-This chapter is basically just a mass info-dump about the beastmen. Next chapter will have some combat and actual character development, christmas miracle.-

After spending a few hours in recovery with Liza, Ryzan was finally back in the mood to continue reading. Heading back into the library, he opened up to where he had left off.

A majority of elven villages are far away from any other city, and they rarely interact with the other races. Interesting enough, despite this seclusion, there are very few villages composed of one type of elf. With exception to a few radicals, all four branches of the elven race can usually be found at any of their villages, living in harmony. Interestingly enough, when relationships form between different branches, the child will end up bearing all traits of one side. There has been no record of any change to appearance or aptitudes in a cross-branch pairing. This is a unique aspect of elves. The closest comparison, would be relationships between two different branches of beastmen. Beastmen children, like the elves, will clearly find their physical features matching one particular branch, but, unlike the elves, they can inherit minor features of both parents such as eye color.

(ryzan) hmmm... That's a bit odd. Never would have imagined elves genes are a package deal rather than the standard mix and match. Though I have to say I'm interested in hearing about these branches of beastmen.... I hope there are pictures, ehehehe

The race with the highest variance of features, is without a doubt the beastmen. All children of beastmen will find themselves as part of the canine, bovine, reptilian, feline, avian, or piscine. There is little to no discrimination between types, but you will often find that many of their small villages have very unbalanced populations. The reason for this is that different types of beastmen prefer different climate zones, so similar types tend to relocate to the same areas. Another interesting aspect is that, while it is unlikely to happen, the child is not always the same branch as either of the parents. Only about 1 in a hundred are estimated to diverge from their parents branches, and we have yet to determine how this happens.

(ryzan) That's actually interesting. I guess while elven genes are almost entirely dominant, beastman genes have recessive qualities that allow for atavisms.... or beastmen wives are good at covering indiscretions.

Unlike the elves, the beastmen do not have the possibilities of a half-beastman. When copulating with a human, the resulting child is always a beastman. When copulating with an elf, the resulting child will be either be a beastman child, or an elvish one. As a military power beastmen are threatening at close range, but rather weak in long range. Additionally, despite having a few villages, beastmen are primarily nomadic, and thus they do not usually have extremely large forces assembled. The reason for their weakness in long distance combat, is an extremely small mana pool and low mana control. This aspect makes some, usually high elves, discriminate against the race.

(ryzan) *Eyebrow twitching* “HOW DARE THEY!”. and here I was all happy about the elves being here. Elves are amazing, but not amazing enough to discriminate against my adorable Liza!! (AN: *cough* ryzan in no way, shape, or form owns Liza). I'm totally arming the beastmen with bows as soon as possible, let's see how inferior they are when they have range on their side as well! *fumes a bit longer before continuing*

While they do still have the ability to use magic, their proficiency in it is negligible next to the other races. In exchange for this, the beastmen have an astounding amount of physical strength, and a long natural lifespan. While not as long as elves, the average beastman will still live to 150+ years. Though, unlike the elves, the beastmen age a bit slower, and are somewhat more fertile. A beastman is not considered an adult until their first growth spurt, which usually happens at age 15, and after that they will age very little before their second growth spurt, which usually occurs at age 30. Due to their strength and wild nature, many of the beastmen become famous warriors. Additionally there are many talented beastmen weapon and armor smiths.

(ryzan) *raises eyebrows* On her last birthday, I think I heard mother say Liza was only 19. *imagines her curvy hourglass figure*... tha.... that's not even a fully developed body... *gulp* I don't know if I'll live through her second growth spurt

For a further breakdown, one would have to go into the different branches of beastmen. First will be the canine beastmen. Describing a generalized image of a canine beastman, or really any beastman, is quite impossible. The shape and color of their ears differ from person to person, same for their eyes and tail. Additionally, different individuals will have different amounts of fur on their bodies, ranging from none at all, to almost fully covered. These differences do not seem to change around the parents at all, and is mostly determined to be random.

(ryzan) Huh... I assumed all beastmen would just look like Liza. Ears, tail, and a small tuft of fir along the cheekbones... then again I don't really know if she has fur elsewhere. I should probably check that.. for... eheehehe... research *continues creepily chuckling for awhile*

-through the house-

(liza) *shivers* that was a strange chill, I wonder it there's a draft in here.

-back in the library-

As for attributes, canine beastmen will always have either a wind or fire attribute. This makes the canine beastmen the most likely blacksmiths, due to the ability to train in multiple assisting magic techniques. In terms of combat, the main advantage of these beastmen is their superior hearing and sense of smell. Using these, canine beastmen make for natural trackers, and are hard to take unaware.

(ryzan) it's a long shot, but I should ask Liza if she has any talent in blacksmithing. If she can supply me with some good broadheads and tools, I can likely start working as a bowyer very soon.

