-Other Races: Kintakin-
"Kintakin" is actually a word used to refer to two individuals who have a symbiotic relationship: a Kinn and a Takin. A Kinn is a tribal race of gliding, ornithic beings. They have an affinity for bright colors and are afraid of physical injury, gaining a reputation of cowardice. They also tend to be quite gullible and trusting. A Takin, on the other hand, is a much more advanced race that looks eerily similar to a ladybird beetle on Earth. While this race is peaceful, they will take action when forced into a corner, as opposed to a Kinn which will simply surrender. Due to some unfortunate circumstances for the Takin race, they were forced into flight and eventually discovered the Kinn home world. The Kinn, being so naive with a wild imagination, immediately began to worship the Takin as gods, but rather than take the special treatment the latter decided to simply indulge in much of their knowledge to the Kinn and become allies with them. Things began to look worse for the Takin though, and the Kinn - too pained to see their friends suffering - decided to form a symbiotic relationship with them. Of course, Kinn view the relationship as "fate-bound" or religious, though the Takin could care less about the origins of the hospitality.
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Image: A Kinn and a Takin
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Kinn:
The Kinn are remarkably bird-like. They have two scaled legs that they stand on, each with three toes and a helix (backward-facing) toe. Their beaks are triangular and blunt, built similarly to a robin's beak but fatter. Other than their wing-hands, legs, and beak, Kinn are completely feathered. Kinn additionally have feathered crests, short tails, and wings styled similarly to an archaeopteryx or a pterodactyl, where instead of the wing "hand" having only one big finger (the majority of the wing tip) and a tiny pollex bone, the pollex fully extends out into a thumb, and two extra digits sit beside the main carpometacarpus bone, forming a "wing hand". Unlike the prehistoric examples given, Kinn are fully-capable of using these hands like, well, hands. However, the flaw that comes with this is that Kinn wings aren't proper wings, and are only useful for gliding short distances. One of the major design flaws preventing true flight is the lack of tertials and scapular feathers (feathers that bridge the gap between the primaries/secondaries on the wings and the body). Another design flaw is that the Kinn are mainly terrestrial, and as such don't have the lighter bones of a flying creature, opting for denser, heavier bones that are better able to withstand harsh blows. Unfortunately, even when only useful for the gliding, the wings can still bog down the Kinn when wet and make movement night impossible, and they aren't very good climbers. They are definitely more terrestrial, capable of easily picking up high speeds and jumping rather high.
With a Kinn looking so close to an Earth creature, it's easy for a human to notice nothing else about the Kinn except for the eyes. The eyes of a Kinn are definitely unique, with three pupils in each large eye, their shape varying by the individual. These extra pupils give a Kinn finite control over how much light enters its eyes, so if a bright object is shining only on one side of the eye, the pupil on that eye will contract while the other two pupils remain open, giving the Kinn a sight advantage by "neutralizing" the light level it perceives. Granted, this does remove contrast a lot in Kinn artwork and culture since they can't see it very well, but it exemplifies the sheer vibrancy of their colors. Kinn love color, using paint on everything from nearby trees, to their homes, to even themselves. Richer colors are seen as a sign of good health and prosperity. Because of the sheer contrast some hues create when next to each other, Kinn will often pair them, resulting in aptly-described "psychedelic, eye-burner villages".
While unpainted Kinn have yet to be seen, they will sometimes let their actual colors shine through all of the dye. The natural shades are usually reds, blues, or greens, with the larger feathers having the hue of a color adjacent to the body color, and their secondary feathers having a color adjacent to those (so a red Kinn would have either an orange crest, tail, and primaries, and yellow secondaries, or it could have a pink crest, tail, and primaries, with purple secondaries). This curious gradient effect is caused by the way the keratin in the feathers refract light.
