Kindra

Kindra (also spelled Kindar, meaning "The Family") are the native and only sentient species of FRG-109, the Ice Fragment. It is a small and rather isolated fragment, with little to no contact with other Shards.

## Appearance

Kindra are bipedal, sentient beings, averaging the height of 162 cm (5'4 feet), with the lower side being 150 cm (4'11 feet) and the tallest 170 cm (5'7 feet). They do not display sexual dimorphism, but rather a small variety of height, based on their social roles. The foragers being taller and more muscular, while the crafters are smaller and stockier. Children are born around 50 cm (20 inches) and will slowly grow into their proper size by their 15th cycle, although they are not considered adult until their 20th cycle.

They are covered in three layers of monochromatic wool-like fur, which are typically straight or wavy, with a few cases of being curly. The coloration is usually shades of light to medium gray, with a rare occurrence of darker shades of gray, light tan or pure white. There are stories of Kindra with black fur, however, these have not been seen in several generations.

The only part of the Kindra without any fur are their upper and lower pads, and their face and neck having a shorter, softer hair. These being covered by socks, mittens and hoods, which are crafted using Kindra and Motti fur. Both their lower and upper pads have five retractable claws each, which are dexterous enough to work weapons, crafting and strong enough to hold up a Kindra's body weight. Three of the claws are located on the top of the pads and two of them are placed on each side of the pad, giving the Kindra an especially good grip on ice.

## History

Kindra rely on oral traditions and have no written record of their history, They do, however, spread their culture and history through stories and songs, though songs have taken over in recent times and their oral storytelling is near extinct.

## Culture

The Kindra is a hunter-gatherer society, with some limited forms of animal husbandry. They rely heavily on their traditional roles and cooperation between nests.

### Roles and gender

The roles are split in three; foragers, which includes hunters, gatherers and warriors; crafters, including tailors, builders and artisans; and watchers, who watches the village fire, take care of children, tell their culture's stories and sing their songs.

Much like their roles, Kindra can also be split into three genders; male, female and neutral. In older traditions, these were directly linked to the roles. Males were crafters, females were primarily hunters and the neutrals were watching the flame and taking care of children. The watcher's roles also permitted the males and female the time and effort in creating their nests, which has since fallen more and more out of favor and seen as a mostly "useless" role. As children now exclusively are provided by Mor Eld, even neutrals are permitted to form nests. It is also not uncommon for Kindra of the same gender to form nests together, as long as they do not share roles.

### Housing

Kindra nests are circular house-like structures built on stilts. The nests are small, single-rooms with the center space being occupied by a large stove, with a bed loft on top. The inner walls are highly practical, with retractable furniture on ground level and large amounts of storage up to the ceiling. Even the ceiling space is not wasted, being used to dry cloth, meat, herbs and hang larger tools and weapons. A Kindra nest might appear cluttered, but they are highly organized, efficient and practical.

### Villages

Instead of cities or towns, the Kindra is spread throughout the fragment in smaller villages.

## Religion

The Kindra worship Mor Eld, which is a flame-based deity located solely on the Ice Fragment. Originally, the people did not worship the flames, but have always been an intricate part of their development as a species and society. The Kindra survived the hashest of ice seasons by gathering around the Fragment's many Eikeld, Flame Trees, during the harshest of ice season. They would sing and tell stories, which incorporated lessons on survival, history, manners, warnings, crafting and hunting techniques. The flames became essential to the Kindra, to the point of abandoning their previously nomadic lifestyle and settle around the Eikelds. They eventually started the traditions of fire watchers and starting singing and telling stories to the flames, instead of just around them. Eventually the Kindra started worshiping the flames and would eventually start the tradition of asking the flames for aid. After one couple, who had been unable to bear children of their own, begged the flame for a child, the first ever Kindra was born from the flames and the Kindra named the flames Mor Eld, meaning Mother Flame.

## Animal Husbandry

Kindra's relationship with the Motti (moth creatures) are complicated. While the Kindra pride themselves on being pragmatic and apathetic, the Motti provide a much-needed emotional and philosophical counter-balance. Although they are not fully sentient beings, they are highly emotional creatures that depend deeply on the protection provided by the Kindra. Meanwhile, the Kindra breed Motti for their strength, flying and fur quality, while also bonding each one to a Kindra with a fitting social role.

## Trivia

* Although the work-in-progress conlang is based on Old Norse, mixed with modern Scandinavian, the Kindra is heavily inspired by the Sámi people of Northern Europe, as the creator, Lenny is Scandinavian with Sámi ancestry.

## See Also:

* Fire Watcher (In progress), written story about the adventures of three Kindra youths and their Motti, discovering and defying their social roles.