The Liputs
The Liputs are 
one of the key species in book one of The Miyran Heir series. They live in a community called Kentish, south of the primary city (Caldot) in my novel. If you have trouble picturing Kentish, imagine the colorful homes of Burano (Venice, Italy), but without the canal and with flower boxes at the windows.
Deciding on names for people and places is always a challenge for me because they have to “fit” — so I often lean on what’s familiar. So where did I come up with Kentish? From my home state of Kentucky. I’m afraid I don’t remember a specific driver behind the species name Liput, except that it just seemed to work.
After reading book one, one of my friends likened the Liputs to Hobbits. While they are clearly different physically, he was right that the Liputs are the species most connected to the land. They’re farmers. They live simply and prefer the outdoors and open space. Another similarity to Hobbits is that they aren’t fighters or natural adventurers.
The Liputs are similar in appearance to Humans, except for one interesting trait — the tips of an individual’s hair change color each day randomly. In rare circumstances, someone might have tips in two colors. A depiction of one of the Liputs is to the left. So what possessed me to build in this trait? Quite honestly, I just thought it was fun. How amazing would it be to have your hair change color like that!
At least one reviewer commented on the fact that if the Liputs are strong, they should be able to fight. I think that’s true to a point. However, I believe that strength and skill are two different things. An individual can be strong and still not be able to punch a moving target or block an advance, if not trained to do so. This is where the Liputs fall short. While they’re strong due to farming the land, they don’t learn fighting techniques and lack the confidence, or even the interest, in settling conflicts with physical force.
But don’t count them out just yet. Yes, this series is about a physical conflict, but one doesn’t have to be a fighter to make a difference. The big question is will the Liputs hide behind the electric barrier around Kentish or will they lend a hand?
Characters:
- Tip: Marked at 16
- Tren: Tip’s father
- Mirna: Tip’s mother
- Trul and Sri: Tip’s brothers
- Lictia: Mirna’s friend
