✦ Body
Chuikhas have a centaur-esque body shape built for speed and covering long distances. Their body is usually matte, though there are many other textures with some individuals sporting a mixture of them. They’ve also been known to grow additional appendages such as wings and tails, or even protrusions such as exoskeletons and spines.

✦ Horns
All individuals start off with horns, which are naturally ribbed and curve up then back. They grow at a similar rate to hair and can be styled in any sort of manner. It is common for Chuikhas who reach or surpass adolescence to style their horns by super-heating them, then shaping them while in that molten form. Their horns can sometimes break off in parts but are able to grow back. Some Chuikhas choose to completely shave off their horns, though they must be constantly maintained in order to keep up this no-horns look.

✦ Ears
Chuikhas’ ears are batlike and curve upwards, mimicking a set of horns. The longer the ears are, the narrower or thinner they are and vice versa.

✦ Hair
Their hair is coarse but can have just as many texture and style variations as human hair. It can also be found on more than just the top of the head, often sprouting from their necks as a mane or on their chest region around their core. The only place hair cannot grow is on their claw and pedal pads.

✦ Eyes
Chuikhas can have varying eye styles, as well, though there are three common variants. Dark eyes have colored pupils with matching irises, and dark scleras. Inverted eyes have colored pupils, dark irises, and light scleras. Eclipse eyes have dark pupils, light irises, and dark scleras. Of course, there are many other combinations available, they just aren’t as common and as such, do not have names.

✦ Core
A Chuikha’s core is circular and usually centered on their chest. Their core is what powers them as an individual, essentially like a heart that’s visible from the outside. It is made of very hard, organic materials, with the most common being clay, and harder rock and brittle metals being less common. There is, however, no power difference between materials, only aesthetic differences.

✦ Hands & Claws
Chuikhas have an interesting body shape, with arms that are longer than their legs, that can usually reach the ground when held to the side. They are tipped with abnormally large foreclaws, though smaller ones are also possible. At the base of each foreclaw is a pad.

✦ Haste Chargers
Their chargers are located on their hind legs and are used to generate additional, species-specific energy. Chuikhas refer to their form of energy as “haste.” While they can recover stamina from food and rest, they obtain haste through performing physical activity. Because of this, they seem to be able to run for forever!

✦ Legs
Chuikhas most commonly have four legs, with a pedal pad at the base of each clawed foot.

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- A Chuikha’s core is in the middle of their chest; it is circular or ovular.
- Their chargers are on their hindquarters and match their core.
- They mostly have a matte base but can develop other body textures.
- A Chuikha’s hair can grow almost anywhere on the body, sometimes as a mane.
- Their ears always curve upward to mimic horns.
- Their horns can be styled in any manner.
- Chuikha eyes come in the three pictured styles, with a slit pupil and distinct lack of an iris.
- They have very large claws.
- Chuikhas have pads at the base of each foreclaw and a single pedal pad per hindfoot.

✦ Twoleg*

Some Chuikhas are born with two legs, hence the name. They are still very fast but not as fast as their four-legged counterparts. They are frequently mistaken for another species due to their lack of the iconic centaur-like body structure.

View on Size Chart

View on Size Chart

Baby Chuikhas have comically large ears that either shrink as they age, or they simply grow into them. Their horns start off small and natural, always ribbed with a backward curve. Their arms are so large and disproportionate to their body size that their parents often put one or both arms in a sling, so they’re not as prone to tripping over them; fortunately, their claws are soft and malleable as babies, so they’re not leaving scratch marks everywhere they go! Baby Chuikhas are born with the ability to walk, but their spindly little legs also add to the tripping hazard. Almost all babies are born with speckled dorsal patterns which run from their upper bodies to their lowers; these markings act as camouflage before they can protect themselves, and tend to disappear with age.

Design Guidelines
- Their cores and chargers will carry over to their adult form.
- Baby Chuikhas have big ears, about the same size as their skull, if not larger.
- They have a pair of small, natural horns that are ribbed and curve backwards.
- Their large hands tipped with soft foreclaws are often put in slings.
- They have thin legs that can fill out as they age.
- Their backs are covered with a spotted, speckled, or similar pattern.

Origin Tale

Gentem

Long ago, three warring nations ruled over all of the land. They were all equally matched with advanced technology and numbers within the military. Each nation ruled a land which contained a rich amount of resources unique to each. Foolishly, the three nations created an obnoxiously competitive barter system. All three suffered and began to attempt to take one another’s supply by force.

Each nation’s forces were equal to one another and many lives were lost both through combat and lack of resources. Eventually all three nations proposed a truce. When it came time to vote on it, the three nation leaders met to sign. Two leaders showed up early and murdered the third. Subsequently they took over the third nation and its military and resources in a hasty move.

What remained of the third nation was split between the other two.

But both remaining nations had prisoners of war from the third nation. They decided to do something very evil.

Having no nation or home to return to and no outsider’s knowledge of their status, the prisoners were used for experiments, all kinds of experiments. Some were subject to bizarre methods of sacrifice to the hands of religious cultists. Some were put to brutal tests against previous bio-weapons created by the government. Some became those bio-weapons. All subjects died.

One prisoner remained. The groups given platform for their dastardly experimentation were at odds. They all believed they were at the cusp of their findings and that they would make a breakthrough with one last test. They all dashed to proceed instead of fight.

The results of the combined experiment created a virus which wiped out the entire populace of both remaining nations and the vessel that was the last prisoner remained.

They awoke much later as a new nation.

As a coming of age ceremony, Chuikhas will shave off their horns down to the base and start growing them anew. Most Chuikhas save their “youth horns” for memory’s sake. At around adolescence, they can begin to style their horns as they become more moldable. Horn styling is a largely-participated cultural activity. They can style their horns like they style their hair, using a solution that will liquify their horns to give them the consistency of clay. They then harden back to their solid form.

How has your Chuikha styled their horns? Or are they keeping them in their natural state? Please portray your Chuikha using their baby design or an adolescent design that’s not quite their adult form yet.

Can Chuikhas have nostrils?
They can.

Do Chuikhas have to have thin legs?
No, they do not. The thin legs on the sample image were an artistic choice. Please note, however, that Chuikhas are a species typically known for their speed, so their legs should reflect that to some extent.

Are Chuikhas similar to horses in the sense that if they break a leg, they’re kind of out of commission?
No, they can heal from something like that, but those with slender limbs may find it to be more of a problem.

Can a Chuikha have fingers instead of foreclaws or paws instead of clawed feet?
All their digits must be clawed in some way but they can have clawed-fingers or paws with non-retractable claws!