Cervidan

The Cervidans are a race of deer-like humanoids, they tend to work with the forest and protect it.

Overview

The Cervidans are a peaceful race, only fighting when needed to protect the forest, much of their trade natural products such as food, wood and other things from plants. They use wood to make a lot of things, including their houses, weapons and much equipment, this is possible as they are capable of growing unique trees that cannot grow in other environments, some of these rival the strongest metals in terms of strength and durability.

Some Cervidans live a more nomadic lifestyle, protecting the forest, they tend to call themselves the Dryads and are much more in tune with nature.

Culture

The Cervidan culture takes influences from some aspects of British culture, however has plenty of other smaller influences. Cervidans primarily work with natural resources and often trade in wood or assist in the introduction of new plants in other countries. Cervidan cuisine is very plant based, with meat being extremely uncommon outside the capital where it is sometimes sold to help non Cervidans in the area.

The Cervidan capital is known as Rosewood. Rosewood is situated nearer to the Drid'aRae and Tierra Del Leon borders and is built around the Tree of Ceres, there is also a town known as Doeport on the coast near to the continent of Banbu which is used to import and export there.

Currency

Cervidans use Bucks as currency, these are made of wood taken from the Tree of Ceres which can only be worked by a small number of trusted people.

Most Bucks resemble coins, however high value Bucks are shaped into notes. Bucks come in increments of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50, they previously included 2 Buck coins, however these were phased out in at some point in the 11th century. Each type of Buck has the current leader's face carved or printed onto it.

1 Buck coins: Roughly 20mm diameter and 1.5mm thick

5 Buck coins: Roughly 24mm diameter and 1.8mm thick

10 Buck coins: Roughly 23mm diameter and 2.8mm thick

20 Buck notes: Roughly 130x70mm sheets of paper-thin wood, printed with an image of the Tree of Ceres

50 Buck notes: Roughly 140x75mm sheets of paper-thin wood, printed with an image of the Tree of Ceres and the dragon Ivy.

Cuisine

Chips

Small sliced up wedges of potato, Cervidans usually serve as a side with other meals, however it has spread beyond Buckwood to both the Isle of Flight and Tierra Del Leon, where it is popular with fish.

Mushroom pie

A pie made with a crust of pastry, filled with mushrooms in a sauce and covered with a lid of pastry, these are sometimes made with other vegetables added.

Vegetable soups

Cervidans often make soups with vegetables, typically thicker than soups from Banbu, these soups sometimes have larger bits of the vegetables used in.

Magic

Dryad Magic

Dryad Magic is a power possessed by some Cervidans allowing them to become much more attuned to nature than any forest user, Dryads are capable of perfect communication with the forest and it's animal inhabitants along with being able to become part of the forest at will, this can involve becoming somewhat plant like, or in some cases being able to fully become a plant at will.

Forest

Most Cervidans are naturally attuned to the Forest gate, this gives them the ability to grow, create or control plants, along with learning to communicate with the forest to a degree.

Growing plants mainly involves channeling forest mana to assist in the development of plants, however can also be used to near instantly grow a plant, generally it is best used to assist in the growth of plants.

Creating plants allows the user to manifest their mana as a plant at will, this can be useful in order to utilise aspects of some plants in combat, though with enough practice is also helpful for a forest user to introduce new plants, as it can if handled correctly create a new plant using the seed of another to grow a new type of plant.

Controlling plants is typically used in combat, though is also used to help plants avoid danger, it is generally considered immoral to use this type of forest magic without first learning to communicate with the forest, as a lack of communication with the forest could be damaging to it.

Biology

Cervidan biology has some relatively notable differences between the two typical sexes. Male Cervidans are freqently larger in stature with heights most often between 1.8m-2.2m while female Cervidans are often smaller between around 1.5m-1.7m.

Male Cervidans often have antlers on their head which can sometimes be used for defence or in mating rituals amongst certain groups, this is less common in the modern day however in the earlier years of Mekkan it would be common to see Cervidan stags fighting each other for the affections of a Cervidan doe. Female Cervidans do not often have antlers, though a few exceptions do exist.

Amongst male Cervidans it is common to see more muscular builds, this is not exclusively the case however biologically it is more common to see this. Female Cervidans seem to more commonly have smaller more fragile looking builds, though this in no way speaks to their capabilities as their magical prowess can often outweigh that of the males.

Many other traits of Cervidans are relatively similar to that of other humanoid species, for example they most often have humanoid feet, standard genitalia and mostly typical bodies. Some exceptions exist however this is uncommon.