orena ([info]orenachangeling) wrote in [info]worldbuilding,
@ 2008-03-03 22:45:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Immortal phoenix people
This is a race from a universe I'm working on. The genre is science fantasy / magic in space. Please ask as many questions about my creation as possible, the process of answering them will help me develop it further. As well if you see any holes in my logic please point them out.

The Kihya are a race of anthropomorphic phoenixes. They have the head and wings of a bird while their body, arms and legs are human like in appearance. One of the most notable things about the Kihya is their immortality. Like the phoenixes they resemble, whenever a Kihya is old or mortally injured they can be healed by dying and being reborn in a burst of fire. This healing fire spontaneously comes forth from within the Kihya and does not need to be started by outside sources. Kihya are unable to reproduce, as there is no need to since they are immortal.
Kihya also have several kinds of psychic abilities. All Kihya can telepathically communicate and have the ability to read minds, both surface thoughts and buried memories. The level of telepathic ability varied between individual Kihya. Some Kihya also have additional abilities such as telekinesis, remote viewing and precognition.
The Kihya originally were not immortal, they were born and died like any other life form. They evolved on the world Nestorhem, which was destroyed in a battle with their enemies the Maraskans. This happened when the Maraskans invaded Nestorhem and threatened to overrun the entire galaxy. The Seneschal, a mysterious god like figure known to the Kihya, defeated the Maraskans by destroying Nestorhem with them on it. The Seneschal was only able to save four hundred Kihya from the millions that previously made up their population but he gave them immortality in return. It is unknown exactly how this chain of events played out and most other races believe this story to be only legend or allegory.

Also, I have worked out how the Kihya became immortal, but it is really confusing and probably wouldn't make sense without reading the whole story (or even then for that matter). I'll tell you about it if anyone wants to know but I don't want to make this post a mile long explaining both the Kihya and this process at the same time.

Advertisement

(Post a new comment)


[info]hellmutt
2008-03-04 01:19 pm UTC (link)
Not related to your Kihya, but I decided to put 'phoenixes' into my own fantasy setting. On my own terms. Oh yes. These birdies don't use fire; they use stem cells. ;D

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]orenachangeling
2008-03-04 09:30 pm UTC (link)
I like that they use stem cells, it puts a modern spin on an old idea.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]the_lady_grey
2008-03-04 03:10 pm UTC (link)
Ok so there are 400 left and they don't re-produce.

The main problem you have is that they are slowly going to die out as they get killed (beyond repair) or commit suicide.

I guess if there is no reproduction involved then they have no reason to stick together and would spread out and make their own friends and lives across the universe.

I think you'd get sick of the same 400 people after a while.

One question is:

How advanced is this race? They have no thumbs so cannot build things. Are they an intelligent yet useless bunch like dolphins?

x

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]orenachangeling
2008-03-04 09:42 pm UTC (link)
Yes, slowly dying out from whatever reason is a problem they end up facing in the story.

The Kihya do stick together to a certain extent, usually living together in small groups (like between 5-20) the largest group is the Order of Pallar and they have 120 members, not including the mortal servants.

They probably do get sick of each other after a while, but hanging out with the mortals is probably more boring or irratating to them. After all any of the things the mortals would be interested in would seem inconsequencial to the Kihya, so they still like each other's company because they are the only ones who can relate to each other.

The Kihya are very advanced, they are a space fairing race and are more advanced then the humans in my story (who are also space fairing). They do have thumbs "They have the head and wings of a bird while their body, arms and legs are human like". I guess I should have explained their hands are human like as well ^^;

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]mdu_ntr
2008-03-12 09:42 am UTC (link)
Ever read Oberneytyn, wings have phalanges just like humans. they could use their beaks and wings for similar purposes to our hands.

I put a question to you: How do people with no hands paint? With thier mouths and feet. if we can adapt like that over less than a lifetime, I am sure these creatues could find a way.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]clawfoot
2008-03-04 04:29 pm UTC (link)
Some questions to think about:

How exactly do their life cycles go? I mean, when they die, they are consumed by fire and are "reborn," but what form does that rebirth take?

Do they create an egg or otherwise have to grow from newborn to adulthood all over again?

If so, who takes care of the newborn and raises it?

Do they still have "families"? Do they make any provisions for themselves?

Do their personalities and memories remain intact through the rebirth?

Do they need to relearn skills, or is it all retained from "life" to "life"?

Do they have any control over the rebirthing, or is it something that happens to them whenever their bodies feel it necessary (i.e. is it a voluntary or involuntary action)?

Immortal is a loaded word: is there a way to kill them permanently?

How do they live? Do they all live together, or have they scattered themselves over the galaxy? If so, how are they viewed by others? Revered? Distrusted? Hunted? Sought after for wisdom?

How do they generally see the other races? Do they feel custodial over them? Protective of them? Irritated by them?

Have they any culture of their own, if they're spread out?

Although they have no need for reproduction, it was once part of them. Are they still gendered? Even vestigially? If so, does it affect their personalities?

Do they have voices still, or have they atrophied due to the telepathy?

If these biological changes (the loss of gender, the loss of voice) happened, does that mean they still evolve? Do their bodies change slightly with each "rebirth"? Or is each body an absolute exact copy of the former one?


Just some thoughts.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]orenachangeling
2008-03-04 11:25 pm UTC (link)
Lots of questions, and good ones too, thank you. I'll try to answer them all.

How exactly do their life cycles go? I mean, when they die, they are consumed by fire and are "reborn," but what form does that rebirth take?
I don't entirely understand this question, could you clarify it?

