Kodin

## **Biology**

**Purity:** 50-65%

A bipedal creature that similarly resembles that of a Feline, Canine, or Vulpine in terms of appearance and behaviours. Kodin typically stand between 4 and 6 feet tall with lots of room for variation. Their fur can be any length or colour, although those with more natural tones are considered more pure than those with unnatural colours or patterns. It’s common for a Kodin’s appearance to mimic that of it’s environment or natural counterpart.

## **Personality**

As stated above, there are three distinct variants of Kodin. Feline, Canine, and Vulpine. Each variant has its own distinct and unique personality, but all Kodin share a few traits among the general population. Kodin are instinctual beings. They aren’t unintelligent by any means, but their natural instincts often override rational thought. It’s not uncommon for them to wag their tails, fluff up their fur when startled, purr, growl, etc. Most Kodin do their best to curb these behaviours, as instinctual behaviour is seen as an impure trait, but some things simply can’t be avoided.

   Feline kodin are by far the most populous variant. They’re typically held in high regards, often as equal to that of a human. This is mainly due to the influence Felines had in the past. When Lord Lykan ruled over Vertgate Felines were on the top of the purity scale. In general Felines are considered to be the most intelligent of the variants, as their status as equals to humans has given them a leg up over the years when it comes to schooling and other academic achievements. This has given them the most control over their instincts, which by this point are almost a nonissue. They’re also by far the most dexterous and light on their feet. It’s not uncommon for someone not to hear a feline approaching and as a result get startled.

   Canines are known for their strength and loyalty. Many of them get overly excited, which causes impure instinctual traits to exhibit themselves. Depending on the variant they can either be cold and standoffish, only opening up to people in their inner circle, or open and friendly to anyone and everyone. This largely depends on whether they resemble a wild canid, such as a wolf, or a domestic one. They aren’t nearly as smart as felines or vulpines, but they’re good at reading people, and can generally navigate the world with little issue aside from the occasional outburst of excitement.

Vulpine kodin are by far the most uncommon variant, with their population being below average for most other races. They’re mysterious and not very well understood. This is due in part to the fact that the vulpine variant is one of the newest variants of Kodin. Vulpines are extremely sly and charismatic. Oftentimes it's easier for one to pretend to be another variant. One that better suits their specific needs. If being seen as strong and loyal is what they want they’ll disguise themselves as a canine, and if they want to be treated better and be seen as intelligent they’ll pretend to be a feline. While they are good at talking themselves out of pretty much anything, people have caught on to their lies and deceit. This has caused people to view them as untrustworthy, which only further pushes them into their realm of disguise and trickery.

## **Civilization/Culture**

As distinct as they are, most Kodin civilizations are relatively similar to one another. They’re highly adaptable creatures, allowing them to spread across the majority of the world. A kodin can be found just about anywhere, and even if they aren’t native to a region most people have probably seen one before. They’re one of the most long standing races, and as such have quite a lot of history surrounding their rituals and ways of life.

Seeing how adaptable they are, Kodin are more or less a melting pot of different cultures. Historically Kodin have been known to find or be introduced to an item or subject, then expand on it and turn it into their own. This is most obvious in terms of their cuisine. Many ingredients used by humans or more pure races are toxic to Kodin, so they’ve found ways to omit said ingredients while still keeping the same flavours and textures.

Kodin are one of the few races in Mirror Domain that can understand Whispers. As such, when Kodin are talking to one another it’s not uncommon for other races to only see their body language. Body language is a huge staple of Kodin life. They constantly have to be aware of the positioning of their ears and tail, how tall they’re holding themselves, if their teeth or claws are showing, etc. Those who aren’t accustomed to Kodin’s way of communication often find their song and dance confusing, as all they see are a few vague gestures followed by an abrupt shift in mood.

## **Relations**

Kodin get along pretty well with most species. Although this is mainly due in part to the fact that many races stem from Kodin, and as a result have similar instinctual behaviours and body language. Races like Elves, and Satyr get along great with Kodin because all three are Kodin hybrids. That being said, they don’t get along with every hybrid race.

Because of their instinctual nature far greater than that of other races, Kodin tend to view smaller lesser races as “prey”. Both Whiver and Sinvian fall under this category, even if generally speaking Kodin don’t eat these two. In many parts of the world that are Kodin dominant, like Wolvern Valley or Patallon, Sinvian aren’t even viewed as pure beings and are still treated like any other animal. Sinvian do not like Kodin and will generally stay away out of fear. Whiver view Kodin as higher beings and treat them like any other higher up.

