Profile
Summary
Haenyms can be either grounded or can hover with their roots out of the ground. They can only last a couple of days without having to recharge back in the ground, stones (if air-plant), or water. Most prefer to be in the sun, but some will thrive in moonlight or in darkness.
Haenyms are protectors of the forests… if they want to be. Haenyms are the most religious and also sacrilegious of the social Lythians. Some act as guardians of the forests or other natural regions. They’ll create temples and altars hidden away in thick forests. Others, on the sacrilegious side, tend to curse these temples, create traps, and lure more foolish or younger ones to their doom, similar to how sirens lure foolish men. Haenyms have the strongest elemental affiliation and can easily manipulate natural matter to their will.
Haenyms have an uncanny ability to meld into all types of organic, plant-based matter. So long as their surroundings are not made of entirely artificial matter, they will be able to blend in and remain virtually unseen if desired.
✦ Body
Haenym upper bodies are almost always matte in texture, but can have a wide variety of growths protruding from their skin. This includes but is not limited to wings, tails, spikes, manes, exoskeletons, lacerations, and more. Their lower bodies are known as their rootage, and will be explained in a later section.
✦ Buds
Although Haenyms have protrusions on either side of their face that can be mistaken for ears, their true ears are the buds located at the top of their head. Each individual has one pair of buds on the top of their head, which are used for hearing and a number of other sensory purposes. The length of the stem can vary, as can the design of the bud itself. However, they are plantlike in appearance and do not bloom unless the Haenym is experiencing extreme emotions or under the influence.
✦ Hair
Haenym hair comes in two varieties: plant material and regular hair. Plant material hair does not have to match their respective plant materials. Regular hair is like human hair, and can have many different styles and textures. Haenym hair can be styled and restyled at any time without using in-game currency or values.
✦ Core
The heart of a Haenym is located directly in the middle of their forehead. It is made of very hard sugar and may have small objects encased in it like bugs or floral bits.
✦ Eyes
Haenyms have very little variety in eyes, which are glossy and inset deeper into their face than the rest of their features, giving them a doll-like appearance.
✦ Bloom
Haenym bloom is an excess, plant-based growth — leafy, floral, or vines — natural to the Lythians. It is most commonly found around a Haenym's neck or around the hips/beginning of their rootage. Haenyms with double or no bloom are less common, but not unheard of.
✦ Photo Chargers
Their chargers are located on the backs of their hands and are used to generate additional, Haenym-specific energy. They refer to their form of energy as “photo.” While they can recover stamina from food and rest, they obtain photo through basking in the sun. Because of this, they are able to redirect the energy gained from it into light-based attacks!
✦ Rootage
All Haenyms have rootage on their lower bodies. It's how they feed off the earth and also how they move. Rootage comes in three different types: fibrous, vines, and taproot.
Sects
As mentioned previously, most Haenyms are born with a natural religious affiliation. However, it is not to a particular deity, but rather, a purpose.
✦ Vives
One of the most common affiliations is Vives (pronounced “veevs”), who worship all life, and believe their purpose is to aid it to grow throughout the realms.
✦ Ruins
The other most common affiliation, Ruins, worship destruction and entropy, believing that purity comes through hastened decay.
✦ Heathens
Outside of the two polarized followings, Heathens believe in a purpose different from aiding life or death in Lyth; for example, certain Heathens may choose to actually worship a deity. Vives and Ruins believe them to be in denial.
✦ Hedonists
Hedonists are different in that they feel no affiliation towards a set purpose, nor do they regularly worship any one path of life. They live for the sake of personal pleasure and do everything in their power to avoid personal suffering.
✦ The Apprised
The Apprised are the rarest of the schism remains. They are visually different from the rest of the devout — and not so devout — in that they have visible pupils. While others Haenyms have false pupils, only the Apprised have true pupils. The Apprised usually never stay long in Haenym-heavy communities as most devout Haenyms sense danger in these individuals, because they are believed to have full free will, a power which seems misunderstood.
