Keidran

Keidran is the collective term for multiple canine and feline based, bipedal, sapient creatures in Twokinds. When all the diffrent species of Keidran are combined they represent the largest race in all of Mekkan, inhabiting most of the sea bordering territory on the main continent. All species of Keidran are based on real world animals which include: Tigers, Large Cats, Dogs, Wolves, and Foxes. The Keidran have a very short lifespan when compared to Humans or Basitin, only living to around their mid 20s in Human years, and are guided by powerful base instincts which lead them to having a much less developed society compared to the other races of Mekkan. Keidrans are by no means savage animals and are actually quite similar to Humans, many Keidran living in Human lands or boarding Human lands live relatively simlar lives to them, enjoying drinking and other forms of Human entertainment.

However, due to their perceived less developed culture in the Keidran homelands, usually limited to a tribal or nomadic lifestyle, they are seen as inferior by Humans. The option on Keidran has led to a large slave trade of their kind ran by the Humans, though many cases of free Keidran are seen throught the comic it is clear the regardless of freedom their is constant prejudice towards all of them. Although the such events have never been fully elaborated on a free Snow Leopard Keidran called Adira mentions that her species in particular is very scarce due to Humans hunting them for their fur. The geography of Human territory on the offical Mekkan map seems to support her claim, suggesting that Snow Leopards lived in north-eastern territories but their lands have since been conquered by the Human Kingdom. Many Keidran have grown a great distaste for Humans due to their unwarranted treatment of them although many Keidran do not fight back due to the intellect and magical ability of said Humans despite their inferior numbers.

Forest Wolf Keidran in the West have began to stand up for themselves in recent times, leading to the sudden and unprovoked assassination of the Human King at the hands of a Wolf orientated criminal guild by the end of Chapter 9. Though the events of the following chapters take place away from the fighting off shore on the Basitin Islands it is made clear that a full scale war is emerging between the Forest Wolves and Humans as a result. The other Keidran races have remained neutral as of yet but both the Wolves and Humans have sought the support of the Tiger Keidran in the east, each with wavering success. The Basitin had been a close ally of the Humans for many years, despite physically appearing more closely to Keidran (with some examples of Humans mistaking them as such) due to their similar lifespan and law based instincts they are technically much closer to Humans. Basitins had originally planned to support the Humans but after a plot was discovered revealing that the Templar (an influential group of mages commonly used as ambassadors by the Humans) was attempting to control them from the inside their diplomatic ties have seemingly been broken, despite this the Wolves have made no attempts to ally with them. The current state of the war is unknown but it seems to be a combination of Human military support to each of their settlements and guerilla attacks on said settlements by the Wolves as of present.

Appearance
The Keidrans' appearance, up to this point, is based on one of four real world animals: Tigers, Wolves, Foxes and Dogs. All Keidrans have catlike eyes with slit-like iris, even if they are canine based, such as the Wolf, Dog and Fox Keidran. They are able to have hair that is a different color from their fur. Due to the Keidran having paws rather than human-like feet, they don't wear shoes. Sometimes, a paw covering (Not unlike those of the Basitin) which has toe openings is worn.

Physiology

 * All Keidran are strictly carnivorous. Although they can eat bread and other human foods, doing so can make them ill. (Beverages seem to be an exception.)
 * As seen in Chapter 5, with the example of this Tiger Keidran girl, Keidran who have experienced a large amount of metal pressure or trauma may retreat into a beast like state, becoming completely "feral" and losing their ability to ever live in even their own Keidran society ever again. With immediate aid and rehabilitation, they can be apparently be returned to normal however, after an period of approximately 24 hours, this "feral" state is irreversible. Also seen within the comics is a controlled version of this feral state thar can be triggered voluntarily by a Keidran during combat or to defend themselves, almost like a real beast being cornered. It was mentioned in the non-canon Minikind - The Hunger - that Keidran who are extremely hungry may also enter a feral-like state and even attempt to consume friends of a diffrent race, but this state wears off soon after eating and may not even be canon.


 * Fox and Tiger Keidran with short faces and seem to lack the whiskers present of their real world feline inspiration.
 * According to Page 951, Sythe reveals that Keidran (Wolf Keidran at least) have multiple nipples beneath their fur like real world canines and then adds that he does too technically. Whether this statement is true or not is unclear as it is possible Sythe just said this to gross out Red for fun.

