Currently Alecani are a CLOSED SPECIES! I plan on making them an open species in the future, but I need to develop their 12 distinct clans before that. If you want an Alecani character, please wait till all the information is available!

Here's a guide to an Alecani's life stages, from birthday onward!

Ages 1 to 3
During the toddler stage, they begin to move around and speak, much like human children, and a new layer of feathers starts growing into their wings. These new feathers won’t let them fly, but do help provide air resistance when they flap their wings so they can get stronger.

Age 3 to 11
As small kits, Alecani have successive feather molts when their feathers get closer and closer to being functional flight feathers. They might be able to achieve short glides during these years.

Age 11 to 16
First sustained flight is a special occasion, celebrated as a right of passage. It’s a group holiday, gathering the entire village to see kits off into the sky for the first time. At this age, the kits are no longer totally dependent on their parents and are expected to start exploring on their own more. This is around the preteen stage, just before puberty.

Age 16 to 20
During puberty, Alecani reach their full height and wingspan, though they might not grow into their adult weight for some years. Pubescent Alecani are flush full of hormones and can be extremely erratic. They test one another’s strength and flight capabilities often at this age, engaging in dangerous games and contests. Alecani cannot biologically have kits until a few years into puberty, nature’s way of avoiding having a young kit dumped into the arms of an adrenaline junkie. At this age they leave home and live in adolescent colonies, where they can be rambunctious without effecting the rest of the population.

Age 20 to 55
At this age Alecani have settled into their adult size and have calmed from the hormonal rush of puberty. They can bear kits if they choose, and the come back to live with the general population again. An adult Alecani’s return is a special occasion which is celebrated by an intimate elaborately prepared meal with their closest family and friends.

Age 55 to 80
Around age 65 both male and female Alecani loose their ability to breed. Females go through a gradual menopause starting around age 55 to 60, lasting up to a decade. Males go through a similar hormone reduction period during which mating hormones and sperm potency reduce. By the time they hit 65, they are pretty much out of the game of making kits. At this age they might start to put on a little weight, their tail fur may thin a little, and they start to grow tufts of longer hair in places on the face.

Elderly
Alecani are very long-lived animals, reaching the early years beyond their 100th birthday with ease. The oldest known Alecani lived to be 146. The elderly often loose their ability to fly due to the effect the years can have on the body. Their facial fur tufts get very long and wild at this age, and are often decorated and braided. As they age it gets longer, and very old Alecani can sport some pretty goofy or majestic looking tufts.