Do they create an egg or otherwise have to grow from newborn to adulthood all over again?
No, they are reborn as adults, there are no children Kihya anymore. While all their wounds are healed when they are reborn the amount of age removed from them varies, they could go all the way back to teenhood or just regress a few years, it's pretty random. Sometimes they only get a few years out of a body before they are reborn again and other times a full life time.

Do they still have "families"? Do they make any provisions for themselves? Most Kihya don't have families any more. For a group of 400 to survive from a previous population of millions the chances of any two individuals to be related to each other are small, but there are a few related Kihya and they do tend to stay together. Most other Kihya tend to form groups with like minded individuals since blood relatives are lacking.

Do their personalities and memories remain intact through the rebirth?
Yes

Do they need to relearn skills, or is it all retained from "life" to "life"?
Yes, this gets retained the same way their memories do. This also allowes the Kihya to become highly skilled in their areas of interest since they have all eternety to study it and improve. Certainly they would get bored with one hobby after a while so they also become skilled in a wide range of things as well.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]orenachangeling
2008-03-04 11:25 pm UTC (link)
Do they have any control over the rebirthing, or is it something that happens to them whenever their bodies feel it necessary (i.e. is it a voluntary or involuntary action)? It is pretty much involuntary, if they are caught off guard when they are killed (if they are stabbed in the back or something) they will still be reborn without consciously having to decide to. But they can consciously stop the process and die, but it takes a lot of effort.

Immortal is a loaded word: is there a way to kill them permanently?
There are three ways for a Kihya to die permanently. The first is if they choose to, as explained in the previous question. The other Kihya can also absorb the life force of a dying Kihya as they are reborn, there by taking away the healing fires and leaving them to die from their wounds (a hanous punishment that was only ever used once). The third way is if they die in an environment that can't support them after they are reborn (if they are trapped and crushed under debris from an avalanch, or if they were on a starship that was destroyed and left in space as a consequence) in that case their bodies will continue to try to be reborn from the damage that environment is causing them, the process will get out of control and they will burn into a pile of ash.

How do they live? Do they all live together, or have they scattered themselves over the galaxy? Most live in small communties scattered across the planet Salasia, some individuals live on different planets, either alone or with beings of other races. There are two main groups of Kihya, the Order of Pallar, which is the largest group, and the other groups tend to be allies with or at least stay in contact with, and the Shen Khar who are enemies with the Order of Pallar, or at the very least cannot get along.

how are they viewed by others? Revered? Distrusted? Hunted? Sought after for wisdom?
All of the above really. The Order of Pallar leads the United Legue of Interstellar Nations, which is sort of like the Federation, but not as squeeky clean, they just try to make their reputation look that way. The majority of people are in awe of the Kihya and seek them out for wisdom, but there is always the underground groups and paranoid few who believe the Kihya are out to get them.

How do they generally see the other races? Do they feel custodial over them? Protective of them? Irritated by them?
The Kihya feel that they are better then mortals but they also feel custodial over them, that they should use their superiority to help rather then harm.

Although they have no need for reproduction, it was once part of them. Are they still gendered? Even vestigially? If so, does it affect their personalities?
They are still vestigially gendered and have the appearance of males and females. They have no hormones or deires to have sex though. Although they would be capable if they wanted too, just not able to reproduce from it.

Do they have voices still, or have they atrophied due to the telepathy?
They still have voices, although you would think they would no longer need it. I'll have to come up with a reason for keeping it.

Do they still evolve? Do their bodies change slightly with each "rebirth"? Or is each body an absolute exact copy of the former one?
This is a hard one for me to answer. I want to say yes, they change slightly after each rebirth, but I think it would sound too much like the Time Lords' regeneration from Doctor Who. The Kihya's ability to come back to life is already pretty similar, I don't want to go to far. I'd have to say this one is still undecided at this point.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

[info]mdu_ntr
2008-03-12 09:55 am UTC (link)
"Do they have voices still, or have they atrophied due to the telepathy?
They still have voices, although you would think they would no longer need it. I'll have to come up with a reason for keeping it"

if they are in contact with other races, the races might find it insulting to be spoken to telepathically. they may need to retain their voices for intergallactic relations.

"Do they still evolve? Do their bodies change slightly with each "rebirth"? Or is each body an absolute exact copy of the former one?"

From what I've seen the time lords' bodies change very differently with each regeneration, even their attitudes change. Saying they change slightly would not be encroaching on Doctor Who's teritory. remember that nothing in fiction is totally new, ideas such as "pheonix" were once original and have been used to the point where they are common knowledge.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]mdu_ntr
2008-03-12 09:39 am UTC (link)
Just an interesting thought. If they are killed (eg, are decapitated) do they still burst into flame and rebirth or do they leave existance? if they leave existance their number would gradually deplete.

Can two birds come from one flame/death? it would be similar to how you get two yolks in a chicken egg (although this is due to different reasons).

(Reply to this)

[info]inkspot_fancy
2008-03-18 04:29 pm UTC (link)
How many of them go into military-style service? Even if it's not socially the norm, every so often you get a sheep who'll charge the wolf. I'd think they would be sought after as fighters unless there's some reason they can't. The light bone structure common to birds might be one reason. Speaking of which...

Do they fly? How? Are they using their telekinetic abilities to help levitate themselves, those who have it? Hollow bones? Magic? (I can't tell you how much I hate that as an answr, but it's so common it has to be there). Are they smaller than humans?

(Reply to this)

Create an Account
Forgot your login?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…