Speaking of their culture, Kinn are still tribal gatherers, interested in dance and color over anything else and being huge pacifists. Kinn are also gregarious, so they become horribly depressed when they are alone. As a whole, Kinn tribes are large clusters, with dwellings not pertaining to homes being used for entertainment and artistry, or as cellars in which food, water, ground pigments, and dyes are stored. Kinn have an aristocratic hierarchy, where the most wealthy Kinn are the chieftains of a tribe; this is because certain colors of dye are difficult to achieve, so only wealthier Kinn can sport these colors. The hierarchy may also be blended with dynasties, where the wealthy Kinn's progeny consistently inherit the wealth of their parents, and as such inherit the title of chieftain. Despite their hierarchy being based upon wealth, Kinn are rather lavish and won't hesitate to buy anything they like, regardless of the price.
With a Kinn looking so close to an Earth creature, it's easy for a human to notice nothing else about the Kinn except for the eyes. The eyes of a Kinn are definitely unique, with three pupils in each large eye, their shape varying by the individual. These extra pupils give a Kinn finite control over how much light enters its eyes, so if a bright object is shining only on one side of the eye, the pupil on that eye will contract while the other two pupils remain open, giving the Kinn a sight advantage by "neutralizing" the light level it perceives. Granted, this does remove contrast a lot in Kinn artwork and culture since they can't see it very well, but it exemplifies the sheer vibrancy of their colors. Kinn love color, using paint on everything from nearby trees, to their homes, to even themselves. Richer colors are seen as a sign of good health and prosperity. Because of the sheer contrast some hues create when next to each other, Kinn will often pair them, resulting in aptly-described "psychedelic, eye-burner villages".
While unpainted Kinn have yet to be seen, they will sometimes let their actual colors shine through all of the dye. The natural shades are usually reds, blues, or greens, with the larger feathers having the hue of a color adjacent to the body color, and their secondary feathers having a color adjacent to those (so a red Kinn would have either an orange crest, tail, and primaries, and yellow secondaries, or it could have a pink crest, tail, and primaries, with purple secondaries). This curious gradient effect is caused by the way the keratin in the feathers refract light.
Speaking of their culture, Kinn are still tribal gatherers, interested in dance and color over anything else and being huge pacifists. Kinn are also gregarious, so they become horribly depressed when they are alone. As a whole, Kinn tribes are large clusters, with dwellings not pertaining to homes being used for entertainment and artistry, or as cellars in which food, water, ground pigments, and dyes are stored. Kinn have an aristocratic hierarchy, where the most wealthy Kinn are the chieftains of a tribe; this is because certain colors of dye are difficult to achieve, so only wealthier Kinn can sport these colors. The hierarchy may also be blended with dynasties, where the wealthy Kinn's progeny consistently inherit the wealth of their parents, and as such inherit the title of chieftain. Despite their hierarchy being based upon wealth, Kinn are rather lavish and won't hesitate to buy anything they like, regardless of the price.
Takin:
The Takin, similar to the Kinn, closely resemble a known creature: the beetle. Takin have small, dark heads and thoraxes, with a large, round abdomen. They have two vestigial wings that aren't useful for much, shielded by a large, colorful elytra. They additionally have head shields similar to cockroaches and ladybugs, which extends over the thorax to the head a bit to protect it. They are technically arachnids, as they have six legs that arch in a spider-like fashion as well as two smaller pincer arms held just in front of the head that also double as legs. The head sports two near-sighted compound eyes, two antennae that curve back over the body, and four jaws - one inside the other - for the mouth. These tiny jaws are aided by a sleep-inducing venom, but can barely pierce human skin and can only induce sleep for about 20 minutes in a creature that large. For creatures closer to the Takin's size, the venom is strong enough to knock the target out for several hours, especially since a smaller circulatory system helps distribute the venom rapidly whereas in larger creatures it can take up to three minutes to have an effect. Aside from their antennae giving them a clear sense of smell, Takin have poor senses and rely on telepathy for communication.
