The Kiyrie:


What they are and their abilities/weaknesses



KIYRIE ABILITIES AND FACTS


The Kiyrie (pronounced kee-eye-ree) are a panther like feline with wings in appearance, though very few have ever seen this form outside of the species. This species is very young compared to the rest since they were created by the earth itself and not by the universal forces that created everything else. These felines are natural born shapeshifters, able to take on most any form within a certain percentage of their normal body size. Not only can they change forms to disguise themselves, the kiyrie are able to manipulate the world around them and do self healing on an instictual level (to be explained later). Some kiyrie are able to heal others as well as themselves, but this ability is only found in full adults since they are capable of controling the energies needed to channel for the healing process. Kiyrie, though magical, live no more than 450 years tops under the best of conditions.

Although kiyrie are natural predators, they are also considered prey by some hunters. These hunters are the considered the best of the best, the elite among their peers for their ability to track, find, and capture this reclusive, yet wily species in any environment. mostly, the kiyrie will be captured for slavery because of their natural strength, but the corpse of a kiyrie, in their real form, can bring quite a few gold pieces for the magical properties believed their fur, and certain body parts have.

Kiyrie Environments


The kiyrie can live in most any type of environment because of their shapechanging ability. They are also highly adaptive so they can accept changes quickly. Under any normal situations, kiyrie will remain in the dense forests areas where they have the most protection from those who would seek them out to either hunt down for gold or put into slavery.

Mountainous areas are another environment kiyrie cn be found. If one is found in these rocky places, they will most definitely be in a form able to handle the terrain, or in their true form to soar through the air currents. Kiyrie can not wander to high into mountainous terrain because of their inability to handle the thin air easily, so none will be found above the tree line unless it is absolutely necessary.

Few kiyrie will be found around the beaches and rocky cliffs near the oceans because of them being so open, but that doesn't mean one or two can't try. If there are natural caves nearby, then it is possible to them. This type of environment is another of which a kiyrie will always be found in an assumed form, but they will also be more paranoid about who spots them.

Kiyrie will not be found living in the cities because of their tendancy to avoid large crowds, but, they will visit them from time to time to explore or find things they want that they can not find in their home territory. Though the city does offer many places to hide, it still has far too many living in close proximity to one another to let them have their privacy, and usually, there is someone watching what is going on.

Grasslands are another area you will not find kiyrie living because of the lack of hiding places. Grasslands are too open for a kiyrie to live safely, even with tall grass to obscure their presense. If one is found in the grasslands, it is temporary for some reason of their own such an injury to prevent flight or a lot of travel, or they are hunting.

Kiyrie Personality Types


There are two main personality types among the kiyrie that the population in general can identify, but these two are in varying degrees so that it appears to be several different types. All kiyrie are peace loving, very protective of their young and of the land in general, and cautious, but these are typical among them. What sets them appart from the rest are these two prime types, bold and reclusive.

The bold kiyrie, tend to be a bit on the adventurous side and are always the ones that will go into the towns and talk to the others as they become familiar with the surroundings. This personality type is the one that will find and maintain the alliances to help protect the rest and gather information. Though bold enough to withstand the confinement of crowds, they still avoid large congragations and potentially dangerous situation unless there is no other choice. This personality type is the one all other furs will encounter.

The reclusive kiyrie will be seen almost completely by other kiyrie, but on very rare occasions, they will venture out, but only when they need to. These tend to be the elders and the very young, and are extremely cautious. They are also the most protective of the young and the forests. When outside the forests and away from the rest, the reclusive kiyrie tends to be very quiet and unobtrusive, tending to try not to be noticed as much as possible. They are soft spoken and seem to be almost too cautious until within the boundries of the kiyrie lands, then they appear to be like any other, though still cautious. The most reclusive will always be the elderly kiyrie, rarely seen among even their own kind and always towards the end of their long lives.

Kiyrie Magic


The kiyrie's magical abilities are mostly natural and inborn talents, dealing with the healing arts and their environment and shapechanging. Kiyrie can learn other magics, such as illusions, necromancy or charming, if they are diciplined enough to handle the rigorous training needed to learn it since these magics are not inborn.

HEALING -- All kiyrie are able to do self healing from the time they are born to the day they die, which makes them difficult to kill. What is meant by self healing is they can only heal their own wounds no matter how bad they are. How fast those wounds heal depends on how old they are. A ferril kiyrie(infant to 3 years) heals very slowly compared to a kirili(adol) or full adult kiyrie. A few can heal furs other than themselves. Healing magic for others isn't very rare among the kiyrie, but it is hard to find.

SHAPECHANGING -- All kiyrie can shapechange. Its a part of their inate magic, like self healing. Every adult kiyrie is able to assume at least three different forms, their true form, their birth or chosen public form, and the non-morphic version of their birth form if they weren't born in their true form. A ferril(infant to 3 years) can only change their shape when frightnened as an instinctual responce. Each new form must be learned before it can be successfully done. So if one wanted to turn into a wolf, but was born a feline, they would have to practice until they get it right. No kiyrie can make a perfect form, there are small flaws which point to their true form that show up, but those are left up to the player. Up until a kiyrie reaches elder status, they can shapechange to within a certain percentage of their normal size. Forms larger than their normal are more difficult to maintain than those forms smaller than their normal size. To learn a new form, kiyrie must first see it, except for elders which can visualize the form they wish to assume. One major note: Kiyrie can not do a gender change with their shapeshifting, nor can they change into a herm.

