Purity

Created around the year 5600BDI, the Purity Scale is Mirror Domain’s way of differentiating between “beast” creatures and higher beings. In it’s infancy, the Purity Scale was simply a means of separating friend from food, as different races in the past would often kill each other off under the impression that they were nothing more than monsters. A notable example of this was Bane’s “Kodinic War” in the year 6945BDI, where Kodin and Humans slayed each other in mass; each side believing the other were bloodthirsty monsters due to the language barrier. Several more massacres would happen before the scale was implemented, and ultimately the Purity Scale was created with the hopes of having a worldwide agreement on which species were “sapient” and which weren’t.

When the Scale was first implemented in 5600BDI there were only three races on it, those being Human, Kodin, and “Kodin Humans”, which were later dubbed Lesser Humans. Over the years more and more creatures have been added to the scale, some being added naturally while others had to fight for the title of “pure”. In the modern day, there are fourteen recognized Pure species under the scale’s protection.

Around the year 3426BDI the Purity Scale underwent a revamp. Lord Lykan had always had a heavy bias towards his own kind, and as such Kodin slowly began to gain more and more headway in the world due to his favouritism. Eventually, Kodin as a collective decided that they were “Better” than the other races, and thus began the newly implemented version of the Purity Scale. Now it not only said what races were sapient, but it also showed what races were “best” based on how similar they were to Kodin. Feline variant Kodin were on the top, with those resembling Lykan being considered the highest purity.

After Lykan was overthrown by Lockett, the world collectively agreed that Kodin could not be trusted to rule. Lord Lykan was horrible, and nobody wanted to risk a repeat of his rule. Kodin were still held in very high regards, but by this point everyone agreed that no creature capable of that level of evil should be something to strive for. Lockett was a kind and merciful ruler, so in the year 2728BDI the scale was revamped a second time, putting Humans at the very top. If a human could overthrow a god without the use of magic, they were more than worthy of being at the top. They were something to strive to be, and to this day Humans remain at the top of the scale.

As more and more creatures started rising to sapience and more and more creatures were added to the scale, the pure races of the world began noticing an alarming trend. While every creature on Mirror Domain is able to interbreed due to the influence of the world’s Magic, not every pairing of creatures were able to produce viable offspring. Namely those whose physical appearances were vastly different from each other. Their offspring were deformed, and many of them died very young due to their genetic incompatibilities.

The 20% rule is more of a law of nature rather than a law made by mortals, but in the hopes of cutting down on the amount of Coguine being born countries all across the world began implementing their own miscegenation laws. These laws vary from place to place even to this day, but as time goes on the 20% rule is becoming more and more commonplace. The 20% rule dictates that any race with a purity gap larger than 20% cannot interbreed, as their genetics are too different to produce viable offspring. This means a Kodin and a Human cannot interbreed, as they’re most likely going to wind up with a Coguine.

Many consider this rule to be cruel or prejudice, but the 20% rule at the end of the day was implemented for the good of pure creatures as a whole. People consider it selfish to burden your children with life threatening physical deformities solely on the grounds of “free love”. That being said, the rule only really applies to couples having biological children (in most places, at least), so there’s nothing stopping a Kodin and a Human from forming an intimate relationship with each other. That being said, the 20% rule is so prominent that non-childbearing couples may still receive pressure from the community because of it.

With all that said, the Purity Scale isn’t perfect. Purity is not based on the genotypes of the individual creatures, it’s based on the phenotype. This means that creatures are judged and rated based on how they look, and not by the genes they carry. Many races, such as Werewolves and Centaur, have an extremely large range of purities because of the vast amount of different variants there are. Every now and then a creature will be labeled with the “wrong” purity, leading to several genetic hiccups. For the most part judging creatures based on looks works, but some of the finer internal details can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, so to speak. There only needs to be one inconsistency to render a child incompatible with life.

## The Purity Scale

Every race has different physical factors that determine it’s purity, but there are a few universal traits considered to be “more pure”. As stated above, the thing that determines Purity above all else is how human a creature appears. This makes mammals higher than non mammals. Naturally occurring body colours are also more pure. Before the introduction of magic no creature had “natural” blue hair or green skin. Ancient Humans and Kodin both sported natural colours, such as white, blond, brown, red, orange, grey, or black hair and a range of tan and brown skin tones. Natural eye colours are the one exception to this rule, as eye colour varies so much within Mirror Domain’s gene pool that it can no longer be considered a means of judging purity. So long as the Sclera of the eye is white, any eye colour is acceptable.

