, taking on the appearance of plants and beasts. Often they are humanoid, almost mortal in appearance, but with parts from other creatures such as antlers or hooves.
Oneirians originated on the moon of Eilwain. They are usually humanoid, with thin limbs, delicate features and pale skin. They often have insect-like wings. Their form can vary greatly, and many can take on multiple forms. The Oneirians follow a rather odd but strict set of traditions and rules, which makes their behavior difficult to predict.
Tromians originated from beyond the stars. Their forms are chaotic, rarely humanoid, often asymmetrical. They are known for their mind magic.
Daimons beget young daimons with magic. They can use this same magic to beget children with many other peoples, from other daimons to most mortals, despite being otherwise incompatible. Daimons of mixed heritage do not blend traits the way mortals do. Instead, their children either gain parts of each parent, or an ability to transform between the two natures.
Dragons are huge creatures with wings and long serpentine bodies, with coats of fur, scales and feathers in vivid colors. They are known for their deadly breath and innate mastery of magic. Many have the ability to take the form of mortals. Dragons generally live in isolated places, preferring to be left alone to their treasures. Dragons are not truly immortal, they are bound by the laws of death, but they do live for several millennia, and are magical in nature.
It was believed by some that dragons were once immortal and more numerous. There may have been dragon deities among early mortals. But those powerful dragons were massacred by the Titans in the Dragon War, and the dragons of today are much weaker than the ones of old. Since that time, most dragons have chosen to avoid mortals, lest they risk another war that would destroy their people. Now that the hebdomad are out of power, some dragons have begun to secretly accept the worship of mortals in return for protection. Some of these may have ambitions of restoring their legendary status.
The number of dragons in the world is quite small, there are only about 2,000 left, and perhaps 800 are land-based. This does not include smaller dragon kin like drakes, dragonnels, wyverns, and pseudodragons. It is rare for dragon young to survive to adulthood, and dragons only lay their eggs once a century. However, dragons who can take mortal form have also been known to beget children by mortals. Their descendants remain mortal with some dragon-like traits.
Among the legends it is said that dragons once came in up to fifteen different types, each with a specific color and danger of breath. However, today each dragon is a unique combination of appearance and powers. Dragons can have scales, hair, feathers, lightly furred or even smooth skin, sometimes more than one covering in different parts of the body. Their coloring is vivid, often with a metallic sheen or a translucent crystalline appearance. Patterns of different colors or material are common.
Almost all dragons are amphibious, and as mentioned, the majority of dragons dwell underwater. These dragons tend to come in darker colors than their land-dwelling kin, and sleeker skin. They also vary much more in appearance. Some have shells like turtles, or fins and webbed limbs. Except for fire, breath among the sea dwelling dragons vary just as much as their land-dwelling kin, including liquid versions of gas-based breath.
Sagani, also known as Elementals, are living beings associated with pure elements that make up the physical world. They are physical beings, whose bodies are formed mostly of one or a few elements, and are only found on the physical world of Inannak. For example, there are elementals made of fire, stone, air and water. Elementals are not limited to those four classical elements, they can be associated with other forms of energy and matter as well.
It is a common misconception that sagani can disappear into the otherworlds at will. This comes from their ability to meld themselves and disappear into large amounts of their elements or similar elements. They can travel easily and undetected through these substances and possibly teleport short distances to other pockets of the same substance.
Sagani are as diverse as natural beasts, and just as varying in levels of sapience and sentience. Many sapient sagani have innate magical abilities, some of such power that they could compete with deities. Such creatures are known as sagani nobles, although a word from an ancient mortal language refers to them as Genies. Sagani rarely interact with other creatures, preferring to live far away from them among their own kind. On occasion, a sagani of more independent tendencies may be intrigued by mortal society. More commonly, another creature may use magic to bind the sagani to harness their abilities. This last has caused much conflict between the sagani and other peoples.
The term undead is a broad category which can apply to four different types of creatures. The only thing they have in common is an association with and transgression of the laws of death – the natural laws which cause a mortal’s soul to leave their body upon death and travel to the underworld. This relationship creates a unique force surrounding these creatures, sometimes called the shadow of undeath, which can be used to identify them and on occasion, repel them.
The undead can be grouped into four types:
Animated undead are corpses and other bodily remains that have been magically animated. These creatures have been given a semblance of life, usually in order to fulfill some specific task for their creator. The shadow of undeath for these undead comes from the parts of the magic required to unnaturally deter normal decomposition. Rarely are animated undead sapient, but this is not impossible.
Ghouls are creatures that feed upon corpses and the souls of the living and dead. They are not undead themselves but living creatures. However, the shadow of undeath surrounds them due to the energy of the souls they feed on. There are many varieties of ghoul, and some say there may be a hierarchy reminiscent of human society.
Phantoms are souls that have been unnaturally prevented from continuing to the underworld. Sometimes, this may be caused by the will of the soul itself, with some minor magical aid to do so. Other times they are stuck without intention.
Phantoms do not have physical bodies, and live entirely in the world of spirit, but some have learned how to interact with the physical world, or even make themselves visible. This can be done because of the way physical matter interacts with the world of spirit. A soul which has not yet reached the underworld can also be considered a phantom undead, as can all the souls in the underworld.
A few types of cthonian daimons have taken on the shadow of undeath due to their long contact with phantoms and other undead. This shadow can be a helpful disguise, as such creatures are often much more powerful than normal undead.
On occasion, mortals will attempt to find some way to avoid death and continue to live beyond their demise. Immortality through this means is impossible. However, there are daimons, usually chthonian or tromian, who enjoy deceiving such mortals into believing this is possible.
The daimon will convince them to take some other action, which appears to be powerful magic to keep them alive, such as extracting their life force into a vessel, or accepting the bite of a blood-draining creature. But the real result of this action is to capture their soul, preventing its journey to the underworld.
The daimon will then take over the body, gaining access to their memories and personality, as well as powers and status which the daimon doesn’t normally have. The trapping of the soul slows down composition, giving them a new home for a long time.
Of course, such daimons would assure you that this practice is only used by weaker daimons, and that they alone truly have the power to grant such immortality.
Of all the immortal peoples of Inannak, the rarest are those who were once mortal. These unique individuals have gained or been given immortality, either through magic or the work of another immortal. Most of these immortals are wizards or sorcerers, but there are some who have little magic skill of their own. Former mortals could become deities with enough power and skill, but most learn that it is far easier to live semi-anonymously among the other mortals.