In-Depth Information;

Appearance Chimera are large, strong creatures bearing at least three heads, with a lion head and a goat head affixed to their shoulders, and their tails being the front half of a snake, some hooded, some not. The lion and goat heads can be found one behind the other, or side by side. Only rarely will the lion head be behind the goat head, and such young tend to require the goat horns to be broken if they don't curl enough to allow for the lion head to move freely. Exact appearance, such as build and typical markings and the like, tend to vary widely depending on which Realm the chimera originate from.

Very rarely, a chimera will be born with a dragon head along with their normal three, and large, powerful wings that allow them to fly. Should they survive to adulthood, such dragon chimera often rise to high ranks in whatever pride they're in.

General appearance traits for each Realm variant may be found below.

Evylon: Evylonian chimera tend to have a wide variety of mutations, with extra horns, scales, and bio-luminescent markings being most common. Otherwise, they tend to look much like lions, with heavy, powerful bodies, and thick manes on the leonine heads of male chimera.

Felnova: Felnovian chimera look much like lions, with thick, muscular bodies, and often boast longer limbs than their cousins from Evylon. Aside from their extra heads, they look much like Vystrian lions, with a wide range of colors and fur patterns seen. Among all the Realms, Felnovian chimera have the highest chance to sport draconic heads and features.

Kurai: Kuraian chimera tend to be darker colored, and have larger eyes than most of their kind; their eyes commonly follow the Kingdom colors, and interbreeding between different Kingdom prides is forbidden. Death chimera have scarlet eyes; Famine sport green eyes; Pestilence have golden eyes; and War possess blue eyes. Otherwise, they commonly manifest thick scales, sharp horns, and piercing quills over their bodies but hold no other indication what Kingdom they may hail from. In addition, the goat heads of Kuraian chimera tend to boast venomous fangs almost as commonly as their leonine head will. Overall, their body shape is similar to a deathcat's, being broad, powerful, and relatively short-limbed.

Lizzarkyth: Lizzarkythian chimera tend to have bodies reminiscent of tigers over lions, generally lacking manes, and having broad stripes on their bodies. Their goat heads often have curling horns so they don't have so much risk of brushing against foliage when the chimera hunts.

Millirand: Millirandian chimera tend to favor mountain lions in appearance, and tend to be somewhat smaller than others of their kind, though their lean bodies are still formidably powerful. They tend to be less colorful than chimera from Evylon or Felnova, save for their often exotically colored snake tails, favoring more muted shades of brown and tan, though deviations have been spotted. The goat heads of Millirand chimera tend to resemble mountain goat heads.

Noctis: Noctisian chimera tend to have feline bodies reminiscent of leopards, bearing rosette patterns upon their fur, hide, and scales. They also tend to bear crystals of various colors growing from their bodies, most often growing where they won't restrict the chimera's movement. Noctis chimera also tend to have strong wings that allow them to glide on strong wind currents no matter whether they have draconic heads or not.

Ristell: Ristellan chimera tend to be very leonine in appearance, though they favor bright shades similar to various shades of sand. Their horns, claws, and eyes tend to be gleaming and metallic in color, with gold, brass, and bronze being most common. Their paws tend to be exceptionally broad, and are often webbed to allow them to travel across the sands with ease.

Xaeri: Xaerin chimera tend to be the smallest of their kind, and have a body build reminiscent of a cheetah, being long and lean, and similarly colored, though their exact shading can vary greatly. Their eye color tends to be exceptionally vibrant, and heterochromia is extremely common among them.

Culture Chimera tend to live in small prides, much like lions, led by a strong, mature male, a handful of subordinate males, and a larger group of females. The exact organization of these prides tends to vary. Prides tend to be nomadic, wandering throughout their established hunting grounds. Where these hunting grounds brush up against the hunting grounds of other chimera, or other species, tense standoffs can occur, as chimera tend to be highly territorial, and pride leaders refuse to back down from challenges so they don't lose face.

Chimera territoriality increases greatly when the mating season arrives. As their young are especially clumsy and uncoordinated due to having so many heads, they are quite helpless for about a year while they learn to deal with so much sensory input. During this time, every member of a pride who isn't nursing young is out hunting, patrolling, and if necessary, driving away intruders with a relentless ferocity that borders on the psychotic.

Chimera cubs tend to form a split personality divided among their myriad heads as a coping mechanism, though these personalities tend to shift into one distinct, mature one as they grow, with the other personalities either fading away or merging with a strong, central one. Heads tend to have no influence on personalities. Newborn cubs are kept confined to plain, dark, concealed dens, and only slowly exposed to more light and colors as they mature, and master their senses, to prevent sensory overload.

