Thalorans are a humanoid species native to the Arofea continent. They are known to be elusive and not many are seen outside of their homeland Fiyo Thalore.
The reason as to why they’re so reclusive lies in their natural proximity to a structure named Mana Spool, which is tied to the thaloran people’s creation. It is believed that every thaloran soul dwells in the Spool, being drawn from it when a thaloran is born, and returning to it when they die. As such, every thaloran born too far away from it will be stillborn.
Despite having such a strong spiritual connection to the world, thalorans are also very scientific minded. Their advancements in technology often surpasses those of the other nations of Odiem. This had led to many outsiders to travel to Fiyo Thalore in order to study their science, although not many are accepted in their ranks.
Thalorans have lived in isolation for many years, and there are still many facets to their culture that are unknown to outsiders. Some are more open to sharing their culture, while others might carry themselves with quite a haughty attitude, which makes friendly contact somewhat harder.
Thalorans are medium sized humanoids with pointed ears. They commonly have antlers, although many do not. They classify themselves in four different variants based on certain genetic characteristics. Thalorans also have a long prehensile tail, which is usually long enough to reach the ground when fully extended, and it often ends in a tuft of hair. Their hair is often white or silver, and their skin can be either a natural tone similar to humans, or purple and blue.
The eyes can be of many colors, usually separated in two types: warm and cold. Warm eye colors include yellow, amber, red and brown; cold eye colors include blue, purple and indigo. There can also be rarer variants such as green or teal. An expecially rare variant is called Obsidian, it results in a dark brown iris with a red pupil. Thalorans with obsidian eyes are always blind.
Thalorans can live up to 200 years, with some exceptional cases reaching past the 230 year mark. They are considered adults by their society at age 20.
There are four genetic variants that have been identified among thaloran populations:
Alpha thalorans, which are distinguished by the presence of antlers. The antlers are present on both genders, although they are bigger and have more prongs on males. This is the most common genetic variant.
Beta thalorans, which don't have any distinguishing traits. This is the second most common variant.
Gamma thalorans, which also don't seem to have any distinguishing traits. Despite being physically identical to the Beta variant, Gamma thalorans are genetically distinct, and can possess certain traits that not present on Beta thalorans.
Omega thalorans, which is the rarest variant. They look similar to alpha thalorans, but all male omega thalorans have two penises. Female omegas usually don't have any distinguishing traits, although they can be born with two clitorises on rare occasions.
Alpha (Α) is a dominant gene, followed by beta (Β), gamma (Γ) and finally omega (Ω)
There cannot be "half" variants, a thaloran will either possess a specific gene or not. In short, if an Alpha thaloran and a Beta thaloran have a child, that child will either be an Alpha or a Beta.
The child will inherit two alleles, one from each parent, meaning that they can have AA, AB, or BB. Since the Alpha gene is dominant, an individual with AA or AB genotype will be an Alpha, and an individual with BB will be a Beta. Two Alpha thalorans can still give birth to a Beta, or a Gamma, if they carry these recessive genes.
Some thalorans have their bodies naturally adorned with markings. A pattern can only show up in a shade darker than the skin tone, similar to antler gradients.
There are two patterns that thalorans can have: Striped and point. The striped pattern is further divided into light stripes and heavy stripes. The presence of stripes is a result of the dominant S gene.
The striped pattern consists of several stripes running vertically across the back, outer thighs and flanks. The shape of the pattern is determined by the St, St1 and St2 genes. The dominant allele, St, will create a single dorsal stripe. Up next is the recessive St1, which causes several stripes along the back and flanks. And finally, the most recessive St2, which causes the stripes to spread to the neck and jaw and will also pigment the fingers and toes, in a pattern known as heavy stripes.
A point pattern is a rarer pattern that causes the extremities of the body to display a dark gradient. It affects mainly the ears, arms, legs and tail. It appears when there is a recessive form of the P gene. (pp)
The point pattern, when present, doesn’t always override the striped pattern. As such, it is possible for a thaloran to have both stripes and point gradients.
Despite being called antlers, they are more similar to horns. They are made of a hard keratin material, and do not shed yearly. They are very light and will display prongs branching out from the main "trunk." If an antler breaks or is cut, it will not grow back.
Males have larger antlers than females. The size of the antler is largely determined by testosterone. Females may have one prong on each horn, or no prongs at all. Males can have anywhere between 2-5.
Alpha (and omega) thalorans are born with a smooth forehead, similar to the other variants. At around the tenth year of age, small nubs will begin to form, and 2-4 months after that, the antlers will begin to erupt. At first, they appear to be spikes, having only one point on each antler. Once they reach puberty, the antlers may start to form prongs. At age 15, antlers are already differentiated between male and female. Female antlers will keep growing until they reach 20 years of age, although at an extremely slow rate. Male antlers grow at a slightly faster rate, although the growth considerably slows down at 17 years of age, and it also stops once they’re 20 years old.
Every thaloran carries genetic information regarding antlers, including Beta and Gamma thalorans.
