Zíno

Zíno is the living mystical force of the wild. It is both harmful and nurturing.

 It manifests through fierce beasts, fueling their strength in attack and defense. 

 It flows through the Nimari’s Vether, when they channel their wild mystic and answer the land. 

 In winter, zíno is reflected in black onyx snow and ice, symbols of its cold, deadly humility and quiet power. 

 Divine beings and their beast forms also embody zíno’s influence, often in its purest, most overwhelming state. 

 Rare kin are born with a deep inner connection to zíno; they display unusual mystic traits or sensitivities that set them apart.

Zíno is a living, breathing presence, never neutral. It can protect, nourish, and heal—but it can also crush, freeze, or drive creatures into frenzy when roused.

Zíno is present everywhere, but it is not equally strong in all places. It is strongest in the wilds of Línasha Island. There it runs close to the surface of the world. 

In forests, mountains, and remote places the zíno appears through:

Unusual beast behavior, spirits and echoes, sudden storms, tremors, or strange natural signs.

In burgs and castles the zíno is felt:

Faint tremors, unnatural stillness or wind that seems to whisper, shared moods that fall over whole streets without clear cause, and through the land’s endurance in winter (how harsh the cold or long the ice holds).

Kin who live near the wilds often develop a natural sensitivity to zíno:

They may sense when beasts are restless, when storms are “wrong,” and when the land itself feels watchful or wounded.

The land is not passive. Through zíno, it presses back on everyone who lives upon it.