Aignaoithe

I have obtained this information from a combination of reference materials and the personal experiences of Fiachra Mac Aignaoithe. We primarily wrote this article for fun, so it may not be entirely appropriate for citations, but it may be interesting in that it includes the perspective of a shapeshifter who has been both human and dragon.  

Biology

Anatomy

An aignaoi's skeleton differs from a human's or a bird's in that aignaoithe have six limbs. Scientifically speaking, they supposedly evolved from six-limbed dinosaurs, which are believed to have been similarly feathered, but obviously the fossil record doesn't give us much to go on, and the other six-limbed creatures that survived the ancient mass extinction event are very different from aignaoithe: the bug-lizards of the northern Ruins, the lesser dragons (Fiachra would like to make it clear that all the aignaoithe hate that name, but I'll defend my human kin--it is genuinely what they look like!) of northern Morion. Lesser dragons probably resemble the aignaoithe the most (ha), but are basically comparable to parrots (or human toddlers) in intelligence, have very different feather patterns, and don't breathe fire. They're also much smaller (most species of lesser dragons are about cat-size, whereas most aignaoithe are several feet taller than most humans), though we have fossil records of six-limbed dinosaurs that were much bigger than the aignaoithe.   To provide a more direct description: an aignaoi's two sets of legs end in three claws, while the wings resemble a great bird's. A long tail assists significantly in balance. The whole body is covered in multiple layers of feathers, including both down feathers for warmth and brightly-colored flight feathers. The feathers visible from the top of the body are usually white, gray, or mossy green, while the underside feathers can be red, orange, yellow, emerald, blue, violet, black, or some combination thereof.  

Reproduction

Have you ever seen a shapeshifter give you a singularly disturbed look?   Fiachra's reaction aside, aignaoithe lay eggs, though they're fertilized internally. It takes approximately a year and a half for the egg to hatch once fertilized. That's all he'd like me to say.  

Growth Rate and Stages

Upon hatching, aignaoithe are about a foot tall and covered in down feathers, with disproportionately large wings. They are called hatcheens (akin to Crathlian baby) until they can fly, which occurs between ages 10 to 15 as they grow their flight feathers.   Flighteens (akin to Crathlian toddler) also begin to come into their telepathic abilities, communicating their desires to parents and caregivers.   Aignaoithe reach full size between the ages of 60 and 75. They are not considered adults until age 100.   The ratio between human aging and dragon aging is approximately 1:5--in other words, a 15-year-old human is at about the same stage in life as a 60-year-old aignaoi.   Healthy aignaoithe have been known to live between 400 and 500 years, some even surpassing 500 by a decade or two.  

Power Carriers

Power carrier concentration has an even greater impact on aignaoi physicality than it has on that of humans. Most obviously, it gives them their primary method of communication: telepathy, which allows them to flit freely between the surface-level thoughts of sapient creatures (other aignaoithe, humans, and naered) that they're near to and can see. They can also "speak" in the mind, essentially bypassing spoken human languages, which they can nevertheless pick up by spending enough time listening to the thoughts of humans that speak a particular language.  

Ordinary Aignaoithe and Fire-Breath

Katherine Desfade Weatherby has published pioneering research that shows that non-shapeshifting aignaoithe have power carrier concentrations between 500-1000. Unlike human power carrier concentrations for the most part, there appears to be high variance in the power carrier concentrations of siblings, and between parents and children, which explains to some degree the randomness of shapeshifter birth.   It has long been suspected that aignaoi fire-breath is a manifestation alongside aignaoi telepathy of their high power carrier concentrations, but Lady Weatherby's research confirms this, as well as confirming that shapeshifters actually have lower power carrier concentrations than most aignaoithe, which is not something anyone expected. She argues that power carrier concentrations over 500 aren't manipulatable, except via telepathy and fire-breath, which she argues is as common as it is because the aignaoithe often need warmth in their native environment, and their bodies respond in a surge that they eventually learn to control. Fiachra says this aligns with his experience as a shapeshifter, though he's not sure why they wouldn't also surge with healing when they need it.  

Shapeshifters

Approximately 10% of aignaoithe are born shapeshifters, and Lady Weatherby's studies show that they seem to have power carrier concentrations of 400-500. They have the ability to shift into human form, with a consistent "default" human body that they can change with exterted effort. They generally come into their abilities between the ages of 60 and 75. Due to shapeshifters' role as the primary warriors, their life expectancy is generally around 150-200 years. According to Fiachra, they also tend to be smaller than average.   In the days when Everdon Academy was more of a school of science, scientists at Everdon conducted studies on what the shifting process actually looks like from an anatomical perspective, which is especially strange given the difference in the number of limbs. Unfortunately that's far outside mine and Fiachra's level of expertise, given I'm a historian-princess and he's a warrior-poet, so you'll have to be content with my general nudge in the direction of that sort of research.

Culture

In most circumstances, I would likely think it silly to summarize an entire species's culture. However, given that there are only about 4,000 aignaoithe living at the moment, I think it would be redundant to give them a separate article for the one currently existing ethnicity. The extinct Mainland Aignaoithe might be worth reading about though, if you're interested.  

Geographic Distribution

All aignaoithe live on Inis Baile Mor (which translates to "Great Island Home"), with the exception of certain shapeshifters, who live throughout the world as ambassadors and on military bases in the Lumen Empire, the Kingdom of Crathlia, and other friendly locations throughout the world.  

Language

Excepting shapeshifters, aignaoithe do not have a spoken language. Their ancient written language used pictograms, and this is the original language of the Sacred Writings of the Cavern. In modern times, the pictograms have evolved into word characters most comparable to the Mikarese written language, which has been influnced by both naered and Mikarese humans, though of course the aignaoi version developed separately.  

Naming

Aignaoithe are named after hatching. Their names are telepathic, focusing on visual imagery for the most part, though other senses can be included as well. Informal names (which are only used in telepathic communication and not written) essentially refer to what the aignaoi looks like and thus change throughout their lives as they age. More formal proper names (which are written) refer to images and sensations that the parents associated with the child. These can also change over a lifetime, though that's rarer.  

Diet