"Wait. Welcome to Keuma? That's stupid, why would I be welcoming you to the world-- unless you're an infant? A newly-hatched phen? Oooh, or are you from another world? No, that one's silly, of course you're from Keuma-- fourth planet from the twin suns of Florun and Krios, home to magic, manticores, and more beasts and monsters than you can shake a stick at.
Me? My name's Samus, alchemist extraordinaire and the only person in Metenchos certified to sell wild phenisthai. Or, if you don't want to deal with that, I can happily point you towards any of our fine breeders! Now, if you're looking to adopt...
Wait. You don't know what a phen is? Well, I guess they're not that common outside of our little piece of the continent, so let's start from square one."
Phen (for individuals) or phenisthai (for multiples/the species as a whole) are, simply put, hybrids of dragons and phoenixes. You won't find a dragon or phoenix in the wild any more, but it's widely believed that alchemical work some 11,000 years ago led to the creation of these beings... which then escaped into the wild and bred faster than rabbits. It was only in the last two thousand years that alchemists figured out how to properly tame these creatures, and only the last few centuries that breeding these creatures for common use has become widespread.
Averages (note: applies to full-grown adults):
Height: Females-- 7-8ft at the shoulder. Males: 6-7ft at the shoulder.
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Length: Females: 14-17 feet from the tip of nose to the end of the tail. (Body from nose to tail base averages about 9 feet with neck in a relaxed state; shoulder to hindquarters is about 8 1/2 1/2 feet.) Males: 17-20 feet from tip of nose to end of tail. (Body from nose to tail base averages about 15 feet with neck in a relaxed state; shoulder to hindquarters is about 14 feet.)
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Weight: Females: 500-600 pounds. Males: 400-500 pounds.
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Wingspan:
Webbed wings, membrane fully stretched: 30 feet long, 15 feet wide. Overall wing shape is most similar to terns, albatrosses, and other slow-flight, soaring birds. Fully web-winged individuals are best suited for long periods of gliding, they are not especially suited for aerial stunts like rolling, quick changes of direction, high speeds etc. They are great at dives though, have excellent endurance, and tend to weigh more than other variants. Ground takeoff is difficult for them, most have to jump from a high perch or have a long space to build up speed for launch.
Feathered wings, fully spread: 25 feet long, 23 feet wide. Wing shape most resembles that found in crows and ravens. Fully feather-winged individuals lack endurance, but make up for it in manuverability. They can change direction quickly, build up speed and perform stunts such as rolls. Ill-suited for diving (or for that matter, pulling out of dives) or long-term flight, especially with heavy loads. Tend to be lighter than other variants, and are good at ground takeoff.
Combination feather & webbing: 20 feet long, 15 feet wide. Overall wing shape is most similar to that found in owls, and fall somewhere in between the other two. While most of the feathers are concentrated on the leading edge, the membrane is actually covered with velvety down that absorbs sound. This, combined with fringed edges on the larger feathers, allow the combination wing a feature that is not found in either webbed or fully feathered wings-- near silent flight. They can take off fairly well whether they're on the ground or jumping from a perch, and have moderate endurance. Not great for stunts and speed, nor are they especially suited for long-distance flights, but they are great for anything that requires stealth, or just... an average ride.
In all types, flight is aided by two large, lung-like sacs of hydrogen just under the stomach that significantly lighten the body. Hydrogen is produced by bacteria in the gut.
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Age: Effectively immortal-- like phoenixes, most individuals will be hatched from an egg, grow up, age, then burst into flame, re-emerging as a hatchling. The time between hatching/rebirth and 'death' is usually somewhere between 40-50 years. However, they can most certainly be killed due to illness or injury.
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Temperament, abilities and intelligence: Wild individuals are... well, wild. Highly territorial and aggressive, they only come together to breed. Eggs are usually left wherever the female lays them (average clutch is about 10 eggs, but eight out of every ten are squashed, eaten, duds, or freeze to death), hatchlings are capable of fending for themselves at birth. If two individuals meet at any other time, a fight to the death is often the only result. They are omnivorous, eating anything they can to support the massive amount of energy required for flame and flight. They are quite smart though, with excellent memories and problem-solving capabilities.
