Art by  eldrige
Female Chimeran: Eira (body), Hades (tail). Pandora’s daughter
Male Chimeran: Riyas (body), Iris (tail). Pandora’s son.
Chimeran species is mine.
Chimerans are an open species. Just follow the lore below, link to it, and send me the link to yours because I wanna see it. :)

Chimerans
Editing done with the invaluable assistance of:  kharbonarts

Biology: All chimerans have a sapient tail capable of speech and telepathy. The tail is always the opposite on the feminine/masculine scale from the main body. There are never exceptions. The venom in the snake tail is potent and is produced rapidly. The chimeran is immune to its own venom as well as most venoms and poisons from outside sources. Their venom can either be in liquid or mist form and can vary from paralysis, sleep, or death (slow and quite painful or quick and painless).

The main body of a chimeran is naturally athletic and agile. Their endurance is also quite impressive. Chimeran eyes are also very impressive. They are able to see clearly even in nights with little moonlight. Their ears allow them to hear and quickly pinpoint enemies and prey. Only their sense of smell is weak but their tail more than makes up for it. Only their companion cerberen wolves have better vision, hearing, and sense of smell.

Chimeran children reach adulthood at the age of 23 and are considered full adults to those of their race. Fully grown they range from 5.5ft to 6.5 ft tall. Once they reach 20, their aging slows to a crawl. The average lifespan is 5000-5500 years. The oldest on record was near 6000 years old. Coloring and markings can vary wildly and can even have colors not normally found in nature. (No sparkle dog styles) Though it is rare, some tails have hoods similar to a cobra. Aside from tufts of fur on the underside of their tails, elbows, shoulders, and face, the rest of the body is quite skin like. So even their tails lack scales but can still have snake like patterns. The fur on the underside of their tail is exceptionally soft. Most hatchlings are carried gently wrapped in the coils of their parent’s tail. Chimeran parents are extremely protective of their offspring.
From hatching, the main body and tail are capable of communicating with each other thanks to their shared nervous system. Usually feelings or images at first but eventually words and full thoughts as they age.

Habitat: Chimerans are easily adaptable to their environment. They prefer temperate climates but can easily survive in temperatures ranging from -20°F up to around 100°F.

Family: Chimerans usually live with their mates and offspring. It is rare for grandparents to live with their children unless they require assistance from other family. Children, even while training, live with their parents until the age they finish training. Some stay longer, but most move out to pursue their own life and eventual family. Because of how the main body and tail are linked, both act as parent to their children so it isn’t unheard of for a chimeran’s tail to dole out punishments for their children as much as the main body.

Mating Practices: Mating and dating among chimerans can be quite a challenge since both main body and tail have to agree on the possible mate. Since they share a body it almost always ends bad if there is consistent dissention. Most common relationships are between two and usually last for life. Relationships between three or more are rare. Same sex relationships are not uncommon or frowned upon.

There isn’t a limit to how many a chimeran can marry as long as all parties agree. In smaller chimeran towns, marriages are a town wide celebration filled with food, marriment, and fun. Even non-chimerans are welcome. Even larger cities have marriage parties but it rarely involves the entire city.

Due to the bond formed between a chimeran and a cerberen, it isn’t unheard of for them to have sexual trysts. This is allowed because the wolves are sapient enough to consent and more than strong enough to resist should they not. However, this union cannot reproduce.

Reproduction: Chimerans are able to reproduce with other races, but their genetics are nearly always dominant. They may gain some traits and abilities from the non-chimeran parent but their looks are always based on the chimeran parent. Their lifespan can change depending on the race of the non-chimeran parent. For example, a chimeran child that is part dragon may be able to have a breath weapon and could experience an extended lifespan.

The main body is the only one of the pair that can reproduce as the tail lacks genitals. They usually produce two eggs per breeding cycle, but can be as many as five. Even freshly hatched, their tails are already equipped with venom and are fully capable of eating.

