Eain'Idayn
Pronunciation: e-AYN ih-DAYN. Grammatically, they should be referred to as Eain’Idayn, both singular and plural. The collective possessive noun is Eain’Idaynian (as in, Eain’Idaynian culture). Though long, the name should not be shortened to Eain, as this is the Idaynian word for ‘horse’. Eain’Idayn are equivalent to centaurs, but that term would not be used by Aserrans.
This half-Idayn, half-horse offshoot of the Idayn race certainly stands out amongst their brethren. They were created during the War of the Gods from an Idayn cavalry mounted on the graceful and intelligent Eain horse bred by the Idayn. Wanting a more deeper than the already telepathic connection to their mounts, the cavalry prayed to Idraen for a boon, which he granted by merging horse and Idayn into one creature.
The Eain’Idayn race is broken into two different groups; the original race that remains in the Eldir and Itray Forests alongside the Idayn, and the descendants of those who spread across the world which have lost the scrutiny of Idraen and their Light Elementalism.
Location and Abodes
The Eain’Idayn, in horse-like fashion, call their communities ‘herds’. The population is originally based in the Eldir Forest, alongside the Idayn, but has spread outward across northern Thiskel and Kalesten. They are a reclusive race though, and stick to regions where there are less humans. Most herds live within forests, so long as there are open pastures nearby. In Kalesten, they are considered a rare and almost mythical being to human nations of Kalesten. Small herds live within the Ardir Forest, some in the forests on the west coast of the Lands of Kaius (though the barbarians are more familiar with them than other Kalestans), and in the Beon Forest. More herds live on the open prairies of the unclaimed land between Chawoven, Belvon, and Serdenaugh in Kalesten, and further south in the grasslands of the isthmus between north and south Kalesten, but they avoid trade routes where humans travel.
For Eain’Idayn living amongst the Idayn, their homes are made of the same bio-luminescent fungus the Idayn use; andáril. As they are capable of using Light Elementalism, they can also manipulate the andáril’s growth to form their homes. Of course, while the Idayn live in the trees, the Eain’Idayn live on the forest floor, often around the bases of trees that the Idayn build their homes in, using the foundation of the andáril of their homes to build theirs as well. Their homes are of a similar architecture, but have higher ceilings and wider berths in halls and thresholds to accommodate their size.
The Eain’Idayn living elsewhere instead make huts of materials from the forest. They are typically simple structures; tall enough for them to stand upright in, large enough to fit a family, but of a single room.
Appearance and Garb
The most remarkable trait of the Eain’Idayn is of course the fact that they have the upper body of an Idayn merged with the body of a horse from the withers down. Their humanoid hips meld into the shoulders of the horse, and the spines are merged. As a chimera-like creation, there are some redundancies between the two forms internally, but Idraen’s careful merging and time have managed to streamline the Eain’Idayn body. Equine traits are not apparent on the upper body, however, and they appear as normal Idayn (disregarding hair colors) from the waist up with their attractive features and long, tapered ears.
The original Eain’Idayn population is truest to their original form. They are light of build in both their Idayn and equine halves, as the Eain is a light and graceful breed of horse (similar to thoroughbreds in build), much as the Idayn people themselves. The Eain, and Eain’Idayn stand at around 15 hands high (60” or 152cm, or 5’ or 1.5m) at the withers (the standard measurement of horses), give or take a couple inches (1 hand = 4” or about 10cm), and including their Idayn torso, which adds about two and a half feet of height, puts the original Eain’Idayn at about 7’5” feet (2.2m) tall. The Eain breed and Eain’Idayn both have a light build, putting the weight of both around 900 to 1,000lbs (about 410 to 450kg) depending on muscle mass. The Eain breed is leggy, with light feathering on the fetlocks, and are renowned for long, luxurious manes and tails, traits (sans manes) which are carried on in the original Eain’Idayn.
