Cervinyms are the cross between a cervitaur (deer centaur) and a nymph. While relationships between the two groups aren't uncommon or looked down upon, the children that are often a result of these relationships are of great interest and could be considered uncommon. This is due to the fact that most cervinyms rarely even survive birth. Those who do will either die from complications or manage to survive, with those who will pass dying before the age of five. The few who do live past five are said to live long, healthy lives with few problems. The key to their survival is dependent on speedy and accurate medical care by professionals, of which there are few who truly know how to treat ailments that plague cervinyms.
All cervinyms share common traits. These traits include: antlers, some form of magic ability, and a human upper half. This is regardless of whether or not they are either of two variants of cervinyms: tetrapodal cervinyms and bipedal cervinyms. Tetrapodal cervinyms look more like their cervitaur parents, with a deer lower half and deer ears. Bipedal cervinyms, however, look more human, with pointed nymph ears and the more deer-like traits being restricted mainly to a tail and the antlers that both variants have. Some suspect bipedal cervinyms are genetically superior to the tetrapodals, but there is no proof of this claim. There also doesn't seem to be any relation between which parent is the nymph and which is the cervitaur and whether or not the fawn will be tetrapodal or bipedal. Regardless of which variant a cervinym may be, they are generally the same in many ways besides appearances and the mobility limitations related to it.
Cervinyms are highly hunted by poachers for their antlers and, if they're a tetrapodal, deerskin. Their antlers are special and unique to only them- neither nymphs or cervitaurs have antlers like a cervinym's. While they may look generally the same, a cervinym's antlers are different in almost every other aspect. The texture feels like a mix between wood bark and regular deer antlers. When cut, it is revealed that the center of these antlers are hollow and are instead full of some substance that is similar in appearance to honey. This is generally referred to as "cervinym sap" and each sap tastes different from person to person. Externally, different plants will grow from and on the antlers. This could range from flowers to leaves to moss and mushrooms. Flowers and leaves, like the sap, vary from each person but all cervinyms have a chance of growing moss and mushrooms on their antlers if adequate care is not taken. Mushrooms and moss start to grow when antlers aren't properly maintained and cared for. However, some seem to use these growths as fashion sense. Much like cervitaurs and regular deer, cervinyms will shed their antlers occasionally. This happens less frequently than deer, but more frequently than cervitaurs. While deer shed theirs yearly and cervitaurs shed theirs every 30 years, cervinyms shed theirs roughly around the age of 20, give or take a few years in either direction. When they shed, any plants or fungi will first wilt and decay, eventually falling off. The antlers fall off without pain or blood. The presence of either implies serious issues. Besides antlers that can be the source of a cervinym's pride, most also have special abilities.
Almost all cervinyms possess some form of magical ability. However, a cervinym's natural magical prowess is mainly determined by the magical abilities of the parents. If at least one parent regularly practices and is knowledgeable in some form of magic, then the fawn will also be born with some ability that is related to the form of magic the parent(s) practiced. For example, if a nymph practices magic relating to the changing of appearances (shapeshifting, invisibility, or just changing certain aspects of one's body), then the fawn would have some ability related to that. Of course cervinyms have the chance and ability to expand and strengthen their magical abilities beyond what their parents before them did. The transferring of skills and abilities is limited exclusively to magic and cannot transfer other skills like carpentry or farming. On top of inherited magic, young cervinyms may have fluctuations in magical power and abilities, some of which will not be related to either parents' abilities. These fluctuations will fade away with age- with the fluctuations waning completely by the age of 5- but accidents caused by the lack of magic control can be implied as one of leading causes of fawn deaths.
Cervinym fawn magic accidents are not the main cause of death, though. Bipedal cervinyms are more common than tetrapodal cervinyms due to the fact that- if the mother is not a cervitaur, tetrapodal fawns pose more of a health risk to themselves and their mothers as they require more room to be able to be delivered. While C-sections are possible remedies for nymph mothers, a nymphs naturally fast healing abilities make this difficult as the mother's body tries to rapidly repair the incisions made. Most tetrapodal fawns are born from cervitaur mothers or nymph mothers who are used to childbirth or receive excellent medical care. Circling back to after birth, fawns must be closely monitored and cared for to prevent any fatal accidents from occurring. Other than the first 5 years of life, cervinyms grow similarly to humans; they grow at the same speed as humans and experience puberty and everything else. However, healthy cervinyms do tend to live longer than normal humans, with most passing naturally at around 100 years of age. As a cervinym ages, they begin to develop wrinkles and their hair will get gray streaks, similar to other races. For tetrapods, their deer skin will lose some vibrancy, but the fur pattern itself will not change.
Next up, we will be discussing the Widow people.