At hatching, chimeran children are about 15in to 22in tall from head to toe with the tail averaging about 1.5 to 2 feet in length. After hatching, it is usually up to the newborn on which end eats. Sometime the tail is the primary eater other times it is the main body. This can also change as they age. While young, they usually wrap their tail around themselves for comfort and to maintain homeostasis.

Male chimerans have internal testicles with a knotted canine-like penis averaging about 10” from tip to knot and around 6” girth. When not erect, their penis is hidden behind a vertical slit.

Female chimerans vagina, when not in season, resembles a vertical slit with no visible labia or clit. When in season it will open slightly and will be slightly wet.

Cerberen Wolves (Canis Infernus Cerberus): Cerberen wolves or cerberen, also known as the Chimeran Hellhound by other races, are the lifelong bound partners of chimerans. For their entire recorded history, they have worked exclusively side by side with this species of four legged canines. This species features two heads and two long, fox-like tails, the length of which is the length of nose to start of the tails. They are always hermaphrodites and are capable of reproducing via both sets of genitalia. On the back are two rows of bone-like rib protrusions at the lowest point on the back and spaced to fit a chimeran. Their chest features an oval gem resembling a slitted eye with a black pupil like their own eyes and an iris the same color as their eye color. The creature is able to make this gem and their eyes glow on command. There are two protective, bone-like structures that resemble white bow ties on their necks. Like chimerans, cerberen also mate for life with other cerberen though they still live with their non-wolf companion.

Shortly after birth, they are paired with a newly hatched chimeran to be their life long partner. Because of this, cerberen are, by law, never treated poorly. They function as loyal companions, capable of serving as a mount, courier, guardian, or the like. Though they can't speak, they have the intelligence of the average 15 year old chimeran and are very quick to learn meanings of words, tasks, and commands. Every year their fur coat thickens during the winter months and is shed during the spring. Their shed fur is often used by chimerans for crafting purposes like blankets and clothing. On average they live as long as their chimeran counterparts. They are able to reproduce once they reach thirty years old and usually give birth to three to seven pups at most every fifty years. Fully grown, they average 7.5 ft from paw to shoulder. Their offspring average 1.5 feet from paw to shoulder tall.

Due to their extremely long symbiotic history, they are immune to the same poisons and venoms as their chimeran companion. A few times per day, each head is capable of firing a fireball from their mouths. The heads are prone to the peculiar or sometimes comical behaviour of arguing with each other. There are times where they can be quite stubborn or mischievous.

Their eye/gem color can range the full rainbow of natural colors. Their primary fur color comes in a darker shade of their iris and gem color. Companion fur colors come in shades of brown, black, white, and darker shades of green, blue, red, and gray. (No sparkle dogs. Ever.)

The male reproductive organ on a cerberen resemble those found on the common wolf. External testicles, sheath, and knot. Full grown, their penis averages 15” from tip to knot but can vary by up to 5”. They usually have a considerable emission because of their body size.

The female reproductive organ resembles that found on the common wolf.

Due to there being more cerberen born than chimerans, it isn’t uncommon for unbound cerberen to live solely in chimeran cities and towns. They will usually hunt with others as needed. It is very rare that a cerberen can become bound to a non-chimeran. One example of this happening is when an unbound wolf happened on a young child seemingly abandoned in a forest. The wolf “adopted” the child and took him to a nearby chimeran town and stayed with him for the rest of his life. Depending on the lifespan of their companion and how they are treated by their companion’s family, they may stay bound to that family line for the rest of their life or they may leave to do their own thing. Anytime this happens a chimeran is usually called on to help the bonded pair adapt.


