Convergent Bloodlines (World Building)
#5 of Convergence
Ever since Convergence, the presence of spiritkin on Earth has caused some issues in regards to sheer medical concerns, let alone the social, economic, political and military ones.
Medically speaking,the spiritkin, in all their variants, are too numerous to list, but fall into one of four distinct categories.
Wildkin are the most common of the spiritkin, nearly equalling in number the amount of humans on Earth. However, there exists within the wildkin a plethora of subspecies ranging across most animal species on Earth. We see felines, from moggies to panthers, leopards, tigers and lions. Canines run a smaller gamut, mainly wolves but it is not unusual to see dobermans and German shepherds, and canids such as foxes and hyenas. Farm animals are the most common in rural life, with horses, bovines, sheep and goats a common sight. And this is only a taste of the mammals. Birds, sea life, insects and a whole new world of creatures still awaits us.
Wildkin are, as far as the average person is concerned, sentient anthropomorphic animals. While specific biology varies from subspecies to subspecies, several traits remain true across all wildkin. Studies have also indicated that hermaphrodite wildkin possess an almost uniform high intelligence, with no outliers on the lower spectrum. What causes this genetic anomaly is currently unknown, though scientists at Delacroix Industries and at Dawes Labs have been looking into it.
All wildkin are bipedal, though their knees and feet resemble that of their feral counterparts. Generally, a wildkin's torso resembles that of a human, though often in proportion to their species. Female and hermaphrodite wildkin only have two breasts, much like a human (though often covered in fur, breasts or chitin as described below).
Barring some of the insectoid wildkin, all wildkin only have two arms, with human-like hands. Most have nails, though some do have claws.
Their heads depend greatly on their subspecies. Though they are all quite capable of human speech, despite tongues, teeth, fangs, beaks and, in some cases, mandibles.
Most wildkin also have fur, scales or feathers, which is almost identical in texture, length, colouring and pattern as their feral counterparts. On top of this, some wildkin also have hair on their head, much like a human, though texture and colour tend to be close to their natural markings. Genetically speaking, this trait is new, and appears to be a result of human DNA having been introduced to wildkin over the centuries they have been here and crossbreeding.
Also of note is that some wildkin have unique abilities, such as night-vision, gills, inhuman strength, longevity etc. These traits are, as one would expect, linked to each individual subspecies.
Reproductive organs are also interesting. Shape and size of a penis depends highly upon their subspecies (equines compared to rodents etc) but even then can vary highly in almost any given individual. Wildkin precum also contains chemicals, magical in nature, that increase a female's ability to receive. Vaginas tend to also vary in shape and size by subspecies and individual.
Cross-breeding is common in the wildkin but there do appear to be some limitations. Mammals can breed together quite easily, the closer their subspecies the better their chances of conception. Of interesting note, humans tend to be a universal breeder amongst the mammalian wildkin with no problems. Avians tend to have the best results if they breed amongst themselves, insectoids the same and so on. Cross-breeding on extremes (ie mammal/avian) rarely results in conception though magic can circumvent that. In any case of cross-breeding, studies have proven that the subspecies of any such union is entirely dependent on the sire, unless powerful magic or medical intervention is involved.
The wildkin also display some other strange, and medically speaking it can only be called strange, genetic anomalies across their entire species.
The first of these anomalies is their innate resistance to man-made chemicals. This does not mean that they are immune to the effects of chemicals, but rather high doses are needed. Alongside this chemical resistance is a stronger immune system than that of most humans. Years of study have been performed on this subject alone and the only answer is that wildkin simply have a more robust immune system, mainly due to a lack of environmental factors such as pollution, until they arrived on Earth anyway. As for exactly what environment the wildkin originally evolved in we remain somewhat in the dark, as even the wildkin seem to have lost that information since Convergence.
While not a science, magic must also be considered when dealing with biology these days. Magic is a hard substance to quantify in its own right, but we have discovered that it manifests as a type of radiation that can be manipulated by incantations, strong wills and rituals. I suspect that is due to the nature of magic being sentient in its own right, although that may be a subject for another time.
Back to the subject at hand though, wildkin possess no inherent magical ability, but rather a cultural affinity for it. This cultural affinity seems to spreading across most the world, with different regions having different methods of controlling magic, and using it. This is interesting as studies have proven that this means humans and wildkin have the same magical abilities, and that the only reason humans tend not to use it is due to our reliance on science and technology.
Wildkin display three different genders, that of male, female and hermaphrodite. Male and female wildkin are the more common of the species, built in proportion to their bodies and are more or less equal. Hermaphrodites vary. Being of the same size or larger than their male and female counterparts. Possessed of both set of reproductive organs, they are able to treat others with an almost superior treatment, as any gender biased social norms simply do not affect them. Socially, they are often treated as equals or better, though like the males and females, some subspecies have different roles.
Moving onto the next species of the spiritkin is to some the most powerful. I speak of course, of the dragons. Dragons are a powerful species of physically, magically and mentally, which explains why they control the entire Kingdom of Flemria with such an iron rule. Dragons are an interesting species, medically speaking anyway, mainly due to their four basic types and the fact they have four different genders. We will begin with their basic types.
