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Jakkai are one of the five sentient races of Medius. Usually living in villages hidden away in forests or other places far from Human civilization, Jakkai can still be found just about anywhere there's people.
Physical Features
Basic Jakkai build and form
From Spring to Autumn, Jakkai 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. During 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.
At birth, Jakkai are barely half a foot long but can grow to about 2'6" to 4' toward adulthood. They have prehensile tails and large flexible ears. They have small-black nails on both their hands and feet and despite their small stature they seem to have more body strength than a Human.
Due to the kind of environment that Nirveus has, Nirvenese Jakkai always have their winter coat, even if they happen to travel to warmer climates. In contrast, Jakkai native to the Dragon Island Archipelago will never have a winter coat due to their warm environment.[1]
Behavior
Jakkai tend to behave similarly to Humans in terms of having unique personalities, despite having a more reclusive nature. Most Jakkai are known to be religious and tend to follow many different traditions set by their village elders. Depending on the village they may also follow different rules regarding interaction with other races, like Rhea Snaketail’s village is known to visit the Human village Farun in order to celebrate special events and trade goods, but they do not allow Humans to come into their own village. Another example of this behavior involves the Jakkai and Humans who later founded St. Curtis, where they both resented each other prior to the founding of the city.
While it's more common for Jakkai to live in villages, some will take up residence in locations populated by Humans; in which case they may choose to follow a different lifestyle outside of what their kind is known for.
Regardless of where they live, their diet usually consists of meat (such as fish, birds and bird eggs, and small animals like rabbits) but will eat fruits and vegetables as well.
Lifespan
The average Jakkai can live as long as 100 years. A Jakkai living in their own village (it's unknown if this applies in non-Jakkai locations) will follow a custom of mating every ten years, starting in their twenties until they are 60, during the beginning of Fall. Despite their Mammal-like appearance, Jakkai do not give live birth but instead lay eggs. They are laid late in the Winter season and placed in a hidden nest inside a large designated house or nursery along with all the other eggs in the village. The eggs hatch late in Spring, to which the mothers of that year's children will nurse them; not knowing which child is theirs by blood relation. Their last names are given to them by the village leader(s) shortly after the time they are born and are based on a certain characteristic about them that's unique from other Jakkai. As they grow older they can choose their own first name.
The children will then grow up in the same living quarters for ten years, not knowing who their biological parents are. The entire community helps in raising them, doing volunteer work and so forth. At around 13-15 years old, the children will move out into empty homes within or around the village (though sometimes with a Jakkai couple, granted they have permission, for a few years until they establish their own home).
Powers and Abilities
Jakkai are known to be terrible at using Magic. Compared to Humans, who are capable of learning a whole multitude of spells, Jakkai tend to only learn one; two if they are lucky and somewhat skilled enough. Otherwise they are known for the following:
Enhanced Strength: Despite their small stature, Jakkai are considered to be stronger than Humans. This is likely given their bestial appearance and their habitats mostly being in forests where they hunt, they would have likely adapted to a harsher life-style that doesn't require the use of Magic.
Enhanced Mobility: Because of their small size and natural strength, Jakkai can be quite dexterous and nimble which can make them harder to catch. They can easily climb trees given their small sharp nails and with their prehensile tail they can hang from branches.
Keen Hunting Senses: Jakkai are natural-born hunters. They have a wide-range of sensory skills that allow them to excel in catching prey. They can track them by scent or by closing their eyes they can track prey using their large ears to improve their hearing.
Known Jakkai
- Rhea Snaketail
- Ramirez Bloodeyes
- Moonshade, a mysterious Jakkai with a tail just like Rhea's, possibly a relative
- Thunderheart , a younger Jakkai from Rhea's village
- Lockjaw, a Jakkai from Rhea's village who, according to Rhea, drinks
- Stonepaw, the Village Elder
- Lightfoot, Rhea's nest-sister who drowned when they were children
Trivia
- In Pg. 153, Rhea mentions a Jakkai named Stonepaw with whom she didn't get along with: This is probably the Village Elder Rhea argued with the day she was murdered
- Chu has admitted that the Jakkai custom and practice of raising their children was inspired by Greg Weisman's Gargoyles
- Chu has confirmed the name of Rhea's nest-sister who drowned is Lightfoot.
References
| Notable Jakkai | Lightfoot † • Moonshade • Ramirez Bloodeyes • Rhea Snaketail • Riverside Jakkai Shopkeeper † • Stonepaw • Thunderheart |