Society:

Childhood Years: After a chimeran and their newly paired cerberen companion reach three years old, they automatically start their military training. Their training lasts 20 years and covers training over melee and projectile weapons for ground and mounted combat. They are also trained in all forms of unarmed combat. Field medical training through magical and non-magical means is also required for all chimerans. Basic education is also taught during this time covering reading and writing in multiple languages, math, handling currency, history of known races, sciences, and geography. To name a few. Any chimerans who show a higher than average aptitude for magic are trained to be battle mages. Battle mages are as adept in physical combat as they are in both offensive and defensive magical combat. For the first few years, at the end of each year, chimerans and their wolf companions are split into groups for mock battles. As they get older, age groups will go up against higher level age groups for greater challenges. As the trainees get older, their training weapons get more realistic along with the injuries that they acquire. Along with their basic battle training, they are also trained in how to function as an adult, including the basics like reading, writing, math, how to manage their money, etc. Hobbies that a chimeran may find interest in are encouraged and trained if desired.

Adult Years: Once training is complete, chimerans and their wolf partners are considered full adults. At this age they choose their first job. Depending on the chosen job, they serve as an apprentice under a master. It is up to the master to accept the apprentice and when they graduate to journeyman. To get promoted to a master of a craft, other masters of that craft judge the journeyman to see if they are worthy of the title of master. Due to their long lives, it isn’t unheard of at all for a single chimeran to be a master in a variety of crafts. Anytime an adult chimeran is in public, they are always armed with at least one melee weapon that they favor more than others. They may also carry a ranged weapon, but usually their wolf companion carries it.

On Magic: Chimerans, and to a lesser extent cerberen, are all able to use magic. At birth, their magical ability can vary wildly but even the weakest can perform minor magic. Their physiology allows their magical endurance to be trained the same way an athlete can increase their physical endurance. Like with physical training, magical training can cause injuries similar to a strained muscle. Until they recover, their spell casting abilities will be limited. Though rare, sometimes a chimeran can cause enough damage to their magical energy system that they lose the ability to cast anything but the weakest of spells. Chimerans also have the ability to combine their magical energy with another to share the spell cost between them. However in order to do this, both minds must be picturing the exact same thing. Otherwise the spell will fail. Sustained spells or channeled spells as they are commonly called, are possible too but will be a continuous drain until the spell is ended.

Chimerans can usually cast any spell they can think of. It is not bound by words or hand waving, just the ability to picture in your mind what you want to do. The more powerful the effect, the more of a drain it will be on their system. So creating a small candle like orb of fire will barely have any effect on the average chimeran. Creating a storm of raining fire could have the similar effect of running 20 miles at full speed.
If a chimeran exhausts their magical energy too much, they will lose consciousness. If they try to cast a spell that is too powerful for their body, the spell will fail.

Cerberen have a similar ability to cast spells but of much weaker power. They are only able to cast a few spells before they run low on magical energy. However, they do not lose consciousness in those situations.

Chimerans are able to conjure food with magic, however this food will only replenish physical energy. Magical energy will either recover slowly on its own or will need non-conjured food.

On Politics and Law: “For the betterment and advancement of all Chimerans and Cerberen.” Is the guiding principle of their race. Long, long ago, a former leader of the Chimeran race nearly caused the extinction of both races. Enough of them realized that their leader was so corrupt they had no choice but to remove them. Afterwords, their entire law structure was changed and centered around that prime tenant. Anyone in a leadership position who violates that is immediately removed and judged appropriately.

Crime among chimerans is very rare outside of the normal low level things like minor fighting. The reason for this is that any punishment put on a chimeran is shared with their companion. As a bonded pair, they are meant to look out for and care for each other. So in order to not punish their partner along with themselves, major crimes are very rare.

Most law enforcement is made up of those who choose the military as their job of choice. Though they are referred to as military, they still answer to the people as well as those in leadership positions.