ENVIRONMENTAL -- This ability is, to small degree, an inborn trait. This one is pretty much learned, but the tendancy for it is there regardless. Those kiyrie that can learn and control environmental magic can manipulate the areas around them so they can blend in and prevent anyone from finding them easily. Some can form their homes or dens from what ever they can find so they can't located by normal means.

Kiyrie Politics


Kiyrie politics is fairly simple to understand. Being pretty much one large extended family, they don't have the social distinctions that the rest of the world has. Instead, they are ruled by a group of kiyrie that have reached the elder stage of life. These kiyrie rarely venture out to explore. This leaves them plenty of time to help teach the young their history, legends, and basic knowledge they need to learn, such as the common language of normal furs, draconic, flying, hunting and gathering, and how to assume new forms so they can remain hidden. Only the eldest of all the kiyrie is considered the 'chief' of them all and is given the respect due to their age. There are other 'chiefs' per clan, but these look to the main one, who in turn looks to a counsil of elders for the entire species.

On a matter of principle, kiyrie do not involve themselves with the politics of the rest of the world. To do so could give away their secret, so none will be found working in the Temples or in high ranking social positions in any city, but they can visit, to see what is going on and get the information they want to pass on to the rest.

The average adult kiyrie is in charge of protecting the many 'clans' as well as doing most of the hunting and gathering between exploration trips among the other furs. They are the main teachers of the young until they are old enough to leave with the elders. There are minor levels of social status among the kiyrie that is based on age alone. This is so that their society is kept organized and everyone knows what they are to do. Despite the age levels, kiyrie are respectful to each other regardless of age.

Kiyrie Life Stages


A infant or young child, also known as a ferril (birth - 3 years), can not perform magic of any sort except for instinctual spurts when threatened. (note: All kiyrie have strong instincts throughout their lives.) When threatened, a ferril will either teleport directly to their mother or guardian, or disguise themselves.

The next stage of kiyrie youth, the cub stage (4 years - 8 years) also known as a fela (female) or fele (male), can perform one shapechange, generally to the non-morphic version of their birth species. What is meant by birth species is the form they were in when they were born. Not all kiyrie are born looking like cats or looking like a kiyrie.

An adolescent kiyrie, or kirili (9 years - 15 years), is able to learn several new forms, depending on their discipline and eagerness. They can also pick up another magical skill as long as they are within their range of abilities. The kirili have a limited range and tend to be a bit reckless like most adolescents. This is the stage of life they learn the most about survival. This is also the stage of life that has the highest mortality rate.

The adult kiyrie (16 years - 250 years) are able to assume flight forms and have a broader range of magics. Some adult have been known to work magic outside of the natural realm of magics (see kiyrie magic). In the adult stage of life, the kiyrie tend to become more and more reclusive depending on how social they are.

Elder kiyrie (251 years - 450 years) have yet to be seen, as the older they get, the more reclusive they become and the more they use their shapeshifting to hide their age. Some kiyrie after a certain amount of time learning their magic and forms can attain an immortal status.

So far, very few kiyrie have ever reached the point of becoming immortal. They don't know they have reached this status in life until after surviving a fatal wound. From then, most will keep hidden away, showing only in public places once in a great while so that no one will suspect they are immortal.

Kiyrie General Appearance


The natural appearance of a kiyrie, in their real form, remains the same, with a few variations from kiyrie to kiyrie. This form being described in their real form, how they appear to the rest of the kiyrie species and those few outsiders they trust enough to show.

Average height for an average kiyrie is about 5'4" to 5'8". Females tend to be a bit smaller than males with their range starting at 4'10" and going no taller than 6'1". Males are taller, being no shorter than 5'8" and no taller than 6'6". Once in a great while one shorter or taller than the norm can be found.

Kiyrie tend to be lean with athletic builds, a remneant from their unicorn and dragon heritage. It is very rare to find an overweight kiyrie since their general build will follow them into every form they take. So if a female is pregant in one form, she'll be pregnant (though its not recommended for a pregnant female to shapeshift) in all forms, the same go for males, if they are fat in one, they'll be fat in all forms.

All kiyrie in their real form have wings. These are bat-like in appearance, a remnant from their dragon heritage. Covering the main bones, not the supporting finger bones, are tiny downy feathers. The feathers are a remnant of the griffon in their blood line. The wing membranes themselves are decievingly delicate and will look nearly transparent unless the fur color of the kiyrie is very dark, then it will look opaque. Their wingspan reaches from 10 to 15 feet from wingtip to wingtip. The main arm of the bone has two joints, an elbow like joint about mid-way and a wrist like joint, but without the same rotational ability as a real wrist.

