Equines are the honorable mentions of the elite class. They often hold many positions of power and are very privileged under Anerc, but they still come in second to the Dragons and the Seraphs. Equines are often viewed as being a more magically inclined race due to the unique levitation abilities that their horn gives them.
Equines are split into four categories; Alicorns - an equine possessing a horn and wings; Pegasus - an equine possessing just wings; Unicorn - an equine possessing just a horn; and an Equin - which possess neither. Alicorns and unicorns are considered the highest class out of the four.
Equines are a quadrupedal bird-horse-deer, but mostly horse-deer, mix, with probably the most flashy displays and colours next to the Seraphs. They excel at running, so long as its in open areas, and are generally rather springy. In their common forms, their hands are not clawed or covered in scales like many other races, and they’re the only other (sometimes) feathered race besides the avians. Equines can have fur or feathers, usually depending on what subgroup they are- but the hair on their heads and tails is always just normal hair.
eyes, nose, & mouth ▸ An equines eyes, teeth, and tongue appear the same in both forms. Their eyes have a white sclera, average sized iris, and rounded pupil, all of their teeth are flat, for eating vegetation, and their tongue is rounded. Their ears are rather flexible, having a lot of range. They are pretty much always the same size however - not differing a whole lot between individuals. Their nose is the same to that of a deers, but in their common forms, their nose appears the same as a normal human nose, like most other races.
colouring and patterns ▸ Their feathers and hair sport all manner of bright colours, especially the pegasi and alicorns. Technicolour horses! Though while it isn't very common for an equine to have dull, natural colours like browns and greys, they definitely can. The more dull colours usually come from the equins.
legs of steel ▸ Equines have a very powerful kick - or more accurately, buck. They are herbivorous, prey animals, and one of their tactics is to kick their unfortunate attacker so hard they go through all seven rings of hell. Don't sneak up behind an equine to scare them, you're more than likely going to get a kick to the face.
flight ▸ Unlike the Avians, equines often have lots of ornamental feathering with spectacular patterns and colours - because, unlike the avians, equines are not hunters. They prefer a vegetarian lifestyle. However, due to all of this, they tend to be much poorer flyers- with all the extra pzazz weighing them down and often creating drag during flight. Equines are not known to be super fast or particularly agile in flight, they’re not the best fliers in general… though of course there are many equines that try to challenge that.
unicorn horn ▸ Equines’ horns vary in curvature and length, though always pointing backwards. Some can curve so much they form a crescent shape. This horn, however, is stronger than it may first appear. It can be used as a weapon, but it also serves as a way to wield elemental magic, like a wand... attached to an equines head. The horn doesn't make it easier to wield magic or make said magic more powerful - it's just another output area.
levitation ▸ An equines horn grants the unique ability of being able to levitate objects. It is something, however, that needs to be learnt (usually an equine needs to be at least at level 3 mastery to achieve this), and it has its limits. No matter how practiced, equines can only levitate so many objects at once, and the weight of these objects generally caps at about three times what an Equine could physically carry. The range is also often no larger than about two meters around them. Though difficult, however, breaking an equines horn will greatly effect this ability and in some cases render it unusable. That, and it will also probably destroy their pride.
glow ▸ A much easier trick the horn has is the ability to glow - it's specifically the rings around the horn that does this, and the colour of the glow is generally the same colour as the users eyes. This can be used at usually a level 2 mastery. This glow also occurs when using levitation magic.
In their common forms equines carry over their; legs, tail, horn, wings, and ears. Their eyes, teeth, and tongue appear the same in both forms, and the nose in their common forms is a normal human nose like most other races.
As stated already, Equines are split into four different subgroups/categories. These groups often intermingle so it’s very common to see some of their traits mixed and matched. Due to some of these mixes, equines generally go by the rule of what has a horn or wings and what doesn’t to determine what type they are.
Equins ▸ Equins are like your base… equine. They have hooves that are not cloven, a horse tail, and they do no have feathers. They often have a bit of a bigger built than other Equines and it’s also common for equins colours to be more dull or natural than the other groups. Because of all these traits, they’re often seen as the lowest class of all the groups, almost like the runts, and some of them are even viewed in a similar light to the drakes. This subgroup and its traits are not very common in the mainlands as a result.
Unicorns ▸ Unicorns, like the equin, also do not have feathers. They do, however, sport the cloven hooves, of course a horn, a longer tail with hair at the end, and the two antennae-like structures on their heads. Unicorns are also believed to have a naturally stronger link to ichor than the other groups- though there’s no real evidence to suggest such a thing.
Pegasi ▸ Pegasi, unlike the other two groups, have feathers. They do not have cloven hooves, the quills on their heads or the long tail- just the feathered one. Though they aren't viewed as lowly as equins, they're still considered rather useless in comparison to the unicorns or the alicorns- especially.
Alicorns ▸ Alicorns are the most flashy of the subgroups, they sport almost every feature of all the groups; a horn, wings, tail feathers, and the unicorn tail. They also have cloven hooves and feathers. Similar to the unicorns, alicorns are also believed to have a naturally stronger link to ichor than the other three groups - but again like the unicorns, that is not founded in any actual fact. Due to their traits, it is believed that alicorns are really just a hybridization of pegasi and unicorns.
The most desired trait in the elite would be the magical horn - so in other words, unicorns and alicorns.