species:the_second_children

The Second Children

A bipedal humanoid species that believes that they were the Second species to be created by their Gods after the Minya Hini. They refer to themselves as “Tatya hini”, (tatya hinya- singular) or in Trade English, “The Second Children” but their introduction to Sol system colonists has redubbed them as the creatures of ancient Earth legend, the Elves. There is speculation that the Tatya hini are the elves of Earth lore but there is no true evidence beyond the oral traditions that support this theory.

The elves of Jord and Liang (Tai Pan) are able to use the energy of The Word and the Song through innate talent and training to do what humans call, magic; while elves of other systems are able to do something similar the process is more labor intensive and requires tools in some instances. Embers are a subspecies of elves that can fully harness The Word because they are connected to the system. Other isolated branches of Elves exist throughout this sector of space.

It is hard to determine when the Tatya hini came into being but they were created and then scattered across the stars. They clustered together in various star systems and formed new cultures, distinct bloodlines and intermingled with non-elven species as they interacted with the species and the environments around them. The elves are the most prominent on Jord, Liang (Tai Pan), and more recently, in the Solarity of Kowloon territories.

Tall, lithe, highly intelligent and long lived compared to humans, the Tatya hini are a bipedal mammalian species that believes they were created by Minya hini to populate Jord and other systems in the universe. They are sensitive to electromagnetic vibrations in the world around them, allowing them to locate possible power nodes. They are a hardy species with a strong immune system. They can have any hair color and skin tone.

Eyes

Their eyes appear to be jeweled, with an iridescence/opalescent sheen or sometimes a blue glow that alludes their connection to the energy systems of their home planets that enable their magical abilities. They can see clearly about eight times as far as humans can, allowing them to spot and focus in on objects at a distance of about two miles. They can quickly shift focus and can see a wider range of colors which allows them to differentiate small changes in coloration, as well as, see UV light. Their eyes can be of any color.

Ears

They have keener hearing than humans with slightly elongated ears on the sides of their heads that taper to a sharp point. Their ears can be any length and it varies by bloodline region, and planet.

Examples of the diversity of ear length in Tatya Hini
Art by Kittew and Juliana Wilhelm

They can interbreed easily with other humanoid mammalian species with similar reproductive cycles to that of a regular human. Due to the lingering effects of various plagues that have devastated their populations on their home worlds, the elves of Liang and Jord suffer from a low fertility rate with other elves. They have an easier time conceiving children with humans or Embers than with each other which has further thinned their numbers. Pregnancy for elven women is difficult and many run the risk of dying in childbirth after carrying a child to term for a year. Multiple births are extremely rare and are considered to be something like a miracle.

There are several subspecies of elves: half-elves, Embers, Aphotics, and Celestial Nisse. Elves can interbred with other bi-pedal humanoid mammalian species.

Half-Elves

Half-elves tend to have slightly elongated pointed ears that are only slightly longer than a regular humans. They can have any skin tone, hair color and eye color. They are not as long lived as full blooded elves, reaching physical maturity at around 20 years old but they tend to be stronger and more physically resilient than elves with a lower affinity for naturally using the Word unless they are descended from Embers. Half-elves of Ember descent will have sapphire eyes but will need to use tools and specific training to use the Word as Elves do.

Elves are an omnivorous species and can eat all manner of organic matter. Their food is usually lightly seasoned and is minimally manipulated to enhance the natural flavors of the original components. As a hunter-gatherer culture, they favor meals with a large amount of seasonal fruits and vegetables supplemented with game meat and root vegetables for starches.

Elves can thrive in any hospitable environment. Their architecture styles range from something similar to art nouveau or country rustic favoring mostly unaltered wood but varies by planetary and regional aesthetics.

An elf can live a natural life span of over 300 years barring unforeseen circumstances. They reach physical maturity at about 20 years old and start to feel the effects of old age at around 120 years old. Jordian Tatya hini have found that they can extend their lifespans through use of The Word to accelerate cellular regeneration.

Tatya hini are a fairly traditional hunter gatherer culture that raise their children as a community. Their low fertility rate and difficult pregnancies make this communal system invaluable to the elves as many may never have their own child and it allows the community to experience the joy of a child while imparting their knowledge to the growing youth. It is rarer for a child to be raised in isolation from a community and parents that do so are viewed in a poor light. This low birthrate means that arranged pairings are quite common to continue the species. As a whole, they do not believe in gender roles, everyone has a part in the sustainment of the community and those that do not contribute are seen as selfish aberrations. More on their Elven Culture.

Religion

They tend to worship the personifications of the elements, revering their sky deities, especially the Sun goddess, Saule, over the rest of their pantheon. They celebrate the change of the seasons through community festivals of dancing, singing and feasting. Elves that worship other religions or are agnostic tend to be abnormal on Jord because though confusing or faint, the Tatyha hini are able to speak to their Gods.

The style of clothing worn by the elves varies based on climate, personality of the wearer and region. Some elves dress for function favoring clothing that allows them free range of movement but suits their needs of protection from their environment. Others prefer wearing layers of clothing to create more dramatic effect that flatters their forms. They do not believe in gendering their wardrobe and simply dress in what they enjoy. It is not abnormal for a male elf to wear something that resembles a dress but their human neighbors find it odd.

Body Modification

Many elves favor piercing their ears multiple times to adorn them with long golden or silver chains. Some rural elven communities favor simple lines and blocks of color tattoos while more modern elves might favor more elaborate pieces of artwork.

The Tatya hini use a mix of Latvian, Icelandic and Quenya.

There are no real hard rules for how Elves name their children. Some name their children after esteemed relatives, some after the seasons. Names originate from any number of cultures with the strongest names coming from the old Nordic languages or Quenya.

Varies by system.

The Jordian Second Children have achieved the means to travel into space using something similar to warpdrives utilizing willing Embers and Heartstones as the power source. They utilize devices with pieces of Heartstone embedded into them to harness The Word to power their onworld technology. They take great pains to hide this advanced technology from the Third Children using The Word to hide the technology with complex illusions. They hide their true cities in the clouds and in the oceans, traveling between them through planetary teleportation gateways. Other Elves have been discovered in other systems and have also obtained space flight through their own inventiveness or through the intervention of other alien species.

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  • Last modified: 2020/06/17 07:34
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