[Magic Proposal] Familiars

[Insectia]

What: I propose that animals such as (but not limited to; at the discretion of The Conclave) arthropods smaller than the size of a hand may become the familiars of people who have either studied old texts about magic, or have had that knowledge passed down verbally (i.e. unless a character has made a discerned effort for a large portion of their life to study this, or they grew up in a culture surrounded by this - probably at the detriment of scientific advancement - they will not be able to have a familiar)

These familiars may be able to comprehend and relay basic thoughts to their partner, but due to the limits of their brain and the magic knowledge lost over the years, can not speak to their partner, share their sight, etc. The familiar will live a natural life as long as their partner does, and the partner cannot have a second familiar, even if their original familiar dies.

Why: In my nation I was thinking about having insect-human hybrid people, but that doesn't fit with the magic setting of Eras. Instead, I think it would be fun to RP a unified tribal nation which has their people create a familiar when they come "of age," with the familiar sorting them into their future tribe. Most familiars from my nation will be insects (as that's my nation's hopeful theme) and not all children will be able to conjure a familiar (although most do) and those who don't are cast out.

When/Where: The conjuring of familiars may have started with the Elves (Aed Kaene), but no one knows for sure. It's a common trope in children's books, and yet some say in the deep, unchartered forests, familiars just might exist.

How: There is precedent already set for human-animal connections via magic. Werewolves and Vampires, while they can be considered "afflictions," connect one to a wolf and a bat, respectively.* Further, the Aed Kaene are known to have used magic before being stamped out by humans. It is within reason to assume that their knowledge of magic combined with their longer lifespan would lead them to forming closer bonds with animals throughout their life, possibly using magic to enhance those bonds. Of course, how much knowledge of that magic was lost is at the discretion of The Conclave (and could impact the size of familiars allowed, as well as their abilities, such as communication, sharing senses, transforming into one's familiar, spells, sharing pain, etc. which I assumed would be too high magic for this setting)

Potential use in RP: While this would be especially helpful in creating my own nation's identity, I believe small things such as this can add a lot of flavor to other character interactions. Because the ability to have a familiar is tied to ones person, a person with a cockroach familiar would say volumes about their character, while a character with a honeybee may be seen as industrious. Animals are nearly always associated with a character trait.

Further, familiars aren't exclusive to one country. This allows anyone in any country, if they are dedicated enough, to research familiars and potentially have one of their own. Simply having a familiar would infer that that individual is smarter than the average. This would provide a sense of exoticism to that character, without giving them any impactful advantages (assuming the most limited form of familiars are the ones approved).

For these reasons I propose limited size and ability familiars be approved as RP canon.

*Unclear if vampires in Eras can actually turn into bats after reading the proposal, but certainly werewolves turn into at least part wolf

 

[Insectia]

There are three hurdles to scientifically explaining familiars: why the animal stays with the person, why that individual animal lives as long as their partner, and how the familiar can share basic thoughts.


From a purely scientific point of view, familiars may be seen as a form of commensialism, where over time certain species that are important to a culture (insects, for mine) are taught that they will receive benefits such as constant food, protection, and increased mobility by staying with a particular human. Of course, this would mean that any species of familiar is slightly different than the average, as they must hail from a line of species which has been in near constant presence/attempted domestication by humans.


Sharing basic thoughts may be viewed by the medical community as a cultural contagion or monomania. The familiar doesn’t speak to their partner, but shares basic thoughts…that can’t be objectively proven…and often occur in people whose culture reinforce this idea, or in people who go against the grain of their culture and spend a large portion of their life studying familiars. Strong case for it being in their heads.


Longevity may be explained by commensialism, as the familiar relies on their partner for food. In the specific case of Arthropods, it may be that the reason people may only have one familiar is because the familiar becomes territorial of their partner, and sprays pheromones on them so as to warn other potential familiars that the partner is claimed. The use of pheromones to mark territory or convey signals is widespread among insects.


Due to the sharing basic thoughts being thought of as monomania and cultural contagion, people from more highly developed countries may think familiars are just parasites, and that those who really “believe” in them are primitive. Cultures which are generally more accepting of mysticism or spirituality may place those with familiars in higher regard.


Additionally, arthropods have some of the most basic brains of all creatures. Leaf cutter ants, for example, will continue to cut leaves even if the tree is on fire. If arthropods did evolve to become reliant on a different species for food (which there is precedent for, through symbiotic, parasitic & commensial ways) they would certainly not live long after their partner in the relationship can provide that food. Lastly, if most familiars are “conjured” in specific places, it adds credence to those specialized creatures having the necessary long lasting relationship with humans, as opposed to animals being able to be conjured anywhere. Part of the magic proposal was that when children would become “of age” they would participate in a ceremony for their familiar. Assuming these ceremonies only take place in certain areas, it would be reasonable that those areas are home to the commensial variants of animals.

(Sorry if the formatting ends up weird, I’m posting this on mobile)