In-Depth Information;

Appearance Mythkin are athletic and graceful in appearance, whether male or female, with lithe builds and lean musculature. Created as adults, mythkin do not physically age, and there exist no elders or children of the species. Their hair and eye colors trend more towards metallic shades, and hold a unique, glossy quality to them; the most common colors are silvery hues, but other colors have been reported. Eye color and hair color are almost always the same, and very rarely different. Longer hair is generally considered a sign of knowledge and age, as mythkin hair begins to grow after creation; the usual rate of growth is one inch per decade.

All mythkin also have distinctive tattoo-like markings that often appear down both arms, across the upper back, beneath the eyes, and on the back of the neck and hands. Female mythkin have tattoo-markings in warm tones, such as reds and golds, while males will have cool tones, including all shades of blues and greens. Occasionally a mythkin will have a "switched" color, but it is considered very rare. A mythkin's skin tone can be of any natural shade; pale is more common, while darker skin tones are considered exotic and rare. Scars appear silvery and metallic, standing out starkly against any surrounding skin.

Garb differs via Clan, and the area in which they live. Fellblade mythkin often wear heavy clothes and thick armor in neutral colors, along with warm traveling cloaks; Lightshatter mythkin favor medium armor and light or bright colors, accompanied by some amount of jewelry or decoration; Nightstriker mythkin employ sparse armor and dark colors, sometimes with very little clothing.

Mythkin criminals have permanent black tattoos that are places in bands or stripes on the arms and face, or over existing markings. These tattoos cannot be removed, and may be accompanied with a brand of banishment in the form of burns, scars, or other such mutalitive marks. Such criminals are marked this way so that they will never be allowed into either of the three mythkin Clans.

Any mythkin who refuses to drink dragon blood will begin to physically degrade and waste away; their skin withers, and their hair will turn dull and begin to fall out. Mythkin 'starve' to death completely after three solid months, and upon their deaths in this way, they will disintegrate - leaving only their metal bones. Likewise, if they drink dragon's blood but refuse human bone - often in a powder or other such substance - they will begin to degrade, but in a different way. Those mythkin who only partake in the blood will, over time, turn into statues of mythmetal. Any patches of skin that turn into metal is permanent, even if they begin once more, and cannot be removed. These mythkin are called the 'bonesworn', and are often left as disabled and disgraced.

Culture Mythkin are a proud and strong race; they are arrogant and distrustful of "nature-born" creatures, as they are born through a ritual of creation, and not through natural reproduction. Each Clan has its own culture, but few things remain the same. Though mythkin cannot procreate, they may marry or form pairbonds if they do fall in love; this is scandalous if outside their own Clan, and blasphemous if outside the mythkin race. Mythkin are masters of war, and they are taught from the earliest age to fight. When a mythkin is "born", they are assigned a married couple that effectively become their parents, teaching them the ways of the Clan, the mythkin race, and the ways of war.

When "born", mythkin are entirely bald. They grow their hair as they age - however, their physical features do not change, and they are created as adults. Shorter hair is considered a sign of youth and a lack of knowledge. As such, most mythkin will wear their hair as long as they can, often up to the small of their backs (any longer is considered hazardous, as it may interfere with battle). Each Clan is led by a Zaeli (queen) or Zaelin (king), and lesser ranks differ by Clan.

Newly-created mythkin are called the 'dawn-minded', due to their lack of knowledge; they are taught basic things such as language and Clan culture here. At the end of their second year, they are considered 'noon-minded', and will begin training and honing their skills as warriors. After their sixth year, they are called 'twilight-minded', and are taught the ways of working mythmetal. When they have reached their fifteenth year, they are called 'sunset-minded' - it is not until their three-hundredth year that they are called 'midnight-minded', and have the full set of skills, proficiency, and knowledge a fully-taught mythkin must have.

Fellblade: The mythkin of Clan Fellblade are prideful and strict; they are the most outspoken of the Clans, and are perhaps the mythkin's largest Clan. They hold battle skill beyond all, and the head of the Clan is often rigid and stoic. The word of their Zaeli or Zaelin is law, and disobedience is met with death. Criminals are not tolerated in Fellblade society, and honor is the order of the day. Many Fellblade warriors will make tournaments out of hunting dragons,

Lightshatter: The mythkin of Clan Lightshatter are the most open of the Clans, easygoing and are somewhat more accepting of other races as a whole. They are a forgiving and gentle Clan, and hold a respect of dragons even while they must hunt them. After each kill, Lightshatter mythkin will pray over the body of the slain drake, and thank both Linath and Gurthril for their life-giving blood. Some Lightshatter mythkin do not kill their prey, but only gather blood from willing individuals. Bonesworn mythkin are accepted into this Clan regardless of previous Clan affiliations.

Nightstriker: The mythkin of Clan Nightstriker are ruthless and cunning, often filled with those who affiliate with thieves, assassins, and brigands of all types. They are skillful warriors who prize stealth and victory over everything, and will often be found in either Faction, sometimes running their own, more specialized guilds. They have little honor, and are known to be greedy, merciless, and traitorous, even to those in their own Clan.