Next are the bovine beastmen. These beastmen have the usual ear, eye, and tail changes, but they also often have a pair of horns. One oddity about bovine beastmen, is that, regardless of whether they have given birth, females begin to produce milk upon reaching adulthood. In addition, between the period of adulthood and full growth, they will produce extremely thick and sweet milk. While the quality does decline once adulthood is reached, many still believe that the milk they produce is superior to what you can find from standard cattle. Additionally, the milk returns to its former status for about a year after pregnancy. This milk is highly sought after, and many bovines get enough to live for years, just from selling it to the markets. For their attributes, all bovine beastmen have an affinity to earth. They are also known being extremely powerful, having the most strength oriented bodies of the beastmen.

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(ryzan) I need to get acquainted with a female bovine beastman if at all possible. Regardless of other *ahem* benefits, I'm extremely curious to see how that enriched milk would work for the horn soaking process.

Then there are the feline beastmen. The most interesting aspect of this branch, is that every single feline beastman is a female. The main distinguishing feature of this branch, is that the members are all naturally petite and agile. Their magic affinity is always air, and in combat they are very similar to wood elves, in that they focus on hit and run tactics. They are also known to have the second sharpest eyes of the beastman race.

The branch with the most interesting sense enhancement, are the reptilian beastmen. They are actually able to sense the heat in a short range, and, to add onto their intrigue, they also have the largest range of forms. While some have normal legs, others will have a serpentine body. Plus there are some types that naturally form poisons. Reptilians all have a fire and/or nature attribute, and all types with poison have an affinity to nature. Almost every one of the poisonous reptilian beastmen, are mentored by a medicine maker, and are held in high esteem as a healer. In terms of combat, reptilians are hard to take unaware, and their scales are hard enough to be a natural armor. While the poisonous ones are suited to assassination as well, and the snake-bodied reptilians have the option of lashing or binding the opponent with their tail. Despite the variances, they have one particular aspect in common, they do not handle the cold well. As such, all young reptilians need to be raised in hot environments, and even the adults must stay in hot areas, unless they have a fire affinity to heat themselves.

(ryzan) Wow.... lamias!... and even poisons, and heat vision. Quite a package.... though that heat problem has got to be a massive inconvenience for them.

Another varied branch are the avian beastmen. While not as drastic as the reptilians, there are two distinct types of avians. One, with wings that come out from their back, and another where their arms are their wings. The avian beastmen are the only beastmen with feathers, and they are also one of the only two beastmen branches without tails. They are also the beastmen that have the most accurate eyesight, and the only branch with natural ability to fly. These traits make them ideal scouts and messengers. They will have an attribute of either air or lightning, and are known to be a very forgetful species.

(ryzan) “bu...buhahahhaha” The avians are bird-brains!!

Last are the piscine beastmen. There are two unique aspects of the piscine, a set of gills to compliment their lungs, and their webbed feet and hands. They also have scales, but they do not have the same level of defensive properties as the reptilians. Piscine have to stay wet, and thus will usually live near a body of water. While it is possible for them to walk on dry land, they must constantly drain their already limited mana pool to do so. All piscine have a water affinity, and have the highest capability in hearing. Based on these, and the maneuverability provide by their webbed appendages, it is very hard to hold your own against a piscine in water.

Now, to cover one more interesting aspect of there beastmen. There is an uncommon ability that can change their appearance. A beastman will not know they have this ability until their first growth spurt. The partial version, obtained in the first growth spurt, is called were-form. While the full version, obtained during the second growth spurt, is called beast-form. The first form adds some extra animal features, such as limbs and mouth, as well as increasing strength even further. The second allows one to take the form of their respective animals, but with far greater strength than the normal beast.

(ryzan) *stands up with stars in his eyes* “WEREFORM!?!”

Ryzan may have lived a much longer life than his appearance would reveal, but he had not really developed anything, other than his skills, in his past life. For this reason, his mentality still had several childish points, and something like a real werewolf....werefox, was something he couldn't pass up.

(ryzan) *dashes through the house* “LIZA!!!!!... Liz!!!!!!”

(kayla) *grabs ryzan, and picks him off the ground while his legs are still kicking* “Liza went to the butcher a bit ago Ryzan, what did you need her for?”

(ryzan) “the butcher?? OK, I'll go meet her half way. I need to ask her something of the utmost importance”

(kayla) *sigh* “ok, just be careful, and please calm down a bit. You're going to pass out before you ever see her at this rate” *sets him back down*

(ryzan) *yells, as he dashes out the door* “ok got it”

After running for a bit Ryzan managed to spot Liza's silver hair on the road, and dashed straight towards her. After getting closer, his expression began to change rapidly. Liza was surrounded by 4 teens who were holding balls of water in their hands.

(???1) “So barbarian, what's it like to see real magic”

(Liza) “P-Please just let me go”

(???2) “ha, you make it sound like we're kidnapping you”

(???3) “I know, and here we are giving personal guidance to a talentless barbarian. Where is the thanks”

(???4) “Maybe she just needs a close look to appreciate it” *laughs*

In the distance Ryzan was still approaching, but his speed had slowed. His happy childish look had faded from both his face and eyes, replaced by a dark shadowed scowl, and a dangerous glint in his eyes.

(ryzan) *whispers* “un... unforgivable”