Animalians (an-uh-maylee-ans)
It is believed long ago that when humans were first created they were looked upon with favouritism by The Animalian King (of the Life Cores ), for they were the first Mind. They grew, they expanded, they lived lives no other animal could. Out of jealousy, the birds, the fish, the insects and the reptiles’ negative emotions towards them caused some of them to mutate into their own mockery of humans to rival them, the Drak, Erel, Ski'sen and In'sec. Together they were The Amix , no longer the children of the Animalia King.
And so the first war, The Ae's War, began.
It quickly came to a point where humanity was at risk of being wiped out. Hurting for his creations, the Animalian King extended his branches to select humans and those still loyal to them, their fellow mammals. These cosmic branches wove themselves into the humans' DNA and granted them the ability to take on the abilities and features of other mammals, a sort of controlled switching of DNA code that would come to be known as tilting by use of The Animalian Thread. So with these abilities in their very being, the humans - now Animalians - could fight back. Over time many Families formed from the first Animalians as different specialties organised, much like the animals around them. Immense strength, hearing or tracking ability to name a few. The scales had been shifted, and the war raged on.
History from here on is unclear and greatly lost to future greater wars. Animalians uphold their traditions and ways in those that remember and pass on the history of The Great Passing as seen most heavily in their greatest standing city Sheth'Baru. While the rest of the world in modern day has a blurrier image and tells of the legend of The Great Divide. Regardless, to this day, Sheth'Baru remembers and protects the Guardians for what they stand for and many of the old ways will not stand for the existence of the Amix having led to their beloved King's end.
However - perhaps in this case for the better - having the world razed and restart from (almost) scratch has allowed many Animalians and Amix across the planet to find common ground elsewhere, even if only because their history had been lost to the fires. Still, there will always be an instinctive... distrust when the two initially meet. Much in the same way a dog and a cat may fight, they can learn to co-exist under domestication. Does this mean you can leave them alone together for too long with complete trust? Never.
Appearance
- While untilted an Animalian looks like any other humanoid with just as much variety in colours and shapes.
- However, by virtue of many animal features being superior to humans, most Animalians will sport animal features at their leisure.
- For example many will have ears, noses and/or eyes tilted, making it easy for others to identify them. In cases such as fur, it will typically sprout to match that of the naturally growing hair on the body.
- The idea of being 'fully tilted' is an objective one, as difficult to determine as 'peak fitness' for humanoids, as each person is as unique as their ancestry and experience. But typically a highly titled Animalian will resemble their patron animal in anthropomorphic form.
Height & Weight: Determined by their ancestry, as over time Animalians have mixed with the rest of the world so an Animalian while untilted could appear like any other race. That said, a majority appear human.
Terminology
- Class: One of the 12 categories of which the Animalians are sorted into by common features and abilities. Each Class has many Families. For example, the Bovidae Class includes cows, bison, ox and buffalo, wildebeest and sheep
- Family: A Family consists of Animalians of the same (or at least very similar) animal Patron. Animalians in the same Family - not family - are not necessarily related - in fact, it is safer to assume they are not. One's Family will determine what Class they fall into. Two Animalians from two different Families can produce an Animalian of an entirely different Family or even Class altogether.
- Patron: Patron: An animal that an Animalian physically mirror in terms of native abilities and features when tilted. One's Patron animal determines what Family and Class one belongs to. For example, titling a forehead horn and toughened hide would be of a White Rhino Patron, placing you in the Rhino Family of the Tando Class.
- Tilt/Tilting: A noun and verb referring to one's ability to manifest features of mammals. The more one tilts the more abilities and features they can manifest, like exercising a muscle. The abilities tilted to you naturally, like using your own voice without thought, are considered native abilities that determine your Patron, Family & Class. Tilting is referred to as such for the visualisation of the ability being described as ‘walking the line between human and animal’ so when you tilt, you are symbolically leaning to fall one way or the other. Hence why tilting too far is referred to as falling.
