Magnari

Early Magnari development is fairly rapid. They hatch from lightly speckled eggs, usually cream or brown in color. The chicks take 7-8 weeks to fully develop inside their eggs, and the hatchlings are born almost completely naked (and pink)! Fresh hatchlings are about as helpless as human children, but they grow quickly. Magnari use a small egg-tooth on the tip of their beak to break free of their eggs, though Magnari chicks often require the assistance of an adult to fully free themselves from the egg. Magnari parents usually have only 1-2 eggs per clutch.   By one week of age a Magnari chick will have developed a thick layer of white, puffy down that covers them from head to toe. Before this they are unable to regulate their own body temperature, and must be kept close to the body of an adult, or kept in a warm incubated nest. During the first two weeks the chicks must be fed a ground up version of their adult diet. Most parents use a mortar and pestle to grind food for their chicks as the idea of chewing it for their offspring turns the stomach of many modern Magnari. In recent years, however, there has been a slow return to the chewing of food for chicks instead of grinding it, as it has been proven that chicks recieve important antibodies from their parents' saliva. Chicks fed chewed food instead of ground get sick less and are more likely to survive to adulthood. In closed circles parents may even feed their offspring crop milk from Griffid donaters. Chicks fed this way have a high survival rate and seem to develop faster as well.   After two weeks of age Magnari chicks can begin to eat solid food, and the process of weaning can begin. By the two month mark most Magnari chicks have begun to develop their first fledgling feathers. By this point they can also sit up and scoot around. Walking, however, is usually not attempted until about five to six months of age. It takes time for Magnari to develop coordination of their limbs. As a result, running before a proper walk is quite common. Magnari parents commonly find they have to pad all the sharp corners of their homes, less they risk injury to their offspring.

Magnari chicks require adequate stimulation in order for their brains to properly develop. Various puzzle-toys should be provided, and they should be touched, spoken to, and incorporated into daily-life as often as possible. Unfortunately, many Magnari do not get the stimulation required during their early years, and are slower to reach their developmental goals later in life. A lack of proper enrichment can also cause emotional and mental stunting.

Once Magnari chicks reach five years of age their physical development slows. They are no longer considered chicks, but juveniles. By now they are about half the height of the adults around them. Chicks will have also gone through multiple fledgling molts during this time period. Fledgling feathers are always dull brown or grey in color, with almost no hint of their adult colors or pattern. Chicks slow to meet their developmental goals will often have patches of baby fluff. From here their development follows a rate similar to human development, slowing immensely.

Magnari are considered young adults by age sixteen, when they finally develop their first set of adult feathers. This molt is usually celebrated by their peers. Magnari hormones also begin to shift, which is what triggers their first adult molt. Many young juveniles become roudy and boisterous, and can become quite the challenge for adults to reign in. Magnari are physically capable of parenting children, but doing so before a Magnari reaches age twenty is highly frowned upon. As such the Magnari have developed many methods of contraception, because telling a hormone-riddled teenage Magnari "no" almost never works. Spring is the worst time for hormones in any sexually-mature Magnari.

Once a Magnari reaches eighteen years of age they are considered an adult by society, as well as biologically. They may or may not continue growing for another few years. Their mental development continues for many years, but by age twenty most Magnari are considered mature enough to make their own life-decisions.

Though the Magnari have claimed Molbrun as their racial home it is not their species' point of origin. Ancient tribes of Magnari once roamed the far norths of Eld, migrating south when ancient glaciers released their grip on the land. Since then, however, the Magnari have lost their adaptations for the cold climates of the north, and have instead adapted to the dry savannahs of Molbrun. Due to their bare legs modern Magnari do not do well in the cold. They do best in warm environments, wet or dry, and prefer mild seasonal change to extreme. As such, most Magnari have adjusted quite well to the warmer climate of Sailara.

Magnari are opportunistic omnivores with a diet balance of approximately 50% meat and 50% vegetable matter. They supplement their diet with other edible matter occasionally, including eggs and nuts. Fish makes up a very small portion of Magnari diets, as many seem to have an instinctive aversion to fish and other water-dwelling creatures. Magnari can go for months without eating meat, however they will become malnourished if they recieve no red-meat protein after approximately six months. This decline in health is slow, painful, and considered shameful by Magnari society.