Antlers can come in many different colors, namely blue, amber, purple, silver and black.
Blue and Amber are codominant with each other, meaning that they don’t cancel each other out. The combination of Blue and Amber can result in Purple. Silver is recessive.
The presence of Black is determined by a different gene, and unlike the others, it will always be the same color (there is no “light” or “dark” black.) The recessive gene k causes the antlers to be black, while a dominant K will cause it to be its natural color. The black gene always overrides the "true" color when present.
The dark/light range is determined by yet another gene. Each of these colors has a “true range” which is a bright color. This color can then either be diluted (r) or kept intact (R); and it can also be darkened by the dominant D gene.
So, in total, there are 4 different genes determining the antler color!
1. Blue: BB, Bs / Amber: AA, As / Purple: AB / Silver: ss
2. Dilute: rr / non-dilute: RR, Rr
3. Dark: DD, Dd / bright: dd
4. Black: kk / not black: KK, Kk
Eye colors are determined by the N/n gene. The dominant N gene is responsible for the warm color, while the recessive allele is responsible for the cool color. As such:
- Nn: warm color;
- NN: warm color;
- nn: cool color.
The color is also determined by the Y/y1/y2/y3 gene. Y is the most dominant, and it turns the eyes into a dark color. The others will result in lighter colors, y3 being the lightest and the most recessive of the “hierarchy.”
The possible resulting colors from the combination of these two genes are known as the basic eye colors, and can be separated into 8 basic colors.
Obviously, each of these can be darker or lighter (for example, there can be “light red” and “dark red”) but they’ll generally fall into one of these eight colors.
The eye color can also be affected by the Xg gene, which will add a green pigmentation to the eye. A dominant Xg will result in the green color being present. However, the darker eye colors (brown and indigo) can easily override the green color, since the pigmentation is too strong.
The green pigmentation will result in either a hazel color if the original eye color is warm, or the so-called “marine” color if the original color is cool.
The green pigmentation will result in either a hazel color if the original eye color is warm, or the so-called “marine” color if the original color is cool.
There is yet another gene responsible for determining eye color, and that is the Xr gene. A dominant Xr will result in a rare color called “lightning.” This color will completely override the true eye color when present.
And finally, eye color can be affected by the “obsidian.” The obsidian color happens when there are both a dominant Xg and Xr genes, and is considered a very rare condition It will always result in blindness.
Thalorans are the only humanoid species capable of wielding magic, and as such every thaloran has a mana signature. Aside from allowing Thalorans to wield certain types of magic, it also manifests itself as an ability to detect mana from any source, or even resist its effects in certain cases.
There are two types of mana: white (or light) mana, and black (or dark) mana.
White mana affects anything that is “without;” things that exist outside a living body. It’s most known as elemental magic, giving the wielder the ability to control fire, water, earth, etc. It cannot give its wielder the ability to control plants, since they are living things.
Black mana affects the “within.” It is the ability to control the inner workings of a body. It is mostly known as healing magic, but it can be used for the destruction of the body as well. This is a quite rare type of magic, and the thalorans who possess it are considered exceptionally powerful.
Because thalorans get their magic from the spirits they are associated with, their mana signature will be determined by the moon phase present at an individual’s birth. Those who are born under a new moon will have Black mana signature, while those born under any other moon phases will have White mana signature.
Eclipses will also affect a thaloran’s mana signature. Those born during a total lunar eclipse will have both black and white mana; while those born during a solar eclipse will have negative mana.
Negative mana is a rare type of mana that can only surge an effect on those who do not possess magic powers. For example, it cannot be used to heal a mana wielder, including oneself; and it also cannot be used to deal damage to another mana wielder. In addition to that, it can only be used by “absorbing” mana from another being. Because of this, negative mana wielders can use both white and black magic.
Negative mana wielders may absorb mana from others by touching, or via more invasive methods such as drinking their blood.
In the year 2890 RE, a group of nomadic elves found themselves lost in the deep forests of an island in northern Arofea. Within it, they found a strange river, now known as the Mana Spool. Many spirits dwelled within it, and the Elves soon became enchanted by them. With time, their adoration for the spirits was so fervent that they jumped into the Mana Spool to be with them.
In the turbulent waters of the Mana Spool, the Elves bodies were filled with pure mana. Their form begun to change, so suddenly that they might have burst. However, the spirits then joined with the Elves' bodies to keep them from being destroyed by the sheer force of mana.
When they reemerged, they were different. No longer Elves, and no longer spirits, but a combination of both. These new beings began to call themselves the Thalora.
A Thalora cannot be born away from the Mana Spool, and cannot die away from it either. When a Thalora die, their spirit returns to the Mana Spool, and there it shall remain until a new Thalora is born, and the spirit is called to its body, as if by a strong pull. This close connection to the spirits allows the Thalora to use magic.
There are no longer spirits out in the wilds, as they all live within the bodies of the thalorans in life.
Because of this, the thalorans worship no gods, and instead they worship only the Mana Spool itself as the source of their life.
