Eypharian Race Rewrite

[Rosela]

Jesus.

H.

Christ.

This is amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all this. You did a really great job breaking it all down so that even I can understand. The real test for whether I get it will be when I try to put it in the context of the lore, so we'll see how that next draft turns out.

Thanks again!

[Sedge]

You are very welcome. Let me know if there's anything else at all that I can help with.

[Aventis]

Alright I debated posting this but... I think I will.

Holy macaroni and cheese this is amazing Rosela is amazing Sedge is amazing Sayana is amazing the amount of effort going into this baffles me and I am so excited for the end result.

[Rosela]

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Okay! After much deliberation, I think I've got it. I ended up giving the writeup only the briefest of overviews of Sedge's work, but I'd really, really like to make an individual writeup of the Zapatl that goes in-depth on this stuff. While Eypharians would know the gist, any member of the Zapatl would need to be very versed in how to use pundit boxes, what the population spread is...all very cool stuff. I'm not sure if I can/should start that as a separate development project while this one's still ongoing though. I may wait to make sure this all gets fully approved before going in that direction.

One thing I do want to change is the population spread - 6-armed Eypharians only making up less than 1/6th of the population seems rather low to me, especially since they'll have been intensively selected for throughout the ages. Six-armed Eypharians would have pretty much been required to reproduce during their lifetime, whereas the 'less pure' 4-arms wouldn't have been as regulated. If we make A prevalence at 35% and a at 65%, the table then comes out to this:

four-armed AA	0.35 ^ 2	12%
four-armed Aa	2 * 0.65 * 0.35	46%
six-armed aa	0.65 ^ 2	42%

That way, slightly less than half of the population has 6 arms. When I made the percentages A 40%/a 60%, it came out to 66%/33% population, which still seemed too low. It's not in the writeup below, but this is something we'll need to have decided for the final draft.

I also added the Children of the Zapatl below, since it seemed logically the A and a would have existed in pre-Valt Benshira, who were just the descendants of the proto-Eyphs. To keep with the current lore on Mixed Race though, all current Benshira are At and the Children of the Zapatl died in the Valterrian. As much as I'd like to keep the option for special kids in, we're already rewriting enough without making change to that lore as well.

There's also a statistic in the below that in the early days, there was a 30% chance that an Eyph/non-Eyph would produce a 2-armed child. This is assuming A, a, and At were all present in the population that would eventually become Benshira, since that At would have to come from somewhere in order to dominate the population after the Valterrian.
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Overview
The study of genetics is called aladjunn by the Eypharians, meaning loosely ‘made of heaven and man’. The name is a testament to the origins of the field, studying the race’s own divine origins and how to maintain its gifts of many arms. It is known that the traits for every facet of Mizahar, from the largest velispar to the smallest grain of sand, is blueprinted in its djed. What is known only to the Eypharians, through centuries of dedicated study and caretaking of knowledge, is the pattern heritable traits take when being passed down through generations.

In ancient, primitive times, the general knowledge was that djed was unique to each person and was determined equally by the traits of the parents and divine will. Children were expected to have only a blend of their parents’ traits, with the prominent traits determined by divine providence in conjunction with various local superstitions. For example, a mother may subside on a diet of thistle blossoms and cow’s milk to bear a child with fair skin. A potential father may sleep on his left side to sire children blessed with uncommon strength. Notions were highly localized and were deeply embedded in the culture of the area.

Such it was in the time of Royet, Eypha, and their first child, where word spread quickly of the child’s miraculous six arms. The Araka child was indeed blessed, and so were her eventual many brothers and sisters. When those children grew and had children of their own, it sparked intense curiosity that some of the children had four, or even two arms. It was thought that the children were either blessed or cursed by their future actions, and as fervent prayers for six-armed children increased, an unspoken prejudice against 4-armed children took hold.

As the Eypharian family grew with generation upon generation of seemingly random arm numbers, common thought as to their source shifted. That every child should be individually blessed, or cursed, seemed less likely, and focus shifted more towards the parents and their divine bloodline. At the time, Eypharians were hovering between status as a community and an extended family, but it was hard not to notice that the children of multi-armed parents always had multiple arms, whereas children with one non-Eypharian parent ran a 30% chance of being born with two arms.

With this observation, the idea of a receding divine blessing was becoming an unpopular one and the investigation began as to the true source. Records of bloodlines were created and pored over. Eypharians of the time had begun an era of science, and it was with the same industrial mindset that this issue was approached. It wasn’t until a single Eypharian, Takate re Ahnatep, published his theory of aladjunn that the race had an answer.