Fur color for a kiyrie is limited slightly. The main color is a shade of gray resembling silver with varying shades of this color. Black and pure white are rare colors to find among them as these colors stand out the most in the forest. Their fur is semi-long on their body, thick and very soft. The fur on their tails is very long, giving it a skunk like appearance, but without the scent gland. Along with the range in fur color, kiyrie also have a fur a pattern to their fur. Their fur pattern is generally a rosette pattern similar to a leopard or jaguar with the golor ranging from a golden yellow to a medium brown. The pattern itself is light so it doesn't stand out too distinctly from the main fur color.

KIYRIE WEAKNESSES



Kiyrie have many weaknesses, most of them the direct cause of their being created by the earth instead of by the universal forces which created everything else. These weaknesses can be annoying to quite deadly for them, depending on what is done and how. In thise section the weaknesses will be explained as simply and clearly as possible.

The first of these weaknesses is considered more of an allergy. Kiyrie have a small, if very annoying reaction to metal alloys such as steel, bronze, and brass. All this does is it burns where it touches, creating small hard to heal wounds. Because of this, kiyrie wear gloves of a thick natural fiber like wool or cotton to protect their paws when using any knife for carving shoud their claws not be good enough for the job. If any alloy is ingested, it can cause severe abdomnial discomfort until it passes through their system. Naturally occuring iron oxide(rust), is harmless to them since it is essential for a healthy body.

Next in severity are the precious metals, silver and gold, can cause more harsh problems, mostly affecting their magic. Silver, is placed on a kiyrie in any form will bind them to that form until it is removed. If the silver isn't removed after a couple of years, the kiyrie will forget themselves and remain that form forever, even after the silver has been removed. The silver doesn't even have to a band or cuff, it can be a natural chunk hidden someplace on them in their clothing or carried possessions. Gold will do the opposite affect, it will force shift any kiyrie from their chosen form into their real form and bind them to it util the gold is removed from them. It does take some time after the gold or silver is removed for them to be able to sucecssfully shift into another form if they are able.

The worst in severity for kiyrie are gems stones, precious, semi-precious, and crystals. These, when they come into contact with them force them to shift into a random form and drain them of half their life energy, making them quite weak for a while after being force shifted. The forms they are forced into can only be those they have experience becoming. As long as the gem stays in contact with them, they will stay in that form, but unlike silver, they will not forget themselves if they remain in that form after a certain amount of time. Gems which occur naturally will do this kind of harm to them. Gems or crystals produced by magic or chemical means won't have the same affect, even glass made to resemble a gem won't affect them. If a natural gem is somehow ingested, it will have the same affect as if it touched a part of their body, with the effect lasting until it either leaves their system, or is dissolved in the digestion process. Once a kiyrie has regained the lost life energy and the gem has been removed, they can return to which ever form they want.

Another weakness of the kiyrie is that they are very shy and reclusive. This keeps them from venturing out to see the rest of the world, considering everyone not kiyrie as outsiders. Even those considered bold are quite timid and shy when out among the general public, though not as bad as what some may think.

Though kiyrie can shapeshift into most anything, they are limited in many ways. One way is they can only change into things which are in their blood line, meaning felines of any type, dragons (anthro and and non-anthro), unicorn (anthro and non-anthro) though they can not work the same magic as a unicorn in that form, they can only resemble one, mustilids (anthro and non-anthro), a few of the larger avians (anthro only), and griffons (anthro-and non-anthro). Mixes of these can be made so that rather unique looking creatures can be formed by the experienced elder. A young kiyrie, when they start learning how to shift at will, must be ready mentally, as wel as physically and magically. If one isn't ready, it will leave a mental scar for their entire life that will lead them to not using their shapeshifting ability unless they have to.

Shapeshifting is what a kiyrie does best, but this is limited in another way, the sizes of their forms. No adult kiyrie can go more than 4 to 5 times larger than their normal body size, and no small than 1/2 their normal size, which makes turning into a song bird very hard. Also, if a kiyrie tries to push beyond their limits, they will shift back into their real form, weakened by the attempt for several days, but constant practice can extend their limits to a small degree until they reach their max size. Beyond the max size they will automatically shift into their real form from the attempt, tired and weak for several days.

Kiyrie magic (except for shapeshifting), when used, is draining to them. In small amounts, it doesn't affect them if they stay well fed and healthy. larger amounts of magic used, regardless of health and feeding, will drain them. The larger the amount of magic used, the more it drains them. For example, if a kiyrie were to heal a major wound on a non-morphic dragon, the kiyrie will have pass out and sleep for several days, then remain weak for several more days after awakening.

The kiyrie have high instincts, as well as good senses, but these are balanced out in a natural way. This means they can be quite protective towards their family, friends, and territory, but they are not warriors by any means. They rely on their hunting ability to defend themselves.

The one thing that balances the weaknesses and abilities of the kiyrie is their humble attitude. They don't think of themselves as better than others and seem to not have a wish to rid the world of non-kiyrie.
If you wish to play a kiyrie anywhere, please contact me at lharrahanna@hotmail.com so I may know where they show up at.
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