The Kin

The Kin are a race of human-like elementals that inhabit the continent Neuer Welt on the planet Gaia.

Origins
The Kin were created by Gaia in ancient times as an attempt to mimic humanity, hoping that interaction of the two would help it better understand the latter. Gaia placed them in the uninhabited continent of Neuer Welt, to let humans develop a better empathy of the world, preparing them for an eventual meeting.

Unfortunately, the Kin were met with extreme prejudice by humans during the later part of the Age of Magic, and were mostly wiped out in a short and brutal war.

Common Characteristics
Being creations of Gaia itself, the Kin have a much closer affinity to the natural world than most races. As such, they have an innate ability to interact with aspects of nature such as animals, spirits, and the like. They also have a slightly longer lifespan than humans, with the average being a little under than a couple of centuries.

Each member of the Kin also has an affinity to one of the basic elements: air, earth, fire, and water. This allows them to control and manipulate the said element as though a part of their own bodies. While these may make them natural mages, all Kin can only develop one element throughout their entire lives, and most would lose out to a human mage in terms of power.

In addition, the element of a Kin also determines some of its natural characteristics. Wind Kin are naturally lighter and faster than the other types. Water Kin, aside from having the best healing abilities, have an unusual longevity, with others living for as long as several centuries. Earth Kin are the physically strongest of the race. The Fire Kin possesses the strongest affinity for their element, using their emotions as catalysts for their abilities.

Kin Society
The Kin lived in simple tribal societies, living off mainly on hunting, fishing and foraging. They were a peaceful people, dedicating their lives in harmony with the land and its denizens.

The different tribes were each divided into four clans representing the different elements of their people. The cheftain of the whole tribe was decided through non-lethal combat; their way of paying homage to the daily struggles of life. In contrast to this, the leaders of each clan were elected on merits of age and experience, serving as the voices of reason for the chieftain.

They did not worship gods and did not have an established religion, though they regard Gaia (known to them as the Great Mother) as a sort of creator figure. Oddly enough, like the various tribal and nomadic societies in distant lands, they also believed in a creation story about Creation and Destruction. Whether this may be a shared knowledge of the people of Gaia or not is unknown.

Windrell (Wambditanka)
A Wind Kin, and a central character in the As The Last Leaf Falls series.

Charlotte Walker
The only known survivng descendant of a human and a Kin, and a central character in the As The Last Leaf Falls series.

Paul Kelly (Hehakasapa)
The Earth Kin responsible for the destruction of their race, and the major antagonist in the first story of the As The Last Leaf Falls series.

Akiko Maehara (Ashura)
The last known Kin, possessing the element of fire. She was involved in the events that led to the Nameless' story.