The Human Element

The existence of the ‘human’ species is a cautionary footnote in the Deepstone Era archives. They are defined by their transience: an ephemeral entity bound to the upper strata, exhibiting rapid life cycles and volatile, surface-level ambitions. Unlike the steadfast geology of the Iron-Grip Mountains, human civilizations are historically recorded as fleeting, quick to rise and quicker to crumble into dust, a tendency our scholars call Surface Entropy. They rarely harness the deep, pure Auric Resonance, preferring localized, short-lived technologies like the volatile Pyric Engines. Our records primarily intersect with their kind only during epochs of great energetic instability, such as the long Age of Lingering Echoes, following the Great Sundering, scattered Human settlements briefly coalesced, drawn by rumors of unstable Aetherium deposits leaking to the surface. They are most notably cataloged by the Coastal Sages, who track their cyclical coastal empires and chart their disastrous maritime ambitions. Humans serve as a constant reminder that true power resides not in depth, but in the deep, silent permanence of the stone.