Thel

Thel are a sapient species native to Trea and one most populated intelligent species on Moro. A large portion live in the Thel'Darion region on Moro, however the majority of Thel live on the continent of Lumos. Thel come in many variants that are hyper adapted to the circumstances of life on Moro with the ability to physically adapt to their surroundings. Thel, after submersing themselves in certain climates can undergo serious morphological changes in their biology and pyschology. Thel and some other sapient races are capable of interbreeding creating half-thel, known most commonly by the form in which half their ancestry originates from. Thel on average, range from as short as 4'8" as seen in the Thel'Vrak up to a towering 6'8" in the Thel'Saeli with a myriad of different skin colors, hair textures, shades and lengths, appendages, horns, tentacles, gelationus membranes, claws, and even wings.

## Forms

### ***Thel'Vrak***

**Thel'Vrak** or **The Deep Kin** in Thel'Dari, are a form of Thel that have characteristic dark skin, bright red eyes and an aversion to sunlight. Their familial home is Yeor Vaeldorne under the vigilance of House Vaeldorne and Caenn Rhaena Vaeldorne. Thel'Vrak are the shortest of all forms of Thel and are well suited for life underground. Their skin, adapted to the jagged walls of the caverns are tougher than other forms of Thel. Some elder Thel'Vrak (600 years+) undergo a transformation that entails transforming their endoskeleton into a boney black exoskeleton, the loss of function of the eyes and the enlargement of the mandible bone. After this transformation, a Thel'Vrak cannot undergo metamorphosis. Thel'Vrak seems to age at one-fifth the rate of normal Thel.

Nothing is wasted in Thel'Vrak society, including each other. When one dies, their form becomes food for the community. Cannibalism is central to Thel'Vrak culture as the ritual killing and consumption of Thel is required to maintain utter darkness in the capital of Yeor Vaeldorne, ensuring sunlight never breaches past the magical fog. Thel'Vrak tends to be far more cruel and malicious than the other Thel, being motivated by entirely selfish motivations and a sadistic disposition.

Thel that spend prolonged periods of time without exposure to sunlight, moonlight or starlight and after consuming the flesh of another Thel will typically become a Thel'Vrak after only 50 years, the shortest metamorphosis in the Thel species. Thel'Vrak show distinct signs of sexual dimorphism, with females tending to be larger by several inches than males.

### ***Thel'Sangri***

Thel'Sangri or **The Blood Kin** in Thel'Dari, are a form of Thel that have two tone pale and crimson skin, earthy eyes and typically vibrant hair that mimics arboreal foliage such as trees, acorns, fruit and flowers. They are adapted to life in the trees and mostly reside around mega-dendron such as the Sangryn. Thel'Sangri biology is largely adapted to the consumption of the tree sap and fruit of the mega-dendron they call home and have a hard time digesting anything else, especially meat which is completely indigestible and fatally poisonous.

The sap collected from the Sangryn Forest is a bright crimson red that appears much like blood in colour and viscosity, owing to the native name of the Thel'Sangri as the Blood Kin. The parallels of the Sangryn sap with blood however, run deeper as Thel'Sangri who no longer reside in the Sangryn forest can maintain their form by the consumption of certain species' blood, most commonly Orc blood which contains many of the nutrients found in the sap. Human blood, horse blood and dragon blood can also satiate the Thel'Sangriallowing them to maintain this form, but none compare to Orcish blood which is so profusely coveted by The Blood Kin that the mere sight of an Orc can cause a Thel'Sangri to salivate.

Thel that consume large quantities of Sangyrn sap, and or subside on Sagryn fruits undergo metamorphosis after roughly 200 years. Thel'Sangri are sexually monomorphic. Metamorphism from Thel'Sangri to Thel'Vrak is very unlikely as it usually requires the consumption of flesh, which Thel'Sangri anatomy is incapable of.

### ***Thel'Myrr***

***Thel'Myrr*** *or **The Sea Kin*** in Thel'Dari, are a form of Thel that have adapted to life underwater. They have smooth purple skin, webbed feet and hands and a gelatonous bell crown around the head draped with 2-6 tentacles capable of producing electricity. Thel'Myrr brains become noticbly reduced in size to facilitate the growth of pheromone producing and detecting glands in the mesoglea that aid in group hive mind communication making the invididual Thel'Myrr less intelligent in isolation than their other Thel kin, but greatly more intelligent in congregation. Thel'Myrr subside on consuming large jellyfish polyp which grow all over Trea, but in high concentration in the lake of Oroka's Tear.