Abilities Mythkin are gifted warriors, and have the uncanny ability to utilize almost any physical weapon, no matter its origin or how long they have had to practice with it. Older mythkin are more physically adept at some weapons than younger mythkin; it's not unusual for mythkin of several Clans to have the noon-minded compete against each other to hone their abilities. Mythkin are naturally capable blacksmiths, and will often create any weapon they use themselves. The most gifted of mythkin, the oldest, may turn pure energy into mythmetal constructs for a limited amount of time.

Mythkin cannot use elemental magic, and are naturally weak against fire. Most mythkin have abilities over metal weaving, and stronger individuals can animate metal and metal-based objects such as statues, though this takes more energy the larger the object is. This race is blessed with supernatural speed, endurance, and strength, as well as enhanced senses.

All mythkin have two animal forms, though neither can have the ability to fly. Animal forms trend differently per Clan, though this is not always the case. The first form, or primary form, is the one most used by the mythkin, while a secondary animal form is used much less often. Rarely, individuals may show animal forms unique to Clans not their own - such mythkin often become spies and infiltrate opposing Clans in times of war.

Fellblade: Mythkin of the Fellblade Clan often have both animal forms as predatory, heavy animals, such as lions or bears. Their secondary animal is often that of a mythical beast, or otherwise much larger and stronger than their primary animal form - but is somewhat harder to call upon and hold.

Lightshatter: Lightshatter Clan mythkin call to a variety of animals, though those such as horses, deer, and ibexes are most common. Some may have smaller predatory animals as one of their two forms, while other Lightshatter members have been found with aquatic alternate forms. Both primary and secondary are equally easy to transform into.

Nightstriker: Most mythkin of the Nightstriker Clan may transform into nocturnal animals, such as raccoons, mountain lions, and rats. Usually, Nightstriker mythkin will have a small, quiet animal as their primary, and a much larger animal form as their secondary, should they have need of its protection. Mythical animals may show up in this Clan, but it is much rarer than both Fellblade and Lightshatter.

Species Origin;

Creation Year: 7084. Realm of Origin: Felnova.

Little more than five hundred years passed before Gurthril and Lithmor managed to escape their prisons. While Lithmor secluded himself in a secret place for well over a century, Gurthril ran rampant for more than thirty years, her vanity not permitting her to hide her beauty away. Instead, she indulged herself as she spread chaos upon the Realm, taking revenge upon those who dared to seal her beauty away in a prison where she could not be seen and marveled at.

Near the end of her rampage, only a few years before she was sealed away once more, Gurthril decided to forge a new race of warriors for herself. She had seen the ogres Lithmor had crafted, and though she wouldn’t deny they were strong, fierce warriors, they were hideous to behold, overly muscled and lacking in even the slightest grace.

No, nothing so hideous would do for her personal warriors. She considered altering elves to suit her purposes,but, ultimately, she decided against it. Instead, she would craft something entirely different. She gathered the bones of a man long dead and buried, and formed a deep basin out of the rare mythmetal that so rarely fell from the heavens, lighting the sky with a bright, but brief, splendor. To her delight, the man had been someone of some import, for he was buried with weapons made of mythril, and a pure chunk of unrefined mythmetal. It seemed only fitting to her that the first of her creations would be born from the bones of someone of note. These she placed within the basin, then, very delicately, she pricked a forepaw with one slender claw, drawing forth a single drop of her own blood.

She deposited it within the basin, then began a powerful incantation. The kv’naer words rolled forth from her tongue, and the contents of the basin combined with one another, and took on a humanoid shape, tall and slender, but lithely muscular. As the dark goddess’ incantation continued, the first mythkin drew first one breath, then another as it began to stir to life. Eventually, as Gurthril fell silent, and the words of her incantation ceased echoing, the mythkin’s eyes opened.

Pleased with her new creation’s appearance, Gurthril gave unto the first mythkin the secret ritual needed to create more of its kind, though the ritual wouldn’t require as much power as she herself had expended to create the first. Not since the species was now in existence. She likewise implanted an instinctive understanding of all weapons and how to use and forge them, and bestowed great speed, strength, and reflexes upon her creation, together with greatly enhanced senses. Lastly, she bestowed upon the first mythkin the knowledge and power to forge the rare mythmetal into weapons and armor. The mythmetal would answer to the touch of the mythkin like it would to no other.

However, before she could make much use of her creations, she was resealed, and the mythkin were left to forge their own destiny since Gurthril, in her arrogant vanity, hadn’t thought to condition their minds to remain loyal even without her presence. Though they were forced to consume human bone and dragon blood to sustain themselves, most harbored no particular animosity towards either, though it was hard for them to fully trust ‘nature-born’ creatures, as the mythkin called other races. Many simply did what they did to survive.

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Name: N/A. Location: N/A. Status: Dead.

This Ancient First was a mythkin of beautiful stature and shining silver hair. Enchanted by the sight of Gurthril, he longed to recreate her beauty in statues wrought of precious metals. He was, however, prone to fits of uncontrollable rage, and often destroyed his masterpieces before obsessively beginning anew.

subspecies

No subspecies have been discovered for this species yet!