26/06/2014
Hi, Moogle here - head of the concept art department and a helper in world development! I have completed the encyclopaedia entry for several of the humanoid species. There will be visual concepts to follow. Here is the first; the Nitsuniel. Please feel free to ask questions and give your own ideas.
The Nitsuniel are warm blooded creatures descended from an ancestor akin to both mammals and birds. They have traits of both, sporting large feathered wings and feathers around the head and back, but also giving birth to live young and having hair on their heads like a mammal. Their evolutionary path means that they have, unusually, six limbs. They usually stand 6ft to 7ft tall, with little variation between males and females. They are slim and hollow-boned. They have pale skin, mostly dark golden or auburn hair and feathers, and golden or brown eyes.
Nitsuni young are independent from the age of 8, when they develop the ability to fly. After this, they spend much of their time in a group of 3 to 5 other individuals of a similar age, chosen to work well together by the leaders of the community. The group, or 'Pactaal' will often stay together for most of their lives, a lengthy 900 years on average. The members of a pactaal treat each other like family, and work incredibly efficiently together. Nitsuniel communicate through speech and very subtle body language that is almost undetectable to other races. A strong pactaal group can coordinate so well that members often do not need to speak, which is often mistaken for telepathy.
Due to the delicate way that Nitsuniel communicate, they are often perceived as being lacking in emotion. This would be an accurate perception. Nitsuniel do not openly express emotion to anyone other than their pactaal, as it is considered impolite. Conversations between Nitsuniel are often quiet, measured, and steady, and other species are often seen as uncouth and vulgar. This has caused the Nitsuniel to isolate themselves from places other species would aim to colonise. The solitude and a lack of trees (to give room for flight) attracts them to mountainous areas.
Most Nitsuniel live in open-walled dwellings made from the rock of the mountains, and often suffer from claustrophobia if forced to be indoors. They do not fear bad weather, and their feathers and the design of their clothing allows them to withstand the cold mountain air despite their slight bodies. Nitsuniel are almost entirely vegetarian. Though they can eat meat, they believe the hunting or breeding of animals to be a waste of energy and resources, and prefer to cultivate various alpine flora. Though the Nitsuniel are a highly passive and peaceful people, if pushed into a dispute by the invasion of their lands by other species, they will defend themselves stoically with various aerial and long-range weaponry and a very well coordinated attack by many pactaal groups.
~ Megan