Despite looking like somewhat-ordinary beetles, Takin are highly intelligent, working constantly to find ways to live better; not too surprising, considering Takin are incredibly fragile. They have perfected a number of beneficial technologies and techniques, including cryogenics, telepathic communication, different kinds of interstellar travel, diagnostic and rapid healing tools, food synthesis, stasis fields, and a couple of renewable energy sources... it goes on and on. In a way, they are a lot like humans in that their own creations are all they have, so they care quite a bit about them. While Takin aren't particularly industrious, as long as the temperature is warm enough they can work ceaselessly on a project for hours on end, pondering the solutions to each problem encountered. Back on their home world they would create towering libraries, filled with hundreds of data disks bursting with information. Since the migration to the Kinn home world, these libraries are yet again being created.
Takin society revolves around new takes on old ideas and the creation of new ones. Similar to the Kinn, Takin are peaceful and only attack others out of defense, though due to being so small and not anticipating any conflict they are ill-prepared for battle. Their philosophical, compromising ways also make them less inclined to fight. With such a tranquil outlook on things, Takin fight with one another very little yet are heavy debaters. Their leaders claim power only through knowledge and wisdom, and their government is council-based, where the smartest go through rigorous testing to prove they have the knowledge to take such a high position. Takin are also very religious, not once questioning the existence of a higher force: which they believe is a sort of conscious "wind of fate" that flows through space and time itself. This wind directly influences how they feel about things, and they act upon those feelings. Being very devout worshipers, they believe that the best way to acknowledge this wind of fate is to strive toward ultimate peace, knowledge, and tranquility. This can make them a little hard to talk to, though some races find it fascinating how they are both religious and scientifically inclined.
Despite looking like somewhat-ordinary beetles, Takin are highly intelligent, working constantly to find ways to live better; not too surprising, considering Takin are incredibly fragile. They have perfected a number of beneficial technologies and techniques, including cryogenics, telepathic communication, different kinds of interstellar travel, diagnostic and rapid healing tools, food synthesis, stasis fields, and a couple of renewable energy sources... it goes on and on. In a way, they are a lot like humans in that their own creations are all they have, so they care quite a bit about them. While Takin aren't particularly industrious, as long as the temperature is warm enough they can work ceaselessly on a project for hours on end, pondering the solutions to each problem encountered. Back on their home world they would create towering libraries, filled with hundreds of data disks bursting with information. Since the migration to the Kinn home world, these libraries are yet again being created.
Takin society revolves around new takes on old ideas and the creation of new ones. Similar to the Kinn, Takin are peaceful and only attack others out of defense, though due to being so small and not anticipating any conflict they are ill-prepared for battle. Their philosophical, compromising ways also make them less inclined to fight. With such a tranquil outlook on things, Takin fight with one another very little yet are heavy debaters. Their leaders claim power only through knowledge and wisdom, and their government is council-based, where the smartest go through rigorous testing to prove they have the knowledge to take such a high position. Takin are also very religious, not once questioning the existence of a higher force: which they believe is a sort of conscious "wind of fate" that flows through space and time itself. This wind directly influences how they feel about things, and they act upon those feelings. Being very devout worshipers, they believe that the best way to acknowledge this wind of fate is to strive toward ultimate peace, knowledge, and tranquility. This can make them a little hard to talk to, though some races find it fascinating how they are both religious and scientifically inclined.
