Jakkai

If you’re here you’re probably wondering, “What the heck is a Jakkai, anyway?” Well, my wonderful and curious reader, let me explain. Jakkai are a small, reclusive race of creatures. They usually live in hidden villages away from Human civilization, but the two races are far from hostile towards each other. Sometimes, individual Jakkai may even live in Human cities and towns. Rhea Snaketail’s village is known to visit the nearest Human town in order to celebrate special events and trade goods. Jakkai villages are few in number and extremely widespread across Medius. They can be located just about anywhere, from mountains to forests or even near the ocean.

Physical Features

NAKED... almost.

Spring through Autumn, Jakkai look like this. They have light goldenrod fur, a cream-colored belly, and brown on their feet, hands, back, heads, and ears. Their fur is short, except on the tops of their heads. All Jakkai have different cheek patterns, and their eye color is extremely varied.
Even with a winter coat, I'm sure Glenn is pretty chilly in his boxers.
In the winter, Jakkai grow a white and gray winter coat. This way, they don’t need extra layers of clothing to deal with the cold like Humans do. It would be effective camouflage in the snow if they didn’t wear colored clothes…

Awww a little Jakkai hanging from a tree.

When born, Jakkai are barely half a foot long. Fully grown, Jakkai are approximately 2’6″ to 3′ tall. Jakkai are great climbers, and their strong prehensile tails help them hang from branches or anything else like monkeys with ease. Jakkai are quite dextrous and nimble, and are surprisingly powerful for their size, outclassing Humans in terms of physical strength. Their flexible ears are usually held up, but flop down to the sides of their heads when tired or to express emotions.

While omnivorous, Jakkai usually prefer meat over fruits and vegetables. Their diet mainly consists of fish, birds, small mammals, and eggs. Jakkai are also poor magic users compared to Humans. While a Human may be able to learn dozens of spells in their lifetimes, a Jakkai will typically learn only one or two spells.

[[Click here for a Jakkai Reference Sheet drawn in 2011]]

Life Cycle

Ewwww it's all yolky :P
An interesting fact about Jakkai is that they do not give live birth, as one would expect. Instead, they lay eggs. Jakkai usually mate only in their twenties, and then every ten years after that until they are 50. Their mating season is during the beginning of fall. Eggs are laid in the late winter and placed into a large house or nursery. The eggs are put together in a large, hidden nest until they hatch in the late spring. The hatchlings are nursed by the mothers of that year’s children, even though the mothers do not know which child is theirs by blood relation. Then, for the next decade the Jakkai children grow up together in the same house. They are not raised solely by their biological parents; they have no idea who they are. They are raised by the community as a whole, with designated members of the village and rotating volunteers in charge of the hatchling’s house.

Jakkai are also named differently than Humans are used to. When they hatch, they are quickly named after their most defining characteristc by the village leader(s). In Rhea’s case, her extra long tail (yes I know I don’t emphasize it a lot in my drawings) lead to her being named “Snaketail”. This name becomes a Jakkai’s surname when they are old enough (usually around 10 years old) to choose their own first name.

When they reach 13-15 years of age, Jakkai move out of the hatchling house and into empty homes in the village. Sometimes a young Jakkai will move into (with permission) a Jakkai couple’s home, regardless of blood relationship, for a few years until they find or build a new home within the village.

The average Jakkai lives to be 100 years old.