Lore/Species

Lore
Terminology
Species
New Era
The Ancients
Chronology

**Amal** *(Ah-mahl)*

Those who carry blood of two different parental heritages, often commonly (and rudely) referred to as "half bloods". While a valid part of society, selective pure bloods may occasionally still look down on them.

**Therian**

Humanoid creatures featuring animalistic parts on their bodies, from ears and tail to scales or even entire animal limbs. Their senses are usually sharpened and some are even capable of shapeshifting into a version of their respective animal.

**Dragonborn**

Dragonborn are a rather curious phenomenon. Unlike other species they aren't born to a mother, but instead are a gift from nature itself and enter the world as a child or teenager in age. Volcanic dragons emerge from steaming lava, mountain dragons break from ancient rocks, gale dragons form from clouds (storm dragons form from thunderclouds, both count to the gale family), glacier dragons melt from eternal ice, tide dragons breach from whirlpools and nature dragons grow from roots of a freshly deceased tree. While Dragonborn share the circumstances of their birth with the reptilian giants, they are not quite the same. The humanoid creatures feature no dragon form, but merely limbs, wings, tails, scales or facial features of their ancestors. Like dragons their life span reaches from a hundred to several hundred years of age and they have been around since ancient times, being an initial product of races merging ahead of Almaria’s time. Their physical appearance ages differently in every individual. Dragonborns are immune to their own element and are strong wielders of elemental magic.

**Humans**

Humans are a product of the Aether Drought and were originally newborns of sorcerers, who were unfortunate enough to be born without The Sight (Ability to perceive magic). Now capable of casting magic, thanks to the bond to their familiar, humans are considered an aether anomaly and are rare to be born to parents. Their tolerance to high aether exposure is generally fragile and their magic weaker than compared to other species.

## Tribe Species

**Kurrea - The Inventors** (Ku-ree-ah)
Kurrea are small (half the size of average human), bipedal creatures with long elvish or animalistic ears, standing on paws or hooves and have a silk like skin that is soft like fur on touch, and comes in a variety of natural colors. Their facial features are very petite, adding to their perception of a 'cute' species. Their hair is often fluffy and some may feature a tail. They are born through means of alchemy (see below) and are known to be one of the smartest species inside Almaria, thus gaining the nickname 'inventors'. Kurrea are quick witted and skilled with machinery and tools and can make use of the most useless objects to create something new. Native to Rosario, most reside in tribes, but some have moved into the city to aid in development of new tools. The Kurreas' most notable skill is the manipulation and levitation of objects, which makes it possible for them to carry ridiculously large weapons, tools or shields without experiencing their weight. This magic is controlled through movement of their hands as if they were actually holding onto the object, which then translates to the magical object in question.

**Itari - The Feathered** *(Yitaree - soft r)*

The Itari are an ancient, tribe settled species older than the new era, who strictly reside inside Losandthel and avoid other regions due to their history. Itari developed from the Iortari (see below) and are commonly known as bird folk, as their appearance ranges from full bipedal bird people to humanoid specimen growing feathers on selective body parts, similar to dragonborn's scales. Feathers can occur on shoulders, neck, ears, hip, chest, elbows and can feature even a tail or wings, but in all cases they will have feathers on their head instead of hair. All feathers are vibrant in color and rarely completely dull. Instead of feet, both humanoid and bird versions can feature either claws or paws. Itari have individual tribe customs in each village, however, Losandthel is widely known as celebration grounds to express through dance and music, a common interest all Itari share equally.

**Iortari - The Mother Tribe** *(Yortaree - soft r; Extinct)*

The Iortari were once a proud folk and mother species to the Itari, occupying aether rich lands inside Rosarian grounds. As their rapidly blooming tribe society strove for educational flexibility between nations, and practices to train precise marksmen, they were perceived as a successfully budding community, allied and well received with tribes of far and wide. Unfortunate for them, mankind was plagued by greed, and little did they know, they were sitting on a goldmine: Rare but essential metal in high demand inside Almaria’s Capital.

In the year 287 AD (sixteen years to present), the Iortari were struck by tragedy, as demand for rare resources inside the capital peaked and military missions led to their sacred lands. Refusing to hand over the materials, as it would harm their environment to mine the metals, fight ensued in bloodshed. Although the tribe fought back bravely, weapons and fires raged inside their home, turning everything to ashes. Only two Iortari survived, leaving eventually only one alive to the current day, marking them extinct.

The Iortari, unlike the Itari, were capable of enhancing their plumes through magic and alter their physical appearance through glamour. Carriers of this magic were called **Piuma**. This skill was lost in their successor race.

## Interspecies Breeding

**Amals** are made exclusively by different species of different heritage mixing. Amal blood works with dominant and recessive genes, able to result in different outcomes when at least two sources of blood are mixed, but the offspring never features more than two of the parent species at the same time. If two amal parents have children, their offspring may come out as an entirely different species than their siblings. Gene example below.

**Dragonborn** are usually born through nature's force, but are able to breed with their kin or other species. A pureblood dragonborn can only be born by two dragonborns mating, or a sacrifice being offered to the respective elements to receive an egg (think goat into volcano). If two dragonborn mate, their child will only feature one parental element and hatch an infant. In case of breeding with another species, dragonborn birth amals like any other species, however are limited to which partners they can breed with. If the female is a dragonborn and their partner is a mammal, they can not breed together naturally, as the female would be unable to lay an egg to hatch mammal offspring. If the female is a mammal, she can however give birth to a half dragonborn through a natural mammal birth. If the species are unable to mate, they can ask for an egg through sacrifice like others.

The **Kurrea** reproduce asexually, which means they cannot mate with other species. Similar to dragonborn, if a couple including a member of the Kurrea wishes to have a child, they can breed by enclosing aether essence of the two parents inside an egg shaped container called "Bayda". The bayda is then nourished like a fertilized egg for six months before hatching either a kurrean infant or an amal, depending on the heritage of their parents. Kurrean amals will always be short versions of the other species.

Only **Itari** with bird anatomy lay eggs. Humanoid anatomy ones don't. You were wondering, I know.