Ever since Rukaan were discovered by man, they have been highly sought after as mounts, battle steeds, or even just as companions. Taming wild Rukaan has become increasingly difficult over the years as capturing and forcing the wild creatures into domesticated life is seen as a great crime in most tribes. Rukaan are seen and treated as a gift sent by the gods and their intelligence and independence are admired among the people of the North. Because of this, it is only ever acceptable to tame a wild Rukaan if the animal offers to bond with a handler by their own free will, a rare occurrence in the new age as these wild Rukaan tend to stay in the uncharted wilderness far away from growing human settlements.
Despite this, tame Rukaan are not an uncommon sight. The bloodline of the Rukaan who bonded with man in the old ages has been carefully tended to and expanded over time, and young fawns, as well as older bulls and cows, are not hard to come by, even known to bond to people that they grow a liking to. While tame Rukaan must have a handler, you are not required to draw them or submit their profile to the group unless you wish to.
Your handler must be of a sentient race.
Your handler cannot be an animal or ARPG species.
Your handler should have an upright, bipedal-like posture and of a shape to be able to sit in a saddle (for instance, a T-Rex is bipedal but not shaped to sit in a saddle). Note it is fine if they’re too heavy to sit in a saddle, they just need to be of a proper shape for it!
Your handler must have opposable thumbs, to be able to either lead a Rukaan with a halter and lead rope from the ground or with reins from their back.
Your handler can have a minimum height of 3 feet/90cm and a maximum height of 8 feet/245cm.
Your handler can not be a god or a giant. Demigods and half-giants are exceptions as long as they’re not depicted as immortal and/or all powerful.
Canonically, humans would be the most common humanoid and Rukaan handlers within Midgard; other lore-compatible races would be light-elves, dwarves/dark-elves, half-giants/titanides and trolls. See the Lore - Handler Races journal for more information on these. Users are, however, allowed to make their handlers whatever race they want as long as they don’t violate any of the other rules and limitations.
Shapeshifters are allowed as handlers but will only count for the handler bonus or handler requirements when they are shown in a form that meets the specifications listed above (sentient, bipedal posture, 3-8 feet tall and opposable thumbs).
Handler profiles are an image or written description of your handler. These are not required unless you have a tame Rukaan with a profession, as this will become your handler’s profession tracker. A handler will be able to have a maximum of two professions. There is no limit to the number of Rukaan one handler may have. Admins will record professions as a comment on the handler's profile as well as on the import of the Rukaan who use their bonuses.
Handler profiles (art or written description) should be submitted to the “Handler Profiles” folder in the gallery and include at least the following information, though you are welcome to add additional details:
Name
Race/species
Gender
Height
Physical description
There are no minimum requirements for visibility in art or wordcount for written submissions. Dollmarkers/premade linearts may be used for handlers as long as the original resource is linked and credited.