Amaranthine Equines

Amaranthine is home to a wide variety of equines and cervids which come in all shapes and sizes. Characters in Amaranthine are heavily anthropomorphized, and should be viewed as “human minds in horse/deer bodies”. They do not have the instincts or behavior of real life horses and deer. Note that in all aspects except their base anatomy, cervids and horses are treated identically in terms of gameplay; all the biology sections apply to both species.

## Equines

Equines are the original denizens of Amaranthine, and correspond to our real world equines. Breeds in the sense we understand them do not exist in this world, and horses may display any combination of builds and traits, however implausible they would be in the real world. Traits may be drawn from horses, donkeys, zebras, quagga, or mixes thereof. This includes wild and extinct breeds, but does not include prehistoric animals (like eohippus). Hybrids between different kinds of equine, such as mules, are not adversely affected and are not sterile.

Equines believe they were chosen by the Gods who created them to be the dominant species of Amaranthine and the wider world. They are the more common species.

## Cervids

Cervids came to Amaranthine from across the ocean over 1200 years ago, during the reign of Dorofey the Great. They left behind their original continent, Yannis, and sailed the uncharted waters to arrive in Amaranthine. Having landed in the northern part of the continent, they swiftly became allies to the ascoulians, and aided them in their millenia-long quest of taking over the whole of the continent. They are only present in Amaranthine, and have not been encountered on the neighboring continents.

Amaranthine Cervids are their own species of deer separate from wild, non-sapient cervids. They are the same size range as horses, and may have similar variations in build (draft deer, for example). They do not need to resemble any specific type of real world deer - think "generic" deer, with largeish rounded ears, defined snout and upright profile. They are a bit more "rounded" and less angular than most real life deer. Unlike deer in our world they do *not* experience sexual dimoprhism. Like with horses, growing/not growing antlers or horns is a breed trait, not an inborn trait - common cervids do not have any horns or antlers.

Cervids are not exactly rare, but are the more uncommon of the two species.

## Biology

All Amaranthians are capable of using telekinesis to manipulate objects in a manner similar to us using our hands. Many are also capable of varying types of magic - an innate ability that needs to be unlocked via training to tap. Some also have other unusual talents and abilities. Their illnesses correspond to human ones, and they don’t need to worry about colic or death due to a broken leg. Amaranthian cervids are not ruminants.

Their height ranges between 10hh (102cm) to 19hh (193cm) at the shoulder under normal circumstances. Slightly larger and smaller individuals are possible, but unusual, and usually such an appearance hints towards some level of development issue or other physical anomaly, such as malnutrition during childhood, or unusually pronounced, long limbs. Individuals between 12-17hh are considered average height, and the world is “designed” around them.

Amaranthians are mainly pescatarians. Unlike real horses and deer, they can not survive for long solely on grasses or uncooked grains, and need a more varied diet to thrive. Preferred foods include all types of fruit, vegetables, nuts, eggs, beans, dairy and all kinds of seafood. They are somewhat tolerant to poultry as a supplement, but generally have allergic reactions to mammal or reptilian meat of any kind. Some individuals have managed to get accustomed to eating small quantities of meat, but no equine is going to stay healthy on a diet heavy in meat. Like humans, they may develop other food allergies as well, although this is relatively rare.

While words like "mare", "stallion" and "doe", "stag/buck" are sometimes used and are not incorrect, they're not exactly common either. Stag/doe are more commonly used to refer to non-sapient, wild deer.

### Breeds and Appearance

*Main article: Amaranthine Breeds*

Breed in Amaranthine refers exclusively to the kind of equine or cervid the individual is. The five main breeds are: common, unicorn, pegasus, hippocampus and kirin. An individual may also be a hybrid - a mix of two or more breeds. Breed traits are the same for both cervids and equines.

### Reproduction

*More on having children in game: In-Game Births*

Like humans, Amaranthians with ovaries can become pregnant all year around. Pregnancy lasts 3-4 in-game months. Most births result in a single child, but twins are relatively common (and often the propensity to have twins is a family trait) and have no overt health and safety risks associated with them. Triplets are very rare and often cause problems for both the expecting parent and the children themselves - it's typical for these children to be born prematurely.

Children will always match the breed(s) of their parents. A unicorn/kirin hybrid and a pegasus could have kirin, unicorn or pegasus children, or any hybridization between these breeds - but not commons or hippocampi. Single breed children are more common than hybrids, but hybrids aren’t exactly *rare* either. Multi-breed hybrids are more rare than simple hybrids, and so on.

Coat colors and patterns are also inherited, and the equines have a basic understanding of genetics - that is to say, they know to expect children to carry similar traits to their parents.

Horses and cervids are able to breed, but the offspring will come out either equine or cervid, never a mix of both. As such, a deer may have horse ancestors, or vice versa. An equine offspring is more common; about 70% of cervid x equine pairings will result in an equine offspring.

### Aging

Amaranthians enjoy long life-spans, and age mostly as we humans do. Their early childhood is accelerated, reaching the “toddler” stage in mere weeks - walking within hours of birth, and capable of simple sentences within a couple weeks. After this development slows down. Their natural lifespan is around 80 years, but older individuals are somewhat common. Living to be 100, however, is very rare.

#### **Life Stages**

* Infant: first few weeks of life
* Toddler: approx 1 month to 2 years.
* Early Childhood: 2-6 years
* Middle Childhood, School age: 7-12
* Adolescence: 13-19
* Young Adult: 20-40
* Mature Adult: 40-60
* Elderly: 60+