Deianeira

Name: Deianeira
Deity: Andores
Lifespan: Deianeira can live up to 1500 years, with an average lifespan somewhere around 1200 years.
Procreation: Sexual reproduction is somewhat rare, and undertaken with planning and forethought. Unplanned procreation is almost nonexistent. Most Deianeira only birth one child in their long lives, although there are exceptions. Deianeira can only birth female babies, and their children are born with Deianeira traits no matter what folk they procreate with. Due to there being no men in their society, a Deianeira must leave their home and venture out to find a mate suitable enough to sire her offspring.
Organization: A clanlike matriarchal society ruled by a High Priestess and a circle of Elders. All decisions are made collectively and most Deianeira live within the centralized community and its outlying areas. There are few exceptions: those who choose to exist alone in other places, and outcasts who have been banished. Occurrences of this are rare and usually reserved for severe crimes.
Language: Old Macedo, a combination of old Andorian and old Terran. Although most speak the common tongues as well.
Appearance: Deianeira are hearty beings. Tall, standing on average between 5'10 and 6'3, they tend to be muscular and strong. Their skin, hair and eyes vary in hue and come in any commonly found color. Most people would describe them as both beautiful and intimidating. In their alternate form, they become living weapons. Their hands and feet become sharp talons and their teeth elongate. Their faces twist into angular forms and they sprout large sinewy wings similar to a bats.
Strengths:

• The Deianeira possess what is known as the “Andor Gift”, it is a unique kind of magic that allows for a telepathic link between a woman and their pegasus steed.
• Deianeira thrive in hot temperatures and are often found comfortable in temperatures that others would perish from. They have a special affinity for fire.
• They excel in physical strength and stamina, often being able to fight longer and harder than their opponents. With their tall and muscular builds, they are excellent warriors. They excel in most weapons and usually specialize in a single one. Most commonly sword, spear, or archery.
• A lot of them have some base level healing skill, given to them as a gift from their goddess to keep them strong and healthy. Some Deianeira choose to specialize in this and eschew combat except for self-defense.
• Fury is their ally. In times when added strength is needed, the Deianeira can let their quest for justice spill into vengeance and they transform into their winged sister form. This form has added strength benefits, but also comes with a mindless thirst for vengeance and blood.

Weaknesses:

• Their gift is beginning to fail, weakening the link between rider and steed. They are particularly susceptible to mental magic that could tamper with it further.
• If a Pegasus or a Deianeira is killed, their bond partner often dies too.
• Lightning
• Extreme cold for a prolonged period of time will drain their strength and energy.
• As a society, they are fairly set in their ways. They do not like to deviate too far from their own customs.

History: In Deianeiran legend, it says that they were born of a single woman’s pain and her quest for justice. They say that she was in love with a man who treated her poorly in many ways. So poorly, in fact, that he left her no choice but to take drastic action. When her community would not heed her cries for help, she found herself dying upon the floor of her home. A mysterious presence came to her and offered her what she could not get for herself, freedom… and vengeance. With leathery wings and deadly claws, she cut the living strings of her partner and proved to the townsfolk that they should have done more to help. It is at that point in the story that a storyteller would always make sure to tell the audience that the townsfolk would never make that same mistake again.
Along with this unexpected transformation, the woman was gifted a special link, a telepathic ability to communicate and live with the Pegasus. Pegasus are capricious creatures, never letting other beings near them. It was declared that this woman and her line would be the only ones who would be able to work with them in a bond of mutual trust and respect. This great mother of the Deianeira went on to sire three daughters with the three strongest men she could find, and spread this gift into a branching tree of warriors that persists to this day.
Whether that myth is true to some degree or not, they do know that the Deianeira society sprung up in southern Marē and built their settlements along the banks of a convergence of many rivers, where they have prospered for many years. Every living Deianeira can trace her lineage back to their original foremother, each gifted with her gift for cohabitation with their Pegasus. The Deianeira make up an elite part of the Marēn army, a unit of women warriors known as the Polemusa. Their exact mission is unknown to those outside of their society, but they are known far and wide for their fierce defense of Marē and its interests. Atop their winged steeds who are just as deadly as they are, they are capable of raining both death and deliverance depending on what the situation calls for.

Societal norms/mores:

• The Deianeira are a wholly female society, not allowing men into their ranks at all. They are remarkably egalitarian, deferring to their council for guidance but making large decisions collectively.
• They raise their children to learn the ways of fighting early, often giving their infants a toy weapon in the cradle that is chosen for them in an elaborate ceremony similar to baptism.
• A Deianeira youth is matched with her winged equine companion at the time of their first bleeding, and the two become inseparable after doing all of their training together from that day forward. A Deianeira warrior lives and works beside her steed. It becomes a part of her family.
• The family structure is not done in small units, but as a collective. Children are raised not only by their birthing parent but by all the other women in their settlement. They learn the values of community service and duty to their people early.
• As a society, they value justice and fairness above all else. They also place a lot of stock in bravery and self-sacrifice to benefit the whole. They are an extremely close knit society with very defined traditions.