Abilities Chimera are powerful fighters and skilled hunters, making use of a deadly mix of fangs, claws, and horns, as well as potent venom in the fangs of their snake and lion heads, and dragon, for those rare individuals who have them. Occasionally, the goat heads will have venom in their horns, though this is rare. As chimera grow and mature, they gain greater control over their venom, and what exactly it does. Chimera tend to lack magic, though they have a strong resistance to it. For those rare few who develop magic, it's never elemental, and even more rarely very powerful.

Chimera on the hunt tend to be very devious, with many opting to use their goat heads to gaze around while they hold their bodies low and hidden, giving the impression that there's only a mere goat wandering around until they're close enough to their prey to strike. Otherwise, they tend to make use of their surroundings, with Kurai chimera using their acute vision to hide in and strike from the shadows, and Ristell chimera often burrow under the sand, save for their snake heads, only emerging when prey is close, or incapacitated by the snake's bite.

Unique among the chimera is the Noctis variant. The crystals growing on their bodies tend to absorb energy, which can then be used to strengthen their wings for true flight, for limited times, typically allowing them to travel from island to island, stopping to rest in between, and rarely take flight to hunt winged prey.

subspecies

Manticore
Classification: more draconic chimera. Location: abroad.

The manticore is a monstrous chimera with unique attributes and a divergent way of life. They lack the snake's tail and goat's head of a true chimera, instead having a scorpion's tail and large leathery wings. By some mutation, a rare few manticores may exhibit human-like facial features, and rarer still multiple rows of shark-like teeth. Colors vary widely from individual to individual, as do mutations (such as extra spikes, saber fangs, twin tails, feathers, etc) and they are commonly much larger than their cousin race.

Manticores, unlike their chimera brethren, will often take a solitary life and come together only to breed. Most detest the company of either their species or chimera, though some have been seen settling in with small lion prides in remote locations. While solitary, each manticore often bears its own rules and customs it must follow, and sometimes greeting rituals and the like for others of its kind. In this manner they are often viewed as strange but honorable. However, there are always exceptions to the rule - prides of manticores are exceptionally rare, but not entirely impossible. Oddly, they do not mind other sapient species - and manticores are a common sight in multiracial bazaars, militaries, and other such groups.

Magically, they are adept and are keen in the elements of fire and earth. The venom from their tails elicits a hallucinogenic response in a victim, preying upon their fears. However, this venom can also be distilled and crafted into a potion that helps Seers have visions, inducing delirium and vibrant hallucinations in all others.

Nue
Classification: demonic chimera. Location: primarily Kurai.

The nue is a demonic creature born from experimentation, resulting from the infusion of traditional Kuraian chimera with the souls of dark creatures, such as shadowbeasts and lesser demons. They often appear with the muscular build and stripes of a tiger, the face of a long-fanged primate, a leonine mane, and the tail of a serpent. Colors can vary wildly between individuals, as well as any mutations spawned from the species of soul that their ancestors were fused with. Nue may display Kingdom-based eye colors matching whatever those of their Kuraian chimeric ancestry had. However, nothing prohibits nue from interbreeding across Kingdom borders, so other eye colors can and have been found.

Though most are not magically attuned, when one is born with such abilities, they are likely to have a grasp of either the element of shadow or blood magic, if not both in rare cases. Otherwise, nue rely on their physical strength, natural intelligence, and cunning to overwhelm their prey and defeat their enemies. Those with serpentine tails may spit a very potent venom from the snake's fangs, or deliver it via bite. This venom is flesh-eating, acidic in quality, and must be diluted or dispelled with water or light magic lest whatever portion affected need to be removed.

They are sleek and silent predators, best suited to the underground caves and other deep, dark places of the Demon Realm, where they attack and kill unsuspecting creatures and travelers both sapient and not. Nue are known to be violent and bloodthirsty. They enjoy the pain of others they believe to be lesser than them, especially those that are humanoid or otherwise bipedal in shape. Unlike their traditional brethren, nue lack their former blood-ties to the demonic Kingdoms and are not controlled by any demon Lord. Because of this, they care little for borders and can be found roaming across all of Kurai, either alone or in small groups. Squabbles with Kuraian chimera prides are common, and they frequently attack small towns or villages, often wearing the bloodied bones of their kills as trophies.