Artzal

## Birdfolk

The **Artzal** also known as **Birdfolk** or **Birdmen** are the racial result of the union between a **Vogel**, a bird-like Dyrian , and a Werebird. Their appearance was exceedingly rare until the purposeful breeding of Dyrians and Therianthropes started to occur.

## Physiology

**Artzals** at maturity reach about 5 feet in height though selectively breed specimens have reached larger sizes.

An **Artzal's** face is avian in nature with a large beak and sideways-facing eyes allowing them to see behind them while they are flying.

The **Artzal** are a curious case in the Dyrian-Therianthrope breeding pairs, as they do not look like their Vogel ancestors in the slightest and lean more toward a hominid/bird hybrid. Similar to a hominid down to where the knee would be on a hominid from here the legs feature digitigrade legs.

An **Artzal** features a pair of wings on its back, these wings when fully extended are double the **Artzal's** height, they have a set of joints which allow the **Artzal** to fold its wings against its back on the occasion they are on the ground.

The skin of an **Artzal** is covered in feathers that serve as insulation for their flying and sometimes swimming activities based on their lineage. The coloration of the **Artzal's** feathers is determined primarily by heritage and secondarily by gender as males tend to be more brightly or attractively colored while females take on more subdued colors like their real-world bird counterparts.

## Abilities

* **Hybrid Physiology (Vogel + Werebird)**: The **Artzal** are a hybrid race that was bred naturally by the mating of two different species (Werebirds and Vogel Dyrians) and thus possesses both of their parents' capabilities and powers.
	+ **Shared Traits**:
		- **Avian Physiology**: **Artzals** possess the traits, attributes, characteristics and/or abilities of birds.
			* **Aerial Adaptation**: **Artzals** are able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (not becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity), and high wind friction; this is accompanied by an innate immunity to vertigo and/or fear of heights.
			* **Atmospheric Adaptation**: The lungs of an **Artzal** can acclimatize and breathe in/on any gaseous mediums, whether hostile or deficient, their lungs also filter away non-gaseous substances such as dust, asbestos, etc. They can breathe toxic gases instead of oxygen and survive mountain, aerial, or terrene air deficiency, which are among the longest and most painful deaths the average human can suffer.
			* **Hollow Skeleton**:
	+ **Vogel Traits**:
		- **Enhanced Lung Capacity**:
		- **Ultraviolet Perception**:
	+ **Werebird Traits**:
		- **Beak Protrusion**: As a birdfolk, **Artzals** possess beaks on their faces', depending on the shape of the beak, it can be used to inflict cutting, impaling or crushing damage to a target.
		- **Claw Retraction**: As a birdfolk, **Artzals** possess on their hands.
		- **Digitigrade Legs**: **Artzals** naturally possess legs capable of digitigrade locomotion, meaning standing or walking on its digits, or toes. Digitigrades generally move more quickly and quietly than other animals.
			* **Enhanced Agility**:
			* **Enhanced Balance**:
			* **Talon Protrusion**:
		- **Enhanced Endurance**:
		- **Enhanced Reflexes**:
		- **Enhanced Senses**:
		- **Feather Manifestation**:
		- **Wing Manifestation** which grants either Flight or Gliding.

## Behaviors

### Skyloving

As soon as they can fly, most Birdfolk will spend hours even days in the sky aloft.

## Notes

* The hybrid race known as the **Artzal** are a purely fanon creation as such there is no official proof of their existence in the Witcher works outside the fanon community.
* As is the case with their parent race the Dyrians, the Artzal are a non-canon race of bird-hominids that are believed to only exist in the Expand Ancient Pantheon Extended Universe unless directly mentioned differently by other EUs.
* The **Artzal** became a race of their own, after having offspring among them and giving birth to more **Artzali**.