For the first taster, I've put a brief description of some of the playable races that will be available. Its not all the details I have on them yet, and its not a full list of all the races, but hey, its only a taster. Let me know what you think!
Humans
During the golden age of Fulcrum, humans were no more prevalent than any of the other sentient races. This was changed by the terrible event, which for reasons unknown spared more humans than any other race. Humans now outnumber all other races combined. They exhibit less innate raw magical power than the others, but make up for this with a great flexibility, with many mages of high renown in the various schools. Indeed, in some of the more complex and subtle schools, such as the school of High Manipulation, almost all of the notable scholars are human. Humans other remarkable magical ability is known as the Speech. The Speech allows humans to understand all languages without having to learn them, whilst being itself a language that all other sentient races can understand.
Ancru
The Ancru Cast are a crablike race, identifiable by their thick chitinous shell, hunched posture, and tendency to have plants growing from their bodies. They are a hugely pragmatic race, who believe practicality to be more important than concepts of Good or Evil. This leads to such practices as raising the corpses of their recently deceased relatives as zombie servants, which has lead to them being ostracised by many of the other races. The Ancru refer to races as Castes as they believe each race fills a purpose in the world, which is their allotted Caste. Ancru, in their language, refers to someone who reduces waste and tides up after others. Although they believe the other races also fit into their Caste system, they are reluctant to discuss it with others as they have learnt that it is often perceived as offensive. At least one major inter-racial conflict, between themselves and the Avians, was initially triggered by such a discussion.
Efrit
The Efrit are sometimes called the People of the Desert. This is partially due to their origins in the great deserts of the east, but is also in part due their appearance. Their essentially humanoid bodies are largely made of a sand-like substance, which they keep wrapped in baggy clothes and headdresses. It is not uncommon for Efrit to be covered almost from head to toe in places like Fulcrum, due to contact with water being extremely uncomfortable. In the City they mostly take jobs as couriers their speed and agility allowing them to almost float across the city roofs, or as dancers, with their agility combining with their innate passions.
Verme
The Verme, often mistakenly (and insultingly) called Worms, are one of the stranger residents of Fulcrum. Each "individual" is actually a mass of separate creatures, working together with a hive like mentality. When interacting with the other races, they coalesce into a vaguely humanoid form. Each creature in the group has a separate purpose, such as providing sight, or hearing, or musculature. This makes a Verme extremely difficult to kill, as they can recover from almost any loss given enough time for new creatures to be grown. The only exception to this is the queen, who forms the equivalent of the brain of the Verme. Although the Verme can survive the loss of a queen, a new personality will form along with the new queen. When this happens, the individual that is created is often referred to as being the child of the original, even though many of the parts of the body remain.
Fuego
At a glance, a Fuego could easily be mistaken for human. The visible difference is in two areas: a Fuegos skin tone is a slightly reflective metallic colour, commonly gold or silver, and secondly a Fuego is very rarely seen without some part of their body on fire, often their heads or eyes. They are proud, deeply religious people, and are the founders of the Church of the Lightbringers, but although nearly all Lightbringers are Fuegos, not all Fuegos are Lightbringers. The Fuegos believe strongly in honesty, purity and the destruction of what they perceive to be evil, which gives them an in built hatred of all Dark magics. They are obsessed with physical cleanliness, and will regularly use their ability to generate great heat through their skin to keep themselves and their heat resistant clothing spotless.