#nightlings

I'm still undecided on If I need to change the species name at some point, but for now we can call them Aurians or alternatively, by their subspecies, Daylings, Nightlings, and Dusklings.

They came about because I needed a special race for a medieval fantasy setting of mine, moon and sun themed specifically. They are an open species and I try to allow everyone as much freedom with them as possible. Whether it be for people to make their own and even use them in stories if they really want to, or to make adopts and sell them. I'm pretty chill with what others want to create with them, provided no one claims the species as a whole as their own.

The sun god Soline and the moon god Nicto fled from the mainland to get away from the humans hunting down the various main deities across the continent, presumably imprisoning or killing them, history doesn't seem to know which one it was. They both settled on a distant island, then both cried over what they assumed to be the deaths of their deity friends. Those tears changed shape and turned into intelligent beings with extreme magical capabilities.

Some extra facts!: Aurian's can reproduce without the tears of either of their deities. They will take a sort of special tub or vat, fill it with water, place their soon to be child's mask in, and will add their own blood to the water. It's tradition for would be parents to sacrifice their ring finger.

Because of how they reproduce, biological sex, isn't much of a thing. Some may still have what could resemble sexual organs but its considered a mutation. Their language mostly uses gender neutral terms but some may still go by more gendered terms, This isn't a thing of "they are all canonically nonbinary" and more so of "nonbinary is considered a default for them".

I draw them as mostly humanoid but honestly, be as shapey as you want. Make furries, make abominations. Just got to make sure their masks are gold/silver, can't be taken off without killing them, and that their skin resembles the day, night, or dawn/dusk skies respectfully.

concerning the skin of Nightlings, feel free to give them galaxy skin. It wasn't shown in those simple drawings but I do often draw them with galaxies on their skin.

Nightlings evolved from something closer to a griffon than a mammalian humanoid, but are more reptilian than most modern griffons (they kept a lot of basal traits that other griffons evolved away from).

Their skulls have way more fenestrae than your typical humanoid's as a result of that reptilian ancestor, kept through evolutionary time as either vestigal traits or weight reduction. As a result, their skulls are more fragile. Win some, lose some.

Their jaw is like a reptile's, not a mammal's, with multiple bones of the mandible and a different hinge structure.

A fused collarbone gives more structural support for the wings, but less flexibility.

They have two sets of shoulderblades: one for arms, one for wings. These two blades articulate against each other very slightly, but are mostly immobile. Enough strain on the wing can dislocate this joint, but it is more likely for the point between the wing's arm and the blade to dislocate.

They have a number of attachment points on other bones for wing optimization (process on shoulderblade, fossa in some vertebrae, fossae and eminences on ribs and sternum)

Most humanoids have 10 pairs of complete ribs (meaning connecting to the sternum) and two incomplete pairs. (Fauns have 9: the 10th is reduced due to lack of space, but still present, just incomplete). Nightlings have 6 complete pairs and one incomplete. They are spaced broader, but ultimately account for a smaller structure and lighter weight.

Nightlings' hands are convergent to other humanoids', not analogous. They're derived from the bones of raptorial ancestors rather than from walking legs, and so look different skeletally.

Nightling claws are also not analogous to humanoid nails- they are attached to bone like a cat's (or a raptor's).

Their pelvis is significantly different than a mammalian humanoid's as well: derived from therapod ancestors, they are better built for bipedalism, and don't need to worry about childbirth.

They have no true tail, but do have longer tail feathers. They do not aid in flight at all, and as a result, nightlings are not optimized for maneuverability, but lift. (They are also not really capable of soaring like most birds of prey are).

They have three-toed feet, the smallest of the ancestral 5 has been lost and another- analogous to the thumb- has been reduced into a vestigal dewclaw.

Hands and feet are not feathered: they avoid getting too cold in the absence of insulation via countercurrent exchange.

Their eyes lack any iris structure: instead of a pigmented, muscular ring, they have only a very thin, white membrane of tissue over the pupil, which is very large in the absence of an iris. This lets in lots of light- ideal in a natural, dark environment, but outside of this, they cannot adjust their eye to limit how much light enters. Bright light is debilitating, but they can see in near-pitch darkness.

They are all hyperpigmented (see the ayam cemani) (oops i wrote hypermelanized in the pictures- those are two different things). The only exception is their eyes, which suppress that gene: having heavily selected against pigmentation, as it would blind them. This means even bones and organs are pigmented, resulting in blueish-black insides.

They have the least sexual dimorphism of any humanoid- only small differences in plumage and a very slight alteration of feather density on the rest of the body. Most non-nightlings cannot tell the difference betwen a hen and a crow.