Alze'Ahar lore Pt 4. ~ Humans Pt 3.
I, <Unintelligible name>, who studied the Shui-Rens, say this in referral to the Shui-Ren when conversing with the Master of School's in the Aurian capital of Alexandria after my prolonged study in Shui-Ren territories: "The third and final human race are the Shui-Rens, who have been in the far eastern section of the continent ever since society came into play. Though they have the oldest functioning order, their culture ceased progressing centuries ago, making their society highly traditional and xenophobic." I went on to explain the Shui-Ren society. But beforehand, I detailed their appearance by average: "They are better intellectuals than warriors, but are still capable of both magic and raw combat, as they're highly dexterous. Males can range anywhere from four and a half to six feet in height, while a female can be between four and five feet in height. Both genders typically have an athletic, agile build, which is very much universal when it comes to combat orientation. The Shui-Ren society is largely composed of anti-foreigners. They do not coexist, and are extremely racist. Originally, their magic was less than that of the Shui-Ren, and their society was highly religious. Every now and then, a member of their clergy would be appointed to a role known as "The white One". The White One didn't have to be a priest. They were simply the strongest human the kingdom (before it became an empire) could find. It was largely a cosmetic title with little official power, as they simply went about doing good and performing miracles. But as it turned out, every White One was of a particular bloodline - the ugly truth of their religion is that it was based off pagan and demonic traditions, and the power some Aurians had at the time was gained from covenants with beings these old religions worshiped. Namely, interbreeding with such beings in unnatural union. The more negative the entity pacts were formed with, the stronger the bloodline, but the more unstable it became too. Eventually the ancient equivalent of a Psychotic Aurian appeared as the White One, who later inhaled a mass of dark spirits in a suicidal fit, becoming a morbid but still humanoid being that was a fusion of many entities - known as King Alexander, later to be Emperor Alexander, and finally Empress Alexandria after a gender change. Their religion changed in a decade, their culture shifted from morality to carnal wants and decadence, and hedonism became common. After Alexandria perished with no heirs, the process for choosing a new dictator was simple, though a senate existed for when the throne was empty. Any White One who chose to stain themselves with darkness, which would give them power at the cost of possession and rapid self-decay, would then become a Dark Lord much like Alexandria and continue "her" pact. Their life span was shortened, but they commanded enough power as to be impervious to assassination. Their souls however were consumed by the poisonous essence within them within a mere five years, the equivalent of an elected leader's term in their society. Sacrifice of life became the road to political power, and that was to be the specific the sacrifice of one's own life. Unfortunately, Psychotic Aurians sometimes took the throne, and caused much strife in their own nation or sometimes unexpected prosperity. It eventually broke the empire, forcing them to lose much territory - they are much smaller in comparison to the other human country. Currently, Alexandria isn't an empire. But instead, it is a struggling republic trying to find a new Dark Lord. White Ones are killed on refusing to inherit the pact. Unfortunately, nearly a dozen White Ones have refused, and some have escaped persecution which delays the time in which a new one can be forced into existence."