Traits were not a mere blending of those from the parents, he found, they were the result of the combination of djed where the expression of certain traits in the parents were either less or more powerful than others and it was this that determined the child’s characteristics. While it was a single trait that separated Eypharians from others, by means of their multiple arms, it was the result of a pair of traits that determined the number of arms. Particularly, Royet had introduced divine djed that allowed for multiple arms, but it was a particular set of variations in djed that already existed in the population of pre-Eypharians that determined the number. The people of Eyktol had been blessed with this djed, Takate said, at the beginning of time, to prepare those of the desert for Royet’s coming. Without Royet’s divine djed, this pre-existing variation had had nothing to act upon and had thus only lay dormant.

In a grand display that would seal his brilliance in the eyes of his peers, Takate took one hundred couples, all including at least one six-armed Eypharian and interviewed them extensively about their family histories. Nine months later, he was able to predict with a fair amount of accuracy not only the number of arms each child would have, but several other traits such as eye color and nose shape. Though his predictions relied on chance and probabilities, the level of accuracy was beyond any other predictions that had been made to that point in Eypharian history. The theory of aladjunn became fact almost overnight.

The idea brought a wave of deep inbreeding with the next generation as well as redoubled racism against outsiders in a community that was not quite big enough to support it. In the next decade before new science and propaganda from the Pressor could put a stop to the inbreeding, mutations appeared in swaths across the community. Cleft palates, shriveled arms, and club feet in babies brought many noble houses low as it was thought that attempting to return to purer blood so artificially had brought a scourge from the gods.

Takate, whose research was by now funded by the Pressor’s house and was personally held in as high regard as nobility, proposed an alternative after several years of study and cataloguing. Eypharians were not being punished by an unspecified god, it seemed their own djed was working against them. When djed was paired with djed that was too similar, traits that were far too recessive to normally present, particularly undesirable ones, would combine with enough strength to present in the subsequent child. The inbreeding craze died mostly out, and it became highly fashionable to have Takate, or one of his understudies, vet a possible match between branches of the Eypharian family.

In the subsequent years of his life, as the Eypharian family grew exponentially into a fully-fledged community, Takate established the society of the Zapatl, an ancient word meaning heritage, to continue and expand his work.

The Zapatl
The Zapatl started as only Takate re Ahnatep and his family aiming to catalogue physical traits along bloodlines to better understand the nature of aladjunn and to warn couples of possible mutations if their bloodlines were too close. In a great hall in his home city of Ahnatep, entire volumes were kept on Eypharian families that marked prominent traits for each member. First indicated among these traits were the presence and number of multiple arms. The traits were marked in boxes with a series of letters to indicate what traits the person should have, even if they were not expressed.

The family would soon grow into a society that would later, after Takate’s death, move beyond simply cataloguing, but managing Eypharian bloodlines as well.

By the time the Eypharians were annexed into the Alahean empire, the Hall of the Zapatl had become a venerable monument to Qalaya and noble Eypharian history in the heart of Ahnatep, as well as containing locked records of every known Eypharian. Many joked it was as fortified as the Pressor’s palace. It had become required for all marriages and births to register there and submit to screening to be assured the Eypharian race did not become either too diluted or riddled with mutations.

Despite nearly institutionalized racism, pairings with non-Eypharians were occasionally required if the parent in question wished to reproduce at all, if it was determined an Eypharian’s blood was too risky to pair with another Eypharian. A class of Benshira who could miraculously have a chance at producing Eypharians, with an Eypharian parent, rose after the careful deliberation of the Zapatl, who called them the Children of the Zapatl. These men and women were descended from few two-armed Eypharian children who had escaped infanticide. They were considered Benshira and were subject to the common racism unless they managed to couple with an Eypharian, itself uncommon, and managed to produce a multi-armed child, even more of a rarity. While this ability no doubt existed rarely in the main population of Benshira, it was carefully cultivated in a class of sprisen, if they were male, and concubines, if they were female. These precious few fetched an extremely high price on the slave market and it was a harshly punished offense to mistreat one.

When the Valterrian struck, the Hall of the Zapatl was one of the only structures to remain mostly intact, though several wings caved in and hundreds of records were lost to the invading sand. Those who had been fortunate enough to have been inside huddled, as the rest of the world did, in darkness and impending starvation. When they emerged, only a few of the most resolute members of the society remained, and they were instrumental in the push to return to a pre-Valterrian hierarchy.

