Dragon Warriors

One of the presuppositions of the Pluto setting is that as mankind made its way into the solar system and beyond, we were also taking greater control of our genetics. To better thrive in the varied and often adverse conditions found in space and on other worlds, men altered themselves to better adapt to those conditions. When particular modifications were found to be highly successful and duplicated in large numbers, these effectively became new races of man. Among the most prominent of these are:

Halflings: These small folk were the first major offshoot of the standard human (or what is now called an "old-style human"). Their small stature, keen senses, and enhanced dexterity served them well in zero- and low-gravity conditions, such as on remote space stations or outposts in the asteroid belt. To battle the sense of isolation that one would commonly face in many of those environments, halflings were given a strong psychological predilection for attaching themselves to and being content in their home environments. For this reason, when the bulk of mankind left our solar system for the stars, most of the halflings remained behind. Even in this late age, halfling communities that have survived the many millennia can still be found scattered about the outer solar system.

Dwarves: As the desire to travel beyond our solar system grew among men, collecting the mineral resources of our home system and using them to build huge spacecraft and other technological wonders became a high priority. To help satisfy this demand, the race of dwarves was created. Like the previously designed halflings, dwarves were made shorter than standard humans to better handle cramped conditions and sub-Earth gravity. In most other regards, though, dwarves are very different.

Intellectually, dwarves have uniformly superb spacial intelligence. They were given an incredible ability and desire to focus on their work, making them unsurpassed in skill in many trades. At the same time, this single-mindedness has often been a major source of problems for the race, as even their interest in such frivolities as reproduction has suffered as a result. Physically, dwarves are very tough and are able to see with very minimal illumination. This collection of qualities made dwarves ideally suited to deep mining in such hostile environments as Mercury, Neptune's moon Triton, and the so-called Dwarf planets (including Pluto), and on these worlds the dwarves dug massive underground domains while uncovering tremendous wealth and building the means for man to venture into the wider galaxy.

With the sun's days now numbered, this race of men is seriously diminished. Small clans of dwarves, usually those who have collectively managed to control the most extreme aspects of their nature, can still be found, and it is from such groups that adventurous sorts occasionally emerge.

Elves: It is questionable whether elves (which is a euphemism for "post-humans") are a race of man or are simply a successor to man, as different from old-style humans as as old-styles are from common apes. As humanity was on the verge of widespread migration to the stars, so too was our species achieving amazing command of such fields as genetics and quantum physics. The astonishing abilities to manipulate the building blocks of our DNA and the fabric of the universe around us allowed for feats that were widely called "magic." Elves are the incarnation of these powers in a human form, and for countless ages, they were the face of man to the universe.

In most respects, post-humans are plainly superior to old-styles, and even to off-shoots such as halflings and dwarves. They enjoy tremendously keen senses, a natural affinity for magic, uniformly good looks, and virtual immortality. When they choose to do so, they can be as gods among men. However, these gods, like those of many ancient pantheistic religions, are flawed. Unwilling to completely abandon their humanity, elves necessarily retain human foibles. And as century after century passed and they saw fewer and fewer things surprise them, so too did many elves grow weary and carry a deepening sense of sadness.

Today, some number of elves have come back to their home system for the first time in many ages. Some of these are ancients who have come to see the star that born them extinguished, and are perhaps of a mind to be extinguished as well. Others are relative youths who wish to look upon and dwell under the sun for the first and last time. However, nearly all of the posts- are intrigued by the strange circumstances that they've encountered upon their return.

Humans: Often called "old-style humans" or just "old-styles" by dwarves, elves, and halflings, this race of man is, genetically speaking, as close to those who participated in the agricultural and industrial revolutions on Earth as can be found in this late era.

Old-styles are a fairly rare breed at this point in time. Within a thousand years of man first stepping on the surface of Luna, they were already a minority among the different races of men. Lacking the specialized advantages of their kindred, they were best suited to the world that they evolved upon, a world that was ultimately doomed to be consumed by its sun. That equation sped the old-styles' decline, as few wanted to doom themselves or their progeny to that fate, nor miss out on the galactic wonders that were opening up to mankind. Most of them, therefore, used genome manipulation to better equip themselves for life beyond Earth.

Nevertheless, there were significant numbers of old-style humans who were determined to maintain their natural genetic heritage, and not all of them were content to remain on their home world. These adventurous types produced small fleets of spacecraft that they took into the stars to seek their fortunes. Lacking the longevity of post-humans, these old-styles often settled into cryo-sleep chambers to preserve themselves over the course of their long journeys, and the results of their voyages varied widely.

It was the humans of one such expedition that now, so many eons later, have provided Pluto with such a large proportion of its population of men. For reasons still not entirely understood, the flotilla of these old-styles missed their destination. For ages they drifted around the galaxy, sleeping in stasis. At last, the surviving vessels of this fleet happened upon the solar system they had left so long ago. With sensors detecting a habitable world on the outskirts of the system, the ships descended in fiery fury across the small planetoid.

These old-styles had arrived on a new world, but not the one they had intended to reach, nor one they expected to see. It was wild, cold, and dangerous. Given the length of their journey and the damage caused by chance asteroid impacts along their path and by their rough landing on Pluto, many of the tools they had brought with them were no longer functionaal. Worse yet, while their cryo-sleep had kept their bodies mostly intact, many of the humans' memories were lost to time, and disorientation was widespread.

Two things probably saved the old-styles from destruction. The first was their psychological make-up. While other races of men would likely have failed under such adverse conditions, the flexibility and self-motivation of the humans allowed them to quickly adapt to the harsh environment. The second was the intervention by some of the small numbers of other races of men already living on Pluto. With the help of a handful of halfling traders, dwarf survivors, and elf visitors, the old-styles began entrenching themselves on the small world, making Pluto into a new home.

Liking this stuff so far! Curious about your ideas for magic.