Guenitha
The Guenitha are draconic and mammal-like (they are warm blooded, have fur,
a four-chambered heart, live young, and that's about where the similarities
end as they don't produce milk or anything of the kind). They control most
of the northern reaches of Tae-Kahn, including the polar region to some extent.
They live in rather large groups (I've been referring to them as clans),
which are generally ruled jointly by the oldest members of the clan. The
Guenitha preach a peaceful and non-violent society (at least among themselves).
They are also highly prone to the "mind gift," which varies from
simple empathy to mind reading and seer abilities.
Though there are a few dialects between, they all speak roughly the same
language and share the same writing system.
Guenitha have a fairly long neck that is generally held in an "S" curve
with the head held at the slight downward angle. They have a fairly defined
stop and a rather equine head. Their ears are large and sensitive and their
noses as well have fair sensitivity to scents. Unlike equines, however, the
Guenitha are obnivorous, some leaning more heavily on meat, others more on
vegitable, but it varies between Clans. They have large eyes and good sized
brains for their size and are fairly intelligent. They don't have much in
the way of technology (yet), but they haven't really seen much use in it
due to their physical prowess. The standard Guenitha stands between 11' and
13' at the shoulder rarely dropping to 10' or jumping to 14'. A Guenitha
hitting 15' is nearly unheard of, but there have been a handful.
They have a mane that generally runs from about the middle of the forehead
to the "whithers" or, rather, the point in which the shoulder muscles
begin. In some cases (such as Lantair's) the mane will run all the way to
the end of the tail, but this is a recessive trait and doesn't show up often.
Their bodies are rather short compared to their long limbs, but the chest
is deep and they are perfectly capable of outdistancing Earth's horse on
the ground. I'm uncertain what their top speed is exactly, but it's over
45 mph on the ground. Their preffered locomotion is flight, which would explain
the large wings. They have sufficient strength in their hindquarters to launch
themselves a fair distance into the air, enough to get several wing beats
down and their mass airborn. They preffer to glide, but will make use of
their muscle in a more active manner if needed. They aren't terribly agile,
but can still pull off some amazing feats when in top condition. Each wing
is more than the length of a guenitha's body, nearly double, and works off
of a single-shoulder design.
Moving on to culture-related items, we hit jewelry. It is rather
rare, and not necessarily exceptionally well crafted save for by the few
clans who've monopolized the "Zaub gift," which is highly recessive
amung the Guenitha.
Permanent structures are rather rare in Guenitha culture save for a few of
the older, well-established Clans that construct a permanent building to
house the Hall of Elders, which is generally located at the heart of the
Clan's territory and is where the Clan's Elders make their descisions and
generally sleep. In most cases Guenitha generally house themselves in caves
or in crude tent or leanto-style structures. They're rather physically resistant
to the cold weather in winter so generally buildings aren't even needed.
The Hall of Elders is erected more to consecrate the sacredness of the place
rather than to simply make life more comfortable.
The telepathic capabilities of the Guenitha are the strongest out of the
three sentients. Although it isn't insanely common, it doesn't take much
to find a Guenitha that has the ability to read minds. Stronger individuals,
those able to touch minds at a distance, or see things far away are rarer.
Even more rare are those who are actually capable of tinkering with emotions
and memories, not just touching thoughts, but the memories of past events
in an individual's life even if he or she doesn't remember the event. These
are greatly respected and slightly feared. They have a lot of power in Guenitha
society.