Now, they argued, it was more important than ever to be watchful of the divinity in the blood of the Eypharian people. With so few families left, it was vital to walk the delicate line between maintaining pure bloodlines and preventing them from becoming too pure. Pressor Kryus instituted law that gave the Kapatl authority to determine the best reproductive matches between the remaining Eypharians. For a people who were desperate to reclaim old ways, the measure was adopted with vigor into the recovering society. The next generation of children would grow up knowing their eventual matches would be determined by the Zapatl, men and women who knew their blood better than they did.

Current State of Knowledge
In the 500 years since the Valterrian, the Zapatl has lessened in power, but still exercises a great deal of it. Children are still required to be registered with the society and the penalty for failing to register a child, or for attempting to lie about one’s parentage, is either a hefty fine or imprisonment. For the wealthy, love matches are a luxury not often taken for the sake of appearances. Failing to do one’s part for the betterment of the race by engaging in a match governed instead by emotion was a sure way to lose face. For the poor, many do not bother asking for approved matches, but more than one joining ceremony has been interrupted by an unexpected Zapatl decree insisting the match would produce undesirable offspring. If an Eypharian is discovered in a far-off land, a demand will eventually make it to them, ordering their return to Ahnatep to continue the betterment of their race. The Children of the Zapatl all died in the Valterrian, and it is considered that their rare trait no longer exists in the current population of Benshira.

Most Eypharian children are taught the secrets of aladjunn as part of their schooling, to further instill the idea of Eypharian superiority as well as the loyalty to always seek to further the race as a whole. Under no circumstances is it taught to non-Eypharians, even if they were raised in an Eypharian family. The very poor, who wouldn't have had access to proper education, would only know the general concept of aladjunn from societal common knowledge.

In current day, mutations are watched for more carefully than the state of the Eypharian race’s djed pool. The below chart illustrates the different chances for offspring each type of parentage may produce. While historically, pairings between Eypharians and Benshira, such as the Children of the Zapatl, could very rarely produce multi-armed children, the djed pool of the current population of Benshira no longer contains the traits to produce multi-armed children.

	4-armed Eypharians	6-armed Eypharians
4-armed Eypharians	4-armed: 92%, 6-armed: 8%, Mutation: 5%	4-armed: 75%, 6-armed: 25%, Mutation: 15%
6-armed Eypharians	4-armed: 75%, 6-armed: 25%, Mutation: 15%	6-armed: 100%, Mutation: 25%

(I'll insert a more nicely-formatted version of the above as an image in the final draft)
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[Orin Fenix]

Whoa. I read that and couldn't not tell you how freaking incredible it was! And I'm including everyone who contributed so far. I can't wait to see this addition and what else you come up with.

[Sayana]

Rosela, I'm really loving how the Eypharian race is coming alive through this. Not only does it describe the peculiar nature of Eypharians having both a 6-armed kind and a 4-armed kind, but it also gives such deep reasoning behind the racism that they so typically display.

The other day I was having a long discussion trying to explain why Sayana doesn't want to marry a non-eypharian, and the real reason is right here. The more arms you have, the more purity you have and the better you are for the success of the society. And even though Sayana is rather tolerant of other races in terms of their existence, when it comes to creating a family of her own, it's very hard for her to break free of those societal norms.

In short, I'm happy to see how well it fits into my own character concept. (And I hope it fits well into other existing Eypharians' concepts).

[Sedge]

You've done an absolutely great job writing this up, Rosela! I think the allele frequencies you've chosen are reasonable. As you say, they've been selecting. The Zapatl development would definitely have to wait for after the race is finished. One project at a time.

[Rosela]

Thanks so much everyone! And got it, Sedge. They'll be my next project when this one is finally done! The Reproduction section is on deck now, so if anyone has any concerns about it in addition to the points I noted in the outline on the first page, let me know

[Rosela]

By way of an update, I wanted to let everyone know that I have the Reproduction and Physical Appearances sections all written save the section on Pheromones. That one's requiring a little research and while I may be able to get it out today, I realized it's been two weeks today since I updated what I'm on. So that's where we're at!

[Rosela]

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Reproduction was pretty short, so I ended up just plowing through the entire rest of the biology section! A lot of stuff in the current lore still works so I ended up just c/ping and sprucing it up a bit.

I also slightly rearranged the outline I had for this section – putting appearance first and then everything else. My reasoning was that general appearance has the most important information for everybody, but not everybody needs to know (or even should) about aladjunn and reproduction.