Traits and Species Differences

 * Keidran appear to learn very quickly, given that their comparatively short lifespan allows them less time to become adept at skills that require years for a Human or Basitin to master. All species of Keidran appear to have a common language, and both genders have vocal pitches similar enough that they cannot be distinguished by verbal means. Their language is described as being quite 'growly'.
 * Unlike Humans and Basitin Keidran have a much shorter lifespan, while a Human in the Twokinds universe can live up until an average of 70 years old and Basitin to about 60 because of their combat orientated lifestyle Keidran will likely die around the ages of 23-25. Since the rate at which Keidran age is much faster than the of Humans Keidran consider each other to have reached adulthood by around age 10, with 13 being around late-20s and so on (while the first 10 years of a Keidran's life are equal to that of about double a Human's after about age 14 one year for a Human is about 4-5 years for a Keidran.)


 * Their arboreal abodes lend to them significant agility, and they appear to be just as much at home amongst the trees as they are on the ground. They possess great natural strength and endurance, a fact that makes them ideal for the slave labor Humans use them for.


 * Females of all Keidran species periodically come into estrus, during which they (and any nearby males) can lose their ability to rationalize, and suffer instinctual lapses and mood swings which can be problematic in confined spaces. However, they are only fertile the week after this cycle, not during. The estrus of Keidrans varies in frequency and intensity, depending on the type of Keidran it effects. While Tiger Keidran experience estrus several times a year, it is typically much lighter than what most Wolves experience. Wolves, on the other hand, only go into estrus twice, usually in the fall and more intensely in the spring. Spring estrus is notorious among all Keidran species.
 * Keidran do have the ability to use magic, although they need a source of physical Mana Crystals on their person to fuel their spells. Mana Crystals are often used by Humans to heighten their already natural ability of magic use, as for Keidran these are a required item to use magic, though many Keidran do not even know how to use magic in the first place. Due to their need for Mana Crystals Keidran typically do not make for as strong mages as Humans, a common reason many never chose to pursue magic. They can also use black magic, but similarly Humans it likely will prove lethal to the user.
 * Due to their natural fur covering Keidran have become accustomed to a lack of need for clothing, as a result many free Keidran tend to be far less modest than humans and frequently go around with little to no clothes on. However, Keidran in slavery or those who grew up with large Human influence are more than happy to wear clothes if they need to, though even then many still do not cover up completely.

Border Forest Tribe (Wolf Keidran)
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Dog Clan (Dog Keidran)
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Tiger Clan/Tiger Nomads (Tiger Keidran)
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Unknown Society (Snow Leopard Keidran)
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Costal Fox Clan (Fox Keidran)
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All Keidran

 * Each Keidran tribe maintains its own monarchy and system of governance independent of the other breeds. It is unknown if the Keidran have any kind of united forum for racial discussion.


 * It is alluded that each Keidran Tribe has adopted different philosophies in their interactions with the outside world; the Tiger Tribe for example are said to be quite insular and maintain their distance from both Humans and other Keidran, whereas others such as the Dog, Fox and Wolf Tribes living closer to the border of the Human Empire are more commonly seen, albeit as slaves.


 * It is unlikely that any formal diplomatic relations exist between Human and Keidran lands, largely due to the Human enslavement of the Keidran, or even between Keidran and Basitin who don't seem to believe in slavery. However in light of the current war raging between the Humans and Border Wolf Tribe over the assassination of King Torval the Humans have attempted to form an temporary allegiance with the Tiger Keidran, though this has proved difficult due to the Wolves' interference.

Language
Currently, there is no conlang created to be used as the Keidran language, and the only two words currently revealed (with associated translations) are shown in one scene when Flora attempts to teach Trace some of her language while they are camping in Chapter 3. In the Main Comic, any lines in the Keidran language are written between angle brackets, 

Trivia

 * According to a bust size chart that Tom created, Natani thinks: "je vais secrètement profiter de ces seins" which is French for: "I will secretly profit off these breasts". Although the cannonocity of the statement is extremely questionable, this hints that some of the Keidran Language may be based partially off of the French Language. However, one of the maps of Mekkan support Keidran being more influenced by Welsh.
 * Several other types of Keidran have been featured throughout the non-canon Side Sketches such as Lion and Lynx but none of these are confirmed to actually exist within the canon of the Main Comic.