Lumian are the humanoid peoples of Origor — the dominant sapient species. They predate the Urknall; Lumian communities existed in the grey-green world before any fragment landed.
Before the Urknall
Pre-Urknall Lumian communities were scattered across Origor, living by farming, fishing, and trade. They were not organized into biome-factions; those divisions came after the fragments landed and Nevril began transforming territories.
The oral traditions that survive from this era (through the Thalvori Archive Singers) describe a world that was "held together" — the Thalvori term for whatever quality the grey-green world had that the current world lacks. The pre-Urknall Lumian did not apparently feel the world as fragmented. They felt it as coherent.
After the Urknall
The Lumian who stayed near their fragment's landing site transformed — over generations — into the biome-specific cultures that now exist. The Thalvori are the Lumian who did not follow any fragment. They are the most physiologically "baseline" Lumian in Origor — closest to the pre-Urknall state.
Physical Variation by Faction
Nevril saturation produces measurable physiological differences:
Molten Scar Lumian: Higher heat tolerance. Skin darkened from ash exposure. The most saturated individuals glow faintly at joints.
Verdant Dome Lumian: Sensitivity to root-network chemical signals. Partial root-integration in the most saturated individuals (see: Thornhüter Brenne).
Frozen Silence Lumian: Lowered baseline body temperature. The most saturated appear significantly younger than their chronological age; KRYO preservation effects extend lifespan measurably. Breath fogs in standard-temperature rooms.
Seeping Fen Lumian: Grey-green skin tint in the heavily saturated. Altered wound-healing — wounds seal with fungal tissue rather than standard healing. The boundary between Lumian and post-death state is more permeable here than anywhere else.
Gilded Void Lumian: Extended peripheral vision. The most saturated develop golden iris coloration. The Glass Clan are at the furthest extreme: crystalline body conversion, no longer requiring organic maintenance.
Mountain Plateaus Lumian: Mineral deposits in bone tissue. Partial or full limb mineralization in extreme cases. Wounds in the most saturated produce mineral dust rather than blood.
Chromatic Pastures Lumian: Visible PRISMA emission in the heavily saturated — a slow color-cycling visible through skin and clothing.
Two Dialects
Lumian has two major dialects: northern and southern. Both are mutually intelligible. The southern dialect is spoken by most Thalvori and Chromatic Pastures communities. The northern dialect is spoken by Frozen Silence, Mountain Plateaus, and Verdant Dome communities. The Molten Scar and Gilded Void have developed distinct regional variants.