## **History**

Kodin as a species go way back to the Before Times, when magic didn’t exist and life was simple and primitive. Back then there were no distinct variants of Kodin. They were all vaguely animalistic furred bipeds. But because of their spread across the world and the overall sedentary lifestyle of the primitive farming population Kodin eventually began changing and adapting to survive in their respective environments. The introduction of magic to Mirror Domain only sped up this process, and before the Kodinic War broke out there were three distinct variants of Kodin. Feline, Canine, and Equine.

Equine Kodin were a relatively short-lived variant in comparison to the others. Felines and Canines were able to co-exist and learn from each other, as they had similar diets and instincts. Anything that worked for a canine would work for a feline, and vice versa. Equines, on the other hand, were not so fortunate. Their population always dwindled, not even reaching that of the modern day Vulpine, and by the time the Abrupt Demise struck there just weren’t enough of them to push on. The Demise would be their downfall, and today the only remnants of an Equine Kodin are the Equine genes still found in Satyr.

Kodin very quickly dominated Mirror Domain in the early days. Unlike the few other races that existed pre-lykan era, Kodin gave birth to between 2 and 4 children on average, where other races typically only had one. After the Purity Scale was reformed Kodin were put at the very top; half because they dominated the population and half because the current world power was a Kodin himself. For the next thousand or so years Kodin would be at the very top of the food chain, and the top innovator of Mirror Domain.

The rule of Lord Lykan and the subsequent push to exterminate the canine variant of Kodin as a whole caused Canines to flee Vertgate and it’s allied countries in mass. Several of them ended up settling themselves in what would later become Dibrook, but several went much further. A few Canine settlers traveled further past the Bexstone Mountain Range and settled in what would later become Patallon. The relative isolation and need to adapt to this new environment eventually led to the birth of the Vulpine variant of Kodin, which has dominated the region ever since.

## **Religion**

   Each Kodin variant has its own god and religion. Felines typically follow Life Bringer, canines follow Koba, and Vulpines follow Tilt. That being said, they aren’t by any means restricted to these religions. A select group of Felines in Vertgate have started up their own cult-like religion known as “The Order of the Third Eye”, which worship Lord Lykan as a god. Other felines, mostly in Bane, have taken a liking to the god Tilvet, as he played a large part in the downfall of Lord Lykan. Canines and Vulpines in recent years have began following the god Mother Wolf, as canines and Satyr are quite close with one another and as a result share cultures and customs.

## **Languages**

Kodin speak a myriad of languages. They have more languages than any other race in Mirror Domain. In the past there were only two, that being Chitt and Snarrel. Over the years Snarrel split into two languages, those being Lupin and Yip. On top of those, Kodin are also able to speak in Whispers, which is less of a language and more of a dialect but still falls under the category. It’s not uncommon for Kodin to also speak Standard

## **Names**

Many Kodin are named after either physical features or family trades, although after the purity scale reform many of them have adopted more human-like names as a first name and more Kodin centric names as a last. Last names like Longtail or Tracker are commonplace. They describe a physical feature the family is known for or the job they used to do in the past.

Oddly enough, it’s more common for Kodin to name their own offspring after Humans, and Humans or Elves to name Kodin offspring after Kodin. An adopted Kodin child will more often than not have a Kodinic first name chosen after either a physical trait or something that pays homage to their biological lineage. Kodin being named after the colour of their fur is very common among adopted children. Names like Auburn, Amber, Ruby, etc are very popular.

## **Adventures**

Kodin are extremely adventurous, to the point where there’s few places in Mirror Domain they haven’t seen. They’ve been to the mountains, traveled to islands, settled the desert, and much much more. Some would say this is simply due to how long they’ve been around, but the length of their existence hasn’t played much of a role in their adventurous nature. Many other longstanding races haven't seen nearly as much of the world as Kodin have.

## **Abilities**

Because of their animalistic nature Kodin have several abilities that higher races seemingly lack. They have an extraordinary sense of hearing and smell. While their eyesight is more or less average, Kodin have the ability to see in the dark which gives them an advantage when traveling at night or navigating darker areas of the world.

Most of a Kodin’s strengths lie in their impure or instinctual traits, though. Seeing as they’re far less intelligent than the average human is, many of them don’t bother getting heavily into magic. It’s not that they can’t. Far from it, in fact, as 3 of the 4 gods are Kodin themselves. It’s just less likely for them to get into it than it is for other races.