Yan'Katma

Basic Information

Alternative name(s) Spirit Twins, Splintersouls Origin Malakath Lifespan Varies, but often several centuries. Diet Omnivorous Subspecies

Physical description

Height 4.5 to 6.5 feet Distinctive features Pointed ears, horns, slight builds, delicate appearances.

Cultural

Organisations Wre there significant organisations to be listed? Languages Yan'Kai (spoken between siblings), Yan'Karana (spoken between other pairs) Locations Most often throughout Malakath, rarely throughout the world.

Out-of-character information

Image source Bing image generator

Yan'Katma are a rare and often illusive species, known informally as "Spirit Twins." Off-putting and strange in their behavior to most other species, all Yan'Katma are born as identical twins that share a soul. Each pair of Yan'Katma act as though they are one being, and indeed, view themselves as extensions of a single organism rather than two unique individuals. There is no bond in existence closer than that of a Yan'Katma pair.

Yan'Katma pairs are often ethereal and wispy in their features and lithe in build. Lighter hair, skin, and eye colors are common, but not absolute. Yan'Katma superficially appear like horned elves, though ear length and horn appearance varies between pairs. The most notable feature of Yan'Katma, of course, is that they are always a pair of twins, never far apart from each other.

Yan'Katma tend to shy away from heavy population centers, preferring small towns and villages when they live among civilized society. Many choose to live either as a solitary pair or in small in-groups far outside the reaches of civilization, however.

Distinct among Yan'Katma is the very nature of their existence: Yan'Katma are always born as twins, and every Yan'Katma sibling pair share a single soul, split between their two bodies.

This link is not just a spiritual or superstitious one, but a biological one as well. One half of a Yan'Katma pair cannot exist without the other. When a pair is separated by a distance of more than a few miles, both twins begin to suffer from rapid onset illness. Effects include headaches, nausea, fatigue, and weakness. The longer the twins are separated and the further the distance, the worse the illness becomes. The death of one twin often means the immediate death of the other, but some Yan'Katma have been known to survive up to three days past the expiry of their twin before inevitably dying as well.

The soul bond between Yan'Katma twins is not wholly negative, however. A Yan'Katma pair share an empathic bond that is so strong they can feel the emotions of each other at all times, and even experience the tactile sensations of each other when in close proximity. The Yan'Katma language, Yan'Kai, is almost entirely non-verbal, being communicated primarily through eye contact, body language, facial expressions, and even partially shared thoughts that only a sibling pair can understand (though their secondary language, Yan'Karana, is verbal and oft spoken between unrelated pairs).

Despite always being genetically identical twins, Yan'Katma pairs can be born in any combination of sexes.

A single soul. Two bodies.

It is thought that once there was a lonely god of solitude, a being who was cursed by its own divinity to forever exist in isolation. Despite its best attempts, it was forbidden from reaching others, and so it despaired in its solemn seclusion. Yet the god's desire for companionship was so great that at once it split in two, and in doing so shattered its own curse. Never again would the twin gods be lonely; forever more, they would always have each other.

From this divine paradox, this unity in disparity, this companionship in singleness of soul and purpose, was born the Yan'Katma. This people would forever be the twin gods' love letter to togetherness. While the twin gods faded from history and into obscurity, the Yan'Katma persist to this day.

The species seems to have originated among the wilds of Malakath, the frequently treacherous and alien landscape proving the perfect cradle for a curious species with a familiar appearance.

Yan'Katma pairs don't strive for independence from each other. As two halves of a pair are not truly "individuals," siblings don't view each other as separate entities but as two halves of a whole.

Each twin in a pair has their own name, but Yan'Katma names are generally designed to be spoken together. This distinction is primarily included in their cultures as an amenity for interacting with other species, who generally aren't capable of grasping that Yan'Katma pairs are nearly a single entity. For example, a Yan'Katma pair might collectively be called "Sai'Venna," but members of other species in their community might know them as "Sai" and "Venna."

While Yan'Katma pairs share souls and rarely disagree, their minds are still distinct from each other and twins can and will disagree on occasion. Just as a single-bodied species might face indecision on certain matters, Yan'Katma twins sometimes have different ideas on how to approach things. Despite having such disagreements, a given Yan'Katma pair will almost never be so at odds with themselves as to become angry at each other.

Courtship among Yan'Katma can be highly complex. Yan'Katma tend to be attracted only to other members of their species, but it's far from unheard of for them to court other species. Most often they will attempt to court other sets of twins, or at least siblings, but they do occasionally court individuals. A non-Yan'Katma individual has to be willing to court both halves of the pair simultaneously; while Yan'Katma siblings generally don't experience jealousy towards each other, excluding one sibling from courtship invariably upsets the other.