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One Gender or Two?: Female
Physical Description: Base appearance is usually quite beautiful and alignment does not dictate specific colors or features. Universally they sport an iridescent, glittery, or glimmering shimmer to their coats and coat colors range broadly with the most common being jewel-tones. They have lengthier, more elegant ears that end in tufts, slit pupils, thicker neck fluff, and long, fluffy tails that are wispy, like smoke.
Name: Shifters
The Story Behind the Race: Many Kats throughout Faetasia believe Shifters are an old-wives tale, an excuse to explain away a multitude of emotional and memory related problems. A lover suddenly falling out of love, a Kat forgetting what they were doing, a friend unable to recall a memory, the list goes on and on. While most of these problems are not the fault of an actual Shifter, some most certainly are. Shifters, contrary to popular belief, do exist. They are a secretive, shape-shifting race within Faetasia that psychically feed on the emotions and experiences of other Kats. Their reason for shapeshifting into different races varies from Shifter to Shifter, be it to see Faetasia through the eyes of whichever race they have temporarily become, to gain access to places, experiences and groups of Kats they might not be able to otherwise infiltrate stealthily given their striking appearance, or simply to move through the world without arousing suspicion. They communicate mostly through telepathy but can speak if the need arises. When they do choose to speak their voices carry a strange but distinct echo. Most sound like a true echo, others like the echoes of a whalesong, and some like a single voice with many other voices whispering the same words at the same time or even trailing along after a word has been spoken. Another curious trait of this race is that Shifters have no scent. They naturally do not smell like anything, therefore each one will seek out a signature scent (a specific flower, perfume, soap, etc.) to claim for their own. Physical strength is not their forte and the race relies on psychic power to confuse, knock back/knock out, or otherwise lull to sleep an aggressor. While their alignments vary greatly from brood to brood, as well as their temperaments, the majority of Shifters are neutral or good and do not wish to harm the kats they feed upon. This means to feed they have to be clever in order to get close enough to lull their chosen meal into a trance before that person becomes suspicious of their actual intent and either flees or attacks. The races over-all secretive nature makes others naturally suspicious or wary of them if discovered and it is easy to understand why.
Shifters have a bad reputation that almost entirely stems from an ebil aligned splinter brood which split off years ago after becoming corrupted somehow. Instead of harmlessly tasting and leaving Kats unaltered, if not a little groggy, they steal experiences and emotional moments from other kats, constantly chasing more powerful and extreme ones when their last feed begins to wane. The majority of Shifters believe this corruption is what caused the race to be inflicted by a bane. All Shifters, no matter their alignment, suffer intense pain and cannot shift properly/will revert to their original forms if they go too long without feeding. This means that if they are in a large group of kats and are starving they might begin to change back into their actual form involuntarily. This kind of irresponsible behavior is considered taboo among Shifters and is avoided at all costs.
Shifters rarely, if ever, let outsiders into their hidden world and it is forbidden to bring them back to the elaborate crystal caves they prefer to inhabit. Each grouping of Shifters is headed by the eldest and most experienced Shifter of the Brood but these communities do not believe in traditional hierarchy. Instead everyone watches out for everyone else, decisions are made as a whole, and experiences are shared and treasured when possible. Young are reared by the entire brood and there is no tension between broods, even ebil aligned. The only hostility within the race is if an Ebil aligned Shifter tries to corrupt a neutral or good aligned Shifter against their will.
Racial Rules:
Alignments: Good, Neutral and Ebil.
Breeding: Shifters breed with whoever they like but if the baby comes out a Shifter it will be taken to the brood to be raised by its kin. Male's cannot become Shifters and do not possess the abilities of their mothers. It is extremely rare that a Shifter will be left in the care of the father/non-Shifter mother as a young Shifter has very little control over their Shifting and feeding abilities.
Feeding: Shifters sample and feed to ease the emptiness within themselves as the race struggles to produce genuine emotions naturally. The stronger the emotion, the longer it will sate the Shifters appetite and the race tries to go as long as possible between feedings if they can, but the hunger always returns eventually. Many have specific feeding preferences which eventually influences and shapes their individual personalities and how they interact with others. Shifters lull prey into a trance and extract feelings energetically, this leaves the Kat dazed and exhausted but otherwise fine (fully recovered after a good nights sleep and otherwise unharmed/unaltered with no memory of the encounter). The only harm to prey comes from Ebil aligned Shifters who will actually steal emotions and memories from Kats, even to the point of draining them completely and leaving them an emotionless husk. The only cure is to confront the Shifter and either barter with them, convince them to give the emotions/memories back, or kill the Shifter itself.
Shifting: A Shifter only has to look at another Kat to change into them and they can shift into any gender they choose. When a Shifter changes into another Race they take on the abilities, behaviors, and voice of that race/individual only until they shift back. They do not possess an individuals memories unless they have fed on them however. Any racial abilities will be much weaker than the actual race itself but just strong enough to be convincing if needed. Some Shifters will actually change races to fight off an attacker if they cannot lull them to sleep or put them into a trance.
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