History
The Enkeyns first appeared about a hundred years ago, arriving in the Sharian lands from the western continent of Entera. Eko was the first of the Enkeyns to arrive in Tey’shar, greeted by the Sharian representative Windwhisper and warning that more of his kind were on the way. Several hundred Enkeyns followed over the course of the next few weeks, refugees of an event so traumatic that they still won’t discuss it.
Although they’ve never stated it outright, it’s thought that the Enkeyns had become enslaved by an even larger and more powerful race of creature. If that’s the case, why this other race of creatures hasn’t come to Tey’shar is unknown.
After their arrival, Kenist Miana, or ‘New Home,’ was established as the home base of the Enkeyns in Tey’shar as the Sharians welcomed into their territory. In the time since they arrived in Tey’shar, the Enkeyns have spread throughout the Sharian realm and beyond. There are now two generations of Enkeyns who never knew their homeland, although some of the original settlers are still alive, ancient and close-mouthed about their past. It’s unknown how far east the Enkeyns can now be found. They have ventured well into the human realms with mixed results, the most notable of these being the Sa’enkeyns.
Anatomy and Appearance
Enkeyns are large, fluffy, and feathered dragons. Most have at least four limbs (legs), many have six (wings and legs), and some have even more. Their physical characteristics vary widely, and an Enkeyn can have everything from horns to feathered tails to three pairs of wings. This variety of physical traits suggests that the Enkeyn were at least partially magically created, but if they know anything about their origins, they’re keeping silent about it.
The different Enkeyn seyts, or clans, each have their own set of physical characteristics, typical patterning, and typical coloration. Seytless Enkeyns can have a wide and varied mix of traits, and it can be difficult to tell which seyts they originated from. Different traits can be things such as wings, horns, spikes, fur, tail types, and so on.
Enkeyns sport a large range of colors on their fur and feathers, and can also be found with a wide variety of markings. The members of most seyts tend to have similar markings and patterns, particularly those that are based in a particular region.
Compared to most other creatures in Tey’shar the Enkeyns are very large, ranging anywhere from 10 feet to 20 feet long from nose to tailtip. Most are large enough to carry a humanoid rider in flight and can carry even more if they use magic to augment their flight abilities.
Habitat
Enkeyns are comfortable in most environments as long as there is sufficient game and water. Even those areas that have extremes of hot and cold can be called home as long as the Enkeyn has adapted with appropriate traits.
The ideal Enkeyn environment includes trees, hills, mountains, and open areas for hunting. Enkeyn communities tend to live in a close series of caves, or in structures built of stone and wood. Nomadic individuals tend to build temporary nests in natural caves or other safe areas.
Diet
Enkeyns are primarily carnivores, but also eat some plants, fruits, grains, and dairy. Meat preferences vary – some like wild game, others farmed animals or fish, and some will eat anything they can get their paws on.
Those that are flightless require much less food than those who fly and can generally live together in greater numbers. It’s rare to find a large group of flighted Enkeyns, and those that do tend to group together are careful to manage the local game and their farmed creatures.
Food allergies are common in Enkeyns, mostly related to plants that weren’t found on their native continent of Entera. The reactions are usually fairly minor, but there have been some cases of serious sickness and even an allergy-related death reported. Enkeyns are careful about trying new non-meat foods.
Society
One theory about why the Enkeyns fled Entera is to do with their society. There have been whispers that the seyts there are closed and isolated, all ruled closely by a king and his council who love to play the seyts against each other. Seytless Enkeyns are seen as lower in class than those in seyts and subject to atrocities by order of the king. However, this is only rumor, and the truth is unknown for now.
Please see the Enkeyn Society page for more information.
Communication
All Enkeyns speak their language, Kelelian, and are very willing to teach those who would like to learn it. The language is not only spoken, but is also a combination of gestures and poses. Their word for ‘hello’ might be accompanied by a distinctive head gesture to indicate welcome, the sweep of a tail or wing to indicate impatience that it took so long for the other to arrive, or the sweep of a paw to indicate that the greeting is given grudgingly.
Although Kelelian can be spoken without the gestures, it makes it more difficult to get the more subtle emotional meaning across. The gestures themselves have also been adapted for use without the spoken words while in flight, allowing simple conversations over the roar of the wind.
Many Enkeyns have a great love of language and are eager to learn others. They picked up the Sharian and common human languages quickly, and Enkeyns usually speak all three. The Samanayr language is also common among Enkeyns, particularly in those who make their home in Kenist Miana.
Naming
Enkeyns all have a given name and surname, and may have additional middle names. First name are almost always words or phrases in Kelelian. Surnames, which are passed down the maternal line, can have meanings from an older form of Kelelian, be words in modern Kelelian, or include words from other cultures and languages.
Some name examples:
Okalyaka (Wanderer) Poaer (meaning unknown)
Lelit’nalakt (White Noise) Ardunt (meaning unknown)
Reyro’netaya (Subtle Gleam) Ereyer (from the ancient Kelelian for ‘Desert’)
Life Cycle
Enkeyns give birth to live young, usually a single pup and very rarely twins. Pups are very vulnerable at birth and are kept away from other Enkeyns for the first few months until they’re mobile and have some speech. The introduction of a pup to Enkeyn society is a joyous occasion known as the Awakening, and Enkeyns track their age based on this date rather than the day they were born.
A pup’s father will assist the mother in the early years of the pup’s life, but usually absents himself from the pup’s life as it becomes older. Why this is done is unknown, especially since the pup usually lives close to its father and knows what their relationship is. The exception to this is bonded pairs, where both parents raise the pup.
Pups live with one or both parents until they become adults at the age of 20. After that point the parents do encourage the young adult to go explore the world, but some choose to stay close to home.
Magic
Enkeyns have a strong affinity for magic. Like the Sharians, all Enekyns are able to use their personal life energy to perform small magical feats such as enclosing their body in a cocoon of warmth or amplifying the volume of their voice. All individuals who use their own energy to perform magic need to make sure that they’re not using too much, and the recovery period required depends on the amount and duration of energy used. Some find they have more energy available to them than others.
A few Enkeyns are able to access the energy of the natural elements. These individuals belong to the special Moon or Sun seyts, depending on their magical affiliation. Moon and Sun Enkeyns are able to perform magic using the power of the elements, although they always need to ensure that they are not trying to draw more energy than they can control, and that they aren’t drawing enough energy to harm the land.
Very rarely, an Enkeyn is born that can control celestial magic. The source of this energy is unknown, except to those who wield it, and the amount of energy available seems to be limited only by how much the wielder feels they can control.