Minikin

Last updated Nov 11, 2024

• Fauna
• Minikin
• Ultra essent realms
• Sapient species

Minikin (spp. Anthrosciurus sapiens) are a species of small rodents native to the 2nd realm. They are anthropoid, arboreal omnivores descended from the European Red Squirrel. They are the most populous and intelligent race of the 2nd realm, and are capable of speech, agriculture, and forming civilisations.

There is a lot of variation in terms of Minikin appearances, due to genetic diversity. Generally, they are 25-30cm tall, bipedal and anthropoid, with a snouted face, pointed ears, a long, bushy tail, and 4-fingered hands and digitigrade feet, with sharp claws and specialised teeth for tearing flesh and grinding plant matter.

Fur distributions and skin colour varies with the climate; for example, a Minikin from a hotter climate may have less fur and darker skin, whereas a Minikin from a colder climate may have more fur and lighter skin. Likewise, eye colour and hair colour can vary accordingly.

Minikin males tend to be taller than women, about 30 cm in height, and more bulky. Women, in contrast, lack as much hair as males (such as nose hair) and reach a stature of about 25 cm.

Minikin children are small, about 5cm in length, and more squirrel-like than their elders. They are hairless at birth, but quickly grow out a thick coat of fur across the body, which permanently sheds before sexual maturity.

Minikin are omnivores, mainly eating a diet of small mammals, fruit (and their juice), amphibians, vegetables, fish, leaves, and tree bark; and after the invention of agriculture, minikin began to eat and drink bread, beer, and wine.

Eating is a social experience for Minikin, who mainly do so with family, friends, and lovers. They don’t do so with those they don’t trust, as it is an experience where one can let down their guard, without fear of being attacked or poisoned.

Minikin are a very social species, living in familial groups or clans. Due to the mother’s importance within Minikin families, many cultures are matriarchal.

At the advent of the Minikin Bronze Age, many clans began to unite under a common cultural identity into city states and nations, which would go on to expand, colonise, and build empires.

Minikin religion, as with the religions of other sapient species, is based upon the worship of the celestial beings; including the Judges, the Petrified Child, and / or the Angels.

These beings are worshipped on holy days, in holy locations, or in temples, and communed with by those in priestly or high positions within the social heirarchy.

Minikin fashion clothing out of leaves, animal skin / leather, plant fibre, and wool; creating tunics, skirts, and coats, among other items of clothing. Weaving was an industry pioneered early in Minikin development.

Angriculture was innovated in Minikin society at many independent points, but generally spells the end of the Neolithic era (or New Stone Age) and the dawn of the Bronze Age.

Minikin use tools such as sticks or scythes to harvest plants, which include Lunuth wheat, Sweetrice, fruit, berries, vegetables, and Pelen.

Furthermore, Minikin also fashion spears, blades, and clubs in order to defeat prey animals or enemies. Due to the use of Alucinara energy, Minikin do not have use for bows, as they can drive arrows into prey and others by casting a kinetic spell.

Some Minikin domesticate animals such as Weasels in order to ride into battle with other nations, clans, or predators, using their weapons and magic from atop their steed or from the ground in order to succeed against their foe.

Minikin structures are used for many purposes, such as for homes, places of storage, bath-houses, or temples. They generally constructed these structures with clay, Lunuth straw, wood, bitumen, and stones.

On the ground, structures were built on solid ground and otherwise upon flat, stone foundations. These were more often farms, temples, and bathhouses, where waste could be easily taken and used as compost.

Farms could be built on ground-level or in the canopy, depending on their type. Farms which grew crops such as Lunuth wheat or berries were set up on ground level, where seeds could be sewn. Within the canopy, farms were set up to farm the fruit of the trees, such as Dhajar nuts or Sarkitwara, or the goods of various small animals which inhabited the trees, such as silk from silkworms or moths.