| Species | Swan Folk |
| Order | Avian |
| Classification | Animal Folk |
| Primary Nation | Swan Maiden |
| Origin | Two women drank from a well of justice and Divine power and were bonded with swans forevermore |
| Lifespan | 120 years |
| Habitat | Temperate lake areas |
| Food | Mostly vegetarian |
| Description | Swan folk are unusual in that the plurality of them are women (70% female, 20% male, 10% other). They appear mostly as human women, with the same range of eye, skin, and hair color, build, and so on, but they bear a mantle of fine swan feathers. This mantle is part of their bodies, made of swanskin, and if it is removed, they start rapidly dying. They can take the form of a swan while wearing it. |
| Procreation | In human form, they reproduce as humans do. In swan form, they reproduce as swans do. In either form, twins are common. In any form, their children are swan folk. If they reproduce outside their species, the species follows the mother, though some residual powers may remain. If their mantle is stolen and they are forced by it to reproduce, their children will still be the same species as the mother, but they will have the power to create and use a swan mantle if they slay the enslaving parent. Usually, the children are abandoned by the enslaved parent, as their existence reminds them too much of their trauma. |
| Eggs and Nests | Some swan folk prefer to reproduce strictly in swan form and build nests as swans do, wide nests near water. Swans of every gender help incubate the eggs. Eggs are large and strong and contain raw lhair within. |
| Esoterica | Swan folk are beings of nzwara murazvo (bestial aether), kiiric yihi (wind aether), and lhair. They are also known to wield hegnh, conflueverant, virtue, euergasia, d'qiarsea, ma'dhahabi, ujjval aatma, waarheid, oalkhaylaoataa, banaru, ashar, iremia, ancestral memory, kakraohy, glory, liberation power, ambrosia, shavev mashkalran, poioumenon, mijjit, mansam, kor, and karma. |
| Special Powers | Swan folk are enormously strong. They glow in the noon sunlight, and if one is slain by someone without just cause, the killer will die within a year and a day. All swan folk can mesmerize with the beauty and grace of their swan forms. |
| Antecedent Animal | Swan folk have a profound connection to the swans they are derived from. They can take full swan form as long as they have their mantles. In swan form, they can communicate with common or magical swans. If they remain in swan form for a year and a day, they will not be able to return to human form, though they will retain their intelligence. In human form, they can understand swans but not communicate back. They cannot control or summon swans, and even if they could, it would be culturally taboo. |
| Feathers and Flight | Swan folk have swanskin mantles covered in swan feathers. Most are white with a little coloration, though some are solid black. Solid black swan folk are considered especially sacred in most swan folk cultures. Their feathers do not get wet in water, allowing them better movement and ability to fly from water to sky easily. If a swan person loses their mantle, they will be subject to control by the person who holds it. If they lose it and no one else holds it, they will die within a year and a day. If the mantle is destroyed, they die instantly. If the mantle is worn by someone else, the swan person has the chance to control that person and force them to return the mantle. If they fail, the person can use the mantle to take swan form, and the swan person will begin dying or being enslaved by the wearer. Those who do this are often hunted down by other swan folk ruthlessly. A feather from a swan person's mantle has residual lhair in it, and a mantle has a great deal of lhair in it. For this reason, anyone who steals a mantle will usually die for their crime. |
| Migration | Not all swan folk migrate, but those that do usually don't travel too far. |
| Vocalizations | Swan folk in swan form sound just like swans. In human form, they sound just like humans. However, in either form, before they die, they have the power to sing a song of lament and beauty. This song will invoke a curse on anyone who has unjustly harmed them. |
| Weaknesses | Infernal energies can harm them directly, especially gossamer light and quaestus. They are impervious to imperium while they have their mantles on. |
| Primary National Culture | The primary nation of swan folk are the swan maidens (whose antecedent bird is specifically the whooper swan) of Jesenranu. Swan maidens (who are not all maidens, all female, or all unmarried) originally lived in small matriarchal communities. As time went on and classes developed in nations around them, they began to be subjugated and enslaved. Eventually, some won their independence in various countries around Jesenranu. What developed is an oppressed nation that is at once denigrated and glorified. In their own communities, they usually conform to local economic and governmental structures, but they retain certain customs, such as a tendency toward gender equality and diversity, a rejection of unjust laws, and a fierce protection of their children. In any swan maiden community, some will be marshals, wielders of lhair, who use lassos made of golden thread that debilitate targets who have committed true injustices. They will also usually have a trio in the community of unwed women or non-binary swan maidens who are priestesses of the Swan Mother, to whom they are devoted. Because most swan maidens are women (whether assigned as such at birth/hatch or not), and because monogamy is favored among them, same-sex couples are frequent and respected among women in their communities. Male-male relationships are usually respected as well, but in some countries, the broader prejudices prevail. Children are raised by their parents and extended family. Their first thing they are taught is to protect their mantle at all times. They are usually raised to view property as unimportant unless necessary for life and to maintain their ideal of purity, which is to commit no injustice, which they define as unfair harm to a person or group or animal. They believe strongly in supporting those who oppose injustice as well, even going so far as to lend their mantles to the most just. Swan maidens revere ballet as an artform, and they play the game of shinty, a game similar to field hockey, recreationally among themselves. They grow golden apples in their orchards, which are considered a delicacy, and they are also known for their fine magical rings, which can only be worn by women who are devoted to supporting the weak and vulnerable in society.
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| Religion | The traditional religion of swan maidens focuses on the Swan Mother, who represents justice to them. The concept of justice is central to their culture and their faith. They rankle at injustices, especially those against communities or the vulnerable. They view modern society as generally unjust and strive as best they can within it to improve the world and defend those who cannot defend themselves. Every community has a priestess who guides them, but there is no broader structure. They tell tales of ancient heroines, share ancestral legends, and interpret their community laws as well as the laws of the countries they are in. If they view a law as unjust, they invoke their faith and ignore it. This does not always go over well outside their communities. It is vital to them to give sanctuary to any fleeing unjust persecution. Among other laws they keep, it is considered a heavy crime to harm a swan of any kind. |
| Other Nations |
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| Notable Occupations | Swan Marshal, Swan Priestess, Ballet Dancer, Shinty Player, Orchard Keeper, Ringmaker, Warrior, Shieldmaiden, Revolutionary, Arcanist, Rainbow Priestess, Southern Dancer, Trumpeter, Protector, |
| Outside View | There are many stories in nations throughout Jesenranu and around the world of swan folk who seduce men, marry them, have children, then abandon them when they get their mantles back. This is often portrayed as a fault in the swan folk in spite of the fact that it always involves enslavement of the swan folk. Many countries view swan folk as problems, since they follow their own laws above local laws, and in many places, they are kidnapped and kept as sex-slaves by the capturing of their mantles. In other places, they are revered because they offer protection to the weak. |
| Notables | Blue Wing, an Innesian Swan Maiden who served Green Sleeves; Avdotya and Marya, Swan Maidens Manifest; Etaine, High Justice; Chekanka, Ranic Swan Maiden Marshal; |
| Sample Statistics | PRO 11 ATH 10 Flight 11 STR 12 AWA 10 WIL 10 ROG 9 Powers Skills |
Topic revision: 18 Sep 2022, SallyJaneBlack
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