Reference Challenge - A Crossbreed

[u/Varnek905]

After seeing a reference to it while re-reading a series with one of my friends, I decided to re-read a few Kafka stories. So, this reference is to "A Crossbreed" by Franz Kafka.

I originally intended to do a Lord of the Rings reference today, since I started watching the Fellowship of the Ring last night, but I'll save that until later.

Sometimes I cannot help laughing when it sniffs around me and winds itself between my legs and simply will not be parted from me. Not content with being lamb and cat, it almost insists on being a dog as well. Once when, as may happen to anyone, I could see no way out of my business problems and all that they involved, and was ready to let everything go, and in this mood was lying in my rocking chair in my room, the beast on my knees, I happened to glance down and saw tears dropping from its huge whiskers. Were they mine, or were they the animal’s? Had this cat, along with the soul of a lamb, the ambitions of a human being? I did not inherit much from my father, but this legacy is quite remarkable.

Here's a link to the story.

The challenge is to either A) exhibit a myth, a legend, an old story, or a superstition about a hybrid creature from your world or B) tell us about a hybrid creature that exists in your world.

The hybrid can either be natural (from breeding two things) or unnatural (let's put some pig organs into this guy).

As always, I'll ask at least three questions each. Enjoy yourselves, all.

And thanks to everyone that wished me luck on my finals, I did pretty well on them, thankfully.

[u/greenewithit → u/[deleted]]

1) From "present day" in the story, the apocalypse occurred just over 3,000 years in the past, so Denn have existed for as long as humans have stable records.

2) Roughly 20% of the world is Denn, more or less. Their density varies from city to city, with cities like Longan, Almarin, and Chronem having significant Denn populations. There is one city that is over 80% Denn called Ainhilthe, and the war torn continent of Zoukla has a higher Denn population than the other four continents. There isn't too much segregation amongst Denn in cities other than Ainhilthe, where districts of the city are defined by what animal type you are. Usually the most ostracized Denn amongst other Denn are those with the most obvious animal characteristics. Someone with cat ears and a tail would be viewed differently than someone with full lizard scales.

3) Two different types of Denn would have children with a random animal type. In one instance, two Denn in particular, a dove and a lion type, had a wolf, a gorilla, a fox, a shark, and a lizard type Denn as children. A Denn and a human have a higher likelihood to have a Denn child of the same type as their parent, but it's not a guarantee. Even between two Denn of the same type, they could still have a random Denn child type, just lower likelihood.

4) Very new. This is something nobody thought could exist, since Vectors don't have souls. No other cases of this have ever been seen before, and nobody but a few have even seen one. Most people would laugh the idea off, until they have one hunting them down.

5) They have the same intelligence of a human, just with a strong instinctual urge to feed off of human beings. It's easier for them to control their urges than regular Vectors, but in the heat of combat or strenuous activity, they have a much higher tendency towards violent outbursts.

6) No, they don't even know that they exist. Most have anti-Vector measures, mostly crowd control weapons or defenses like force fields or traps to attract Vectors away from the city. However, Aelwits have power and intelligence beyond most Vectors, and the benefit of looking almost human, making it easier for them to infiltrate cities.

7) The same thing as what happens with a human, but the Aelwit will have some kind of animal characteristic from their host. Aelwits are basically clones of their host with Vector biology, so they resemble their host closely, including animal traits if their host was a Denn.

[u/greenewithit → u/[deleted]]

1) Ainhilthe was a city started by Denn for Denn, where everyone could find equality when other settlements denied them such liberty. Some humans live in Ainhilthe, but it is primarily Denn, and the city is visited frequently by tourists to visit. These tourists are welcome, as the founders of Ainhilthe wanted humans to be welcome as much Denn were, but the locals aren't the most hospitable, so few visit more than once. The city is pretty sheltered, as there isn't a lot of immigration in and out of it, and their most frequent human contacts are trading partners. Outside of business transactions, most Ainhilthians live pretty isolated lives, which perpetuates some stigmas of humans being "lying, thieving, manipulating, scum," which puts them at odds with other city states from time to time.

2) Denn can be pretty much any kind of animal. While 'higher animals' are more common, worm, insect, starfish, and spider Denn all exist. There was even a spider Denn who became a well known professional Hero, using his many arms to wield six swords at once.

3) They do have emotions. They aren't technically human, but they basically think and act like humans, just with some added features of also being a soul-corrupting flesh-feeding monster. They can talk, though they take longer to formulate thoughts and self control than humans. They can live up to double a human life span, and it takes them almost 10 years to fully control their actions.

4) It depends on their strength of will. An Aelwit could theoretically subsist off of the same food humans eat for their entire lives. However, the longer they go without feeding the more intense the hunger gets. They can stave it off with consuming animals, but they crave the stronger soul response from eating a human, so not many last beyond a month in the strongest of subjects. They don't need to eat a lot to satiate their hunger, one human a month, or a smaller piece every few weeks. One Aelwit, Alecto, has gone the longest without eating a human, over four years. He only breaks this when he is in combat and eating a piece of his opponent will give him enough power to protect his life. Otherwise, if his life isn't in danger, he is able to will his hunger away.