There are old and powerful beings scattered across Arda. In general, they are longer-lived (sometimes immortal) but far less numerous than the mortal races. All are powerful, inherently capable of using arcane magic and frequently skilled with it. It is universally agreed by all that magic began among the arcane races, but there is no agreement as to which of the races was responsible. They all lack souls, and cannot be saved from the Cycle of Arda by belief in the True Faith.
Dragons
Gigantic reptiles, full of the fury of fire and water. Dragons fall into two types, those who live underground, breathe fire and can cause earthquakes, and those who live underwater, breathe lightning and can cause thunderstorms. Many but not all dragons can fly on mighty bat-like wings. Almost all the land-dragons have been killed by the gods or the giants or (occasionally) the mortal races. Most of the water-dragons dwell in the west, where they acknowledge the sovereignty of the Jade Emperor of Heaven and serve either in the Ministry of Rain or in the Ministry of the Sea.
Fey
Spirits of the natural wilderness. The fey take numerous forms, from the elves of Glendal in the south-east to the bamboo people of Bawa in the north-west, but generally resemble the predominant mortal race (human, kattar or davinan) in appearance. In all places they live in greatest numbers in the untamed forests and jungles, away from the mortal races who clear the land and fetter it with farms and fields. They are dangerous and magical creatures, flighty and fickle.
Giants
Towering figures from the highest mountains, the giants are the progenitors of the gods, the lesser giants, and possibly the humans. The giants can live in only a few parts of Arda because they suffocate when there isn't enough ether in the air. Almost all live in Kars and Lesser Kars among the highest peaks of the Mountains Under Heaven, but some live in the mountains of Mercania, the Koryaz Mountains south of Khitai and the Thanagost Mountains of Mungoda. The eastern parts of the Nenian Mountains are also high enough for giants to breathe comfortably, but the Emphidian gods killed and drove off the giants over a thousand years before the founding of Selentia. The giants travel great distances far above Arda on their cloud-castles, and many regularly move between winter homes in Kars and summer homes in Mercania. Giants are prone to sudden changes of emotion, but well-known for their sense of honour.
Gods
Oldest and mightiest children of the giants, the various groups of gods were worshipped by the humans throughout almost all of Arda before the coming of the True Faith. Petty and cruel, the gods often cursed their worshippers with calamities and suffering, and used them in their wars against giants, dragons and other gods. The largest group of the gods has always been those that serve the Jade Emperor of Heaven, who reigns in his mighty palace high in the clouds over the Celestial Sea and whose authority is recognised throughout the western half of Arda. The next largest group is the Emphidian Twelve, who live on Hyparasia in the Nenian Mountains but have lost almost all their influence in Selentia to the power of the True Faith. The Kaikuhuran gods, whose sway once extended from the foothills of the Mountains Under Heaven to the shores of the Sea of Lament, grew decadent and were driven west to Batubatan by the Emphidian Twelve and the armies of their Selentine Empire. The remaining Kaikuhuran gods now reside in Raurin. The gods usually present themselves in the form of humans of either normal or above-average height, often as tall as the lesser giants.