Every horse in the Beqannaian universe has two more genes than the average horse. These two genes are the Magical Trait Gene and the The Trait Expression Gene, often abbreviated MTG and TEG.

The Trait Expression Gene

The Trait Expression Gene (TEG) is the simpler of the two. It is a simple recessive gene. There are three possibilities for the TEG, and all horses will have one of the following genotypes:

1. TEGTEG - the horse will not possess expressed traits unless the traits have modifiers (see bottom)
2. TEGteg - the horse will not possess expressed traits unless the traits have modifiers (see bottom)
3. tegteg - the horse will possess any expressed traits they have

The Magical Trait Gene

The Magical Trait Gene (MTG) is somewhat more complicated, mostly because there are so many traits existing in Beqanna, and because while possesed traits are obviously visible, some traits can sometimes “hide” in the horse’s genes, and they can pass down a trait they don’t even know they have.

A horse can either possess a trait, be a carrier for the trait, or not be a carrier (i.e. have no trait at all). So for example, Bob has wings, meaning (obviously) that he has wings. Linda’s mom had wings, so Linda would be a carrier for wings. No horse in Tina’s family has ever had wings, so she is neither a carrier of wings, nor does she express them.

If a horse has wings, it is written in their genetic code as [WINGS]. If a horse is a carrier for wings, it would be written in their code as [wings]. If a horse neither has wings nor is a carrier, they wouldn’t have anything about wings at all in their genetic code. The MTG code of a horse can be super short or very long, depending on what traits the horse has. If a horse has no traits and carries no traits, its MTG code will be blank.

But what if a horse has a lot of traits? Let’s take Louise as an example. Louise has wings and a horn. Her father had immortality, and her mother had firebreathing, but Louise doesn’t have either of those abilities herself. Louise’s MTG would be: [WINGS][HORN][immortality][firebreathing]

A horse only has eight active spaces on their TEG gene, meaning that the traits they express and/or possess can only take up eight total spaces, and some traits are “larger” than others. Of those eight expressed and/or possessed trait spaces, only 6 spaces of them can be genetic. They can carry an unlimited number of traits

For example: The fairies roll for the foal Anastasia. She rolls to inherit Magic, Telepathy, Horns, and Bee Shifting. That is 11 traits, and so puts her over the limit both of possessed traits and possessed genetic traits. Her player will need to choose which traits (adding up to no more than 6) will be genetic, and which will become carried. Any traits inherited as possessed and/or expressed at birth that put them over the limit will become carried traits.

Non-Genetic Traits

Non-genetic traits are still non-genetic, though they will be displayed in a horse's TEG according to the following rules. A horse's offspring will not inherit non-genetic traits.

Let's say Fluffy joins Beqanna, and his TEG is TEGTEG. But what if Fluffy saves a princess in a quest and gets a nice pair of hawk wings as a reward?

Fluffy’s TEG will not change, but the genetics for wings will appear in his genetic code as [wings*]. But that’s not right, you say! If a horse has a trait, it should be in all CAPITALS. That’s true, if the trait is a traditionally genetic trait. But since Fluffy’s wings are non-genetic, they will be written in lowercase, with an asterisk to signify that they are expressed despite the TEG.

Trait Mutations

Since traits are, in essence, little bits of magic, they can sometimes combine in unexpected ways that seem to contradict what we know of Beqanna genetics. Don't be surprised if a horse with wolf shapeshifting and a horse with a fish tail have a baby with fish shifting, or if a horse with Heat manipulation and an untraited horse have a baby that has flames instead of a mane and tail. A horse with shapeshifting, telepathy, and wings might have a foal that can speak telepathically with birds rather than inheriting all of their parent's fancy traits. Consider it a fun, random, combination that adds more excitement to Beqanna!

Larger traits, since they contain more magic, are more likely to mutate than smaller traits, and magic always mutates

Magic

How does it work if a parent has magic? Magic is fickle, and it is not inherited the same way other traits are. Magic always mutates on the gene and becomes a random trait that is either expressed or unexpressed (depending on the TEG of the foal).

Breeding

So two traited parents will always have a traited baby, right? Not at all. Two traited parents can still have a baby without traits.

A genetic trait will always be passed down to a foal, but it can be passed down as an expressed trait OR as a carried trait. So if Winged tegteg Derek and tegteg Shapeshifting Paige have a baby, the baby will always express any traits it has, but it won’t express traits that it is just a carrier. So Derek and Paige’s foal will be tegteg[wings][shapeshifting], and will be able to potentially pass down Derek and Paige’s traits to their own children, even though they don’t express those traits themselves.

See the below sections on determining TEG and MTG to see how fairies will determine breeding stats.

Determining TEG

Aka "will my foal express traits or not?"