Core Features
- A Haenym’s core is in the middle of their forehead, and its two chargers are on the backs of its forearms.
- Cores and chargers can be any shape, but must be distinct from the rest of their body.
- Two buds of varying length and size grow atop their skull.
- Their eyes are glossy, inset, and usually have no irises or pupils.
- They commonly have one rootage type: fibrous, vines, or taproot.
✧ Extra Suggestions
- circular or ovular core and chargers
- matte upper body texture
- regular or plant material hair
- false ears
- neck or hip bloom
- leafy, floral, or vines bloom type
✦ Vives
- They are typically ethereal in appearance, featuring soft palettes.
- Vives usually have very beautiful buds and blooms.
✦ Ruins
- They are typically demonic in appearance, featuring dark palettes.
- Ruins usually have buds and blooms that seem to be in a state of decay.
✦ Heathens
- Their rootage spreads outwards and covers a lot of ground.
- They also tend to feature a double upper body, which can be split down to the torso, above the hip.
✦ Hedonists
- Instead of rootage, some have insectoid lower bodies.
✦ The Apprised
- They can have true pupils.
Baby Information
Sprouting from the ground and blooming out from a large floral structure, baby Haenyms emerge excited and ready to see the world. Unfortunately, they have no means of self-transport; their lower body is still developing in the flower, which has a stem that is rooted to the earth. This means, in order to travel, they must be picked up and moved by another individual. They must be attached to some dirt at all times — as that’s where they absorb most of their nutrients — so their guardians often opt to put them in pots, switching out the soil every so often. As they mature, the floral structure will collapse and reveal their rootage.
✦ Baby Features
- Their cores and chargers will carry over to their adult form.
- Neither their buds nor their floral structure have to be real plants, but they must match.
- Their buds usually have very short stems, so appear to be nestled in their hair.
- Baby Haenyms must be attached to soil in some way.
- They have very little to no bloom at this stage.
Origin Story & Quest
Sonhaela
Long ago, there were two nymphs named Sonha and Aela. They were lovers who, together, ruled over all the forested land on the planet. They kept the balance of life and death of all plant matter. They blessed the earth with the ability to flourish and to heal itself. Natural disasters became a calmed cycle, and every part of the process was respected and thought of as beautiful.
One day, Sonha and Aela discovered a land that became poisoned with a dark, unknown substance. This was unlike the regular natural disasters, it was mysterious and captivating. They both took increased investment in solving this problem.
But their solutions clashed immensely.
Sonha, invested in pathos, believed the substance should be fought in the case that life in that area would be lost unnaturally. Sonha had a great love for discovery and an emotional investment in their responsibility as a nature guardian.
Aela, invested in logos, believed the substance should be aided in consuming the area in order to only have the strongest of life succeed. Aela felt a great responsibility of curating the plant life of the planet, disaster, natural or unnatural was the executor, and they were the judge.
Their debate over the course of action escalated into a lethal battle. At the ends of their power, they channeled one final mutual attack to see what solution would prevail and continue as the way of life on the planet. Before clashing, both Sonha and Aela admitted their love for one another one last time.
Their impact destroyed the dark substance shrouding the poisoned land and their spirits shattered and dispersed into plant life all around, creating the animated plant forms, Haenyms, forever cast into a polarized war.
The Haenyms of today’s world are divided into a variety of sects, with participation in their affiliation — or lack thereof — often defining the life choices and even physical appearance of the individual. The sects represent different purposes, and a Haenym may be born into or choose the sect which they follow — or, again, may choose not to participate in a sect at all.
As a child, does your Haenym learn about these sects? Or were they not a part of their upbringing, so they don’t know of any choices or maybe only know of one or two? If they are not interested in the sects, do they still explore the ancient Haenym-guarded temples and forests… or perhaps cause mischief in them? Please portray your Haenym using their baby design or an adolescent design that’s not quite their adult form yet.
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