Kirins are covered in a very short coat of hair, like horses. Many also have feathering, which is just longer hair on their lower legs. Some kirins cut it, some keep it, and some don't have it at all.

They have very little sexual dimorphism, with males on average just being slightly larger than females. The length of their horn is not affected by their sex. Females are also referred to as mares, and males as stallions.

Though kirins anatomy mostly resembles horses, they possess deer-like noses, cloven hooves and a unicorn tail of varying lengths. They are also smaller than a horse, usually being around the same height or smaller than a person.

Kirins have long, powerful legs built for speed and endurance. They are the fastest runners of all the races, baring maybe some chimeras that have adapted for speed, and they have excellent stamina. Kirins can run for very long distances. Drakes however, though significantly slower, do outpace them.

Kirins are most known for their single horn positioned in the middle of their forehead. This horn is often long, and usually varying degrees of curved. A completely straight horn is rare and considered exceptionally attractive among kirins. The horn, though thin, is very strong and difficult to break. The base of the horn is also shaped like a diamond. A kirins horn is always coloured darker than the rest of their body, and this colour is always matching with their hooves and nose.

A Kirins mane, if not their horn, is usually their standout feature. This hair can also commonly grow down their spine as well, even sometimes the entire length of it, until it connects to their tail.

Like deer, kirins do not have top front teeth. They have molars, bottom front teeth, and instead of top front teeth, they have a dental pad.

Kirins have a visible sclera, and their pupils are round.

Kirins possess deer-like noses, which are the same colour as their horns and hooves. Similarly, their ears are more deer-like than horse-like.

A kirins most striking colours are in their mane. It is uncommon for a kirin to have only one shade or colour in their mane. It's naturally multi-coloured.

A kirins nose, horse, and hooves are all the same colour. They sport simple patterns, usually a lighter underbelly, and often various gradients.

Kirins have innate levitation magic channeled through their horns, allowing them to manipulate the world around them without the need for those pesky opposable thumbs. This magic is not something affected by their elemental affinity, and kirins who may be born 'unlinked' or have any other unusual affiliation also still posses this magic.

[ above ] A kirin using their levitation magic to pick up some playing cards.

The maximum weight of an object they can pick up is the same as what they could without magic, and the amount of things they can manipulate at once is also only what they can realistically divide their attention on. Kirins cannot manipulate objects through walls either, so doing something like unlocking a chest from the inside is not possible. They can manipulate objects outside of their line of sight, but overall a kirins levitation magic, while different, isn't really any more powerful than if they just had hands.

Kirins can also channel their elemental magic through their horns as well.

Above is a diagram of a kirins magical range. It is by default rather small (outlined by the black dashed circle (1)), and as they push their range of magic, the maximum weight of what they can 'pick up' lowers, as well as their control. The red circle outlined here (3) is as far as any kirin has been recorded to push their magical range to. It requires lots of training. Kirins in general can train to push their levitation magic to extreme degrees, similar to how people can train to hold a dozen plates at once.

A Kirins horn is very strong and difficult to break, but if broken closer to the base, it may render a kirins levitation magic unusable, leaving them heavily disabled. They can of course also grow deformed or underdeveloped horns that might affect their magic as well, but it's rare.

Kirin are viviparous, meaning they give birth to live young. They usually have only one or two fawns at a time, and thankfully for the mother, these fawns are born with very tiny horns.

Kirin fawns are 90% leg. They're awkward and clumsy, but can get up and start walking within an hour of being born. Their colours and patterns are also much simpler than their adult counterparts. Baby kirins are referred to as fawns gender-neutrally, while female fawns can be called fillies, and males, colts. Their horns never stop growing throughout their lives, but they grow the fastest in adolescence. Due to their growth, a kirin with a very long horn is considered wise!

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natural kirins

Very rarely mono races will be born as omni elementals, meaning they're born without an affinity to any element. They're still capable of using magic, but it works differently, and does not manifest in their appearance. Therefore, a kirin born omni elemental will show their true, natural colours.

A kirins natural colours are shades of brown and grey. Think of actual horse coats/colours/patterns, or deer. Their eyes can be brown, green or blue.

[ right/above ] Kirin born as a mono elemental, revealing their natural look.

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culture

mane styling

Kirins stand out trait, if not their horns, are their manes. Among kirins it is generally considered shameful to cut ones mane short. Most of them have it very long, sometimes so long they always have to have it up. Maintenance can be a pain, but it's a show of status. Cutting a kirins mane short is sometimes used as a punishment, though some kirin cut their mane short on purpose... to be punk, of course, or simply as a show of culture rejection.

A common part of mane styling is also what kirins like to put in it. Sparkles, and lots of them. Think like blush, but for your hair, a special kind of sparkly powder that keeps for several weeks. Kirins have extended this practice to even be on parts of their body as well; their cheeks, feathering, or even their backsides and shoulders (though this is very extra considering those parts of the body are usually covered by clothing). This sparkly apparel caught on with other cultures as well. Dragons and seraphs commonly add this powder (though slightly altered to work for them) to their wings, frills, hair (dragons, if they have any), and on their cheeks. It's not commonly known that the sparkle trend originally came from the kirins, and now it's just seen as a common part of mainlanders formal/neat dress.

clothing

Traditionally, kirins wore rather complex clothing by typical mainlanders fashion standards. Lots of patterns, complex fabrics, tassels, and ruffled hemmings were common, and their clothing was often heavier compared to a typical modern seraph or dragon, for a more temperate climate. Now their fashion blends a lot with dragon and seraph clothing standards; little detailing and monochromatic matching with their natural body colours- but influence from their typical dress still comes through.

Kirins however, have some of the most strict standards in arcadia when it comes to how much of their bodies are covered. Generally only their head, necks, and lower legs ever show. They don't tend to match the more loose types of clothing that seraphs wear that often have their undersides completely bare. Kirins also wear horseshoes, commonly coming in silvers and golds.

Naming conventions

Kirin names use modern words mashed together - names like Dayspring, Foxtrot, Stardust, Spark-Chaser and Autumn-Dawn are common. Kirin have first and last names, and sometimes ‘middle’ names. See the names that have hyphens inbetween, like Autumn-Dawn, ‘Autumn’ would be their first name, and ‘Dawn’, their second. Here’s an example of how that kind of name would work;

[ first name ]-[middle name] [ last name ]

example: Autumn-Dawn Shimmer

The middle name is really just part of their first name, but equines with these types of names tend to be nicknamed with just their first. The last name is adopted from either their mother or father depending on age. Unless otherwise agreed on, the older parent usually has their last name adopted by their child.

Kirin will also use professional titles as well, such as;

[ profession/rank ] [ first name ]-[middle name] [ last name ]

example: Scholar Autumn-Dawn Shimmer

Sometimes kirin may use naming conventions from dragons or seraphs while keeping their last names, or simply having a 'dragon' name along with their kirin one. Names such as Dusk-Light Rykan Ember, where their dragon name, 'Rykan' appears like a last name. In the mainlands, kirins also abide by the titles used by dragons and seraphs, introducing themselves as child/daughter/son of so and so.

class position

Kirins are generally upper-class, though they rank lower than dragons and most definitely seraphs. They cannot form clans like dragons or seraphs can, they are less likely to be chosen for jobs or promotions compared to dragons and seraphs, and they are generally treated less favourably by those two groups, but they still enjoy many privileges.

A sizeable portion of the kirin population are academics, teachers, scholars, translators, and researchers. They are often associated with such fields, especially in magic teachings, due to the unique levitation magic they posses.

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