The Yteyra (pronounced ye-tare-uh) are a race of people who descended from a common ancestor with unicorns. Yteyra are two-legged upright humanoids whose legs resemble a centaur's or a horse's, ending in hooves. Yteyra have manes and tails as well as a unicorn-esque horn from the center of their foreheads. Commonly meadow-dwelling, this peaceful, matriarchal culture tends towards healing, creating, and living in harmony with nature.
Shards of Orn verison 4.0 Information
| Costuming | Yteyra | Yteyra must wear a horn on their forehead. Manes and tails are optional. |
| Passive Effect | Shared Curatives |
You also benefit whenever you use a curative effect other than “Share” on another character (“Cleanse”, “Cure”, “Heal”, “Recover”, “Release”, “Renew”, “Repair”, or “Rouse”). |
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Combat Effect
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Magic, Cleanse 1 |
You trigger a Magic ability by speaking an incantation. Incantations must be at least nine syllables in length, distinguishable from normal speech, and related to the nature of the effect. The ability cannot be interrupted unless you are Subdued. If you are “Muted”, you cannot use the ability. Once the ability is triggered, you deliver the effect by throwing a packet at the intended target. If the effect is beneficial, you may also deliver the effect through touch or have it affect yourself. The target of “Cleanse” may choose to benefit from one of the following effects: “Cure”, “Heal 1”, “Recover”, “Release”, “Renew”, or “Rouse”. “Cleanse” may not be used to Counter. This is an exception to the rule that abilities with the same effect can be used to Counter each other. |
| Narrative Effect | Commune Nature |
You are able to speak to animals and plants. |
Yteyra costuming will require a horn on the player's forehead. Manes and tails are optional, though certainly welcome.
Suggested Yteyra costuming would be loose-fitting to allow running and jumping. Horns should remain uncovered to allow for healing and purifying.
Yteyra are caretakers of the land and its creatures. Reverent of all life, particularly that of unicorns whom they share a deep spiritual bond with, Yteyra value freedom for all. Unable to see another creature in pain, they feel a deep need to heal and keep their environments natural.
Groups of Yteyra are called 'herds' and are headed by the herd's oldest female. Committed to not impacting their environments negatively in any way, Yteyra live in large tents formed into a circle around a central meeting space which usually includes a fire in the wintertime. Herds usually have no more than fifty to keep the group from placing too much strain on their environment, and though Yteyra are loyal to their herds, there is little animosity between other herds, due to the race's peaceful nature. When breaking off into new herds, a female is chosen to lead and then those wishing to follow, usually her mate and family members, join. The herd grows as it travels both through reproduction and through large herds splintering to join the new.
Yteyra live about three centuries, becoming an adult by fifty years. Elders are Yteyra over 200 who remain with a herd to help teach children, pass on wisdom, and offer guidance. Though some Yteyra have been known to leave their herds to explore the world, these are rarities. In the rare case when Yteyra are without their own kind, they often form a sort of herd of friends and found-family to which they are unfailingly loyal.
Peaceful by nature, Yteyra only fight to defend others and often run rather than engaging in battle. They are healers by instinct and some Yteyra are physically incapable of being in the same area as an uninjured being without going to assist it.
The Yteyra have a variety of myths about their origins, all taken as truth. One supposes that their people are descended from beings made of starlight who fell in love with the world and wished to care for it. Another suggests that they are beings of moonlight and sea foam which had life breathed into them by the Ageless Ones. All agree that they and unicorns were created from the same matter and merely formed into different shapes.
Yteyra have been recorded in history as far back as written history has existed in Orn. Because of their tendency to remain with their own kind, mentions are rare and often mythologized to the point of untruth. Some texts speculated that unicorns and Yteyra were the same creature, able to shift their forms, but this is untrue. The magical properties of their horns have also been greatly exaggerated as infinite sources of purification and healing, though the abilities are limited to the strength and energy of the Yteyra themself.
Because of their greatly exaggerated powers, some Yteyra have been hunted and the population is significantly less than it was only a few ages ago. Their burial sites are secret because grave robbery was so common in search of the precious horns with healing magics.
Two familiar figures in Yteyra history are Aalia the Black and Leila Unbounded.
Aalia the Black lived in the time of the Shattering and was responsible for finding and helping to re-form herds in the chaotic aftermath. She led her herd through Upper Metsar to a meadow which is returned to to this day. She was rare among Yteyra to be solid black in color but for her horn. Legends say her black color tricked the stars into thinking she was the sky, and so they led her, and those she led, home.