- Native Ability: An ability or feature that an Animalian can tilt forward that is connected to their Patron. For example. A member of a bear Family may have the native ability to tilt claws or immense strength. Full Threaded (like full blooded) Animalians are able to tilt outside of their native abilities (rather than speak with your own voice, it is to actively put effort into another) the further outside their Family, the more difficult. But it is a muscle that can be exercised and trained with the right amount of determination, and sometimes inborn skill.
- Fell/Fallen/Falling: When one tilts too far on the animal side of the line and cannot tilt back. This is called falling, those that fell in such a way are referred to as fallen. Outside of Animalians, other races may call them Wild Animalians.
Tilting
How it Works
- Tilting is an Animalian's biological ability to turn codes on and off in their DNA to change parts of their form into those of another mammal. In other words, it is not magic.
- Tilting is a natural ability for Animalians, at least in the same way jumping is for humans. All have the ability to do it, some will go most of their lives only doing so a handful of times, and usually only in special circumstances, while others will do so regularly and consistently. It depends on the lifestyle and preference of the Animalian but ultimately just requires the energy to do so.
- Tilting is like using your muscles, it needs to be used and exercised. For an Animalian, smaller native abilities are like using the muscles to speak. Unless actively avoided despite their utility easing day-to-day life, they are easily used without much thought at all, and even then the ability only becomes rough from disuse. To be able to tilt more extensive features and many at once is equivalent to mastering the voice to sing. Those that have fine-tuned their own potential can appear like humanoid versions of their Patron animal.
- Then of course there are those that practice the equivalent of learning to speak in different voices to tilt features outside of their native abilities, it's difficult to master enough for no one to tell the difference but can be helpful in a pinch - but in the end not everyone is able to obtain the skill, to the point where some are considered 'born with the talent'.
The Animalian Thread
- Those with a full Animalian Thread can also tilt outside their native abilities determined by their Patron animal, however, it's like changing the timber of voice to extremes; it requires active effort and to do so for longer periods it needs consistent practice. To tilt abilities outside of their Class entirely - full access to all Animalian abilities - well, each is like a different voice that needs to be practiced for a long time before it becomes anything close to second nature, even then it never quite sits right. And like putting on a voice, some may never be able to do so convincingly, some may need teachers to get there, while others may learn multiple with ease.
- On the other end of the scale, those with a shorter Animalian Thread (equivalent to having a diluted bloodline) are increasingly limited in tilt ability. They cannot tilt outside of their Family. Those with maybe a quarter length of the thread will struggle to tilt more than a couple smaller features.
- Any less than this and they are no longer considered an Animalian but simply Human.
TAKE NOTE; The Animalian Thread takes up, for lack of a better word, a 'slot' that is required in order to manipulate The Magic Thread. In other words, a Full Threaded Animalian has the most titling potential but will not be able to cast magic of their own power. The shorter the thread, the less potential in tilting but the more magic they can cast.
Naming Traditions
Family names
Naming varies as greatly as the Humans as dependent on individual culture, location etc.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Common Dress code
Shoes are not common, at most an Animalian will either keep their feet tilted or wear accessories somewhat like spats that allow their feet freedom to tilt when needed.
Coming of Age Rites
Traditional Animalian settlements consider those of full Animalian Thread adults at 16 as they mature slightly faster than regular Humans. Those that are seeking to become classical warriors that develop their tilt abilities complete their education then at 16. Whereas those that wish to forgo any combat training continue their education until 18 to then step into other roles in society.
Major organizations
The Guardians
Guardians, as the title suggests, guard their essence as if it were tied to all mammals' very existences, so by duty are extremely well-trained warriors. This charge must be passed on actively by the current Guardian or it will die with them, it is not passed on through blood. So there are plenty of cases throughout history of a new Guardian being appointed mid-battle to an Animalian unchecked in a moment of imminent death. Hence Guardians are also guarded by others, surrounded by Animalians skilled in tilting and combat to prevent such events, and if not, then the duty can be passed on last second to someone trusted and trained.
