Keidran

Two Forest Wolf Keidran, Natani and Zen

Keidran (IPA^(key) /ˈkaɪ.dɹən/) is the collective term for multiple canine and feline based, bipedal, sapient creatures in Twokinds. When all the different 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(Canids and Felids specifically) which include: Tigers, other Large Cats, Dogs, Forest Wolves, Snow 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. Keidran 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 similar lives to them, enjoying drinking and other forms of Human entertainment. They differ from humans and elves not only in their skeletal form and the fur that covers their bodies, but in their metabolism and digestion as well.

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 throughout the comic it is clear the regardless of freedom there is constant prejudice towards all of them. Although 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 official 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 guerrilla 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 colour 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. However, 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 mental 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 that 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 different 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

Chart Portraying Approximate Aging Rate of Keidran.

• 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, Keidran will likely die around the ages of 20-25, though 26-27 is possible on rare occasions. 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. Keidran age relatively close to Humans for the first 4 years of their life before beginning to double in age until about 10. Once a Keidran reaches 10 years old they will begin to age about 3-4x faster than Humans. After reaching 17, mid-late forties for a Keidran, their age will increase even faster reaching upwards of 6x the rate Humans age. If a Keidran has a longer life span after age 21 their aging will begin to slow down again to about 3-4x faster than a Humans until they eventually die at about 25-26. An average list of Keidran adulthood ages is as follows:
  • 10 - Late Teens (17-20)
  • 11 - Early Twenties (21-23)
  • 12 - Mid Twenties (24-26)
  • 13 - Late Twenties (27-30)
  • 14 - Early Thirties (31-33)
  • 15 - Mid Thirties (34-36)
  • 16 - Late Thirties (37-40)
  • 17 - Early-Mid Forties (41-46)
  • 18 - Mid-Late Forties (44-50)
  • 19 - Early-Mid Fifties (51-56)
  • 20 - Mid Fifties-Mid Sixties (57-66)
  • 21 - Late Sixties-Early Seventies (67-73)
  • 22 - Mid Seventies (74-76)
  • 23 - Late Seventies (77-80)
  • 24 - Early Eighties (81-83)
  • 25 - Mid Eighties (84-86)
• 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'.
• 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 Keidran 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.

Politics, Laws and Society

 All Keidran

• Each large current Keidran tribe maintains its own monarchy and system of governance independent of the other breeds. The type of society can range between Keidran species however, such as Tiger Keidran having multiple different clans within their territory rather than one united one that Fox Keidran seem to have.

• 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.

Wolf Tribes (Forest Wolf Keidran)

• (Due to the large amount of individual Keidran societies information related to the Wolf Tribes can be found using the link above for their dedicated page.)

Unnamed Society (Snow Wolf Keidran)

• (Due to the large amount of individual Keidran societies information related to Snow Wolf society can be found using the link above for their dedicated page.)

Dog Clan

• (Due to the large amount of individual Keidran societies information related to the Dog Keidran can be found using the link above for their dedicated page.)

Fox Clans

• (Due to the large amount of individual Keidran societies information related to the Fox Keidran society can be found using the link above for their dedicated page.)

Tiger Clans/Tiger Nomads

• (Due to the large amount of individual Keidran societies information related to the Tiger Keidran can be found using the link above for their dedicated page.)

Unnamed Society (Leopard Keidran)

• Almost nothing is known about Leopard Keidran or where they inhabit/largely inhabited. The only known example of a Leopard Keidran in the canon main comic appeared on Page 61 in Chapter 3 for one panel, but he did not say any lines. The appearance of the Leopard Keidran was admittedly at a time when Tom was only just beginning to create the comic and may have since forgotten of it's appearance since Leopard Keidran have never been seen or mentioned in the main comic since, though they have made a few non-canon appearances in the side sketches. However, due to the appearance of Snow Leopard Keidran in the more recent comic it can be assumed that they are still canon, but where the fit into the world of Mekkan isn't ever made clear. Leopard Keidran triplets have also made an appearance in the comic The Dragon Masquerade where they helped Rose get ready. It is possible normal Leopard Keidran lived alongside Snow Leopard Keidran and their species suffered the same fate, hunted to near extinction for their pelts.

Unnamed Society (Snow Leopard Keidran)

• (Due to the large amount of individual Keidran societies information related to the Snow Leopard Keidran can be found using the link above for their dedicated page.)

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, <like this.>

Keidran language dictionary

Human	Keidran
Grass	ch'rall
Trees	marlch'ren

Untranslated Keidran Words / Phrases

Ah! Cahrmehrs Ab’liun! Ryuin Ar’liun!

Gallery

A group of Humans patrolling the Human-Wolf border for any Keidran trying to cross

Natani facing contempt from a Human shopkeeper for his race

The Grand Duke of The Boader Forest Tribe, possibly one of the highest, if not the highest, position within Forest Wolf society

The leader of one of the multiple nomadic Tiger Clans in negotiation with the Human Templars

A female Tiger Keidran suck in a permanent "feral" state

Theire Sah-Van, a Tiger Keidran, flirting with a Human guard (though she was presumably doing this a part of a bet)

The only case of a Leopard Keidran seen in the main comic

Concept of a Dog and Human discussing their views on the Keidran slave trade

Trivia

• When commentating for one stream, Tom was opportunistically asked the correct pronunciation of "Keidran". He responded by attempting to pronounce "Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch", a small Welsh village famously known for the obserd length of its name. However, this was likely just a joke and isn't considered canon.
• Several other types of Keidran have been featured throughout the non-canon side sketches such as Lions and Lynx, but none of these are confirmed to actually exist within the canon of the main comic.
• Keidran, unlike Humans and Basitin, do not seem to have last names. Although some exceptions exist such as Adira Riftwall and Kathrin Vaughan, these can likely be explained by the fact they both grew up in Human society, as such, would adopt a last name to fit in.