Draic Kin
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Draic Kin or, simply, the Kin is a fictional race of ancient dragon-like extraterrestrial sentient beings living on Earth, as featured in the adventure game The Longest Journey and its sequel Dreamfall.
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[edit] Nature
The true nature of the Kin is still a subject of much discussion among the fans of the games. They are tremendously powerful and their abilities surpass those of the humans both in magic and science. Their life expectancy can go up to millennia, although they are not immortal. Some of the most ancient legends in Arcadia hint that their nature is similar to that of the Creator, whereas April Ryan defines them as aliens, though no information about their origin is provided.
According to the Arcadian legends, it was the Kin who came up with the idea of the Divide and the Balance and who helped humans to Divide the Earth into Stark and Arcadia, thus saving it from imminent destruction. Consequentially, the Draic Kin have been perceived as the good-nature spirits and the protectors of the Balance ever since. It is also a subject of much debate whether the Kin can travel between the Twin Worlds: while no Kin seen in the games has ever used a Shift or any other means to travel across the Divide, there have been multiple hints that they are capable of doing it, such as when a Starkian Kin refers to an Arcadian priest as if they have met each other personally.
When living among humans, the Kin assume human forms to fit into the society, although their (apparently) real form is that of giant reptiles. All Kin seen in the games appear in their reptilian forms at least once in TLJ, and never in Dreamfall.
The name "Draic Kin" may have been derived from the word "dragon" or "drake" by the game designers, though in-universe, the latter terms are seldom used by educated people.
[edit] Four Kin
In the games, only four Kin are said to reside in the Twin Worlds. It is unknown whether there have been more before the Divide, or whether there are still more of them living on Earth in secret. To preserve the Balance, two of the Draic Kin reside in Stark and two in Arcadia.
[edit] Red Kin
The Red Kin goes by the names of Cortez and Mannie Chavez in the games (though only by the latter in Dreamfall). It has been often discussed on the fan forums whether he was the One Kin who helped the Twelve Sentinels to Divide the Earth, because he has often expresses much more interest in human culture than any of his fellow Kin. He lives in Stark and prefers to stay in the shadows of the society, maintaining an image of an eccentric, unrecognized genius.
Cortez readily assists humans who wish to cross the Divide: for example, he sent Brian Westhouse to Arcadia in 1934 (Dreamfall hints that Westhouse's journey may have been a part of a bigger plan), and he is the first Kin, after the White Mother, who approaches April Ryan in TLJ. It is Cortez who sends her on her journey to restore the Balance and plays the mentor figure for April in the first days of her journey. He spends the second half of the game imprisoned by the Green Kin and apparently perishes in a fight against him soon after escaping and meeting April again. The Red One's death has often been disputed, even by April herself. Because the players do not see his body, many refused to believe him dead despite numerous hints that it is really so. The argument was further heated up by the fact that Cortez is one of the only two Kin who appear in Dreamfall, although only in a brief flashback scene that depicts events before April's journey in the first game.
Cortez is never referred in the games as the "Red Kin", however, a spirit in the Banda Dig calls him "Cortez the Red".
[edit] Green Kin
The Green Kin is known as Jacob McAllen or the White Cardinal in Stark. He is the head of the Church of Voltec, the Starkian Vanguard (renegade Sentinel whose aim is the reunification of the Twin Worlds at any cost), and de facto the mightiest political figure in Stark. Unlike the Red One, McAllen feels inclined to interfere in the political power plays of the humans and is considering a world domination after the Twin Worlds are one again. Thus, McAllen is the chief antagonist in TLJ and appears to be the Kin who is most interested in science and technology among his brethren. As his plans for the Twin Worlds go against those of Cortez, the two have a constant silent confrontation that culminates in their duel and apparent death.
Like Cortez, McAllen is never explicitly named the "Green Kin" but this can be deduced knowing the other three's respective colors. He is only Kin who is not directly mentioned in Dreamfall.
[edit] White Kin
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The White Kin is the only female Kin on Earth. She resides in Arcadia and is featured prominently in Arcadian legends as the White Dragon or simply Mother. It is unclear whether "Mother" is an alternative name of the White Kin or a role she plays in the cosmology of the Twin Worlds. The White Kin is, according to her own statement, April Ryan's parent. In the end of the first game, she dies of exhaustion but is reborn in her younger daughter, to whom April commonly refers as "sister".
The young White Kin is a prominent figure in Dreamfall, helping first April and then Zoë Castillo on their journeys. She also explains that someone or something hunts down the Kin and that she cannot feel the presence of the others anymore. While some fans interpret this statement as a conclusion that all other Kin are dead, others point out that the young White One admittedly has not yet fully grasped her innate abilities and may be mistaken. In the final chapters of Dreamfall, after April apparently dies at the hands of the Azadi, the young Kin also falls victim to an unknown attacker, whom she herself apparently recognizes moments before the attack. What has actually happened to her afterwards is not clear.
[edit] Blue Kin
The Blue Kin, also known as the Old God, is the second Arcadian Kin and the least prominent one in the games due to his apathy and passiveness compared to his brethren. While the other Kin actively participate in the life of the Twin Worlds, the Blue One prefers to keep slumbering on the bottom of the Sea of Songs and await the right time to leave Earth for good with his "children", the winged Alatien and the aquatic Maerum.
The Blue One is by far the most enigmatic of the Kin. As seen in several scenes of TLJ, his dragon form is much larger than that of the other Kin but the players are never shown his human form. He is worshipped as a god by the Maerum (and, possibly, Alatien) and can occasionally extend exclusive authority upon the Dark People, but displays a complete lack of interest in the Balance and the Twin Worlds. The reasons behind that are never properly explained, so various speculations circulate among the fans, ranging from him being the One Kin who assisted the Twelve Sentinel to him being the Azadi Prophet seen in Dreamfall. According to the young White Kin, he is already "gone" when the events of Dreamfall take place, which led fans to theorize whether he simply died or finally fulfilled his dream and left for the stars with Maerum and Alatien. His traits are most likely inspired by Cthulhu mythos.[citation needed]
[edit] Others
It has been speculated that April Ryan, while explicitly stated on multiple occasions not to be one of the Kin, still relates to the dragon species somehow. While some fans point out that her relationship to her "mother" and "sister", the old and the young White Kin, may be purely spiritual in nature, others maintain that it could also be a literal biological kinship. The argument is further heated by the fact that the identity of April's real father or even if a father was at all needed is unclear.
Alatien and Maerum, the assumed direct descendants ("children") of the Blue Kin, are sometimes considered one of the lesser Kin, which is supported by their reptilian outer appearance.
[edit] External links
- Draic Kin in the TLJwiki
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