Māji

== History ==
For as long as humans have been around, the Maji have lived in secret, living isolated from society in their own close-knit communities. While much is unknown about the Maji, such as how they came to be or how they kept themselves isolated from the humans for so long, they have shown themselves occasionally in history. From urban legends such as Sasquatch to Egyptian artifacts depicting animal-people, Maji have made small imprints on history despite never truly showing themselves to society, until the early 21st century.
In the year 2018, the Maji began to reveal themselves to world. During this time, many other nonhuman races were doing the same. For the Maji, several tribes saw this as a way to integrate into society and live easier lives than those of their isolationist ancestors. Once this began, other tribes followed suit. However, some saw no need to do so and stayed hidden from society.
The people of the world showed many emotions towards the new race. Some accepted them, while others feared and hated them due to their differences. Some cultures were quicker to accept the Maji than others, due to prevalent cultural norms, and religious beliefs. Others were not so quick, the same reasons for loving and accepting them being another's to look upon them with disdain and indifference.
Even while many of the race were treated fairly and even given special treatment in some countries, Maji were often seen as outsiders. America, Australia, and the Middle East went as far as implementing segregation of Maji and other nonhuman races soon after their appearance. As quick as there were people to put them down, however, there were others ready to support the Maji with rallies and peaceful protest.
The conflict between the Maji, their supporters, and those who discriminated against them would continue in the coming years. In 2024, governments began to implement legislation addressing Maji rights. Some countries were progressive with giving Maji rights, while others actually codified the segregation of Maji as law, in order to protect its citizens. These actions eventually triggered a movement people would later call the Maji Rights Revolution.
It started in 2049, the tension between anti-Maji nations and Maji supporters growing to a turning point. Rallies for Maji rights turned hostile in several countries, local governments fighting back with private and public militias. It was a common occurrence for fights to start from either side, especially common in countries with high Maji oppression. In other countries where Maji were treated fairly, there was uneasiness news of these events spread.
This continued for the next five years, until July of 2054. Several major pro-Maji organizations joined up and walked the streets towards their capitals. What made this event extraordinary was that it occurred in every country where Maji were being segregated. It was simultaneous, but it was within hours of each other that cities across the world were seeing a culmination of those for Maji rights, an occurrence that would come to be called "A Pride's March."
It was soon after this event that things would change for the better, not immediately, but eventually. It started with increased violence towards protesters, Maji and human alike. This didn't stop the protest, the continued efforts finally bearing fruit in 2057 when America finally agreed to give Maji the same rights as others. Other countries followed over the next few months, eventually ending the revolution in 2058 when every country gave Maji the same rights as others.
== Types ==
A Maji's species is hereditary, determined by the genetics of their parents. The offspring two Maji can have can be seen in animals in nature, such as a lion and tiger Maji having a liger Maji for a child.
Due to the relatively short time that Maji have existed in the public eye, their genetics is a growing area of research. While many factors contribute to the determination of a Maji's offspring, current research dictates that the genes determining their species follow a hierarchy, roughly defined from strongest to weakest as:
* Mammalian
* Avian/Reptilian
* Insectoid
The species within each group also have a rank of gene "strength," still being investigated by scientists. There are also exceptions, such as the co-dominance of the aforementioned liger Maji example, and the incomplete dominance of the child when two differing species of dog Maji interbreed. The children of two Maji can be predicted with a Punnett square:
* If a pure mammalian Maji reproduces with a pure reptilian Maji, the children will all be mammalian (but carrying a reptilian gene).
* If a mammalian (hybrid carrying an avian gene) Maji reproduces with a pure insectoid Maji, the children will be half mammalian (carrying an insectoid gene) and half avian (carrying an insectoid gene).
If a Maji has a child with a non-Maji individual, the child's traits will likely be a combination of both races, albeit with more diluted Maji traits. Over generations and intermarriage with non-Maji creatures, the descendent Maji will have fewer obvious physical traits, as well as being limited to smaller, shorter animal transformations.
Species of Maji differ in their geographical distribution. For example, bear Maji prefer mountains for homes and lizard Maji tend to be more comfortable in warmer environments. While the modern technology makes it easy for some species to live outside of their optimal environments, many Maji prefer sparing themselves from the expense and discomfort.
There are as many species of Maji as there are actual animal species, ranging from mammalian to avian to insectoid, and more. However, there is no record of the existence of aquatic Maji.
== Inherent Abilities ==
Not only do Maji posess morphological traits corresponding to their animal counterparts, such as ears, claws, stingers, teeth, tails, etc., they also posess special innate abilities based on the species. These can range from superior hearing due to nonhuman ears, to being able to sense surroundings through the flick of a reptilian tongue.
Animal Transformation: All Maji, along with the innate abilities granted by their species, also have the ability to transform parts of their bodies into that of their animal species. This allows them to temporarily use that body part as the animal would, the duration based on the size of the transformation. For example, a scorpion Maji could be able to transform armored plating along their arm. An example of a larger, shorter-lived transformation is a chameleon Maji creating the necessary cells for their skin to change color, or a lion Maji gaining fur and large muscles along their entire body.
Small transformations tend to last about an hour, give or take, while larger ones last from as short as one minute up to ten. Trained and determined individuals can maintain transformations for longer periods of time, if not permanently. These Maji, however, are extremely rare, most being quite aged.
Animal transformation has two effects. The first is the pain the of transforming the body, as well as similar pain for transforming back - an exception to this is if some transformations can be shedded, such as scales or fur. The larger the transformation, the more pain that results. The second side effect is a cooldown that prohibits the Maji from reusing the transformation for a set period of time, also affected by the size of the transformation. Typically, smaller transformations take about an hour before they can be done again, while larger ones may require several hours or days.
== Maji Today ==
Currently, Maji are treated similarly to any non-human species, and have the same rights as humans. They walk in  society as equals, according to the laws and regulations. However, like any race, there are others who look upon them with disdain and hate, Maji racism present in several countries around the world, strongest in those where Maji have been historically segregated.
Category:Lore