Creature Name: Rathnaiti


General Description:
The Rathnaiti are the result of the last ditch efforts of the Dai’Wadeeyan Sphinx to save their race from dying out. The sphinx were from south of the equatorial desert on the one continent of Dai’Wadeeya but their descendants are slowly exploring to the north. This race is mostly human in appearance with the exception of their tail, skin markings, and falcon like wings. There are three different groups of Rathnaiti; each is descended from one of the last three female Sphinxes. The three different kinds of Rathnaiti are lion, tiger and leopard. To find out more about the Rathnaiti’s origins please read about the Sphinx.


Originally Created by:
Maira

Special Abilities
Can your creatures teleport, or perhaps enhance magic? : Since some of the men the Sphinxes mated with were wizards or mages naturally their magic was passed down but it is sporadic not standard

Oddities
Does this creature need to bond? Y/N: The Rathnaiti do not need to “bond” but like their Sphinx mothers they mate for life or until one of them dies, in which case they often take a new mate. Once they find a mate they will search for a life friend, in addition to their mate, which is the closest a Rathnaiti will come to “bonding”
If yes, when? (Immediately after hatching/birth; a few days/weeks after hatching/birth): after they find a mate



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The rest of this is totally optional, fill out what you want/know and leave the rest blank.

Specific Physical Statistics
Size at birth: human size plus wings and tail
Size at maturity: females up to 7 feet tall, males up to 8 feet tall
Time to maturity: same as humans
Number of wings/arms/legs if a peculiar number: 2 legs, 2 arms, 2 wings and a tail
Scales? Hide? Feathers? Skin on body, feathers on wings and fur on tail.
Anything else you can think of.

Mental Abilities
How smart are they? Use some kind of comparison : varies, depending on what human father they are descended from—some were mages most were not—but most are of above average human intelligence thanks to the sphinx in them.
Are they particularly good at puzzles, or some sort of brain activity? Like their sphinx mothers the Rathnaiti thrive on riddles.


Breeding
How often can the creature get pregnant? Once every two years
How long between pregnancies? 14 months - 12 months to raise the child 2 months to recover
How long is it pregnant? 10 months
Are all females fertile (barring accidents)? yes
Are all males fertile (barring accidents)? yes
Is there sex linked traits (like color)? no
How many offspring can the creature have at once? Same as humans, normally only one but on rare occasions 2 or 3.

Anything else you can think of:
Rathnaiti colorings:

Type~hair, skin markings - tails are same as their big cat type and all have lighter front torsos from the legs to the chin
Lion~blond(f) or brown(m), body is golden colored - males are darker around the neck/mane area
Tiger~reddish orange, body is mostly reddish orange with black stripes going around the body from back to belly
Leopard~black, body has a golden under tone with black rosettes

Links
My Webpage - Maira's Sanctuary

Creature Name: The Ellfin

General Description:The Ellfin are an ethereal elf-looking humanoid race that live, unknown to even the dragons, on the planet Triial. The Ellfin are very fond of their privacy on a whole but some rare individuals occasionally like to make contact with people and creatures outside their race. Living in the deepest oceans they rarely find the need to hide themselves and the few outsiders brought to the underwater cities rarely ever leave because the beauty is so great.

While most visitors are initially drawn to Ellfin society because of the beauty of the cities it is eventually the Ellfin life that convinces them to stay. The Ellfin are a peaceful race and scholars by nature. Living in the deep oceans gives them as much time and solitude as they could ever want or desire to study magic, music, and various other mysteries.

Originally Created by:
Maira

Special Abilities:
Can your creatures teleport, or perhaps enhance magic?: Yes they are almost all mages of some ability.

Oddities:
Does this creature need to bond? Y/N: no although in extremely rare cases they have been known to collect bonds of their own. These bonded creatures are then often shared with another person so in some way I guess they bond indirectly.

Specific Physical Statistics:
Size at birth: same as a human baby
Size at maturity: 6 – 7 ft, very slender
Time to maturity: 30 years
Lifespan: 200 – 250 years
Number of wings/arms/legs if a peculiar number: 2 arms 2 legs
Scales? Hide? Feathers? ethereal body which no matter how hard you try you cannot push through but feels like a light mist to the touch
Anything else you can think of: while babies are born formed like humans as they age their ears come to points and lengthen until they are 3-5 inches longer than a humans, the ears reach their final length upon maturity.

Ellfin Hair and Eye Coloring (all colors are faded like being seen through the fog)
~red
~blue
~green
~purple
~white

Mental Abilities:
How smart are they? Use some kind of comparison : they are scholars and mages…
Are they particularly good at puzzles, or some sort of brain activity? Read above

Breeding:
How often can the creature get pregnant? rarely
How long between pregnancies? Depends on how lucky the parents get
How long is it pregnant? 16 months
Are all females fertile (barring accidents)? yes
Are all males fertile (barring accidents)? yes
Is there sex linked traits (like color)? Yes, male’s coloring is strong than a female’s.
How many offspring can the creature have at once? Always twin births

The Ellfin History

Many millennia ago the Ellfin lived on the surface of the planet Triial. After their creation of the Triiallan dragons they retreated to the depths of the oceans. Most would think that such a brilliant, magical race would be smothered in the emptiness of the Depths but the Ellfin flourished. Their bodies were changed significantly to fit their new surroundings, their magical abilities grew to new heights and their appreciation for beauty grew where most would see nothing but murky black-blue water.