Coloration for this original population also conforms to Eain breed norms. Grays, especially dappled grays, are highly prized by the Idayn, but bays, chestnuts, and blacks also are normal within the breed. For the Eain’Idayn, this means that the coat of their equine half follows the same rules, but their Idayn skin is still fair and of the same complexion as their Idayn cousins. Their eye colors also also normal for Idayn, commonly blue and green, sometimes violet or gray. Hair color, however, matches the tail color of their equine half. Both gray horses and Eain’Idayn are typically born with a black coat which fades to gray as they get older, as do their manes and tails, until eventually becoming nearly completely white. Underneath their fur, the skin is black (except where there are markings like socks or blazes). Gray Eain’Idayn coats lighten at a similar rate amongst the original population. Born with a black coat and black hair, gray hairs begin to appear during adolescence, lightening progressively to a dappled gray in young adulthood, at which point the graying process slows significantly along with their aging, also causing their hair to come in as a mix of gray and white, often darker at the roots and paling as it grows out due to wear and tear-though the roots will continue to produce less and less pigment as time goes on. There is a subtle lightening that can be noted with each century, until nearing the final century of their life, at which point the aging process will reassert itself and cause their coat to eventually fade to white. (See the entry on
gray horses at Wikipedia to understand the process better.)
Eain’Idayn with bay coats (brown or red with black points on the legs, as well as mane and tail) will have black hair, as do those with true black coats. Chestnut coats (a brown or reddish coat with a mane and tail the same shade or lighter than the body’s color) are typically either liver chestnut or reddish or sorrel for the Eain, so chestnut Eain’Idayn will have hair in a dark or medium brown for liver coats or light auburn or reddish-flaxen shade for a sorrel coat. Dappling also occurs in black, liver chestnut, and bay Eain’Idayn and Eain (see the
silver dapple gene entry on Wikipedia). They may also have white markings on the lower legs called “socks”. For the Eain, socks are small, never extending as high as the knee, and usually not much higher than the fetlock. The hoof below a sock is light in color rather than dark as it would be otherwise.
The Eain’Idayn that spread elsewhere in the world have developed with more variety than their ancestors. Traits are usually shared throughout regions as herds trade members through marriage or adoption and splitting of existing herds to keep the population from becoming too noticeable. In some regions, Eain’Idayn may be smaller than the original population, standing somewhere around 14hh at the shoulder, or larger into 16-17hh ranges (no taller than 17hh though, please). These groups may have also varied in build, becoming more muscular or petite than their ancestors. Coloration can include more exotic coats such as dun, palomino, roan, pinto/piebald, and spotted/appaloosa. Keep in mind that they will not be copies of other existing horse breeds, however.
As the majority of their body is covered in fur and animal-like, clothing is not always a necessity or big priority for the Eain’Idayn, except for those in colder regions where their torso must be kept warm, or those living amongst the more modest Idayn. Some Eain’Idayn are content to go bare-chested where the climate allows, even the woman (though some might prefer small tops to keep their breasts contained). Those that do wear clothing usually only bother with clothing for the upper body, of course, though their equine half may be adorned for fashion’s sake, or equipped for battle. However, the herds of the Eldir and Itray often wear full tunics or tops in a similar fashion as Idayn, and even go so far as to wear draping cloaks intended to hide the genitals.
Lifespan and Reproduction
The Eain’Idayn are long-lived, but not potentially immortal like their Idayn ancestors. Their lifespan ranges from 1,000 to 500 years, and tends to be on the shorter end of that spectrum the further they are from the Idayn. The original population maintains a lifespan of around 1,000 years, while Thiskelian off-shoots may see around 800-600 years, and Kalesten herds vary between 700 and 500 years. Like all elemental races, their aging is slowed significantly throughout adulthood. They mature at a rate similar to humans (except during early childhood), and reach complete maturity at age 25, after which point apparent aging ceases, but they begin to take a more ageless appearance over the course of their lives rather than looking like a 25 year old for several hundred years. Apparent aging continues a few decades before death, and continues at a rate similar to humans until their body simply succumbs to age or illness.
Early childhood development is much different than other elemental races, however, taking into consideration their combined form with an animal that bears young that can walk and run shortly after birth. Unlike the other elemental races with nine month gestations and horses with eleven month gestations, Eain’Idayn pregnancies last for twenty months to accommodate both the time for both halves to grow to their birth size and to encourage mental development longer so the child will not be as helpless as an Idayn infant. An Eain’Idayn foal is born more mature than an Idayn or human child, appearing to be a young child set onto the body of a normal-sized foal, and with the mental capacity of a young toddler (enough to follow basic vocal cues from its mother). Within a few months after birth, the child has the same mental faculties of a two or three year old Idayn. After this point, their physical growth is slow, but their mental growth is on par with Idayn a couple years older than them. Their Idayn half matures physically at a similar rate as their Idayn peers, but their equine half’s growth is stunted in comparison to horses, only growing as much as needed to support the Idayn body. As they reach teenage years, their equine half reaches the size of a yearling foal, slowly reaching full physical equine maturity (equal to 6 years of a horse’s life) by time they reach their early twenties.