History of the Symbiotic Relationship:
It started with the destruction of the Takin's home world, labeled "T2-J7-78B". The Takin weren't huge space explorers, though they did dabble in it a bit. Being new on the scene, they unintentionally aggravated a more territorial neighbor. Once the race began to threaten the Takin, they became worried and put more of a focus on space travel in hopes that they could station outposts around their solar system to watch for any aggressors. As the years passed it seemed that the race's threats weren't as serious as the Takin had thought, and after thoroughly testing some new space pods they sent them into orbit around the surrounding planets to collect data on passing vessels. Unfortunately it turned out that the race was just quiet, and after discovering the pods they destroyed every last one of them, now claiming that the Takin were in their territory and were not allowed to explore beyond the planet's atmosphere. Concerned about this news, and with no reason to disbelieve the race, the Takin began to manufacture larger mothership vessels in hopes of finding a planet outside of the race's territory to set up a colony. Only until the first two motherships were created and sent out into orbit to be tested did the race suspect anything, and the threats escalated, changing from the destruction of the Takin leaders to the destruction of their entire world. Feeling that they had no time to create defenses for their world, and not wanting to fight anyway, the Takin chose to create as many motherships as they possibly could, collect all data of their race, their home world, and the rest of the life hosted on the planet, and flee, abandoning the planet to their enraged neighbors. The race misinterpreted the fleeing motherships as battleships being sent to their claimed planets, and sent only a few vessels after them; the planet itself was razed down to an inhospitable wasteland seething with radiation, destroyed every last monument the Takin ever created.
The Takin noticed their armed pursuers and panicked, splitting up their mothership formation to explore all of the planets in the immediate vicinity; all of the motherships that found suitable planets would immediately set up colonies there before their enemies found them. Unfortunately the hostile race took advantage of the split-up and many of the motherships were destroyed, some even before they reached a solar system. Only two motherships were spared, and one of them was heavily damaged. The damaged ship discovered the Kinn home world "T3-G4-78B", and immediately set up a colony, unaware that the planet already had an indigenous people on it. The second mothership escaped by a hair only because of poor piloting on its pursuer's part. Finding itself in an uninhabitable solar system, it cautiously browsed the surrounding systems before discovering its damaged ally and helping it create the colony, which allowed the damaged mothership to be brought down to the planet's crust for repairs while the functioning one stayed in orbit, watching out for any more hostilities.
While the Takin were hastily repairing their ship and mourning casualties, several Kinn tribes noticed them and immediately believed that they were gods, as the Takin were very colorful and the Kinn were obsessed with color. Overjoyed by their discovery, the chieftains of each tribe banded together and went with newly-appointed priests to bestow gifts upon their choice deities; the Takin were appalled. Rather than let the Kinn run with their belief, the Takin didn't hesitate to tell them that they were fleshy beings just like they were, and that the higher force wasn't them. Some of the Takin leaders debated telling the Kinn about their own religion, to convince them that the higher force was this wind of fate, but a quick vote opted for letting the Kinn figure it out for themselves. While the Kinn never considered a "wind of fate" deity, they still thought highly of their visitors and instead gave the gifts as a show of friendship. That was something the Takin could live with, so they accepted the gifts.
Even though the Takin motherships did do preemptive scans of the Kinn home world to make sure it was hospitable, the Takin had one major flaw: their food supply had run short. There were two crews of Takin to feed, but only one ship with unspoiled food supplies, and with Takin working to repair the second ship food had become even more necessary than before. The Takin had planned on propagating and releasing domesticated animals on their new world so that they had a future food source, but not only were the predators on the Kinn home world larger and more greedy, the food supplies that were destroyed also included food for these animals, resulting in a huge food shortage on all levels. The Takin population declined, their brightest minds searching both the heavens and their research for any answers on the problem, something to curb this immediate shortage. Little did they know that all they had to do was look to the bright, noisy bird people they had found.
Invasive parasites were a big problem to the Kinn, and many hatchlings - even healthy fledglings - would die of venom, disease, and poisonous remnants left by parasites and other small creatures. So even though the Kinn could easily filter out and breathe the many gases that riddle their atmosphere due to fumaroles and other volcanic vents, this strength is not shared by the immune system. The Takin didn't know this until trades began to happen, where the Takin would tell stories and share knowledge in return for the stories and knowledge of the Kinn. At first the transfers were simple enough, though with the Takin growing weaker from hunger they would have difficulty moving, so they would ask their Kinn pupils to pick them up and move them to another spot; it just so happened that one day, a Kinn picked up a Takin with a parasite on his hand, and the Takin asked him what it was. He explained that it was a worm that sucked blood, and that if it stayed there it would cause necrosis which would cause his hand to fall off. So of course the Takin tried eating it.
