Pangaea is a divided world.

Many, many thousand years ago a small continent of the sea was pressed by tectonic forces against the huge super-continent, becoming one with it, and pressing up an enormous mountain range in the process.

These steep, cragged mountains have ever since kept apart the peoples on each side; the children of the vast land, and the newcomers from the sea. All but forgotten to each other, they live forever separated, remembered only through ancient myths, folktales and legends.

The Arani.

Arani are the people of the east, golden-skinned, fair of eye and hair. From the dense rainforests of the south, deserts and plains of the east, to the cold, forestclad, rocky north they live, their cultures rich and diverse.

Carryn-yehl.

Nothern Arani are rather large and muscular of build, with what we'd probably refer to as 'European'-type faces. Their skin is golden, sometimes hinting at pale bronze, and their eyes the colors of nature; grey, green, brown, occasionally a faded blue.

Sirn and the East.

The desert-people of Sirn are golden, almost sparkling as the sun tans their skin. Their hair is often somewhat darker than that of their neighbors in the north; auburn, brown or dark honey-blond. Their features are proud and sharp, often with aquiline noses and dark, thick lashes.

The people of the plains to the north-east and east have skins different shades of bronze, and often curly hair and well-marked cheekbones. They often lead a nomadic life, and love pretty jewelry and colorful clothes.

Ku'Ombos and the South.

The Arani living in the south, and south-east are sometimes called 'jengu' by the westerners. They have copper-red skin, and the same aquiline noses as their cousins in Sirn, though sometimes even sharper. Their cheekbones are very pronounced, their lips full, and they like to braid their hair in different fashions, often decorating it with beads and feathers.

The Ititshi.

The people who lived on the separate continent that crashed into Pangaea many millenia ago are the Ititshi. Having evolved separated from other peoples they have developed certain special traits that came in useful during their pre-historic time as primitive creatures of their island and shallow-sea habitat.
Their characteristic white skin is due to a structure-mutation in the skin rather than lack of pigmentation, which effectively reflects the UV-lights of the abundant sunlight in a near-water environment. The constant wincing against light on the water also helped evolve their slanted eyes, and like with many species living in areas of much reflected sunlight, their irises grew larger, to prevent getting blinded by the light, thus giving them their intense, colorful eyes.

The North.

The Ititshi of the north are elegant of build. They have fine, delicate features, and the white skin and slanted eyes that are typical for their race. Their hair is rich black, though very, very rarely hints of dark brown, or black cherry can occur. Their almond-shaped eyes can be virtually any color.

The South.

The Ititshi of the southern mainland and archipelago are as lithe and pale as their neighbors further north, but have some characteristics of their own. Especially on the islands, different shades of amber is a very common eye-color, and so red, orange, yellow or peach colored eyes are often a typical southern trait. It's also common for their hair to be more of a dark grey than pure black, often with a faint steely sheen to it. Their features are somewhat more flattened than those of the northerners, and it's not uncommon for them to be marginally shorter.

Mix n' match?

While the peoples rarely have much contact, there are times when they do meet - in Machra-la, for instance, where imported exotic slaves are highly valued. In these circumstances, as the peoples mix and breed, genetics go wild and can give the most surprising results.