We use the percentages from a calculated Punnet Square. Parents that are both either TEGTEG or tegteg, will always have a foal with the same TEG. The other possible combinations or TEG genetics are listed in punnet squares below, with the percentages of each cross directly below them:

Determining MTG

Aka "what traits does my foal inherit?"

If a horse possesses a genetic trait their foal will always inherit the genes for that trait. What we calculate is whether that inheritance will be as having the trait itself, or simply being a carrier for the trait. All foals have a 50% chance of having the trait, and a 50% chance of inheriting the trait. If two parents have the same trait it will be rolled for twice, and therefore has twice the chance of inheriting the trait as a foal would if only one parent had the trait.

If a horse is a carrier for their trait, they have a 50% chance of passing on their trait. If we roll for “passing on”, we then roll again (50/50) to determine if the foal will also be a carrier like their parent, or if they will express the trait. This means that a horse that is a carrier has a 25% chance of having a foal that expresses their parent’s carried trait.

For non-genetic traits, there is no inheritance.

Some Examples

1. Scott and Allison: Allison is tegteg [WINGS][horns]. This means that Allison expresses wings, and is a carrier for horns. Scott is TEGteg [HORNS][immortality]. This means that Scott does not express any traits, but is a carrier for immortality and has unexpressed horns. If Scott and Allison have a foal, there is a 25% chance that their foal will not express traits (having TEGteg), and a 75% chance that it will express traits (having tegteg). There is a 50% chance that the foal will have wings, and a 50% chance that it will be a carrier for wings. There is a 75% chance that the foal will express horns, and if it does not, there will be a 75% chance that it will be a carrier for horns. The foal has a 25% chance of being a carrier for immortality, and a 25% chance of expressing immortality.
2. Scott and Kira: As before, Scott is TEGteg [HORNS][immortality]. This means that Scott does not express any traits, but is a carrier for immortality and has unexpressed horns. Kira is TEGTEG [horns], meaning that she does not express traits, but is a carrier for horns. Scott and Kira’s foal will not express any traits, because it will either be TEGTEG or TEGteg. However, it has a 25% chance of have unexpressed immortality, and a 25% chance of being a carrier for immortality. It also has a 75% possibility of having unexpressed horns, and a 75% possibility of being a carrier of horns.
3. Stiles and Lydia: Lydia is tegteg. This means that she would express any traits that she had, but she does not have any traits. Stiles is TEGteg [immortality*], which means he has non-genetic immortality. There is a 25% chance that Lydia and Stiles will have a foal with TEGteg, and a 75% chance they will have a foal that is tegteg. There is a 12.5% chance that their foal will inherit immortality, and a 12.5% chance it will be a carrier for immortality.

Existing Characters

How do i figure out my 700 pre-existing characters' TEG and MTG? The short answer is, you don’t have to!

Each player may request “genetic tests” for their characters through this forum. You will need to provide both genetic and nongenetic traits (or lack of) for each character, each character's parents (and the time of their character’s conception), and each character’s grandparents (at the time of their character’s parents’ conceptions). The officers will then give you the genetic code for your character. This code cannot be changed or altered, and anyone caught doing so will receive a warning.

If you have the genetic code for both your character and the character they are breeding with, the faeries will perform in-depth genetics during breeding..

Reading Genetic Codes

1. TEGTEG – this horse may carry and possess traits, but will not express any traits unless they are written as [-TRAIT-] or [-TRAIT-*] or [trait*].
2. TEGteg – this horse may carry and possess traits, but will not express any traits unless they are written as [-TRAIT-] or [-TRAIT-*] or [trait*].
3. tegteg – this horse will possess all traits written as [TRAIT], [TRAIT*], [-TRAIT-], [-TRAIT-*], and [trait*]. They might also carry traits.
4. [trait] – this trait is carried. the horse does not have this trait. There is a 12.5% likelihood that any offspring will also be a carrier, and a 12.5% likelihood that offspring will possess the actual trait.
5. [TRAIT] – this trait is possessed by the horse, and if the horse is tegteg, they will express the trait. Any offspring will either possess the actual trait (50% likelihood) or will carry it (50% likelihood).
6. [trait*] – this trait is possessed by the horse, and is considered non-genetic. The horse will express this trait regardless of its TEG. Offspring cannot inherit this trait.
7. [TRAIT*] – this trait is posssed by the horse only if they are tegteg. This trait has been chosen by the player to be considered non-genetic, since when combined with other traits, it takes up more than the four spaces on the trait gene. Offspring cannot inherit this trait.
8. [-TRAIT-] – this trait is possessed by the horse regardless of their TEG. Any offspring will either possess the actual trait (50% likelihood) or will carry it (50% likelihood).
9. [-TRAIT-*] – this trait is possessed by the horse regardless of their TEG, and has been chosen by the player as non-genetic. Offspring cannot inherit this trait.