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Ringlings
Playable Species
The skies above were filled with ringing.
Ringlings are an ethereal species spoken of in fables. They can heal with a touch, and live high above the ground in elaborate palaces. Absent for many years, they have only recently decided to show their faces to the outside world...Anatomy
Body
Wings
Ringlings usually have wings, whether they be tufty, or actual, flight-capable wings. Regardless of the wing shape or size, all ringlings can fly through the air by simply sprinting.
All wings can have an optional swirl, it isn't required. Real wings can be of any size or shape, as long as they're feathered. They can be small, large, built for soaring, or look like owl wings, it's up to you!
Ears, Lace
Ringlings tend to have fairly sizable ears. Their look is rather unique, as all ringlings have a shaped edge to their ears, known as the "lace" for simplicity. The lace can show in different ways, from soft, to pointed, on the outer edge of one side of the ear, to both sides. The lace is one of the most notable features of the ringling-- very rarely will one be seen without it at all.
ALL ringling ears can have an optional swirl (or multiple!) accenting them, regardless of rarity.
Common through rare ringling ears have a minimum of three lace tips...
...mythical ears can have a minimum of two...
...and unusual ears can have one singular tip, resembling standard animal ears.
There is no maximum limit to how many tips an ear can have, see extreme examples such as flare or tips. (Though they can have less, or even more than depicted, the same applies to all ringling ears.)
Common Ear Rules Show
Common ears:
- Are usually large...
- ...And have a minimum of 3 lace tips.
Filament
Filaments can look like whiskers, have varying shapes, be curled or wavy, etc. They just have to have a more natural looking presentation, however they can be anywhere around or inside the ear.
Uncommon filaments can be added to any uncommon or higher ear type, or an uncommon trait can be used to add them to any common type.
Whiskers
The length of the whiskers often determines the age of a Ringling. The longer it has been around, the longer the whiskers. However, it is possible for the whiskers to be trimmed or lost in an accident.
Whiskers are a very common feature that are seen on ringlings. They are optional.
Innate whiskers can be insanely long, regardless of the ringling's age.
Social
Behavior
Relation to Other Species
For most of their history, ringlings have remained very shy and wary of other species. For some, they retain this nature-- but in recent years, ringlings are slowly beginning to open up and bond more with the other creatures of the world. Interspecies friendships are commonplace nowadays, sometimes even romantic relationships as well.Relation to Humans
Ringlings were once more common and seen as companions of humans, but they eventually faded from history as most of them took to the skies. Now in the modern age, more of them have been seen, but people still consider them myths due to their rarity. People often compare them to angels or other celestial beings due to their heavenly looks and powers. This often leads to humans treating them like/ comparing them to gods, but ringlings often seem quite baffled by their displays of admiration and wish to befriend them like normal.
Homes
Diet
Ringlings subsist off of sun, rain, and dew. Though they may consume "real" food, their usual choices for food involve plants, berries, and fruits.lIFE cYCLE, Identity, families, babies
READ ABOUT RINGLINGS' GENDER IDENTITIES, LIFE CYCLE, FAMILIES, BABIES, AND MORE HERE!
Injuries
READ ABOUT RINGLINGS' INJURIES HERE!
History
Ringlings are often gentle creatures, but tend to rarely be seen by other species. Others tend to think of them as some kind of myth, resembling benevolent angels. Their touch can purify water, and heal illness. Though most people tend to respect them, some few people intend to use their powers for evil.
As a result of their shy and secretive nature, ringlings have remained isolated in the sky for many, many years. It is uncertain exactly what pushed them to recede back into their palaces in the sky, but it has been that way for untold years, to the point where many (but not all) ringlings had never even felt the touch of earth or grass. Their society during this time could be described as "isolationist". Many of them were divided between 3 camps: Those who looked below with curiosity, those who feared this unknown, and those who stubbornly clung to their own society because it was "all they knew."
Now in the modern age, a revolution is changing everything. More and more ringlings are choosing to visit the ground and explore a world they had never known. There may be perils ahead of them, but the future looks bright for the newest generation of the ringlings.
Stats
Fun Facts
- Groupings: A group of ringlings is called a "clique"
- Plural/Singular: Ringling / ringlings
- Baby Name: Veil
- Name Origin: Named for the ringing sound that their movement produces.
- Key Features: Ear lace, leg swirls, wing tufts
General
- Natural Affinity: Air
- Languages:
- Native Name: - (Meaning: -)
- Height: 2-3 ft - cm
- Weight: - lbs - kg
Life
- Lifespan: ~100 years
- Age of Maturity:
- Native Areas: Skies (Almost any location)
Social
- Religions:
- Holidays:
- Worshiped Deities:
Sitely
Subspecies
Omen (Ringling)
With their alien frames and strange features, Omen Ringlings can come off as bizarre and uncanny to other species, and even other Ringlings. Despite this, Omen Ringlings tend to be even gentler than their plainer cousins, and are keen to protect and heal all that they come across.
