| Kyantol | |
|---|---|
 Prim, a kyantol healer | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Habitat | race habitat |
| Eye color | Varies |
| Hair color | Varies |
| Skin color | Varies |
| Unusual features | Animalistic features, most commonly canine-like muzzles |
Kyantols (kyantoru in Japanese) are one of the rarer races in the Shining series, but are generally recognised as being one of its staple races. Very few of them are seen throughout, and tend to be found in the role of Healer.
Since Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon, the race's name has been "officially" romanised as Cantaur; however, Kyantol still tends to be used by the Shining series' fan community.
Race
This race is made up of people who are dog-based humanoids. Whilst there are other races based on canines (i.e. Foxlings and Wolflings), Kyantols are based more specifically on the dog.
The origin of Kyantols are unknown, but no one seems to question their existence or shy away from them. They are usually very intelligent, rational and caring people, and tend to have extreme magical prowess, mostly in healing and support magic.
Only female Kyantols have taken a prominent role in the series; no male Kyantols have been named or featured. This may suggest that their race is very female-dominant, or that the females are the ones who tend to have the strong magic power the race is noted for.
Physical attributes
Kyantols have appeared in a variety of different forms throughout the series; this could be attributed to there being, like domestic dogs, different "breeds" of Kyantol across the Shining world.
The more common elements of their physical appearance are:
- Dog-like muzzles and noses
- Elven ears
- Fair or Light brown coloured fur
- Lighter or brighter coloured hair (e.g. blonde, red, pink)
Yoshitaka Tamaki's style of Kyantol (i.e. Khris and Prim) show many of these qualities. His style of Kyantol, especially regarding Khris, has been the source of some confusion regarding the race, with many incorrectly guessing that she's some form of deer-girl (this is not aided by her race being incorrectly listed as "Elf" in English manuals for Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention).
It is unknown whether or not Kyantols usually have tails, as Minto is the only one who has a visible tail. Due to wearing dresses or robe-like attires, it is possible that the others have smaller tails that are hidden under their clothing, but this remains unconfirmed. Being bipedal, it is possible that their breeds of Kyantol have evolved beyond needing tails.
Khris's age (17), when compared to her character and appearance, suggest that Kyantols age at a rate similar to that of Humans.
Examples
- Chiquitita from Shining Force Neo
- Khris from Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention and Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon
- Grace from Shining Force III
- Minto from Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict
- Prim from Shining Soul II; also many of the inhabitants of Klantol Castle appear to be Kyantols.
- Sarah from Shining Force CD / Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya
- The item seller in Shining Soul
Kyantols and Gelflings
Kyantols should not necessarily be confused with the similarly appearing Gelflings from Shining in the Darkness, as there are some differences between the races, notably their Elven ears being a lot more vertical, a stronger presence of males (i.e. Dai and Edward), and no apparent magic powers.
As the Gelflings were also designed by Yoshitaka Tamaki, and Kyantols were created afterwards, it's possible that the race was renamed and adjusted. If so, this may be because of the Gelflings being too similar to (if not based upon) the race of the same name from the film The Dark Crystal.