Relationships with the Eain’Idayn may vary between populations. The Eldir and Itray herds are true monogamists like the Idayn, but outlying herds may adopt polygamy (typically polygyny, rarely polyandry) to a lesser degree than horses (which function in harem-like herds) with males taking one or two wives, rarely more than three. Most Eain’Idayn eventually find a spouse between the age of 100 and 200 (sometimes younger for short-lived outlying herds). Females have a staggered ovulation cycle like other elemental races, ovulating one year out of every ten, and most couples only have one to three foals throughout their lives. Twins are rare, but occur with the same probability factors as in horses, perhaps slightly lower even.
Eain’Idayn cannot reproduce with other races, or horses, though romances can occur between either. Interracial romances are considered taboo, but relations with horses are considered even worse—though when they do happen, it’s not typically due to a romantic infatuation with the animal, but rather a lonely individual with sexual desires and no partner to satiate them. Often times, due to physical incompatibilities such romances are chaste, but there are always individuals willing to breach the taboo.
Diet, Agriculture and Hunting
Eain’Idayn are initially a vegetarian race, and they remain as such in their ancestral homeland, but outlying herds turned to an omnivorous diet as it was the easiest and most practical way to supplement their diet, and their bodies adapted to suit it. Eain’Idayn of the Eldir and Itray, however, find the idea of meat-eating abhorrent (much like the Idayn) and instead they eat substantial amounts of food compared to the Idayn to sustain their larger bodies.
Outlying Eain’Idayn herds sometimes have varied opinion on hunting and prey animals. Some prefer poultry over red meat (mammals), some have rituals to ease guilt, others just do what is necessary to survive.
Religion
Between the two groups of Eain’Idayn there are different idols. The Eain’Idayn of the Eldir and Itray Forests are devote followers of Idraen alongside their Idayn cousins, while outlying herds have turned to shamanistic traditions, and other herds may favor Entra. Occasionally herds have come up with unique and independent religious systems such as honoring ancestors, or adopting specific third-generation gods. Only the Eain’Idayn of the original population are still incarnated with the Light Elemental souls, while the rest of the Eain’Idayn are incarnated with normal souls, thus lacking the ability for Light elementalism as well.
Magic and Abilities
Eain’Idayn of the Eldir and Itray Forests still maintain the ability of Light Elementalism, as they are incarnated with the souls of Light Elementals, just like the Idayn. However, this is dependent on a direct line of pure-blooded female ancestors, at this point. So, for example, if a stallion of a herd from the Eldir Forest took a wife from an outlying tribe, a foal born of their union would not have the ability for Light Elementalism.
The Eain’Idayn of these outlying herds often turn to shamanism as a form of replacement magic, but otherwise the have no inherent magic. They gain no bonuses to their senses from their equine halves, but they do have greater stamina and running speed, as well as pulling strength. In combat, they prefer pole-arms and archery as they allow for greater range with less risk to their bodies (since they make a pretty big target).
Personality
The original populations of Eain’Idayn are more righteous and aloof like the Idayn, but the outlying herds are harder to define to character archetypes. In general, they are a people forming small communities and concerned for the welfare of those communities, as well as wary of the threat of humans who may see them as monsters or a novelty to be captured and enslaved. These factors should always be considered for Eain’Idayn characters, specifically for outlying herds.
Relations
Of course, for the Eldir and Itray herds, they are close to the Idayn. Despite physical differences, they regard each other as equals (but not so much as they would intermarry) and share in the same duties expected of them in their society. However, they do still keep themselves separate from the Idayn and maintain their own community privately beneath the treetop homes of the Idayn. Outlying herds, on the other hand, are often considered to be “feral” by the Idayn and old Eain’Idayn, thus earning less respect from both groups still possessed of a Light Elemental soul.
The outlying herds are secretive, mainly to avoid only humans. They do readily befriend Ochae’nafod, Dra’nafod, Fayl’Idayn, and Oir’Idayn in the areas they inhabit, and sometimes human societies that respect them. Their seclusion has successfully convinced many humans (especially in Kalesten) that they are little more than a myth, but if discovered they often face the threat of being killed as a monster, or captured as a novelty to be studied or sold.
Play-Ability
A rare race in the open world, they should be played sparingly in such settings. However, in any setting where they would be native to they would be easily acceptable.