Corvine

Written by Silverlyte

Half bird, half canine creatures, corvines are a nocturnal race who thrive in the shadowy caverns underneath the surface of their world. One of the six races in the Devan Under realm, corvines are the sapient descendants of prehistoric bird-dog hybrids who were the offspring of the god of darkness and destruction. The race as a whole is organized as one tribe, large as a state. The tribe is overseen by a council consisting of the shaman (the religious leader), the merchant guild leader and the chief.

Basic Information

Anatomy

As hybrids, corvines share the same characteristics as the species that make up their components. A typical corvine is bipedal (although capable of quadrupedalism). The upper body, head, arms and chest of a corvine are the avian half; the lower body, hindlegs and tail of a corvine are the canine half. Because of this physical division, corvines do not possess mammaries, but they give birth to live young (very few possess the ability to lay eggs).
Despite the rigid separation of their bird and canine parts, the head has some canine traits - in particular, all corvines have large, horn-like ears similar to their god. Like dogs, the corvine's ears are motile and expressive, indicative of their mood even if the corvine's facial expression does not show it. A corvine's beak also tends to have small sharp protrusions on the side mimicking fangs, despite the presence of dog-like teeth hidden inside the beak.

Biological Traits

Between the sexes, males tend to be bigger than females in both height and weight. Aside from this, there is little disparity among male and female.

Genetics and Reproduction

Corvines can give birth to 3-5 newborns per pregnancy, although there are some cases when a corvine only has one newborn. Regardless, some choose to not have children. An individual corvine can only be a combination of one species of bird and one species of canine. In addition, the bird part of a corvine must be from either a nocturnal species, a primarily scavenger species, a Corvidae species, or a monochrome-colored species (as opposed to their sister race, the acqine). A corvine can also inherit different species from their parents at random (regardless of the sex of the parent). For example, a corvine whose father is part owl, part wolf and whose mother is part grey-jay, part wild dog may be owl/wild dog, grey-jay/wolf, or even the same combination as one of the parents.

Growth Rate & Stages

Due to the nature of their dimension, time moves at a different scale, and corvines grow half the rate as humans in terms of chronology, but the corvine itself doesn't notice the age gap. When a corvine is born, they resemble quadrupedal pups with large amounts of feather-fur fluff, small ears and a beak. The infants will grow quickly from this stage and reach the equivalent of a human one-year old. In the time between infant and juvenile, the corvine learns to become bipedal and start wearing clothing. It becomes a juvenile when it is chronologically three years old; this is the only time when it and a human's ages are identical. Afterwards, the corvine's growth rate and maturation becomes half the length of a human's, so two chronological years for a human will be only one year for a corvine. The phase for a juvenile corvine is roughly ten corvine years. After the juvenile phase, the corvine is considered an adolescent at the corvine age of sixteen (chronologically thirty-two years). Around this time, the corvine undergoes a significant growth spurt, reaching their natural height and finishing up development by the time they are twenty-five (chronologically fifty years). They then enter their final adult phase and become sexually reproductive at age thirty (chronologically sixty years).

Ecology and Habitats

Corvines inhabit large caverns beneath the surface. Due to their sensitivity to light, corvines are less willing to step out into brightly-lit areas and remain inside caverns. They are housed inside huts and tents.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Corvines are omnivores, although they have an appetite for carrion. If there is not enough detriment to forage nor fruits for harvesting, they will resort to hunting.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

On the corvines' head is a cluster of feathers that form a crest. Crests are a sexually dimorphic trait: females' crests tend to have deep, dark colors while males' crests tend to be warmer, light colors. Another unique trait among males is visible sclera, which females lack.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Corvine are innate shadow manipulators, and thrive in dark. All corvine are nocturnal and see perfectly in pitch black; however, their eyes and skin are incredibly sensitive to sunlight.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Masculine names end with a soft "-l" (i.e. Virgil, Markell). Feminine names end with a hard "n" but spelled with "-ne" (i.e. Dawne, Erraine)