Chimerans are led by a council of twelve. Every twenty years, elections are held to vote in or keep the current council. The only requirement to run for a council position is to be adult age. All chimerans of adult age are allowed to and encouraged to vote. All jobs are cancelled for that day. The council are responsible for leading their race and creating new laws. Each year all new laws approved by the council are voted on by the populace. If enough votes win, the law goes into effect at the end of that year. In order to keep anyone on the council from abusing their position, one needs to collect enough signatures and a vote of no confidence can be called. In a no confidence case, anyone my present evidence to have that member removed and replaced in a new special vote. An independent council is brought in to weigh the evidence to see if there is any merit. Should the evidence be sufficient, that council member will be removed and blocked from ever running for the council again.

On Religion: In ancient times, chimerans, to a lesser degree, worshipped an extradimensional being and her companion as their Goddess and her Consort. Ancient records and artwork depict the Goddess to resemble their own bipedal form but can also appear in a four legged form as well. The Goddess’ consort resembles a cerberen that is also capable of taking on a two legged form.
While chimerans no longer worship the Goddess and Consort as they used to, they are still very important to chimeran society. There are also rumors that chimerans are still visited by their Goddess and her Consort to this day.

On Non-Chimerans: Chimerans are not immediately hostile to new races. They will always wait and react to how the other race acts. Most hostile races learn very fast that just because chimerans prefer not to fight, that doesn’t mean they don’t know how to. There have been very few full scale battles that chimerans have lost. More often than not other races usually work out trade agreements and alliances due to crafted items unique to them, chimerans with a mastery of certain crafts can be highly sought after, and the powerful ally they would get with the chimerans. In return, they gain knowledge on new techniques in crafting, technology, sciences, and the arcane. Chimerans living in non-chimeran cities usually have to get their living quarters modified to fit their wolf companions. Cerberen always live in the homes of their chimeran partners. Regardless if their partners are married or not.

On Clothing, armor, and weapons: In cold weather, most chimeran clothing is lined with fur shed from a cerberen due to its high insulating properties. Sleeves are made to keep their tail warm and are lined with the same fur. In warmer months and climates, heavier clothing is exchanged for thinner lighter fabric. Tailors can enchant clothes as they make them in order to imbue them with different abilities. These abilities range from minor weapon resistance, tear resistance, and stain resistance. To name a few. Armor can be equally enchanted and is done as the item is crafted. A single stray thought can ruin the spell and the item being crafted. Armor enchants can be heavier weapon resistance, automatic minor repairs, and can even be enchanted to weigh less to name a few. Even cerberen get armor for battles.

Melee weapons can be enchanted so that blades never dull and blunt objects never break. Because of the time it takes to make weapons, imbuing them with magic slows the process due to the requirement of channeling a spell. Most weapons, clothing, and armor can have up to three enchantments on them. Depending on the material used, this number can be lower or, very rarely, higher.

Dietary requirements: Thanks to their unique biology, either the main body or the tail can eat food. For the tail, it is usually a living animal. For the main body, they have an omnivorous diet. With their shared digestive tract, they can easily survive even if only one of the pair eats. In preparing for battle, it is common for both to eat at the same time in order to have more energy to fight. Depending on the amount of food and the nutritional value, they can survive on one meal for a couple days.

On Recreation: While young, chimeran and cerberen children will play constantly. Testing their own abilities on each other by play fighting and wrestling. This continues throughout their childhood and it is considered quite a victory if a chimeran can out wrestle their cerberen companion as they reach adulthood. Yearly tournaments are staged in chimeran cities and towns where they can test their abilities against others of their kind and even those of other races. While not a real battle, injuries do occur and are expected. Training weapons are always used in these battles.

Chimerans have their own recreational drugs too. They have their own type of alcohol that is bubbly and clear. For chimerans, this alcohol doesn’t cause hangovers. It has been described as having a smooth taste that leaves a slight bite on the tongue and the throat that lasts a couple seconds. They are also fond of a natural plant that has a non-addictive hallucinogenic effect on them when eaten or smoked that can last several hours. This can be extended by smoking more as the effect starts to wear off. Cerberen also partake in this for fun and the effect lasts around the same amount of time. The effect is usually longer in other races.