The Ae's War is the longest war in history and while much more quietly in the current day, is still ongoing. As such it is no surprise that Guardians have died unable to pass on their charge before.
Officially, the Guardians of Equidae and Bovidae are in this number. The fraction of the Animalian King they carried destroyed, the wave of grief upon those under their protection caused Bovidae and Equidae Animalians to fall en masse. It is believed their mindless remains were taken pity on by deities to turn them into Minotyrs and Centyrs respectively by severing them from the Animalian Thread, freeing them from their duty and history and freeing them up for other uses. However, as this was deeply disheartening and disgraceful in the eyes of the other Animalians of old, their records offer no further detail on the events.
As for the guardian of Cervidae, they are considered a baffling case of missing in action.
However over centuries, many races have mixed and so other races can and have inherited the Animalian Thread, in which case they have the ability to tilt features as they do while maintaining the rest of their blood, in other words, they could live as long as an elf should they be an elf with enough Animalian Thread (like having strong genes for the ability)
THE CLASSES
Bovidae
Families: Cows, bison, ox, buffalo, wildebeest and sheep
Speciality: Teamwork & sturdiness
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Immoveable" DECEASED
Rarity: High - After the death of their guardian, a vast majority of the Bovidae fell and were later cut from the Animalian Thread to form the Minotyrs.
Canidae
Families: Dogs, wolves and hyenas
Speciality: Attacking force & tracking
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Loyal"
Rarity: Low
Cetcacea
Families: Seals, otters, platypuses, whales and dolphins
Speciality: Aquatic
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Blowhard"
Rarity: Moderate
Cervidae
Families: Deer and goats
Speciality: Balance
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Grace" MIA
Rarity: High - it is not entirely known how, but many Cervidae were made into Satyrs during The Core War after their guardian went missing
Dermoptera
Families: Rats, shrews, moles, squirrels, bats, monkeys, lemurs, ferrets and weasels
Speciality: Manoeuvrability & small size
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Sky Striker"
Rarity: Moderate - Their numbers are difficult to track, there are many families within to bolster numbers however they have become very scattered over time and their specialty less helpful to survival
Equidae
Families: Horses, zebras, donkeys, giraffes and camels
Speciality: Stamina
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Unending" DECEASED
Rarity: High - After the death of their guardian, a vast majority of the Equidae fell and were later cut from the Animalian Thread to form the Centyrs. Perhaps for the best as stamina in modern-day has little use for tech developing society.
Felidae
Families: Felines and foxes
Speciality: Stealth & speed
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Unseen"
Rarity: Low - have become well-known fighters, spies, rogues and the like, practically thriving in current day. In fact many Felidae are seen highly titled.
Lagomorpha
Families: Rabbits, bilbies and kangaroos
Speciality: Leaping ability
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Softie"
Rarity: High - like many other Families, their specialty has lost its advantage in a world now run over with magic
Manidae
Families: Pangolin, porcupines and armadillos
Speciality: Defence
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Impenetrable"
Rarity: High - like many other Families, their specialty has lost its advantage in a world now run over with magic
Olfacto
Families: Aardvarks, tapirs, pigs and anteaters
Speciality: Sense of smell
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Nose"
Rarity: High - like many other Families, their specialty has lost its advantage in a world now run over with magic
Tando
Families: Rhinos, hippos, elephants and moose
Speciality: Density
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Tank"
Rarity: Moderate - Their specialty has increased their individual ability to survive and made for hefty warriors and even current-day workers such as miners or guards.
Tondontia
Families: Bears, pandas, wombats and koalas
Speciality: Protectors & powerful claws
Current Guardian: ??? - "The Protector"
Rarity: Moderate - They make for fighters and mercenary defenders with their abilities, putting them between the Felidae and Tando in skill
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