Magnari are highly sensitive to the change of seasons. During the spring a Magnari's reproductive drive shifts into high gear. This leads to irritableness and impatience along with the usual symptoms of reproductive hormones. Fortunately this time period, along with Magnari fertility, is short-lived. By the time summer rolls around the influx of hormones begins to die down, and life can go back to the usual expectations between individuals. Most Magnari are able to control their instinctive drives, but there are those that choose not to. There are special establishments that cater to the needs of those that do not wish to ignore the springtime hormones.

The Magnari like to adorn themselves in colorful garments and jewelry. The more expensive the better. The brighter the colors of a Magnari the more beautiful they are seen as. The same goes for the complexity of their feather arrangements. Beaks should be smooth and unblemshed, and the scales on their legs should be smooth and unfettered with scars or deformities.

Magnari society is extremely classist and is divided into four main sections of society. Their settlements often reflect this with multiple layers of construction and districts in which the different societal classes are restricted to. There are the Spellweavers, the Rich Elite, the Merchants and the Craftsmen, and the Slums. These main circles of society are often sub-divided based on finances, popularity, and many other factors. The slums are reserved for Magnari individuals that are in debt and are not supported by family or friends. There is some movement between the various sections of Magnari settlements, but you would never find a citizen of the slums in the higher circles of Magnari society. It simply isn't done, and if discovered the individuals would be chased away, possibly even beaten.

The middle ranked class of the merchants and craftsmen is by far the largest. In modern day society the numbers of the riche elite are shrinking. Before the blight the rich elite would often own tribes of Shimori people, and would use them to produce the raw materials that they would then sell to the craftsmen. There are no more Shimori tribes for the Magnari to own though, and so the rich elite must find other ways to make their coin if they wish to survive.

The population of the Magnari slums has also begun to decrease in recent years, as the shunned outcasts of Magnari society are beginning to realize life among their Griffid cousins is often far better than trying to find a place among their fellow Magnari.   --   Among the craftsmen of Magnari it is common for products to look good but degrade quickly. This encourages the purchase of new goods, which has produced a very consumerist society. However, since integrating with Griffid society this practice has begun to shift. Griffid traders won’t buy goods from merchants whose products have a reputation of falling apart quickly, so merchants with product longevity are finding a strong foothold in the valley.

Before the blight the Magnari used the Shimori extensively as a slave race. When they fled south to Sailara the Magnari abandoned the Shimorí and left them to survive on their own. This relationship was established hundreds of years ago when the Magnari first presented themselves to the nomadic Shimorí. The Shimori were unfamiliar with magic, and so it was easy for the Magnari to pose as malevolent but forgiving gods. Dissenters among the Shimori people often met their end in “tragic accidents”, while the faithful were rewarded with wealth and power beyond their wildest dreams. As a superstitious people this made it easy for the Magnari to control the Shimori.   The Shimorí tended to the Magnari’s fields, hauling plows and growing produce and livestock for each monthly quota. Generations of this have led to modern Magnari feeling disdainful of “digging in the dirt” and other tasks that require hard manual labor. They were quick to convince the Griffids to work the tasks that once belonged to the Shimorí. Of course, the Magnari now have to pay their fieldworkers, an arrangement they grudgingly accepted in return for shelter from the Blight.   Some of the Magnari people that were once shunned and restricted to the slums have found a new lease on life as farmers and ranchers. It has slowly begun to create a new niche in society almost equal with the merchants and crafters.   Many Magnari are unhappy with their loss of “godhood.” Some desire to exert their power over the Griffids of Sailara, but something about Hometree’s power frightens them. They can sense its power and know it reaches far deeper than even they are willing to delve.

Most Magnari shun the idea of relationships with other species. They generally view themselves as superior, so to take a mate of a "lesser" species would be to lower themselves below even the poorest of Magnari. There are a very few individuals that are coming around to the idea, but they are definitely shunned by society as a whole if their ideals are ever revealed. In short, Magnari are very xenophobic when it comes to other-species relationships.