May I present - Eypharian Biology!
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Biology

Physical Appearance
Eypharians age much like humans, but have a complexion that allows them to age more gracefully than many. This longevity of looks may also be attributed to their consummate vanity that encourages the use of creams, oils and makeup to protect them from sun exposure.

Eypharian skin tone ranges from tan to olive and appears faintly gilded in high light. Paler or darker skin tones are possible due to heritage, but are uncommon. Natural hair colors tend to be blacks and browns but many, particularly women, dye their hair vivid colors. Eye color ranges widely within normal colors, though paler tints are uncommon.

Arms [insert bone structure image]
The most noticeable feature of any Eypharian is the number of arms. Due to the bone structures, the shoulders and chest of an Eypharian appear to be slightly wider than an average humanoid but are in fact only an average of two to four inches wider.

The arrangement of the shoulders, and thus the arms, is primarily vertical and then horizontally staggered, allowing each of the arms to rest only partially on top of one another:

• The top shoulder is centered and slightly extended outwards from the body, and is roughly where the shoulders are in two-armed beings. It is this shoulder that visually defines the breadth of the shoulders, and the positioning is the same for 4- and 6- armed Eypharians.
  
• The middle shoulder is set down and slightly forward, meaning the back edge is an inch or two underneath the top shoulder. In 4-armed Eypharians, this shoulder joint is missing, resulting in the lowest shoulder developing further up and very slightly forward.
  
• The lowest shoulder is the one set furthest back, the front edge an inch or two under the back edge of the top shoulder. In 6-armed Eypharians, these arms have difficulty moving forward unless the other arms are also extended outward. In 4-armed Eypharians, these arms are not set quite as far back, making them rest more underneath the top shoulder and consequently much more dexterous.

Pheromones
Another feature unique to the Eypharians are glands on either side of the base of the neck that excrete pleasant smelling pheromones. These glands emerged as an unnoticed mutation in the Eypharian race some generations after Royet’s emergence, but there is no evidence it was studied or even noticed.

Physically, the glands produce a small amount of what can appear to be sweat at the base of the neck. On the surface of the skin, the small glands on either side of the neck are invisible, though with pressure applied to the area, it is possible to feel the sacs nestled under the skin just above the clavicle. Each gland is the size of a large peanut and feels soft and malleable. During high pheromone production, the skin of the neck may feel moist, but it is difficult to detect gland activity visually.

On an average day, pheromone production will only result in the Eypharian in question simply smelling pleasant. However, many factors can change pheromone production or their scent. Male pheromones in particular do not smell as strong as females', but is no more or less pleasant. In females, production is at its height during ovulation, to the point where it is as noticeable as strong perfume. This period lasts 3-5 out of every 28 days and is as regular as the women’s menstrual cycle. During pregnancy, female pheromones continue production, but at a lower rate and slightly different in smell, which reverts to normal levels after birth. In males and females, sweat will not increase pheromone production, but existing pheromones will smell stronger, combined with the scent of typical body odor. Immediately after washing, particularly if the glandular area is scrubbed, pheromone production will be low and the scent almost non-existent. During sexual arousal, pheromone production may increase, though how much varies from person to person.

In males and females, pheromones begin secreting at sexual maturity. In females, after the onset of menopause and the end of fertility, pheromone production may continue at a lower rate for 1-3 years before finally tapering off. Male pheromones are produced from maturity until death.

The scent of every man and woman is different, though only those highly experienced in the art of perfumery may be able to detect the subtle differences in similar-smelling pheromones. Scents have a wide range of bases, but all have musky undertones that tie strongly to, and often inspire, sexual attraction. Additionally, an Eypharian’s scent may change slightly throughout their lifetime.

Pheromone harvesting is a trade common in Eypharian perfumers, and a widely sought export. Collection methods vary from master to master, but in most cases, the subject is willing. Piercing the gland is ineffective – even if the harvester is able to successfully target the gland, only a small amount is stored in the small sac at any one time and damaging the gland runs the risk or altering or halting the production of pheromones altogether.

Fashion
Exalted as Eypharian skin is, it is not enough to walk about with it bare. The need for betterment extends from the djed to the skin, and the meanest of Eypharians can scrape together a couple mizas for some method of adorning themselves.

Very elaborate makeup is widespread on women and men even line their eyes in kohl or use mica dust. Caretakers for the elderly and children are expected to be well-versed in cosmetology, to adorn those who cannot do it themselves. It is a common joke Eypharian women are born with such designs on their skin. Hair is often painted and sometimes adorned with fine chains of precious metal. If an Eypharian woman is not in the habit of painting her hair, she will keep it exceptionally long. Either sex wears jewelry as a display of power and rank.