Recessive traits are considered to be “more pure” than dominant ones, although what is and isn’t recessive varies depending on species. Depending on what race you are will also dictate the weight of these traits. A blonde haired Centaur would shoot up the ranks in terms of Purity, whereas a blond haired human and a brown haired human would largely have the same Purity if that’s the only physical difference. “Extreme” recessive traits are also very desirable. Albino creatures are almost always placed at the highest end of their species Purity. Recessive traits can only be acquired through selective breeding, which means having them proves you have a consistent and carefully planned out genetic line. The rarer and more extreme the trait, the more pure one is.

Several traits have sprung up over the years that fall into a grey area of purity. Traits that make a species appear more human in a technical sense, but also appear unnatural or unappealing. The hairless (and by extent featherless and scaleless) gene is among these. A creature that’s typically covered in fur being born hairless is considered to be a pure trait, but because so many people expect things like Kodin or Satyr to be born with fur, these individuals may be treated as “lesser” by the community. That being said, it does vary by region. More educated nations are aware of the hairless trait, and as a result it will be judged as higher purity as it rightfully should. Less educated nations may very well consider a hairless creature to be a coguine and outcast them from society as a result.

From here on out, all races have more niche and specific traits that dictate purity. All species specific scales can be found below

### Human 90-100%

Humans, being at the very top of the purity scale, have far more strict criteria and guidelines that must be met when it comes to Purity. A pure human should have a range of brown to tan skin with few skin imperfections that could be considered “spots” or “stripes”. Freckles are a human trait, but excess freckles may lower one’s purity. Having natural hair colours is also the standard when it comes to humans, although hair colour is extremely strict. Orange and red hair will put one lower on the scale, as it’s a more common trait in animal-like beings. Extreme hair colours, such as pinks, blues, greens, etc will more often than not remove a person from the “human” category entirely, placing them into the lesser human bracket.

As for physical traits, a human should have rounded ears and relatively straight/flat teeth and fingernails. Pointed canines or “vampire” teeth may not bar someone from the human label, but it will heavily lower their purity. Ears are very strict with humans, and any nonstandard ears, such as pointed elf-like ears, will make someone a lesser human and not a human. Humans do not have claws, but “pointy” fingernails may be overlooked, only lowering ones purity by a few marks.

### Lesser Human 75-90%

Lesser humans have a wider range of what’s considered “normal” and more often than not they’re simply humans with one or two impure traits that tarnish their overall purity. Wings, horns, and tails are very common, although these are all lower on the scale. Natural hair and skin tones are still considered to be pure, but when it comes to lesser humans red and orange hair is far more acceptable than in pure humans.

   Unnatural colours run rampant in the lesser human gene pool. It’s most commonly seen in the hair, but in extreme cases they can be found with red, green, or black skin; all of which are impure traits. A high-purity lesser human will almost resemble a human exactly, but with minor “impure” traits that just barely bar them from the category. Many have extreme spots or skin patterns, elf ears, or unnatural teeth. Depending on the region, they may slightly resemble other local species

### Satyr 52-70%

Satyr are the result of either human kodin cross breeding or human centaur cross breeding. As such, both Human and Kodin pure traits apply to them. Satyr on the higher end of the purity scale will have an almost perfectly human top half, although they may have far more body hair than what would be considered to be natural. Their bottom half will be an Equine variant, with naturally coloured fur being desirable. In order of purity, Satyr variants are as follows: Equine, Feline, Canine, and Vulpine.

The less fur the upper half of the body has, the more pure a satyr is. The lack of horns and rounded human ears will also place one higher on the scale. Some less pure Satyr resemble a kodin, just with a hairless human face instead of an animal-like one. These Satyr would be at the very tail end of the scale, with some even being considered a Coguine depending on their family lineage. As always, natural fur and hair colours are valued above unnatural ones, and short fur on the animal bottom half is more desirable than longer fur. Hooves should also be a natural colour, typically black, brown, or grey.

### Werewolf 50-85%

Werewolves are tricky to judge purity wise, as their physical appearance varies so greatly throughout the month. Because of this, Werewolves are judged at the new moon, when their beast form is the most hidden. A pure werewolf in it’s new moon cycle should be indistinguishable from a human in every way. If one didn’t know they were a werewolf, they’d never be able to tell. Less pure werewolves appear more wolf or kodin-like during their new moon cycle. The more kodin you appear, the less pure you are. Full moon forms only affect purity if they’re particularly beast-like. The average werewolf in it’s full form is a large, anthropomorphic wolf, but some less pure ones have full on feral forms.

   Speaking of their beast or kodin form, those who resemble domestic dogs rather than wild wolves, foxes, or coyotes are far higher on the purity scale. Domestic dogs were selectively bred by humans, so any physical trait that resembles a recognized breed of pet dog will be considered a pure trait, even if some of these traits can be a bit unnatural looking (pugs, for example). And, like all furred creatures, the hairless gene does make a werewolf more pure, even if it does look unnatural.

