There's a wind alive in the valley

Biology & basics

• Their natural form is that of horses; they are born as foals and usually can't maintain a human form under stress or for a long time. Usually, it gets either physically strenuous or they get the urge to change back, like a full body itch.
• Some horses are more gifted at shifting than others, and it may come easier to them to spend a long time as humans. In rare cases, they may choose to spend their entire lives in that form.
• They may take on human forms for fun or practical purposes (crafting, building). Urbanised societies tend to attribute symbolic meaning to shifting.
• Their human forms may wear clothes. They favour simple clothes with belts and clasps that can be adjusted for size when shifting.
• When in human forms, they often construct tools that can be used in horse form
• In horse form, they have more dexterity than our world's horses, especially when using tools created to fit their bodies, but finer skills like carving or sewing are typically practiced in human form
• The technology is pre-modern. There's no electricity, and the few machines are limited to large urban centres.

Social

The three main ways of life in the Valley are Herds, Urban, and Wayfarers.

Herds

• Each has a distinct social structure, traditions, and material culture. Family ties do not necessarily correspond to herd affiliations
• Some are nomadic and forage (Zenith), while others are sedentary or semi-nomadic (Elin), construct permanent dwellings and practice agriculture and fowl husbandry.
• Herds don't have a set territory; they have ranges, which may intersect with others', but they only keep away from urban centres.

Urban

• They construct more elaborate and expansive permanent dwellings and trade with each other. Shared cultural values and traditions have been codified by this lifestyle.
• Social stratification is common, usually a mix of class and lineage.
• Work is specialised.
• The ability to maintain a human form for a long time is seen as a good trait, as it's a sign of self control and willingness to work hard.
• Nevertheless, roads, buildings, and a portion of tools are built so they can be accessed and used by anyone in equine form. Outliers aside, most of the population spends around 70-80% of their time as horses.
• Higher classes may spend much of their time as humans to signal status, whereas people particularly gifted at shifting may be pushed into artisanal professions.
• Individuals with less proficiency in shifting may choose professions that can be worked in horse form (transporting, defence), or entertainment (racing, shows).
• Many individuals, unhappy with the rigid social structure, may leave cities to live in herds. Alternatively, individuals born in herds may move to cities for comfort, safety, and stability, or sometimes out of curiosity.

Wayfarers

• Wayfarers travel in small groups, usually a mother with foals and occasional companions. It's a tradition relegated to a few lineages.
• Under normal circumstances, they're the only connection between herds and cities, as they frequent both offering help and trading.

Setting

The individuals you'll meet reside in a wide Valley split by a river, the bottom of which is a small plain. It takes a few hours of trotting to get from the Western mountains to the Eastern ones.

• the Eastern mountains are ancient, time has eroded them into hills; the city of Darinn and its territories are located on the lower ends, between two tributaries of the larger river. Several passes make it possible to travel to the plains and the steppe on the other side.
• the Western mountains are taller, blocking the way to the West. This side of the river is inhabited by herds, most notably Herd Elin (further down the plain, by the river) and Herd Zenith (travelling all around the plains and the slopes, even further into the mountains).
  It's said that the last dragons reside in the Western Peaks.
• Up north is a land of glaciers and fjords.
• Down south is the sea. The port city-state of Balvicale takes shelter in a harbour on the eastern side of the coast. Further down is an archipelago.
  South-West, mountains and currents have turned a peninsula into an arid place.
• Further south, crossing the sea, we find the archipelago of Mahinana (east), volcanic islands arranged into a crescent shape, and the island of Varidesha (west). The inhabitants of the former are said to be exceptionally good at shifting, so much so that they spend all their waking hours on two legs.