Human (XC3)

Humans are a race in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

Physical traits
The humans of Aionios are similar to Earth humans in physique and age at a similar rate. While many appear entirely human, just as many have additional traits based on the races of Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2, such as:
 * Grey skin with engraving-like patterns, like a Machina
 * Headwings the same colour as their hair, like a High Entia
 * Ether lines, like a
 * Cat ears, like a Gormotti
 * Face scales, like a Urayan
 * Blue skin and pointed ears, like an Indoline

In addition, all humans from Agnus (regardless of their traits form the above list) have a Core Crystal-like formation on their body, which is commonly hidden. Usually it is on the chest like an Alrest Blade's, but for some it is elsewhere. Humans from Keves do not have such a "global" trait. All of these traits are generally only cosmetic; they are all considered equally "human".

All humans also intrinsically possess an Iris, a virtual reality overlay in one of their eyes, and a, a summonable weapon.

Kevesi/Agnian humans
Kevesi and Agnian soldiers are artificially created within so-called cradles at their respective nations' castles. Newly-created soldiers are physically similar to a ten-year-old, with the Cradles also providing conditioning to make up for the solders' missing childhoods. These humans live for a maximum of ten "terms", with each term lasting for one year. Humans that survive until the end of their tenth and final term receive a "Homecoming", reaching the end of their lives at a physical age of about 20 years. However, the vast majority of Kevesi and Agnian humans die before this. Receiving a Homecoming ceremony in the presence of a queen is considered a major honor and is the lifetime goal of many soldiers. Despite the ten year lifespan, they are still capable of reproducing.

Soldiers that are killed before their Homecoming leave behind husks and are reborn from the cradles, with their lives being "recycled". Memories of their previous lives are erased, but may still appear as dreams, or during special situations or when looking at certain individuals that has connection with. The cycle of rebirth is not known by the soldiers themselves. Individuals who have a Homecoming are generally gone forever.

Most Kevesi and Agnian humans are bound to the Flame Clock of a Ferronis, and will die if the Flame Clock becomes empty. As the Flame Clocks are filled by taking lives, the soldiers are forced into constant warfare. However, there are several ways to free someone from a Flame Clock, such as destroying the Flame Clock or turning the freed person into an Ouroboros. It is possible to reassign a person from one Flame Clock to another, which is done as part of colony reassignments. Conversely, it is said that if someone has been detached from a Flame Clock completely, they cannot be reattached without being reborn.

Kevesi have their Iris in their right eye, while Agnians have it in their left. Their Blades also have either blue or yellow elements matching their nationality.

The true purpose behind the fighting and the rebirth is to provide fuel for Moebius, who feed on the lives of soldiers stored in Flame Clocks. The Consuls prefer to have their soldiers die in battle, but are also shown capable of directly harvesting the lives of still-breathing soldiers.

Term marks
Every human born from a cradle has a mark on their body, which starts completely red at their first term. As they go through their ten year lifespan, each side of the mark gradually gets darker. Once the mark becomes completely dark after the end of their tenth term, their life ends and evaporates into golden motes during their Homecoming. It is possible to remove the term mark and allow someone a full life, though this requires intervention by a higher power. Humans born from Kevesi and Agnians do not inherit the marks and live full lives upon birth.

All soldiers from Keves and Agnus share the same type of term mark. However, every individual's term mark is differently located on their body and will remain in the same place in every reincarnation. All six main characters' term mark are located on a visible part of their body. There are also those whose term marks are located under their clothes (eg. Alexandria and Ashera) or hair (eg. Segiri), or are only visible when wearing certain clothing (eg. Nimue, whose term mark only appears in her younger form.).

Naturally-born humans
Humans born naturally are physically the same as humans born from Cradles, but are able to live full lives from infancy until death by old age, as they are not bound by the same ten-year lifespan as a Kevesi or Agnian human.

The only known naturally-born humans of Aionios are those belonging to the City, which tries to keep itself hidden from Moebius. All citizens of the City are said to be descendants of Ouroboros, and have inherited some of such traits, such as being able to choose different sorts of Blades. When a natural-born human dies, they always dissipate into golden motes, without ever leaving husks behind.

Naturally-born humans are still on either the Kevesi or Agnian "side", which affects their Iris cardinality and Interlink capability. It also affects their potential physical traits, such as cat ears or core crystals, though over the generations this appears to dilute enough that no one in the modern City has any such traits apparent. Their Blades have orange elements.

It is possible to attach a naturally-born human to the Flame Clock system, allowing them to be reborn within the Kevesi or Agnian cycle. The details are unknown, as are why this can't be done to those who were freed while alive.

Trivia

 * In Future Redeemed, during the quest Snow Man's Treasure, the relationship between Kevesi with headwings and High Entia is highlighted by Hyzen's interaction with the entrance to La Luz Temple, with the temple's door featuring a High Entia emblem that only said race can open.
 * The term mark is one of the main elements of the title logo of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 as it faintly appears in the "3" of the title Logo.