### Kodin 50-65%

There are three distinct variants of Kodin. Felines are the most pure of the trio, followed by Canines and finally vulpines. Fur colours and patterns that mimic their four legged counterparts are more pure than unnatural patterns. A canine may have tiger-like stripes, and while that trait is naturally occurring in nature, it’s only natural to felines. As such, that canine would be less pure than a feline with the same coat colour and pattern. “Hybrid” kodin are always at the bottom of the scale, and the misconception that a Vulpine is the offspring of a Canine and Feline is partially the reason why they’re the least pure of the three.

Seeing as Kodin greatly resemble “pet” species, those who appear more “domestic” are considered to be more pure than those who appear more “wild”. A tabby patterned feline would be more pure than a tiger print one, even if they’re both orange in colour. Domestic looking canines are also higher on the scale. Foxes are not a domestic animal, which again leads into why they’re the lowest on the purity scale in terms of Kodin.

Fur length is very finicky when it comes to Kodin. Those with shorter fur (or none at all) are considered to be more pure, but at the same time fur length is nonstandard across a Kodin’s body. The chest and tail sport far longer fur than the arms and face, so the length of a Kodin’s fur is measured by how long it is on it’s torso/back. Having an extremely fluffy tail or very long “hair” on their head rarely affects purity unless it’s taken to an extreme. Shorter tails are also more pure than long ones in terms of overall length.

### Centaur 45-70%

Much like Satyr and Kodin, Centaur have several different recognized variants. Equine is the most pure of the four, followed by Feline, Canine, and then Vulpine. Other types of Centaur do exist (such as dragon centaur) but these are not only not recognized as pure, they aren’t even considered to be Centaur. A non-mammalian centaur would be labeled as a Cognuine. Much like a Satyr, pure centaur have an upper half that’s indistinguishable from a human. No animal ears or excess fur. The more fur a Centaur has on it’s top half, the less pure it is. The “Furred” variant of centaur is the least pure, as in place of a human top half they have the top half of a Kodin.

   The bottom half of a centaur is what really affects their purity. The animalistic bottom half is where the genetic variation really begins to shine. Much like a kodin, their bottom half must not only have natural colours, but also natural patterns resembling their animal counterpart. An orange equine centaur is less pure than an orange coloured feline, as orange is not standard in horses. A centaur’s top half may be perfectly human, but if their bottom half has any inconsistencies their purity will be brought down a considerable amount.

   Equine variants are the most pure of the four mainly because they came first. Centaur were created as workhorses in the beginning. The other three variants didn’t spring up until several decades down the line, as cross breeding with Kodin started to become more common. Pure Equine variant’s hair colour should also match the colour of their mane. Matching manes, tails, and hair will make one's purity skyrocket. Same general rule for the other variants, although matching fur and hair will only marginally boost the purity of feline, canine, or vulpine variants.

### Gremlin 40-55%

Gremlin are very finicky when it comes to purity, as many of them have naturally occurring traits that’d gain them the title of Coguine. Seeing as they’re made from the hybridization of a Xylid and a Kodin, the genes for multiple limbs or eyes are still rampant throughout the gene pool. A pure Gremlin will have a solid coloured coat of fur, with very little variation in length aside from the hair on the top of their head. They’ll have the standard two arms, two legs, and two eyes as the average humanoid would, and the less insectoid traits they have the better. Unlike Kodin, Gremlin’s fur patterns mimicking natural animals or bugs is considered less pure, as it makes them look even more beast-like.

If a gremlin does have more wacky features, such as extra eyes or limbs, having such features be symmetrical will greatly improve their purity. Same goes for any body markings. If a gremlin does have stripes or spots or variations in the length of their fur, it’s better for it to be perfectly symmetrical. The less symmetrical they are, the less pure they are. Any obvious insect features, such as wings or antennae, will place a gremlin at the bottom of the scale as well.

### Sinvian 30-45%

Being avian, Sinvian are already at the lower end of the purity scale. Avians are so vastly different from humans and other mammals that what’s natural to a bird is unnatural to them. With Sinvian, feather colour is quite a bit more lax. Unless a Sinvian has a feather pattern that’s alien to any other bird species their feather colour will be considered normal. That being said, brown, black, and grey Sinvian are generally more pure than other colours, albeit only slightly.

