Species

The species of a creature describes the creature's kind of body. More specifically, two creatures are of the same species if they can have a child of their species.

Species are usually described in regards to a fae's body in particular.

Fae Species

Fae can be one of a limited set of creatures.

A fae's exact species is mostly of little cultural importance; it impacts them less than their ethnicity or race. However, their general species often hinders or even disabled individuals. Fae with more dexterous paws, such as musteloids and large rodents, have historically been advantaged in society due to their physical capabilities. They often have more success achieving roles of higher importance and responsibility. Though measures are taken in modern times to incorporate other species and give them more freedom to work the jobs they want, those other species of fae are still greatly physically disadvantaged.

Some fae are open to dating or marrying fae of different species regardless of whether they can reproduce. This is generally an accepted practice in Luxtia.

Most fae species are large carnivorans and rodents. Exceptions are exceedingly rare. It is unknown whether the caniforms or the feliforms were first to have naturally acquired a spark; both are known to have emerged around roughly the same time in prehistory. Rodents and birds (specifically, ravens) seem to have become fae after prehistory.

Wilds

Each species of fae can exist in the wild without a spark; there are non-fae animals that can be the same species as a fae. Sometimes called wilds, these animals differ from fae who have lost a spark in that they are, and have always been, wild animals.

Fae have adapted very differently than wilds due to their intelligence and society. A few general examples include:

• Fae pelts can be far more varied, while wild pelts are more specialized, such as for camouflage.
• Wilds tend to be physically stronger than their fae counterparts.
• Smaller fae species tend to be larger than their wild counterpart, while larger fae species tend to be smaller.
• Fae eyes are clearer and brighter, and their face markings tend to be more intricate.
• Fae are capable of slightly more vocalization than their wild counterparts.
• Some species of fae, such as the caniforms, can be more omnivorous.
• Fae live much longer due to advances in safety, health, and medicine.
  Everybody can very easily tell a fae apart from an animal without any effort, even if that fae lacks a spark. Wilds look, sound, and even smell different, and their lack of spark is easy for a fae to sense.

Fae in Luxtia do not farm wilds, even for byproducts such as eggs. Fae rarely own a pet wild for moral reasons, though some fae may nonetheless keep a tamed wild.

Interbreeding between fae and a wild is possible but morally condemned, legally criminalized, and physically dangerous. (Fertilization is rare, and the child of such an interaction is usually stillborn.)

List of Fae Species

Fae of the species below are common in both Luxtia and, prior to The Shattering, globally. They are categorized by general clades, though this categorization isn't commonly used; a much more common distinction is simply whether the species has hands.

Caniforms

Caniform species are more omnivorous and similar in size than their wild counterparts. Bears, for example, are closer to the size of a wolf, though they are still notably larger than other species. They also vary more in shape: their ears may be pointed or floppy, their tails may curl, their muzzles may be much more blunt, and so on.

This clade can be further divided into the "handed" musteloids and "non-handed" canids. Musteloid fae, marked with an asterisk (*) in the list below, have historically had an upper hand in society.

• bear
• coyote
• fox
• mink *
• otter *
• raccoon *
• raccoon dog
• seal
• wolf

Feliforms

Feliform species are very carnivorous, with some incapable of digesting anything but meat. Lynx fae in particular usually have a diet mostly comprised of specifically snowshoe hares.

• cheetah
• hyena
• lynx
• puma
• tiger

Rodents

Rodents are completely omnivorous. All rodent fae have dexterous hands, giving them the same physical advantage as musteloid fae. Like raven fae, rodent fae emerged soon after the advent of written history, though such writings are vague at best about their origin.

• beaver
• capybara
• porcupine

Others

Since sparks can spontaneously form, other species may have become fae in the far past but not reproduced or survived.

The only other animal to have acquired a spark and passed it down generationally is the common raven. Raven fae date back to the beginning of written history. It is believed, though broadly unproven, that a link between ravens and wolves had somehow influenced this.

During the events of The New Low, a sheep named Dilly in a farm outside Iapetus obtains a spontaneously-formed spark and becomes the first sheep fae, as well as the first new species of fae since ancient times.

Non-Fae Species

Most species, including all invertebrates, cold-blooded animals, and animals without keratin, are incapable of holding a spark. Other species simply have never acquired a spark by chance. Fae treat these as simply animals; some are domesticated, some are deemed pests, some are hunted, and some simply coexist.

Fae in Luxtia farm a variety of animals for meat, including ungulates (especially elk and white-tailed deer), various fish (especially cod, salmon, and halibut), snowshoe hares, chickens, ducks, swine, sheep, and goats. (Cows and other bovine are not farmed.) Fish and birds are also farmed for their eggs; sheep are also farmed for wool; and sheep and goats both are also farmed for milk and cheese. Some fae object to the consumption of animal meat or even products in general.

Historically, ungulates, especially deer, were used as draft animals, though such is rare in modern times. Some fae may still ride deer, usually as a hobby.

Common pets among fae include small fish, songbirds, reptiles, snakes, and small rodents. Farm animals may also be kept solely as pets. Fae, including large rodent fae and raven fae, usually see nothing unusual about owning a small rodent or bird as a pet and may own such a pets themselves.