Takin have much tougher digestive systems than the Kinn, capable of breaking down the poisons that many of their native prey held; to the Takin, this parasite was a good meal! The Kinn was incredulous about how happy it made the Takin, considering they were herbivores and thought eating meat was repulsive, though the Takin saw a glorious opportunity; what if their dying race could live off the parasites of the Kinn?
The proposition was discussed among the Takin leaders, who then went to the Kinn chieftains. The chieftains thought the idea was splendid and immediately began transporting their ill and infested people to the Takin, who gladly cleaned their feathers of every last bug. The relationship was completely bizarre, but ended up hugely beneficial. Of course, the Kinn took it religiously and believed that the Takin were heaven-sent, though the latter really didn't mind. It was then proposed that a Takin pair up with every Kinn so that both species could help each other. It quickly became an accepted part of a new culture, called Kintakin (it was the Kinns' idea to combine their names into one word), and since then there has actually been a stigma against unpaired Kintakin, as despite being voluntary the symbiotic relationship was more beneficial than not.
The Takin noticed their armed pursuers and panicked, splitting up their mothership formation to explore all of the planets in the immediate vicinity; all of the motherships that found suitable planets would immediately set up colonies there before their enemies found them. Unfortunately the hostile race took advantage of the split-up and many of the motherships were destroyed, some even before they reached a solar system. Only two motherships were spared, and one of them was heavily damaged. The damaged ship discovered the Kinn home world "T3-G4-78B", and immediately set up a colony, unaware that the planet already had an indigenous people on it. The second mothership escaped by a hair only because of poor piloting on its pursuer's part. Finding itself in an uninhabitable solar system, it cautiously browsed the surrounding systems before discovering its damaged ally and helping it create the colony, which allowed the damaged mothership to be brought down to the planet's crust for repairs while the functioning one stayed in orbit, watching out for any more hostilities.
While the Takin were hastily repairing their ship and mourning casualties, several Kinn tribes noticed them and immediately believed that they were gods, as the Takin were very colorful and the Kinn were obsessed with color. Overjoyed by their discovery, the chieftains of each tribe banded together and went with newly-appointed priests to bestow gifts upon their choice deities; the Takin were appalled. Rather than let the Kinn run with their belief, the Takin didn't hesitate to tell them that they were fleshy beings just like they were, and that the higher force wasn't them. Some of the Takin leaders debated telling the Kinn about their own religion, to convince them that the higher force was this wind of fate, but a quick vote opted for letting the Kinn figure it out for themselves. While the Kinn never considered a "wind of fate" deity, they still thought highly of their visitors and instead gave the gifts as a show of friendship. That was something the Takin could live with, so they accepted the gifts.
Even though the Takin motherships did do preemptive scans of the Kinn home world to make sure it was hospitable, the Takin had one major flaw: their food supply had run short. There were two crews of Takin to feed, but only one ship with unspoiled food supplies, and with Takin working to repair the second ship food had become even more necessary than before. The Takin had planned on propagating and releasing domesticated animals on their new world so that they had a future food source, but not only were the predators on the Kinn home world larger and more greedy, the food supplies that were destroyed also included food for these animals, resulting in a huge food shortage on all levels. The Takin population declined, their brightest minds searching both the heavens and their research for any answers on the problem, something to curb this immediate shortage. Little did they know that all they had to do was look to the bright, noisy bird people they had found.
