Ibeji

Ibeji are a race of Jerako, and most specifically Jerako: The World That Is. Initially easy to mistake for Elves, Ibeji are always born in identical pairs.

Traits
Ibeji are best considered one person in two. A single soul is shared between the pair, one body getting the physical half, the other getting the magical half. The closer the two halves are to each other, the more like one unit they become, sharing the same thoughts and physical sensations, but retaining some semblance of individual identity derived from the individual body. Sufficient distance weakens this connection to the point of nonexistence, leaving the halves feeling "un-whole" and "cut off." In this state, the pair becomes desynchronized and most often emotionally distressed. As such, Ibeji rarely stray far from themselves unless specifically trained to bear the effects of distance.

Because Ibeji share one soul, if one dies, the other has very little time before their own half of the soul is pulled from their body, as a rule no more than a day, and then only through intense concentration. Ibeji thus nearly always have an enchanted idol to temporarily house the "killed" half of the soul and keep it on the mortal plane. From that point, most often the original body is magically restored and the soul transferred back into it, although other solutions exist if this is not possible.

Society
Ibeji and Elven lore states that the races were originally one. Legends disagree on specifics, but state that some event in the past enchanted the Ibeji into their dual nature.

Ibeji consider Elves their brothers in race and are most likely to be given a warm welcome by them.

Ibeji society revolves around their dualism. Ibeji relationships always occur between matched pairs and Ibeji children are each born from one of the mothers. They are more heavily communal than other races and their close-knit settlements see doing favors and sharing and lending items internally as a basic courtesy, as the expectation is that it will be returned.

Abilities
Ibeji are able to Split and Join on the battlefield, one leaving the position of the other to act as a separate unit and taking half of the stats and equipment in the process, or recombining into one unit afterward. Ibeji do not get extra equipment slots and may collectively only act once per round. Ibeji thus share the same Initiative and Speed, as well as Health, Energy, and Stamina.

Development
Initially, Ibeji were conceived as "Halflings" based as a play on the D&D race and the fact that each were half of a whole and their Split simply halved their individual stats. In this phase, both halves shared the same mind as well as soul, with no individual identity. Later, the African Ibeji was discovered on Wikipedia, which cemented the name and crystallized the idea of a physical and magical half. With the creation of Jackie & Jane Burnet, more of the traits were gelled with the race and eventually Elves were included based on the lore.

Ibeji were given a double-bodied marker, which posed a question of how it was to be handled. In the end, the initial graphic was made with the hard outline used for the outer edges separating the two internally for increased visual clarity rather than a softer division.

Trivia

 * Ibeji were the first non-standard playable race added to Jerako: The World That Is.