Godkin

**Godkin** are one of the civilized races that inhabit Cyril. They are beings that are thought to be "blessed" by the gods before birth. While far less common than the other races due to their rarity and inability to reproduce, Godkins exist throughout Cyril, albeit in low numbers. Depending on the social view of the culture they are born to, Godkins are often either glorified as a physical embodiment of a god, or shunned and outcast as an abomination.

## Background

As far as anyone can tell, Godkin can be born to any creature in any part of Cyril. They are commonly children of humanoids (but have been seen as animals and other creatures) who have been "blessed" before birth (or cursed, depending on personal or social view) with the physical manifestation of a divine spark granted by the gods. Godkin manifest their divine heritage in a variety of ways: wings, horns, strange birthmarks, talons, odd eyes - but they always manifest it somehow. Though their appearance may vary, there's something unmistakably otherworldly about them. Godkin are viewed differently by the various factions, faiths, and cultures of the world. Sometimes, the reaction they get is overwhelmingly positive, such as in Asterinatalnu among the higher up cosmos worshipping elites and clergy.

Godkins cannot reproduce, making marriage difficult for Godkin in many areas as most societies consider marriage to exist mainly for the purpose of producing heirs. In Egerie, Godkin are legally considered to be without sex or gender regardless of how they appear or self-identify. Legal constructs that explicitly name (favorably or unfavorably) sexes or genders can cause problems for them.

## Godkin sub-races

There are many different sub-races of Godkin that were "blessed" before birth by different deities of the world and manifest their divine heritage in a variety of ways. All Godkin can be created by Feo and some may be imitated by others.

