Samuel
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Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 103
Thu May 20, 2010 2:02 pm |
 Post subject: Damir |
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Damir
[Imagined By: Katsu and Tik]
Name: Damir
Classification: Beast/Holy
Rarity: Quite rare, seeing as their reproduction rate is incredibly slow.
Lifespan: Damirs live a long life, partially living off the magical energy of their partner. Their bodies age incredibly slow after they come to their maturity, allowing a 200 year old to look as if he just turned thirty. It does however mean that once their partner dies, they could live on, but they'd feel a sort of hollow thing. And without the partner, they'd be nothing more then regular humans. This also means that after their partners death, they age normally and would no longer be able to bear children.
Appearance: Looking like any normal human would, Damirs can be hard to recognise. They usually have quite normal looks, no strange coloration in their hair or eyes, no markings that show you what species they are, but they do have one body part humans lack. A tail. These tails differ on every Damir, and is completely unrelated from their partner. There are some Damirs whose tail is the same as their partner's, this is a sign of their close bond.
Strengths: Heightened senses, minor Elemental Magic, strong willed, noble, often good warriors, depending on their partner.
Weaknesses: Their partner, arrogance, Dark Magic, Death Magic, the older generations unwillingness to see the world for what it is.
Skills/Abilities: Damir have three abilities. One, is to be able to use minor elemental magic, related to their Waladin. Two, is to temporarily copy some of their Waladins senses and three is the transformation of their Waladan into an object they can use. This might be a sword, a pair of boots or even a chair. These objects are more useful then their non-magical counterparts.
Damir with a bird of prey for a partner might be able to transfer their Waladans eyesight to themselves. Often the Damir will have a body structure that matches their partner. So this particular Damir would be relatively slender, light footed and could be a good singer. As birds have an affinity with the air, this Damir would also be able to use minor air magic.
And then the transformation. If the bird were to transform, they might turn into a bow, as an example. Bows are weapons with an affinity to air. Light weight weapons that use the air currents and the wind to their advantage. This bow would be better then a normal bow, as the bowstring will never break and the arrows fly faster, further and don't easily miss their targets. Also, the minor elemental magic would be able to help to arrow by telling the wind to speed it along, or splitting the air in front of it. It remains a fact, however, that the transformation drains the magic of the Damir's partner.
General Personalities: Prideful, arrogant and with an unrivaled superiority complex, the Damir does not quickly make friends outside of their community. They are generally misunderstood by most people to be intentionally mean or vicious, while this is mostly caused by the environment they grew up in. They teach their children that they are more superior then humans, for they have no partner and live short, Beast Masters, as the creatures have no sense of decorum or manners whatsoever, simply savages, etc.
As such, it's not uncommon for an Damir to look down their nose at most species. The older generation is only interested in art and politics, while the younger generation, those born just before the war, during it or after, are more passionate about their lives. They do not understand how the others can lead such dull lives. Most of them, especially the warriors and hunters, find themselves migrating to other towns and setting up a life there, though many nobles still object to this practice and keep their children tied to the settlement.
History: The race of the Damirs has a long and complicated history. Once they were completely secluded from the world, unknown to anyone but the most observant and of course the Peace Keepers, who then knew them as the Dhanabyans (They Who Have Tails, basically). They kept to themselves within the few settlements they had and focused most of their energy on art, beauty and entertainment.
They knew nothing of the world and the settlement, ruled by the five Noble families, was a place of riches and wonder, where no other race, human or magical ever set foot. Their hierarchy consisted of the five noble families that ruled the city from above. The heads of the families form a council that decides over the many proceedings that take place. They are judge and jury, overseer and punisher, yet they also listen to the people. Those lucky enough to be born into these noble families would become the next council member, be it male or female, and their chosen spouse would be admitted entry to the families.
One day, a huntsman found a wounded animal just outside of the settlement and took it home. The wolflike creature was weakened and severly drained and as the hunter nursed the creature back to health, it proposed something to him. The animal was part of a species known as the Waladan, a mostly magical race. They assumed animal forms at birth, to disguise themselves from humans and other predators, but their bodies are weak and highly vulnerable.
