Adaptation and ambition
Humans are one of Aethelgard’s Twelve Mortal Civilisations and are generally a non-magical people. What they lack in innate supernatural strength they compensate for through numbers, organisation and an unusual ability to adapt to new environments and changing circumstances. Humans are among the principal engines of industry, defence, logistics and statecraft across the mortal world.
Human power is therefore collective rather than inherent. Their societies can build large armies, complex institutions and ambitious works quickly, but the same ambition that drives expansion can also produce rivalry and division. Their influence repeatedly comes from coordination, invention and the determination to reshape circumstances by mortal means rather than innate magical power.