* **Aasimar** - Aasimars often look very normal with minor celestial indicators of their unusual ancestry. These differences can span a wide range, but most often are exemplified by an unearthly beauty, hair that shines like metal, strange eye color, or even glowing golden halos. In many cases, an aasimar's beauty is not due to physical traits but rather to a supernatural tendency among others to interpret their features as beautiful or attractive. Aasimars also tend to have strong, confident personalities, with minds that are not easily shaken by doubt or misdirection. They are often quite insightful and perceptive, able to formulate coherent and persuasive arguments with little effort.
* **Tiefling** - Tieflings vary greatly in individual appearance from one another, they can have horns, greatly varying skin colors, hooves for feet, tails, unusual eyes, and so on. Tieflings tend to adopt the society and culture they were born into. Since most societies consider them to be untrustworthy or even monstrous, tieflings typically gravitate toward those segments of society willing to overlook them entirely, or where their reputation can assist rather than hinder them. With determination and persistence, however, tieflings can earn respect and prestige despite their heritage, finding people who accept them as they are. In regions where worship of fiends is widespread, tieflings can live more openly and achieve great power and respect.
* **Aphorite** - The first aphorites possessed nearly uniform physical appearances, but they have diversified after generations. Modern aphorites have flickering, coruscating golden skin, sparkling with crystalline dust; and metallic eyes and hair. Bigger and smaller aphorites are rare due to the lawful influence, but such exceptions have become increasingly more frequent. Aphorites are smart, strong, but somewhat stiff, and their ordered and structured personalities can conflict with chaotic races. Conversely, aphorites build strong bonds with lawful races, especially dwarves, who enjoy their company and welcome aphorite births due to their intuitive understanding of dwarven craft.
* **Duskwalker** – Duskwalkers' physical features bear resemblance to the race they used to be in their previous life, except for their ashen-grey skin. Most duskwalkers have an innate respect for the cycle of birth and death, and tend to gravitate to jobs related to its protection like undead hunters, midwives, morticians, and priests. Duskwalkers appreciate that their death allows new lives to begin and struggle to understand other races' fear of death, and even cheerful duskwalkers tend toward morbid humour.
* **Fetchling -** Though similar to Duskwalkers, Fetchlings are serve seperate aspects and are a striking people whose skin appears entirely drained of color. These lithe and shadowy beings seem to sink and vanish into the gloom. They see in darkness, exercise control over shadows, and have strange occult powers. Some fetchlings develop their powers enough to pass between the Shadow and Material Planes, leaving other ancestries to whisper about figures that emerge from shaded corners and then vanish without a trace. Through magic and other means, they've spread across Cyril and the planes beyond.
* **Ganzi** – It is not precisely known how Ganzi come to be and who they best represent but it is instead assumed that they are mistakes of The Wheel, the melding of two or more souls in one and commonly are mistreated or revered because of this. While ganzis resemble other members of their ancestry, it's rare for chaos to manifest with any degree of subtlety. No two ganzis are wholly alike and there are no universal traits, yet there is more commonality among ganzis than a layperson might expect. While some ganzis have links to other creatures of chaos, like valkyries or einherji, and some to no known beings, a narrow majority manifest as “proteankin” ganzis. Whether actually related to proteans or not, these ganzis possess serpentine tails with colorful scales and feathers, as well as patches of feather and scale in other places. Bilateral symmetry of such features is ubiquitous, despite their chaotic origins.
* **Ifrit** - They are known for their impulsive, hot-headed personalities, hair that flickers like fire, and red or mottled horns that sprout from their brows. Ifrits usually have pointy ears, red or mottled horns, flickering hair, and sometimes scales the colour of charcoal covering their limbs or brass-coloured skin. Like their element, most (but not all) ifrits are hot-headed, consume life fully, and live for the moment. They often have difficulty adapting to cities due to their tempestuous personality and occasional pyromania, but this behaviour is rarely motivated by true malice. They fit better among tribal societies, where they can easily rise high in the hierarchy due to their instinct to explore and conquer their surroundings. Ifrits are vagabonds and loners by nature, and only have a few close friends. Ifrits endlessly hunger for power and glory, and consider making a name for themselves the greatest achievement, leading them to excel at their job.
* **Oread** - Oreads are stout, with stony hair and skin of earthy colours. A few show their elemental heritage even more explicitly, with shining skin, rocky outcroppings, glowing eyes, or crystalline hair but, despite this, oreads are still creatures of flesh and blood. Oreads are generally calm and contemplative, and their rage is difficult to rouse but terrible. While protective of their friends, most do not have concern for the world's good as a whole. Most oreads are conservative and rarely approve of disruptions to their daily life.
* **Suli** - Sulis bear almsot no marks of their heritage, to the point that they are nearly indistinguishable as children and can pass as tall, beautiful members of their mortal parent's race as adults. Sulis stand out for their vibrant eyes, brilliant bronze skin, and the charm and intensity from their heritage. Sulis are usually boastful, arrogant, and consider bragging a cultural institution. They boast about their own accomplishments as well as their friends and family, seeking to be remembered for centuries. They are competitive and stubborn, leading to explosive interactions with equally acerbic people. It is of suspicion that the occasional Suli may be produced as a lucky mishap of The Wheel as opposed to Ganzi.
* **Sylph** - Sylphs usually look pale and delicate, but are often more resilient than they look. If they hide the swirling blue markings on their skin, sylphs can easily pass for their base species. Other subtle signs of their elemental heritage include slight gusts of wind that follow them and become more pronounced as they experience passion or anger. The most exotic sylphs have hair that twists and coils like mist. Most sylphs are shy and reclusive, and spend their time eavesdropping on people while remaining unnoticed, in the process learning of dangers to be avoided.
* **Undine** - Undine have distinctive coloration that resembles bodies of water such as lakes or oceans. All undines have blue eyes, but their skin color ranges from pale blue-white to deep blue or green. They have fin-like ears, webbed hands and feet, and straight, thick hair of a darker shade than their skin. However, they lack gills and cannot breathe underwater. They are typically cool, calm, and calculated with a solely objective focused mind, they have a keen connection to the moon and like to keep to themselves.

All Godkin share one common function: They act as failsafes for the gods, who can elect to possess their bodies if they are killed or used as living batteries to empower the gods with their souls. With thousands of Godkins across the world, it's a potent reservoir of power. The gods think nothing of this potential mass sacrifice, believing theirs is the greater good.