With Sinvian, the real sign of purity is in the wings, beak, and talons. Sinvian have three types of arms: winged, feathered, and featherless. Featherless arms are considered to be the most pure, as they possess no flight feathered like the other two variants. The beak and talons of a Sinvian that are brown or tan are a higher purity than those with any other colour, as they most closely mimic that of a human’s skin tone. Of course, a Sinvian has such a small purity window that unless there’s something extremely off about them, most of the time their purity is arbitrary. It’s very polarized, with most Sinvian being either very pure or very impure

### Xylid 25-45%

Being insectoid, Xylid are already fairly low on the Purity Scale. That being said, they still rant higher than dragons and lesser dragons due to the fact that they’re a keystone species (non-hybrid) and that they’re naturally humanoid. More pure Xylid will have less limbs, with 2 being the most pure. That being said, 4 is the standard for the species. Those who are less fluffy and taller on average are also more pure. Antennae are required for the species to communicate, especially between Queens and Drones, so a Xylid lacking them is detrimental. That being said, those with smaller antennae, stingers, and wings are more pure on average. In terms of colour, solid coloured Xylid are the most pure. Usually solid coloured yellow, black, or brown rank highest overall, although greys and whites are also acceptable.

### Flyx 25-30%

Another Hybrid race who’s purity scale mimic’s both of its parent species, Pure Flyx will have more humanoid bodies. Those with the standard two arms and two legs are more pure than the more common variant with four arms. Wingless Flyx are also more pure than winged ones, although wingless variants are rare. Because Flyx are unable to communicate without antennae, the presence of antennae does not affect the purity of an individual unless they’re nonstandard. The less insectoid they look, the better. Smaller pinsers, smaller stingers, and smaller antennae are some of the few ways this can be accomplished, although many of these have biological disadvantages that the average Flyx doesn’t want to sacrifice.

   Because neither insects or reptiles are mammalian in nature, Flyx’s natural colours and patterns are able to vary more than other species. That being said, solid coloured Flyx rank far higher on the scale than those who mimic their animal counterparts, even if that counterpart sports typically “pure” traits such as browns and tans. There’s also the matter of iridescence. Many insectoids have it, and while many people consider it “pretty” it isn’t a pure trait. Matte Flyx are higher than those with a glossy or iridescent exoskeleton.

### Whiver 20-35%

Being yet another Hybrid race, Whiver’s purity is on the lower end of the scale by default. They’re generally humanoid, but they’re far too short and stout to match the typical human body shape. Taller whiver with less pronounced hips are higher on average. Same with those who have shorter buck teeth and small, rounded ears. Shorter claws are also considered a pure trait, although the claw length is hard to alter in any significant way.

In terms of fur colour, Pure Whiver tend to resemble small rodents. Those who look like a domestic rat, mouse, or rabbit will rank higher than those with more wild colourations. White is one of the most pure traits for a Whiver, with Albino Whiver almost always ranking the highest on the scale despite other factors. In general Whiver have a higher chance of being albino, and because of the illegal Whiver trade many of them are selectively bred anyway.

### Lesser Dragon 15-25%

While they may be called “lesser”, they’re only dubbed with that title as to not anger the much more powerful four legged dragons. Seeing as they’re reptilian in nature, their “natural” scale colours can be pretty much any colour in existence. Not only that, but lesser dragons have no “natural” counterpart, so they cannot be judged based on the patterns of animals found in nature. Because of this, Lesser Dragons with less flashy, solid coloured bodies are considered more pure than those with striking colours and patterns. Yellow, orange, and white lesser dragons are higher on the scale, but generally speaking colour is arbitrary.

What really dictates purity with lesser dragons is their extremities. Those with smaller horns, duller teeth, and shorter claws are more pure than those with large and prominent ones. Wingless and hornless variants are also more pure, albeit uncommon. A very rare “scaleless” variant of lesser dragon exists, with thin skin like hides rather than thick scales. Those rank near the top in the off chance you find one.

### Dragon 5-15%

Dragons are only begrudgingly on the Purity scale. Up until the Great Infestation they were nothing more than magical beasts smart enough to not cause a fuss. This has resulted in no real standard in terms of a dragon’s purity. Smaller, wingless and hornless dragons are typically ranked higher on the scale than other dragons, but at the end of the day most people don’t really care enough to make an actual set of guidelines for dragons. More often than not, a dragon’s purity is whatever the community decides based on how much they like or dislike said dragon.

### Coguine 20>%

A Coguine’s Purity is based solely on how “normal” they appear compared to any other standard species. Many of them have horrid deformities, usually incompatible with life. Some of the lucky ones, however, just look a bit funky. Coguine that look more like nonstandard hybrids (A Sinvian Kodin looking like a Griffin, for example), or those who are all around more aesthetically pleasing will rank higher on the scale than those with horrible or ugly appearances.

General rules apply to Coguine, with recessive traits and natural colours ranking higher than unnatural ones. But Coguine are at the mercy of those around them. Much like dragons, it’s not uncommon for a Coguine’s Purity to be based purely on how much the community likes or dislikes them.