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Kin card
Kin
General information
Habitat

Dread Mountain
Dreaming Spring (During winter)

Diet

Boolong cones and leaves Grass

Status

Active

Attributes

winged mammals, pouches on females

Chronological information
First appearance

Dread Mountain

Last appearance

Secrets of Deltora

Kin

Kin as they appear in the anime.

Kin are intelligent flying creatures found in Emerald territory. They spend spring, summer and autumn on Dread Mountain and winter at the Dreaming Spring.[1]

History[]

Native to Dread Mountain, the Kin spent the warmer months in the mountain forests, happily feasting on the Boolong trees' cones and leaves, and migrated with the onset of winter to their flocks' various wintering grounds. Though they were frequently hunted by the Dread Gnomes for their thick and weatherproof pelts, the hide of the adults repelled the small humanoids' arrows, reducing their hunters to a minor annoyance. While at the Dreaming Spring, while sometimes targeted by poachers wishing to capture and sell young Kin, they were protected by its power to transform those of evil will into trees. The Kin of Doran's time witnessed and could tell the stories of many of the trees that rose around the Spring.

During the reign of King Alton, the giant ooze toad Gellick conquered the Dread Gnomes and provided them with the poisonous slime from his skin for their arrows. The venom was so powerful, the slightest scratch proved fatal, even to the Kin. Fearing for their lives, the Kin flocks fled to their wintering grounds. Without the Kin to thin their growth, the Boolongs overgrew the mountain.

For the Kin, the loss of their homeland was a slow-acting death sentence, as without Boolong cones, they could no longer breed.[1]

Dread Mountain[]

Lief, Barda and Jasmine rested at the Dreaming Spring on their way to Dread Mountain. Lief befriended a baby Kin named Prin, and saved her from two Grey Guards. Later, as thanks for saving Prin, three adult Kin named Ailsa, Bruna, and Merin agreed to fly the companions to Dread Mountain so as to retrieve some Boolong cones for the others. After they dropped the heroes on the mountain they left. Unbeknownst to them, Prin snuck along so she could see the mountain. After the Kin realized Prin was missing and had followed the companions to Dread Mountain, the entire flock journeyed to the mountain to find her despite the threat of the Dread Gnomes. However, peace between the two species was achieved after Lief and his friends urged the Dread Gnomes to welcome the Kin back as for without them the Dread Gnomes would not survive the growing threat of the Boolong forests.[1]

Return to Del[]

Ailsa brought Gla-Thon to Withick Mire to represent the Dread Gnome tribe in the ceremony to locate the heir to Deltora. After Ichabod's attack, she returned to the mountain.[2]

Isle of the Dead[]

Prin, Bruna, and Ailsa offered to bring Lief, Barda, and Jasmine to Tora. Shortly after takeoff, they were attacked by Honora and forced to land at Bone Point. They tried to take off from the lighthouse, but the Shadow Lord sent a hurricane to blow them out of Deltora's borders, hoping to kill Lief. No one was hurt from the assault, and after delivering Jasmine to Tora, the Kin returned to Dread Mountain.[3]

The Sister of the South[]

Kin were used to transport amethysts and emeralds from Dread Mountain to Del in order to cure the people suffering from poison. Later, Prin, Ailsa, Bruna, and Merin were present at the wedding of Lief and Jasmine.[4]

Anatomy[]

Kin are winged, brown furry animals with large, dark eyes and plump bodies[5] that end in slightly thick tails.[nb 1] The entire bodies of adult Kin are covered in dense, velvety or silken fur that is like brown moss[5] while young Kin have more of a fuzz, like finer brown moss. , due to their wings which they keep folded in.[1] They stand upright and walk on short legs in a rolling motion.[5] Their short back legs are stubby, with paws, while their front legs are longer, with slender front paws. Kin have long faces that end in snouts, with a pair of whiskers. They have a pair of short ears which sit close to their heads.[1] All Kin have velvety wings that let them fly, and which are kept closely folded when not in flight, giving the skin on their backs and sides an oddly folded and rippled appearance. Female Kin have pouches in which they carry their young.[5]Young Kin are about the size of a large dog.[1]

Behavior[]

They are mostly calm and peaceful creatures, preferring to retreat into the protection of the thorny Boolong trees rather than fight when possible. They are of the same intelligence as the other tribes of Deltora, and are able to speak. They live in a group, usually led by the oldest among them, but discuss important decisions all together.
When sleeping, they curl themselves into tight balls, appearing almost like boulders. Their fur repels the rain, and their camouflage allows them to sleep in the open.
They have a number of traditions passed down to their offspring, including the use of Dread Mountain green and purple moss for healing and as a weapon against the predatory green beasts, and a variation of hide-and-go-seek played by singing a song instead of counting.[5]

Diet[]

Kin are herbivores who feed almost exclusively on the cones and leaves of the Boolong trees. They are so dependent on the trees that they cannot breed without them. While staying at the Dreaming Spring they sustain themselves on grass.[1]

Notable Kin[]

Trivia[]

  • Kin are somewhat dragon-like in appearance, particularly in silhouette flying overhead. They are also similar to a kangaroo, having fur and a pouch.
  • In the old days of Deltora, fully grown Kin were so large that people seeing them in the sky, had sometimes taken them for dragons and tried to shoot them down.
  • During the Shadow Lord's occupation of Deltora, the Kin faded into fable creatures by the people of Del who believed they had died out.
  • As a young child, Lief had a Kin doll (a stuffed toy designed in the shape of a Kin) named Monty. This enabled him to recognize that young Prin was a Kin. Secrets of Deltora explains that stuffed Kin were a popular toy for children, based on tales of them that spread throughout Deltora.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Rodda, Emily. Dread Mountain. Scholastic Australia. 2001.
  2. Rodda, Emily. Return to Del. Scholastic Australia. 2002.
  3. Rodda, Emily. Isle of the Dead. Scholastic Australia. 2004.
  4. Rodda, Emily. The Sister of the South. Scholastic Australia. 2004.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Rodda, Emily. Secrets of Deltora. Scholastic Australia. 2008.

Notes[]

  1. The painting by Marc McBride of the Kin show them with tails. See the image in the infobox at the top of the article.

See also[]

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