#pure9
Origin and History
Omen Ringlings are a particularly new type of Ringling that only seemed to have appeared around the time of the Ringlings’ re-arrival to the planet’s surface. Their sudden arrival is seen by a sign as some, but whether it’s a good or bad one is undecided.
Some say that Omen-type Ringlings have been here all along, though only appeared as fleeting glimpses. Some say that they took the form of other species and healed others in secrecy. Whether they are truly new or finally revealing themselves to the world will likely be a mystery that will remain unsolved.
Some say that these Ringlings were the originals, and that all Ringlings followed from them, that they took a more palatable form to interact with those that dwelled below, before the species vanished to the skies once more...
Treatment in Ringling society
Omens are both respected, and feared. Some Ringlings admire them for their power and standing and seek them out to learn from them, yet others still dread their appearance as a sign of ill to come...
To other Ringlings, they have become a sign of order, but not the kind that comes nicely. They arrive to fix what has been misplaced by whatever divine means necessary, even if that means someone ends up battered and bruised. For every interaction with an Omen that is perceived as positive, there is another that leaves the recipient of their work boggled.
Even such, those stories go untold. No one would dare speak ill of messengers sent from the realm above, would they? Unless you wish to become another problem that needs correction from the many eyed, many winged overseers of Merlot, you're better off taking what you can get.
Appearance and anatomy
Omen Ringlings have a supremely otherworldly appearance. With their tapering legs and anatomical “mutations”, it’s easy to fear them.
The unique anatomy of this subtype is their tapering, pointed legs with no paws. This is required and cannot be substituted.
Down on your luck,
You wait for clouds to part,
For the heavens to send,
One who shall descend,
A healer,
Crowned with halo aglow,
Could soon swoop down,
To your world below,
When you see those myriad wings,
Flutter and swish,
You’re safe in soft paws,
In an embrace,
Where wounds do you no harm
#pure9
Harbinger (Ringling)
Harbingers are bizarre, warped Ringlings. While Omens are bizarre, they still retain some semblance of ethereal beauty. Harbingers are considered utterly grotesque and unholy. Resembling demons of myths, these Ringlings are typically detested and treated with fear and hatred.
#pure9
Origin and History
The origin of Harbingers is largely unknown, like Omens. However, in this modern age, their presence has increased, with various stories and folk tales recounting meetings with these devilish beasts.Treatment in Ringling society
In many past documents and retellings, their presence is treated as a sign of ill things to come. These old stories are held onto even in modern times, and it is said that inviting one to be near you is to invite death and misfortune.
"They trail darkness in their wake, minds swirling with an uneasy tempest. Their whispers are laced with venom, and malice seeps from their jaws. Heed not their words, for if you comply, it will mean ruin for yourself and all that you love..."
Yet others almost find some form of reverence in these monstrous Ringlings. Some Ringlings, especially the young and flighty, see them as a representation of rebellion and opposition. For those who were told by their parents or elders to never stray to the earth, the more grounded and free nature of these Ringlings provides them a sort of comfort. Though seen as outrageous in some spaces, and outright blasphemous in others, many Ringlings have adopted a form of "Harbinger-punk" attitude to their lives, and fashion clothing and accessories that resemble the parts or iconography of the Harbingers.
Appearance and anatomy
Harbinger Ringlings possess grotesque and bizarre features.
The unique anatomy of this subtype is their gnarled, pointed jaws. These are required and cannot be substituted.
The day years ago where I suffered under the reign of a particularly abrasive Harbinger still rests heavily in the back of my head. I woke up that morning and rubbed my eyes of sleep, only to discover that the smell of smoke was wafting through my window and clogging my nostrils. On a heap of burning rubble in the center of town stood a sharp-winged Ringling with a swishing forked tail, cackling as my fellow villagers rushed over buckets of water.
The fire they had started, unfortunately, was only one they could put out. For days we dreaded waking up, fearing that the devilish tyrant who seemed to stick around exclusively to torment us would take things a step further and create a serious problem. What we got, mostly, were twisted pranks. Our crops grew quicker, but sprouted into malformed shapes– some even began moving by themselves and destroying their unripe neighbors. The local well which we depended on for our drinking water turned a bright shade of red much like that of a tomato, and yet the Ringling insisted that it was safe to drink. A particularly gutsy villager confirmed that to be true, but we still warily drew our supply from that body of deceitful liquid.
On the last day that they were here, the rubble pile ceased its burning, though mini fires sprinkled around every corner took their place. It was only later that an Omen passed by with a frown and relayed to us that a message had been scorched into the ground.
I ponder it now, those words.
Trust not those with many eyes, rebellion is the real guiding light.
Stats
General
- Species: Ringling
- Associated Item: M'vashoer's Rings
Sitely
#pure9A cackle crackling like lightning,
Smirk stretched wide,
Some find them frightening,
But I find them snide,
Perhaps misunderstood,
They roam trailing mischief,
For that is their goal,
Those twisted postbeasts,
When tales begin to spread,
Just know,
In your head,
That they could flip your day around,
Or they could raise your hope abound
#pure9