The Ka'djin

The Ka'djin is a military race and Rissien's private army. They are few, but they are strong. They are considered the Elite Guard of Orodtûr. The Ka'djin have three specific rankings: the General, the Captains, and the Soldiers. There is only ever one General. There are only ever five Captains. Soldiers can be countless, but again, this race is small.

The Ka'djin have always been a sentient race of shape shifters who could revert from their bird form to their human form. In the elder days, this race was quiet, and though not well liked, peaceful. They helped maintain the balance and order in the world by disposing of evil doers who were defeated by the other clans if they threatened to upset the balance. They were tolerated, but the other clans were leery of them because of their chosen duty. However, this was all changed when Rissien came to power. Unlike the other radicals, Rissien could not be defeated or disposed of and soon convinced the leaders of the Ka'djin to join him, promising them respect and higher ranking in the order of the world. Any of the Ka'djin who resisted this were arrested and put through concentration camps or killed. Now the entire race of the Ka'djin are sworn to serve Rissien, who monitors and restricts their numbers so that they cannot rebel against them, if they ever were to. Now, they follow Rissien diligently and strictly, condemned to be loyal to the Dark King and his every whim.

Naturally, the Ka'djin are mostly black with maybe subtle variations of grey in their feathers. Their forms resemble a mix of ravens, cinereous vultures, and swallow-tailed kites. They all wear armor on their beaks, and the General and an occasional Captain wear removable outer talons on their feet. A coming of age ritual is when a Soldier get his/her talons dipped in steal, for they are now considered ready to endure having their "enhanced weapons" shaped on their very feet. The General is the only one who does not have to have their talons dipped again if they are to become damaged because they receive the larger, removable talons. The Generals can be easily set apart from other Ka'djin because of their extra feathers: a taller crest running from their head and some down their back, a long feather flowing from the elbow joint of both wings, and one long feather in the center of their tail.
Their human forms mimic their bird forms in color: their hair is usually black (pitch or raven-hued), and their skin is tanned, almost grayed. All of the Ka'djin are quite fit, all being of military descent. Their eyes vary in color, some bright as a hawk's, others dim, almost black. All variations can be found. The Ka'djin are rarely blind, and most of those that are found to be are usually killed either in battle or by their own comrades to dispose of "weak links." There is the occasional Ka'djin that was white hair, but they are so rare and they are seen as so strange that they are often ridiculed for their strange hair color. Some infants are even killed, the parents believing that the child has some defect that would preventing them from serving in their ranks.

Being a race specifically bred for military purposes, all Ka'djin are stiff, vigilant, and not easily amused. They find many things trivial and are rather anti-social—they only speak to each other to relay orders or make their reports. However, they are not without feeling. Unfortunately, they have no way to channel these emotions productively except becoming exceptionally brutal in battle against their enemies. The higher ranking members are often known to be cruel to their own kind, needing a way to vent their emotions built up from their pitiable lives.

The Ka'djin speak in a language they simply call "Kin." It consists mostly of clicks and caws—it is not a language that can be written. They depend on their language for their code, which they have no wish in allowing it to be deciphered. It is only used among the ranks of the Ka'djin, though it is rumored that Rissien also knows their tongue.

The Ka'djin are sentient creatures and have all the intelligence and emotions of such. They have no inherent special abilities of the mind, but they do seem to share a connection amongst themselves and some of their bird kin. They have the ability to converse and to an extent control a certain number of common crows, vultures, and swallow-tailed kites if they feel the need to. A lot of their emotions are locked away or beaten down with their military training, so from the outside, they seem to have barely any emotion at all.

Two Ka'djin may become attracted to one another and have a child, but this is rare since not only are the males present in the army, but also the females, who are frowned upon if they take leave from the armed forces to have a child. There are also many arranged "matings," just to keep the race going. But for the most part, the Ka'djin have had many of their romantic tendencies ripped from them so they could better focus on being the guard that Rissien wants them to be.

The Ka'djin can suffer from small illnesses from humans and birds, but they are able to take care of themselves and have extremely tough immune systems. If a Ka'djin were to become frequently ill, this individual is often killed off so as not to dilute the healthy blood if they were to reproduce.

The current General of the Ka'djin is Zhivka (female (owned by me)).