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Please note that much or all of this page is currently in what we are calling “Bullet Draft” format, i.e. it’s not been fully written out but we’ve listed the ideas we’re working with in bullet-list form. We will be fleshing these out further and turning them into proper paragraph prose at some point in the coming year, but we wanted to put the lore out for players to read before the first event, even if it’s not as polished as we’d like it. Any sections here that are in bullet list format are not final and are subject to change, though hopefully only small adjustments will be needed between this and the final version.

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Aurendale’s Demographics

• Human: ~53%
• Autumn fae: ~11%
• Summer fae: ~9%
• Dwarf: ~8%
• Spring fae: ~8%
• Elf: ~7%
• Winter fae: ~5%

Lineages

Aurendale shares a land border with no fewer than four of the other great nations of the Continent, and is within a couple weeks’ sail of two others. Its meritocratic and democratic attitude, combined with a reputation for being a place where those who are willing to put in the hard work to build a life for themselves can flourish, have made it a place where many folk immigrate to for a better life. It is also a neighbor to Faen’miir, with that nation’s large populations of Fae of every season, and so it has had a slow but steady influx of Fae into its population for most of the last two millennia. As a result, Aurendale is a melting pot of many different Lineages, with none other than Human being particularly prominent.

Humans

• Humans make up just over half the Federation’s population.
• Many predominantly-Human families in Aurendale have significant strains of other Lineages running through them; it isn’t at all uncommon for other Lineages to be born to Human parents in Aurendale, especially if the family has been in the Dale for more than a handful of generations.

Elves

• Elves are not common, but not terribly rare, making up just over one in twenty Daleans.
• The first Elves in the Dale were Wood Elves, but Ashen Elves from the Jadefang Archipelago and Vauldan Empire, Snow Elves from Rivermark, and High and Sun Elves from more distant lands have also immigrated into the Dale over the centuries.
• Elves are seen as being a bit impaired in Dalean society, their dampened emotions a cause for pity rather than a source of strength.
• Many Daleans will actively attempt to socialize with the Elves in their lives, bringing them into celebrations and cheerful times in an attempt to “break through” the emotional dampening and show their Elven friend a good time.
• Elves are seen as being more dangerous on the battlefield than other Lineages, though, especially when hunting monsters, and the number of Elves in the Outriders and Wardens is much higher than one would expect based on the demographics of the nation as a whole.

Dwarves

• A bit fewer than one in ten Daleans is a Dwarf.
• Dwarves are viewed as highly competent, but their tendency towards hyperfocus makes them dangerous in Dalean eyes unless they are being actively watched over by someone who can snap them out of it.
• Dwarves are rarely allowed near mines or other digsites in Aurendale, for fear that they’ll keep digging too deep and uncover something that shouldn’t have seen the sun.
• There is also a lingering dislike of the traces of Dwarven culture brought in by the Vauldan Empire during the Imperial Period when the Empire conquered the Dale. Dalean Dwarves who hew to “classically Dwarven” cultural motifs or sayings tend to get the stinkeye from their neighbors.
• As a result, the Dwarven Clans have a hard time holding the loyalty of their members. Most Dalean Dwarves are inclined to give most of their energies and time to their Steading or their community within their City rather than to their Clan.
• The Firelight Clans are a bit of an exception to this. There is a network of establishments throughout the Dale where the proprietors are all from the Firelight Clans and keep in touch with one another.

Fae

• Fae in general are welcome in any community in the Dale. While each season has its own stereotypes and tendencies, they all find their own way to fit well into Dalean society.
• Spring Fae make up just shy of one in ten Daleans.
• Spring Fae fit in well in the Federation, their open emotions and outgoing nature meshing naturally with Aurendale’s culture.
• Summer Fae make up a bit fewer than one in ten Daleans.
• Summer Fae often fall into the role of initiators and fighters in Dalean society, pushing the people around them to take action to make things better and defend their homes against threats.
• Autumn Fae make up a bit more than one in ten Daleans.
• Autumn Fae seem to gravitate towards Aurendale’s rustic charm and communal culture, and they immigrate to the Federation more than any other Lineage.
• Autumn Fae tend to become local leaders in the Dale, taking up positions in Steading Councils and as Castellans out of proportion to their numbers in the general population.
• Winter Fae make up around one in twenty Daleans.
• There’s a stereotype amongst the Daleans that Winter Fae “know things” and thus that any thoughts they have are more informed than those of someone with the same qualifications.