Their cities consist of spires and gathering halls that were magically drawn up from the sea bed with open spaces in between. While the actual structures were initially cold, water filled and essentially unlivable the Ellfin soon changed that. The first problem addressed was the water for although the Ellfin could create individual bubbles of air and heat around themselves life would just be easier if they didn’t have to maintain those bubbles. Eventually each city was spelled with a bubble large enough to encompass the whole city letting the citizens wander about at will. This also freed up their minds to be put to more creative uses.

The beauty of the Ellfin cities is undeniable. Each spire and meeting hall can bee seen glowing gently with different colors of Sea Fire, a magically altered seaweed that when crushed into a paste begins to glow. These pastes when applied to the stone adheres so well it’s glow can last up to a lifetime of an Ellfin (up to 250 years). Depending on the spells used on the seaweed Sea Fire can range from pastel colors to neon or even black.

While the Ellfin cities are something beautiful to behold an Ellfin itself is even more mystifying. They abandoned their surface bound bodies for ethereal ones. To look at them they appear normal until you get close then you will realize you can see through them. To touch, or be touched by an Ellfin is to feel a light mist brush up against or wrap around you. This change in the Ellfin bodies was originally done to help the hunters camouflage themselves from the monsters of the Depths that occasionally came upon them. As time went by more and more of the Ellfin changed their surface bodies into the ethereal ones for it was rumored among the hunters that the change brought them closer to the planets natural magics and mysteries. As more changed they too claimed the new closeness to the planet. In a relatively short period of time all Ellfin had changed. As time passed it was discovered that those who originally took the change upon themselves in the beginning could change back at will yet their descendants were born with ethereal bodies and could not assume their parents’ surface form. The planet had claimed her price for her magic and mysteries.

Culture

As a people who’s lives revolve around magic and mysteries the Ellfin spend much of their lives in study. As children and youth (2-20) all attend the same basic studies with their peers. From ages 20-30 they will go into seclusion with Masters of whichever Talents they are born to. During this 10 year period they essentially disappear from society and are labeled as “Forgotten”. And while technically they are physically mature at 18 the Ellfin do not have a “coming of age” ceremony until the mind is also fully matured, which they consider to only be true once a Forgotten returns from seclusion.

After a Forgotten returns they are allowed a 10 year window to find their “other-self” also known as their mate. If a mate has not been found after 10 years it is assumed than an individual is destined for a higher calling and so they return to studies for another 20 years. This time however they stay active members of society. After the 20 years they are allowed 20 years to try again to find their mate and decide on their profession which they will assume at the end of this time. If a mate is found in that 10 year period the individual is allowed the remainder of those first 10 years plus 40 more to try and start their family. At the end of their 40+ years an individual must have also decided on a profession to pursue.

Professions available for the Ellfin to pursue upon their 80th year are as widely varied as the different magics the race has discovered from the planet. As the Ellfin follow their profession they are still allowed to try for children but unfortunately most couples are too consumed with their work and their efforts are minimal.

Only in their later years (150+) will an Ellfin be allowed to pursue the mysteries if they wish. Some will decide to chase the mysteries but most upon turning 150 will again try for children even if they have already had some. The Ellfin are not an incredibly prolific race since changing their bodies and while the initial numbers that migrated to the Depths were great they have slowly dwindled, great cities now lie abandoned. Because of this, great emphasis is put on having children and if a couple has not had any by the time they both reach 150 more than likely neither will pursue the mysteries but focus on a family.

The Mysteries

While everything has its own mysteries sometimes those pertaining to one’s race or self are the most surprising. For those few Ellfin who actually decide to pursue the Mysteries on a whole it is the Mystery of their own people’s past that shocks them the most. The Ellfin Mystery is the closest kept secret of all the Mysteries and only those who come upon it in their own studies are allowed to be taught of it.

Before the Ellfin descended to the Depths they were a surface dwelling people, all Ellfin know this. What isn’t known are the seemingly harmless events that led up to a struggle and eventually perpetual imprisonment of 2 races of dragons.

Long before the Ellfin had descended they had hungered for companionship and as magic users tried to create them. The first two attempts were the Dragons of Air and the Dragons of Fire both created for their metallic beauty and feisty spirit. As time went on the two dragon races became increasingly independent from their creator-companions and most abandoned the Ellfin altogether.

At the abandonment of the Air and Fire Dragons the Ellfin took it upon themselves to try again. This time, instead of basing their creations on unpredictable elements they based them off of the purest form of Magic which was balanced in all the elements. This race of dragons has survived to be the race now known as Triiallan Dragons.

After noticing the creation of the Dragons of Magic, the Air and Fire Dragons became jealous and angry and began destroying anything and everything they could, including the Dragons of Magic and the Ellfin themselves.

The Ellfin, to protect their newest companions formulated a way to lock away the Dragons of Air and Fire and as soon as it was ready it was put into place. Upon the sealing of the Prison of Air and Fire the Ellfin were given a prophecy that would haunt their existence and change their world forever:

--When those of Earth and Water are born it will signal the release of those of Air and Fire so long locked away. When those of Air and Fire roam free corruption and hatred will spread. Only with the uniting of those of Earth, Water and Magic will they be able to be destroyed. And be destroyed they must for if those of Air and Fire come to power the world will perish.—

At this warning all Ellfin, who had not already gone to explore the Depths, quickly left the surface and their companions behind forever. For if they were not on the surface they could be none of those of Earth and so none born to Earth and Water.

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