Elisahd means “Many Spirits” in Begnari, and they named the world such because their tradition holds that every important feature of the land is inhabited by its own animated essence, which humans cannot normally see. These spirits embody and protect their territory, whether a portion of river, a grove of trees, or the summit of a mountain.
The Begnari are just one culture of Elisahd, however, populating stretches of the southern coasts on both the eastern and western ends of the continent, their skin tinted by regular exposure to the sun. The Illanese, a paler people, migrated from across the Great Glacier, spilling down into the northern reaches of Elisahd and settling into the lands between the mountains, known as the Cradle of the World. The jungles of Chelpa and Xyanarind are populated by ebony-skinned Sesheem, an inward-looking people who guard their secrets and rarely interact with outsiders. Finally, the Farut fill-in wherever they see fit, not beholden to any ancestral homeland. They are olive-skinned mariners, wanderers of the mountain passes, and thrive across the continent.
Humans aren’t the only sapient inhabitants of Elisahd, however. The fey Eladrin were there first, so they say. With metallic-colored skin and wide, iris-covered eyes, they possess an alarming beauty that made them the favored of Eriane. A clever Eladrin, Trigilas, was the first native to learn how to manipulate the energy of the sahd, after the arrival of the Avatars, of course. He became the world’s original Shaper, pulling upon the unseen magic permeating the air and turning it into useful spells. Once he taught others this skill, Elisahd would never be the same.
More feral anthropomorphs roam the wild places of the world as well. Rauggin (children of Raug) populate the dark woods and caves of the wilderness, and their larger cousins, the Rauglor (chosen of Raug), make things difficult for any who live on the frontiers of civilization. Orcs war among the desolate hills beyond the fringes of human territory, and lizardfolk claim many of the jungles and swamps as their home.