The first three types of dragons are what have been designated as 'mythic' due to their physical appearance being similar to ancient myths. The most common, referred to as westies, or by their own name, arch-dragons, are what Western human culture traditionally thought dragons, huge reptiles with massive wings, serpentine heads, sharp claws and breathing fire. With bodies the size of a small to large house, they are intelligent, sentient and control the vast majority of Flemria, with many servants. Their cousins, known as easties or fire-serpents, resemble the dragons from Eastern human culture, large serpents that use magic to enable them to fly. Often reclusive, and generally not social, the fire-serpents display a higher intelligence than their cousins, usually involving themselves in magical research or cultural endeavours. The final of the mythic dragons are only known as Leviathans. These enormous creatures do not fly, as they typically live in the oceans, preying on whatever winds up in their path. Even other mythic dragons fear these monstrous creatures. No accurate photographic proof of these beasts exists, but stories, artwork and extremely rare blood samples allow us insight into their biology. Leviathans are on average twice the size of a cruise liner, with massive serpentine necks with heads roughly the size of an arch-dragon. Magical energies laced the blood samples quite strongly, suggesting that they are far more powerful in that art than we know. However, the most important thing we know from their blood samples is that the leviathan dragons are the common ancestor of both Eastern and Western dragons.
The final sub-race of dragons are known as the dragon-kin. Unlike their massive brethren, dragon-kin are much smaller, being on average a little larger than the tallest human or wildkin. And that is partly due to the fact that this particular sub-race appear to be an anthropomorphic race of dragons. Many have speculated that dragon-kin are actually draconic wildkin, but that would only be true if we saw wildkin unicorns, cerebi and other creatures of legend. It is only in recent years that Flemria has allowed scientific studies on their people and the dragon-kin appear to be a created race, as their bloodwork is easily tested to show signs of magical interference. While no proof exists, their appearance is uncanny to the arch-dragons, which some believe to have created this smaller breed.
Aside from their magical abilities and their incredibly long lives, the dragons are also a curious species in that they possess four very different genders, which appear across all four sub-species.
The first two genders are common across all creatures on Earth, that of female and male. Male and female dragons are often of the same size, and socially appear to be equals. Both genders are of an equal size and temperament, though males tend to be slightly more aggressive, especially during breeding times.
Hermaphrodite dragons also exist, and unlike the wildkin, there is no equality between the genders. Hermaphroditic dragons are often venerated, and are treated almost sacredly by the others. In fact, in Flemria, where dragons rule, the social elite are almost exclusively hermaphrodites. Cultural studies have shown this is due to hermaphrodites being highly fertile and dragons place great value in reproduction of the species, since not all eggs in a clutch will hatch. I have actually had the, shall we say, opportunity, to meet one of these reptilian hermaphrodites and I will be honest, the meeting was an unmitigated disaster. They are imperious, stubborn and proud.
The final gender I've never actually seen, in fact, no one has. This because the final gender, the suma, is never seen. Suma are an amazing phenomenon and just as equally terrifying. A suma is not a female dragon, well, not always. Let me see if I can explain it. Dragons, much like marsupials, have pouches. Like marsupials, female dragons use them to carry eggs and their young. Males and hermaphrodites, however, use them to carry a suma. A suma is, as far as the average person is concerned, a sex slave used for the express purpose of providing pleasure and breeding. While the exact methods are not truly known, sumas are females of any species of a smaller stature that are either tricked or forced into the male or hermaphrodite's pouch, where an internal penis awaits them. The pouch will then seal, trapping the suma inside, where over time they will be mutated; losing their intelligence, able to survive on seminal fluids and becoming entirely dependent on their owner, whom is referred to as a doma. Eventually the suma will be allowed out, if only to lay eggs before going back in. Other mutations may occur, but this varies from dragon to dragon and suma to suma. Personally? I think it is an abominable practice, but this is about biology, not cultural studies.
And then we have the etherkin. Etherkin biology is extremely hard to categorise, mainly due to etherkin not being an actual subspecies of spiritkin, but rather a cultural group. Etherkin are a loose collection of fey, vampires, spirits and other mythical creatures from Earth's long lost past. The lands of the etherkin also have other mythical creatures such as unicorns and griffins. Very few scientific studies into the biology of the etherkin are publicly available, which I think is more due to the fact that as previously mentioned, they are not one single species. Even the fey are not a single species. You have fairies, pixies, dryads, nymphs. Even creatures like vampires have their own biology.
However, no true scientist would miss the obvious. Barring pure beasts like unicorns, griffins, cerebi and the like, every single one of those etherkin is human in appearance. Every winged fairy, every michevious pixie, every nudist dryad and skulking vampire appears human. Mostly anyway. Sure, skin colours may vary, there may be fangs, or wings or other magical talents but more or less they are human. Even their genders reflect this, as etherkin only have the traditional male and female genders. What this indicates to me is that while most spiritkin may have originated from another place, the etherkin originated on Earth, which hints at a hidden part of our history where myth and history may be one and the same. After all, if Convergence can happen once, it surely could have happened before. This is further supported by the fact that mixed breeding between etherkin and the other spiritkin simply is not possible. Even vampires are unable to sire on spiritkin, though I suspect this is due to the Wildkin and dragons having robust immune systems as well as magical defences.
What we need to take away from all this information is this: the human race is no longer a lone sentient species. We have a plethora of equally fascinating life that now lives, or depending on your perspective, competes with us. The human race, as we know it, is facing a time of change. If we do not adapt, evolve if you will, we will go extinct. And that, as you can all imagine, is a very unpleasant thought.
~ Taken from Dr Osmund Dawes's speech An Unpleasant Future at Harvard University (7AU)