Major Organizations

Corvine religion has no name, but it revolves around the belief and worship of the element of darkness. Like the other races, the corvines worship their godly progenitor as their tutelary deity in the realm's religious system. It is said that the god's elemental power is imparted to every descendant of its children; thus, every corvine has the potential to practice darkness magic, a belief that is praised by the tribe. In fact, corvine with a strong relationship to darkness are considered "blessed" by the god itself, and often hold a high position in corvine politics and society through a religion-based role (a priest is perhaps the highest and second only to shaman). Despite the god's secondary responsibility as a bringer of destruction, corvines normally hold no fear and embrace every positive and negative aspect of their god, regardless of its fearsome, deadly capabilities.
Although religion constitutes a major role in corvine society, there are corvines outside of the tribe known for their exploits in trades and commerce. A merchant type, these corvines are cunning negotiators fueled by greed and gain, though they will display generosity for those less fortunate. They have several trade routes established with the other races, although their strong ties to the corvine homeland often requires the clients to journey to the border of corvine territory and come to the merchants instead of the other way around. These merchant corvines also have a vagabond-esque lifestyle occupying the farthest borders of the corvine homeland; they will only return to the heart of the tribe to bargain with the items they've acquired. As a result of this economic influence, a merchant guild exist in the tribe. Members of the guild trade around goods and commodities among themselves and the corvine folk - for a price, of course. In fact, most of the supplies the tribe receives from outside their home are made possible from this business.

Courtship Ideals

When a female corvine is ready to mate, the corvine have a courting ritual the males must perform to earn the female's interest. Like dogs, the males must search for a female to woo while warding off rivals, and the female is in charge of deciding whether or not he pleases her. Originally, the bright crests of the males helped them attract females, but as their evolution progressed, females became picky and desired more than just aesthetics for a proper mate. Now, most males must demonstrate prowess or skill to woe the female's heart, although fighting off a rival suitor will also work in the victor's favor.

Relationship Ideals

Partners are considered equal and worthy of respect between each other. However, infidelity is looked down upon.

Average Technological Level

Currently, the corvine are in a tribal stage, so most of their appliances are made of stone and wood.

Common Dress Code

Almost every corvine wears at least a cloak, cape or robe in order to hide themselves from the slightest ray of light. Some will even cover themselves with older feathers from previous molts. Some corvine families also decorate themselves with jewelry as signs of their lineage.
Corvine merchants have a tendency to decorate themselves with large amounts of jewelry and riches, distinguishing them from other corvine.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Corvines are family packs, so they are very loyal towards each other, going as far as to consider unrelated corvine as close relatives. That is not to say they won't shame a family member if said member performs a taboo - in worst cases, they will ignore the individual's pleas for forgiveness, and may even reject them as their own. Corvines are born and raised among their own; with the exception of economic and more ruthless corvine, few corvine leave the tribe's territory to venture into other areas nor the realms outside their own. However, some magic-attuned corvines have special portals set up in their homes for the purpose of sacred pilgrimages outside of the Deva realm. As a result of their travels, these corvine are incredibly knowledgeable in affairs outside the Deva realm; however, they often avoid taking part of foreign affairs so as to prevent any disturbance or outsiders from invading the tribe.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

When a corvine is juvenile, they are sent to training their natural affinity with darkness through a series of tests and trials. The ability to practice darkness magic is strongly influenced by the individual's desire to utilize it - some may not be able to harness magic at all. A corvine's shadow is unique in that it doesn't match the shape of the corvine it belongs to. Corvine children, especially the children of priests, are encouraged to embrace complete and destructive darkness, regardless of the student’s own trepidations. A student who rejects using raw power is a sign of disgrace towards other corvine - to them, it is an insult against the corvine bloodline and god.
A corvine's shadow is considered an important facet of the individual's identity. For instance, if the shadow is cast small and disappears quickly in light, it is considered very weak and unfavorable; if the shadow is extremely dark, it indicates the individual has a powerful magic; if a shadow is very large, it represents lack of restraint but also eminence. Some corvine rumor that the corvine's body is the "shadow" and the shadow is the "true" corvine. Another rumor is that the god itself inhabits every shadow a corvine casts in order to watch and advise its "children" constantly, strengthening the god's relative place in the individual corvine's identity.

Common Taboos

Corvines are quite passionate about their beliefs and their race's strength. Thus, when a corvine rejects their heritage and magic, the corvine take it as a disgrace and shame the individual. Corvine are capable of quarreling with one another, but they absolutely do not tolerate corvine that deceive and betray their own kind.

Common Myths and Legends

Corvines worship the demonic god Marchosias, who represents darkness and destruction. To follow Marchosias is to let go of fear and face the inevitable end of days.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

The corvine get along well with their neighbors, the piiscilian and the cervidae. However, they have a strong rivalry with their sister race, the acquine, for they worship the god of light, as opposed to the corvine who worship the god of darkness.

Lifespan

200 chronological years

Average Height

4-7 ft