Clothing tends to consist of linen made from flax and is lightweight to combat the desert heat. Silk or exotic animal pelts are worn by the upper classes or those aspiring to such positions. Eypharians love color, especially since the richness of hue indicates the costliness of the clothes. Since true black is exceptionally hard to produce, only nobility may wear it.

Men wear solid color kilts that stop at the end of the thigh, a bandolier and some sort of light armor on their wrists. Women wear sleeveless robes or delicate sheaths of linen bound at the waist with cords or gem encrusted belts. The neck is considered an erogenous zone by Eypharians, especially the glandular area, so women frequently wear collars or paint to highlight the grace of their neck or the curve between it and the shoulder. Footwear is a simple sandal of leather, wealth being shown by the amount of semiprecious stones on its straps. Indoors, the lower class tend to wear slippers made of reeds.

Due to societal emphasis on the caretaking of the body, it is not uncommon for the young and fit to dress in revealing clothing, though there is a fine, often blurry, line between what is revealing and what is revealing too much.

[insert section on genetics]

Reproduction
Reproduction and gestation for Eypharians is identical to humans, being 9 months long. There can be occasional complications with additional arms, most often with 6-armed babies. Babies of any race born breech, that is, bottom down instead of head down, can be extremely dangerous for the mother and/or child. However, 4- and especially 6-armed babies born this way are doubly dangerous due to the additional width of the arms. Cesarean sections are uncommon due to the danger of such an invasive procedure and only performed as a last resort. Breech babies account for only 4% of births, so while it is a danger and a concern, it is uncommon.

The process of reproduction is one carefully monitored in Eypharian society, meaning all births need to be registered with the Zapatl. To carefully enforce the purity of the Eypharian race, far-traveled Eypharians are strongly encouraged to return to Ahnatep during their lives to reproduce and share the divine djed in their veins. Any who refuse to return would not be dragged back in chains, but shame would be brought upon themselves and their family for so selfish an act.

When Eypharians breed with other humanoid races, it will produce a child with only two arms. However, the child may inherit the powerful pheromones and gilded skin of the Eypharian parent.

Psychology
The Eypharian mindset is that they each carry Araka blood, which elevates them above the oldest race to near-divine status. Only an Ethaefel, Konti, or Akalak would be recognized as a holier bloodline, though much of the population has had limited interaction with such races. However, those Eypharians that know these races' histories reason thy are not a true people group because they are either incapable of producing similar offspring or heirs of both sexes. For Eypharians, this is not enough, every member must uphold and, more importantly, extend the race’s divine glory.

It is for this reason that racism is so embedded in the race's culture - from without, none are as great as they; from within, the lazy and the unrefined only bring down the race as a whole. The slightly lowered status of 4-armed Eypharians is quiet and not often spoke of, save for the rare fanatic on the issue, but they are still considered Eypharians by all, only 'less pure'.

This hierarchy of races is reflected in the race’s own social hierarchy. Classes and social labels are of great importance and navigation upwards in society is something every Eypharian is expected to for. To this end, it is profoundly integrated into the Eypharian psyche that one must pursue excellence and perfection. This pursuit could be in any number of avenues: beauty, industry, physical strength, wealth, etc. Once an Eypharian has accepted where they are as the best they can achieve, they cease to push the limits of what their divine blood is capable of. The root of these aspirations, whether it be for the noble goal of bringing glory on the Eypharian race, or simply to surpass one’s neighbors, depends on the individual. Most Eypharians would claim to the former, while their true ambitions remain hidden.

Due to the fascination with themselves and their own history, Eypharians are largely literate and have a good knowledge of their history and politics. They are rarely barbarous or wild in nature and it is such traits they feel separate them from those they view as barbarians, primarily the desert-wandering Benshira. Even the lowest warriors are disciplined and tutored in basic strategy.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Eypharians will never pass up an opportunity to show off. In a world still recovering from the Valterrian, few races are as dedicated to throwing a good party as the Eypharians. A couple may spend a fortune to celebrate the birth of their 6-armed child, or a craftsman may spend half a year’s salary to properly celebrate his entrance into the Gilded. These gatherings are a test in balancing politics and revelry, where every Eypharian can practice sophistication, even if they have none.

While they are a cultured people not given to rampant bloodlust, the Eypharians are also known for a cold ruthlessness. For Eypharian glory, they will deceive, trample or enslave anything that dares cross their path.

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