Leila Unbounded was the greatest healer known to the Yteyra. She is revered among the Yteyra as one of the best of their kind, sacrificing her life to cure a plague which decimated the population of nearby Huelvor. One of the highest honors a Yteyra can receive is the addition of 'Unbounded' to their name in honor of this figure.
Aalia's bloodline can be traced to modern-day Yteyra in Dmanisi and being one of her line is a point of pride. Leila produced a singular child who became somewhat of a wanderer. Some Yteyra claim to be of Leila's line but none have yet proven it.
Yteyra have been found on nearly every shard and though their coloring may differ, their essential nature remains the same.
Herds are groups of Yteyra with up to fifty members, headed by the eldest female called 'Dam'. Not particularly title-driven, Yteyra often refer to the Dam by name or as 'Granddam', another way of saying 'grandmother'.
There are very rarely gatherings of multiple herds, but when one occurs, the Dams meet in a group and make decisions through discussion and voting. All Yteyra of age are allowed to offer opinions on herd matters, though Dams have the final say.
Yteyra are peaceful, herd-dwelling vegetarians. Socialization is usually done during grazing time, which can take up large portions of the Yteyra day, especially in the summer. The culture is primarily oral, made up of songs and stories shared from elders to the herd.Their laws are unwritten, instead passed down orally from parent to child. Though the laws are used in decision-making, the Yteyra way is the way of least harm. If breaking a law would cause less harm than enforcing it, an exception may be made. One of the only laws which is universal across all Yteyra is the law to keep their true healing powers unspoken. Healing is to be done subtly and questions asked about technique are answered in a way which best preserves the privacy of the Yteyra nature. In rare cases, trusted friends or adopted herd-mates of other races may be told but only once they too are sworn to secrecy.
Yteyra mate for life, though the gender and number of mates differs. Some Yteyra live as groups of three mates rather than two. Some have two males or two females. The loss of a lifemate is cause to go into a year of mourning. Some Yteyra choose to spend this away from the herd, but the most common way is to spend that time with the elders of the herd, living with them and caring for them.
Yteyra are mildly telepathic, but only with other Yteyra. With non-Yteyra, they can be deeply perceptive, but it is nothing compared with their inter-race communication abilities.
When interacting with non-Yteyra, it is customary to not speak of Yteyra ways. In the same vein, non-Yteyra are not brought back to where a herd is living. After years of being hunted, the race is wary of giving information about themselves for fear it will spread.
It is customary for Yteyra names to contain double vowels.
Yteyra stick to their own kind mostly. They do not have animosity towards any race, though they avoid goblins and undead when they can, seeing them as unnatural.
Yteyra are seen as secretive, rightly so, because of their tendency to stick to their own kind and lack of forthcomingness about their race. Some Yteyra are seen as prissy or stuck-up because of their tendency to avoid messiness of any kind, be it disharmony, bloodshed or violence, cruelty, or in some cases, literal untidiness. Others of their race have found their need for peace and order an asset in negotiating or offering advice.
The Yteyra acknowledge and may show devotion to Istensia and/or Antasia and her successor, Loreyza. They loath Eterjeril and Dhuroscht and their followers. Defending themselves or others against followers of these immortals is some of the only time Yteyra will battle or otherwise commit acts of violence.
Other Immortals may be acknowledged by individual Yteyra, but these are personal decisions rather than racial preferences.
Yteyra may become adventurers for a variety of reasons including leaving when a herd split off, a wanderlust which is not uncommon among newly mature Yteyra, or a drive to make Orn a better place.
Yteyra are most often healers, though some may choose to become mages. Rogue Yteyra are rare due to their tendency towards nonviolence, but their familiarity with nature may make them excellent lookouts. Yteyra who choose to become warriors are usually exiled from their herd; choosing a life of violence is not the Yteyra way.
Close friends, family, and mates or lovers may touch horns with one another to communicate affection.
All you need is the wind in your mane, the ground beneath your hooves, and your herd around you. A saying common when speaking of what one needs in life.
A path where violence travels will only lead to death. A warning to heed a nonviolent path. Can be abbreviated to 'a path where violence travels..."
Wisdom comes not from shouting but from listening. A reminder, especially to young Yteyra, to listen and seek understanding.
Yteyra also used as a descriptor. For example, a healer refusing to help someone would not be Yteyra, whereas a kindness showed to a stranger would be a Yteyra thing to do.
Akmoori like excommunication. A warrior Yteyra would be akmoori, for example, because they have abandoned the core beliefs of the race: above all, do no harm. Once akmoori, Yteyra are no longer welcome among the herd. If other herds hear of an akmoori, they too will ostracize that Yteyra. To be akmoori is to be herdless, cut off from your people in all ways.