First note worth mentioning: this story features primarily human beings, with references to the supernatural here and there. While drastic differences in basic features don't occur, differences arise based upon social background and physical living location.
Second note worth mentioning: while regions exist within this world, most people are separated by whether they lived on the Fringe or in the Cities. Villages and cities can differ slightly, based on location and ruling forces, but overall, the similarities outweigh the differences.
The Fringe-Dwellers - The tough, down-to-earth, hard-working for meager pay citizens of your typical village. Most are hardened to the rough environment at an early age, and as a result, genetics have resulted in Fringe-Dwellers having naturally broad shouldered and calloused on both the palms and feet. While some villages suffer heavily from plagues or sickness (especially those along the River of Blood), others are self-supporting: they may still have to pay recompense to the queen, but most of the time, those on the Fringe are left to their own means. Calls for help are rarely answered, and when they are, the armed forces are meager, rambunctious, and, rather ironically, more of a problem instead of a deterrent . . .
The City-Dwellers - The often-frail, philosophical, and servant-employing citizens of your typical city. Those with the good fortune of being born in the cities are nurtured towards a life of luxury: the cost of living anywhere within the city would be considered a small fortune to those on the Fringe. In addition to this "silver-spoon" attitude, the City-Dwellers are heavily invested in science and philosophy: they are always looking for the key to absolute knowledge, they want to know how their world works. Is there a higher power? If so, what does he or she want? Additionally, most City-Dwellers think of those on the Fringe as a plague, and try their hardest to fortify their cities against those who bear signs of sickness. While this level of paranoia is rather commonplace, most of those employed in the profession of Doctor reject these claims. These doctors (who have formed their own union within own particular city) are instead pursuing a different mission: eradicate the disease plaguing the Fringe-Dwellers. This has drawn ire from the high society, but no direct action has taken place yet . . .
The Blood Harvesters - Most people believe they don't exist. Others fear them more than death itself. To be captured by them is to face a fate that even the most demented of torturers couldn't bear to imagine. These people were driven to the edge long ago, when fear of the plague and sickness was at it's peak. Originally a radical group of City-Dwellers, they believed that their blood was poisoned by this plague. As a result, they were possessed by this idea that if they could exchange blood with someone else, they could be rid of their sickness. They haunted the cities, as City-Dwellers would vanish in the middle of the night. People wondered why the Queen didn't order them exiled. Appeals to those in charge went unnoticed. Eventually, the City-Dwellers took a stand, and launched a counter attack against the Blood Harvesters. However, they managed to escape, fleeing to every corner of the continent, some far beyond the reaches of the Queen's power. They still haunt the City-Dwellers today, and the stories and legends have seeped into the tales of the Fringe-Dwellers, transforming a once real and dangerous threat into a ghost story meant to scare children into obedience. They have been silent lately, but people have begun to go missing from the Fringes . . .
Relations - Communication between the Cities and the Fringes is minimal: the occasional trade caravan passes through, but fear of the plague often scares most traders away from the caravans. Those that do venture in the Fringes often invest in hiring a doctor to serve them while they travel, in case one of them gets sick on the road. The Blood Harvesters have become little more than myth now, but certain individuals in high society know that they are, in fact, very real. Some even have . . . business deals with them, every now and then . . .
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