Beast Men

The ‘beast men’ Malvern and his band of Mora encounter in ‘Valley of Visions’ are probably what some call heidelbergensis—the stock that split to become Neanderthals, Densisovans, and modern humans. I say ‘probably’ because they exist in another world and, even if their ancestors came from this one, there could be considerable change and interbreeding over the several hundred thousand years since.

The mighty sorcerer Hurasu named them the First Children. Early in his long life in Exura, he lived for a while among them and fathered offspring. That he could should be expected; if moderns and Neanderthals were mutually fertile, then so should be those from whom both are descended.

By the time of the novel, a small tribe lives in a high mountain valley, the ‘Shrouded Valley,’ somewhat under Hurasu’s protection. Are there other First Children elsewhere in Exura? It would seem likely but we’ve seen none in my other books. Of course, they definitely exist ‘elsewhere’ in infinite existence.

Physically, they look little different from us. Except for their heads—there, the heavier brow, the lower brain-case, the lack of chin, mark them as another people. But perhaps our own species, none the less? If Neanderthals are Homo sapiens, then so would be heidelbergensis. I’ll leave that for others to argue. But they are intelligent, perhaps little less so than we, on average.

We encounter quite another sort of primitive human in ‘Warrior of the Moon.’ These, living on a somewhat remote jungled island, are some variety of Homo erectus. They seem much less ‘human’ than the First Children, though still recognizable as such. I made no mention of language (Um-um-um, the First Children girl who attaches herself to Malvern’s band, chatters constantly) but suspect they have some. They also have the typical tools and skill sets of erectus, though they use them to unfriendly ends when others visit their home!

As an aside, though I’ve not said so outright (in the fiction), it is implied that dwarfs and trolls are at least partially Neanderthal in ancestry. Those Neanderthal (and possibly Denisovan, as well) ancestors would have passed from our world to Exura via the gate in the Ural Mountains. As would pretty much any land-dwelling animal (except birds, to be sure) up until sea-going vessels appeared and the Pacific Gate became a viable portal for humans and whatever animals they might carry with them.

By the time of ‘The Walls Between the Worlds,’ set some two thousand years after Malvern’s adventures, the Shrouded Valley is empty of the First Children. The encroachment of civilization, of modern humans, made it no longer a safe haven. Did they find their way to other, more isolated refuges? That is not something I have explored, as it has little bearing on any of my stories, finished or still in progress. But maybe we’ll find some of that folk again somewhere. Exura is pretty large world.