However, they can be tamed. This is a rare occurrence, as viable eggs are extremely difficult to come by, but over the centuries enough have been found to produce a breeding stock. Through training and selective breeding, tame adults are far more social and tolerant of each other's presence, especially if they've been raised around others of their kind. Bred adults aren't quite as smart as their wild cousins. They're about the level of your average dog, capable of learning a wide number of commands, but this takes years of training; and you can't really expect them to think for themselves.
Creatures raised from wild eggs, though, are excellent learners... but training them takes far longer than it does with those who have been bred. They are fiercely proud, and while their tempers can be curbed, it's far from unusual to hear of one killing their handler.
Phenisthai are capable of breathing fire, and some-- usually the more garishly colored-- have a venemous bite. Their teeth are mostly very sharp canines, though they have a total of 12 molars around the back of their mouths for grinding plants or cracking nuts and shells. Some phen are capable of using magic, usually of an 'elemental' sort (i.e. can create more intense flames, can also create ice or shift the earth, that kind of thing); though a very rare few are able to go beyond that. Magic is not a trait that can be bred for or predicted in any way-- it is completely random.
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Variants and coloration: There is only one major subspecies of phen, the so-called 'Miniphen'. They are never any bigger than a deerhound, and tend to have a chubbier look in proportion to their larger cousins. Miniphens are usually kept as pets, property guards, or used in beauty/agility contests. They tend to have more wild markings and colors than the larger phens, are flightless, and unable to go through rebirth. Lifespan is usually about 30 years.
Phenisthai coloration is more or less limitless-- feathers and scales alike can be any color of the rainbow, and centuries of breeding have allowed for a number of fantastic markings-- anything from mimicking the spots and stripes found on various types of big cats, swirls, coloration/patterns similar to various birds, pretty much anything. However, depending on the capacity they are used for, certain traits may have been specifically bred out of them-- for example, phenisthai mounts used in the military are often very drab, with only a few hints of color around the eyes, snout, wingtips and toes representing their position (land mounts *brilliant, irridescent green*, air force *sky blue and silver* or transport *silver, gold, bronze or copper*). The only exception to these military mounts are the stealth mounts, who are bred to be shades of black and gray.
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Taming
If a viable egg is found in the wild, a person seeking to control the baby phen must draw a binding rune upon the shell with a mixture of melted iron (to make the creature submissive), diamond dust (diamond is thought to represent ice, and thus cool the creature's temper and flame), and their own blood (so the creature will believe itself to be of the human's own blood, and see it as a parent). After hatching, the baby phen is immediately fitted with an iron collar which contains shards of its egg, a few scales and/or feathers, and hair from its master, to further bind it to that one person. The collar must be re-made as the phen grows, and even once it reaches full-size, a new one should be made every two or three years or else the bond will grow weak, and the phen can break out.
This bond also has an effect on the human-- so long as they keep it strong, they may find themselves able to use magic similar to what their phen can (if the phen is magical), and both beings have their lives tied together-- sickness or injury in the human will weaken the phen and vice-versa, and death in one results in the immediate death of the other (this does not apply for a phen undergoing rebirth-- instead, the human will simply grow extremely weak, or even comatose, for several days until the phen has been reborn).
Well, that's easy enough! Right now, we've only got one active breeder, Calix, but hopefully we'll be able to get more soon. Anyway, just check the second post for 'Open Adoptions'! Click the link to be sent to the post with that phen and their adoption requirements-- mostly, it'll be your standard adoption forms, giving the phen a personality and such; but that won't always be the case. Sometimes it'll just be a payment, just a 'best name' thing, or something else.
That should be all! Keep checking back for more info on the setting for these creatures, and when there's actually some to adopt!
Phenisthai adopts are a joint effort between Calix and Commander Shepard.