Invasive parasites were a big problem to the Kinn, and many hatchlings - even healthy fledglings - would die of venom, disease, and poisonous remnants left by parasites and other small creatures. So even though the Kinn could easily filter out and breathe the many gases that riddle their atmosphere due to fumaroles and other volcanic vents, this strength is not shared by the immune system. The Takin didn't know this until trades began to happen, where the Takin would tell stories and share knowledge in return for the stories and knowledge of the Kinn. At first the transfers were simple enough, though with the Takin growing weaker from hunger they would have difficulty moving, so they would ask their Kinn pupils to pick them up and move them to another spot; it just so happened that one day, a Kinn picked up a Takin with a parasite on his hand, and the Takin asked him what it was. He explained that it was a worm that sucked blood, and that if it stayed there it would cause necrosis which would cause his hand to fall off. So of course the Takin tried eating it.
Takin have much tougher digestive systems than the Kinn, capable of breaking down the poisons that many of their native prey held; to the Takin, this parasite was a good meal! The Kinn was incredulous about how happy it made the Takin, considering they were herbivores and thought eating meat was repulsive, though the Takin saw a glorious opportunity; what if their dying race could live off the parasites of the Kinn?
The proposition was discussed among the Takin leaders, who then went to the Kinn chieftains. The chieftains thought the idea was splendid and immediately began transporting their ill and infested people to the Takin, who gladly cleaned their feathers of every last bug. The relationship was completely bizarre, but ended up hugely beneficial. Of course, the Kinn took it religiously and believed that the Takin were heaven-sent, though the latter really didn't mind. It was then proposed that a Takin pair up with every Kinn so that both species could help each other. It quickly became an accepted part of a new culture, called Kintakin (it was the Kinns' idea to combine their names into one word), and since then there has actually been a stigma against unpaired Kintakin, as despite being voluntary the symbiotic relationship was more beneficial than not.
Trivia:
- Kintakin were one of three races that were created originally for an online roleplay.
- Originally the word "Kintakin" was used only for the Kinn; eventually though it was decided that a symbiotic relationship would be more unique, resulting in the word being split up to represent the individual species "Kinn" and "Takin".
- To further reflect pairing, Kintakin names consist of both individuals' names smashed together. Since neither species can pronounce soft sounds such as Ps, Fs, or Ss very well, their names make good use of hard sounds, and they're always pronounced how they're spelled. Kinn have short, simple names whereas Takin have longer, more difficult to pronounce names with titles; by dropping the title and picking a defined section of the name, Takin can easily add their names to their partners': Gin + Leden = Ginleden, Jin + Tolo = Jintolo, Ayla + Gatten = Aygatten, Esta + Udolun = Estudolun.
- Kinn feather shapes and lengths vary upon each individual.
- There is no dimorphism among Kinn or Takin; most differences are based upon individuals. However, both Kinn and Takin can have misleading features that appear as dimorphism, but aren't (such as a dull shell for Takin, or less impressive feathers for Kinn).
- Takin telepathy is very "relaxed", meaning it can be hard for them to communicate clearly to strong-willed beings and to races that have had no experience with telepathy/developed with no telepathy present.
- Takin knowledge is very broad, yet shallow. Kinn knowledge has a strong focus on the arts, but not much else.
- Kinn beaks aren't very useful at conveying messages, resulting in communication with Kintakin being widely interpretive. Luckily the Takin were easily able to figure out the primitive language of the Kinn.
- Due to having near-sighted senses, the Takin are reliant on their Kinn partners to rely information about things that are too far away for them to perceive.
- Kinn sleep similar to perching birds, tucking their legs in to stand on one foot and rest the head over the shoulder, under a wing, or simply hanging down on the chest. Takin though require no sleep at all, simply becoming lethargic depending on their energy levels and the hospitality of their environment.
- Kinn grow up very fast - within 7 years - and live to about 50. Takin hatch within weeks, pupate in a couple of years, and pupate again to maturity within a decade. This quick growth rate is countered, funnily enough, by partner belligerence. Sometimes trust just doesn't help the mortality rate, though the two species do actively try to find agreeable partners and pair their wits and intuition to avoid casualties like that.
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