However, the wolf sensed a magical capacity in the Dhanabyan that had helped it and suggested a bond. The man, surprised but pleased, agreed after a moment and they bonded. Over the years, almost all of the Waladan have moved to the city, now bonding their young with those of the Dhanabyan and thus forming a harmonius way of life. The Waladan Elders, a great Stag and a wise Crow, made a pact with the Dhanabyans and from that moment on, the two species became one, now known as the Damir.
The Dhanabyan gave the Waladan a safe haven, a place to live and protection, an outlet for the wild magic that made them as unstable as they were. In return, the Waladan granted the Dhanabyans access to that magic, to lengthen their lifespan and use as their own. Over the years, they discovered the many strenghts and weaknessess their bond gave them and found ways to uttilise them to the fullest.
Then the war started. At first, the Damir never even noticed there was anything going on. Seeing as their settlement was located far away from the main battle, they knew nothing of the raging war that was destroying life. Living on in their perfect world of finery, they were surprised and overrun when a rogue group of warriors stumbled upon them. They had forgotten their strengths, their powers and their abilities, they had let themselves grow weak within the confinement of their own perfect world and they were crushed. It had only been a group of about twenty rogues and yet they had managed to kill nearly half of the people living in the city before they were killed.
The community had been rudely awakened from it's dreams, from it's perfect existence. Buildings and statues destroyed, children, men and women of both Waladan and Dhanabyan decendance lay dead on the streets and fire rages through houses and gardens. The Council met urgently and decided to re-awaken the traditional Guard that had been dormant for centuries, no one seeing any use for it as it was a time of peace.
And so, children were raised to be warriors, to become scouts, hunters, to learn about the world hidden as merchants and peddlers. However, as they send those warriors of to war and rebuild the city, it didn't take long for the older generation to pick up where they left, going back to their art and politics to leave the younger generation to fight.
Currently, the Damir do have some trading routes going on with the outside world and they let people enter every now and then, but they have guards posted on all exits and in the settlement itself, for protecting their partners and their culture is still a top priority. They rarely let someone in.
Interesting Facts: The Damir can be a formidable foe on the battlefield and a talented hunter or scholar outside of it. Depending on their partner, they can utilise rare gifts and special abilities to assist them. As a child is born, the bond between it and it's partner is made. The child will grow up with their partner and at fifteen the bond becomes permanent. Until they reach their maturity though, at eighteen, they are vulnerable to many outside influences like deceit and lies. They are also unable to use any of their abilities before this time, so children are fiercely protected. It's quite rare for two Damirs to have a child as women rarely get pregnant. As they reach maturity though, the Damir will be able to use all of his or hers abilities, though they have to learn.
On the partner of a Damir.
Waladan, the creatures that the Dhanabyans made a pact with, always take the form of an animal. These are the only creatures Dhanabyans can form a bond with.
Partners are bound to the Damir with their magic and their soul, connected. They grow up together and spend almost all of their time together as they are young, but it's not uncommon for an older pair to split up occasionally. As they age, their bond grows stronger and they no longer feel the desire to be with one another 24/7.
They provide them with magic on a daily basis, allowing them to live incredibly long lives. Whenever a Damir uses their elemental abilities, or the ability to transfer some of their partners senses to themselves, they draw from their partners magic. This however, also drains their lifespan.
A Damir that would spend their life living in the main settlement would be able to reach over 700 years of life without a hitch, as they would never need to use their magical powers for anything heavy. However, a hunter might want to use that little bit of wind magic to guide their partners arrows to fly straight into the intended target. A warrior would often use his or her transformation powers in battle, therefor sometimes shortening their lifespan by centuries. Most of the warriors that fought in the war were only able to live for three or four hundred years before their partners magic was burned out, leaving the partner to die.
On the particular kinds of animals, most warriors are those that have a predator as a partner, or something large that would be able to fight. Hunters are usually partnered with a birdlike creature, sometimes animals like foxes or dogs and rarely but occasionally an animal like a deer. It has to be within the animals nature to hunt or fight to be able to do so with the Damir. Of course, just because someone is not a hunter or a warrior does not mean they have no place in the Damir society.
Aging: 20 human years would have their body age roughly 1 year. |
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