Semian Animalia and Humanity

The semi-humans--Semians--of the Southern Peninsula are a form of daemon-kin who show a mix of animal and human features. Due to the belief that humans are a lesser species, their society grew to regard their human features as less desirable than their animal ones. Therefore, it is expected that all human features will be covered in public.

History

The tradition of covering their humanity began with Semian soldiers. In an effort to emphasize their strength, canine and feline semians would purposely choose uniforms and dress that highlighted their animal features--known as their animalia. In turn, bovine and avian Semians emphasized their feathers and horns or antlers. Highlighting their animalia required de-emphasizing the parts of their body that were human in nature...their humanity. In so doing, the soldiers reasoned, they were disavowing the weaker human species that they resembled.
This military tradition soon passed to the commoners and then to the merchant classes and mages. The upper class were the last to adopt this pattern of dress but did so as military leaders and mages moved into the higher ranks and gained power.

Execution

Animalia is generally on the upper body and face so the majority of Semians simply wear loose shirts or sleeveless tops. Bovine Semians will eschew hats or cloaks in order to leave their horns and antlers visible. Avian semians will often do the same as many sport feathers instead of hair on their heads. At times, Semians will also have tails, which they make accommodations for in their clothing.
Because there is a wide range of animalia and humanity possible, occasionally, Semians will be nearly all human or nearly all animal. Two such individuals who illustrate this range are Oracle and Almira. Oracle, a Canine Semian, has no visible humanity. Because of this, he wears a loincloth with an ornate belt, and a loose cloak. The rest of his body is covered in black fur, his face fully wolf. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Almira the fire mage, who has only a thin line of downy, iridescent feathers down her spine to show that she is Semian instead of Human. Her limited animalia and her position as a soldier mage mean that she covers her entire body, including wearing a veil, in public.

by Sherrie Bakelar Built with Portraitworks

A Notable Exception

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The Piscian Semians of the Offshore Islands do not follow this tradition. As shark-people, they have little to show in the way of humanity. However, those born with human features are free to cover their humanity or flaunt it as they see fit.