Thel'Myrr are highly social creatures almost always choosing to live in large kinship groups called 'pods' of around 100-2000 individuals. Communication in these pods do not occur through language but rather the production of electric currents which are detectible by highly sensitive glands in the mesoglea of the Thel'Myrr gelatinous bell. The electricity producing tendrils are largely idosyncratic which each individuals tendrils appearing highly unique. Thel'Myrr style their tendrils by wrapping them around their arms, other tendrils, swoop them over the head and thread them into each other much like Thel and other races style their hair.

Thel that spend prolonged periods underwater and continuously consume jellyfish polyp can undergo metamorphosis into Thel'Myrr after around 350 years, one of the longest in the Thel species.

### ***Thel'Saeli***

**Thel'Saeli** or **The High Kin** in Thel'Dari, are a form of Thel that have golden skin with dark patterns, flowing long hair and the greatest statue amongst the Thel with males standing usually around 6'1-6'8. Thel'Saeli are adapted to life in concordance with magic. Thel'Saeli anatomy is the most physically weak of the Thel, lacking many crucial organs for mortal life but the most attuned to channel and wield magic of all species on Trea. This factor is a vestige of the history of the High Kin as once divine beings, whose anatomy was preserved by divine magic alone, with the power of their gods fulfilling the necessary biological functions for life. But now in the 5th Epoch since the death of the god Corvenus and the goddess Atrophia, Thel'Saeli must now seek other magic to preserve their life. They do so now through the various schools of arcane magic, and few from divine magic from The Twelve. Each Thel'Saeli choose a different form of magic to sustain their life, some choosing transmutation to transmute their flesh into its most capable form while others may choose necromancy to sustian them in a limbo of life and death. Very few are granted the blessing of the gods and are given life through divine magic as they once were. Those who sustain their life through magic are known as ***Saelisâr*** (Soul of the Weave), whilst those who sustain themselves form the magic of divinity are known as ***Saelidên*** (Soul of the Divine).
Thel'Saeli society venerates magical prowess above all else for entirely selfish means. While the wizards of Moren Tir study magic for overall understanding of the arcane in accordance with moral and intellectual applications of magic for the benefit of the world, Thel'Saeli seek to control, dominate and subjugate magic. They seek to covet magic for personal gain, bending magic to their will to prolong their life, secure their position as superior to all other mortals and to once again attempt to reach divinity. As a result Thel'Saeli are not scholarly or cooperative, once a Thel'Saeli makes a magical discovery they will shelter their secrets away to ensure it doesn't fall into another's possession much to the vehemence of wizards and scholars.

***Thel'Rokari***

**Thel'Rokari** or **The Wild Kin** in Thel'Dari, are a form of Thel that are adapted to nomadic lifestyles in close relationship with the Mega-Fauna of Moro. Their physical characteristics vary greatly, mimicing they mega-beasts in which they venerate. For example in the region between Hazyr and Thel'Darion there is a group of Thel'Rokari who have pale white skin and sprouting antlers, in accordance with the herd of the Great Stag species that roams those lands. Another such example is the countless nomadic tribes in the far west, where Thel'Rokari have been seen with lizard-like tails and fangs, eagle-wings or even beetle elytra and antennae. The most common group of Thel'Rokari are The Stag Kin, The Wolf Kin and the Bear Kin, most of which reside within Thel'Darion, however are found all throughout Moro. Despite variations in appearance all Thel'Rokari tend to stand on average 6' tall for both males and females. There is theoretically minimal restriction on what beast a tribe venerates and further takes on qualities of, although fauna of the class Mammalia, Reptillia, Sauropsida and Aves are by far the most common. Even Dragon Thel'Rokari ha

ve been known to exist, sprouting wings and gaining tails, although these are exceedingly rare and largely found outside of Moro.

Thel that abandon all established religion and follow a druidic lifestyle consuming only the flesh of their tribes animal familiar will undergo metamorphosis into Thel'Rokari after 150 years. Thel'Rokari druids have the ability to undergo metamorphosis into other Thel forms much quicker than their brethren. A Thel'Rokari could transform into a Thel'Myrr if they so wished in as a little as a week, as long they are in the correct environment.

### ***Half Thel and Reproduction***

Thel that interbreed with humans and other sapient species are born with features of their Thel heritage. Most commonly Half-Thel are referred to by their heritage, so for example a Half-Thel with human ancestry mixed with The High Kin are called Saeliman, while a half Thel'Vrak would be called Vrakman, etc. Half-Thel cannot undergo metamorphosis and like humans carry their heritage untill they die. Half-Thel tend to live twice as long as humans but not nearly as long as Thel. Half-Thel, in Thel society are seen as abominations and unnatural outsiders. Their inability to fully integrate with the environment which the Thel have adapted further alienates them. While most Thel have amicable relations with humans, they see them not fit to interbreed with.

Thel are always born in the likeness of the mother's form, meaning if two different forms interbreed, the resulting child will always be the mother's form, irrelevant of the fathers heritage.