Zannyr (zah-neer)
A species of reptilian-avian creatures native to the planet Oznyra. They tend to resemble small raptor-wyvern type creatures, with leathery winged flaps off their arms, and a large hunch with a heavy tail for balance. They are not naturally great with flying in a normal sense, but excellant gliders, and have mana sensitivity to stir wind and even storm powers. They've largely been a more peaceful race in the greater capacity, but have also been slower to develop on their own, and came into assistance with the Second Siivakian Empire. From the roots of their homeworld, and onto most colonies they've spread to, they tend to uphold some loyalty and sometimes serve research and study for the empire, and make for the largest representation of them in Azamari (but travel beyond it quite frequently). However they often work a bit clumsy in shared or 'basic' arrangement across other species, as their claws and body shapes don't always fully match the usual bipedal humanoid stance and dexterity. However that's also helped them find other niches, and perks with alien friends, like working together as a steed-like vessel for smaller compatible races.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Their bodily structure is almost dino-like, akin to a bipedal raptor but with a firm hunched posture that lays their body out in a very close alignment with their tail. Their torso and spine still seperates and has some division, but the muscles run a bit close and tense. Its even been possible to seat and 'ride' one if the life is small enough. The rest of their features are more avian-reptile focused, able to have a thick hide, and potential protrusive feather-fur fibers. This varies by sex and regional dimorphism, some having large coats of feathers and plumes, while others very minimal or none. Females often have some form of fibers somewhere, even if just furry tufts running along the spine.
They have a mid-long snout, very flexible jaws, and hard heavy grinding teeth. While their teeth are more herbivorous in nature, they're strong and able to still crack and mash bones for marrow, and their esophagus is highly flexible and adapted for massive swallowing and prey hinting to a heavy carnivorous side. Their scalp and skull has a very subtle undulating dome around the skull that is reinforced, and extremely sturdy, able to both guard the brain and serve as a forceful pressure to break loose surfaces or shake trees. Their arms are structurally light, and lead out into long flapping membranes that can serve as wings with weak joint structures that allow folding and flap assitance. In the end-center of the wings, sprouts out the claws they can handle objects with (albiet to a clumsier degree than some races). While they cannot fly entirely by physiology, they've got very strong leaping legs, and the potential to flutter and suspend their air-time, or glide very smoothly. They also have a strong connection with wind and air-focused mana, and are able to then add this for additional support. They almost can't carry things in their claws during flight, but have strong talon grips on the feet for some transport, but otherwise tend to try bags or other tools.
Females tend to have slowly gotten larger and larger over their evolutions, once being smaller than males, but not often a bit bigger and laying bigger eggs. They tend to have larger hips, more fiberous features and dominating plumage colorations, and sleeker jaws. They may molt in some routines or seasonal changes. Males tend to have slightly larger 'domes', fuller snouts, and thinner hips, and in tropical regions have little to no feathery parts.
Genetics and Reproduction
After copulation the female will need about 6-to-12 weeks to gestate eggs. She will then lay between 4-8 eggs the size of basketballs down. They're heavy, thick, and reinforced, but require warmth to endure and survive to a fruitful 'Nyrite'. The process is painful in a raw sense, but when due a female actually feels strong hunger pangs and aggression to get food. On a full stomach, the pressure in the organ actually helps the womb expell the eggs with almost no feeling, however to get to this point a female may feel so gluttonous that they have even been seen to eat their mates or other zannyr if small enough. Once laid the first egg typically takes two weeks to hatch, but the process may last a little past a month. Young grow very fast, and are often speaking well before their first full year. By age 5 they're physically mature enough to be their own parent.
Dietary Needs and Habits
They are a 'gulper' species. They are largely carnivorous, and have been swallowing up prey for a while. Whilst not as good at it, nor as rapid to metabolize as ryclin, they are very close to their habits per size. They can potentially eat up to 70%-80% of their mass, however by large habit and customs tend to prefer eating much smaller gamey prey. Often those who insist to eat their meals very large, are sometimes derided as "Crammers", and laughed at a bit, especially in heavily artificial landscapes like recreates. However sometimes skimping or snacking on one/two little critters is itself mocked, or thought of as illness concerns. They also enjoy juices, and have been adjusting to proccessed foods far better than ryclin, even sometimes enjoying sandwiches, pastries, soups, and fast food. Herbs and spices tend to have a very unyielding flavor to their pallets, and can even overstimulate certain neural activity, or make them feel unusual. As such, taking spicey foods can sometimes be seen like drugs, or heavily additive-riddled stuff like Nuggets Queen almost gives them sugar highs and tastes strangely 'sweeter' to their pallets.
Zannyr still have a slower metabolism than ryclin, arguably thought to be about half their speed, but still faster than most races. A heavy meal can genuinely last them a day, but also risks weighing them down longer and keeping them bloated. This is largely why they've settled into smaller gamey meals. However with the onset of recreates, and even some finding cravings with fast food, its become very easy and common practice to enjoy luxery and sweet-lathered prey meals twice a day or more, and eat copious amounts of small gamey prey, or intermix with greasier dishes. Their corrolation to gain weight with open trade and xeno-franchise imports is on a worse scale than vyllk. Most of the species now matures into a physically overweight condition with more distended and slightly round bellies even when emptied of food, and more swelling in the tail and haunches. Yet this has largely seemed to not bother them as they still encourage copious amounts of food and cheers around recreates, and have actually gotten better and more intense at wind casting to assist the attained weight.
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