Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a heavily stigmatised magical skill in Albion society. People who can shift are often seen as lesser, somehow bestial.
There are also some risks with shifting, both to the individual doing it (unexpected predators or getting trapped in a shape), practical (not everyone knows how to take their clothing and other items with them into a new form), and from society. (Magician's Hoard discusses how the ability could bring people into very risky situations if others knew about it in a wartime setting.)
Shapeshifting comes from one of four possible sources:
- A learned skill
- Selkies (for whom it is an innate skill, anchored by seal skins)
- Werefolk (familial or cultural inclination where the person has to learn to control it)
- Shape-shifting curses
Education
It is something people piece together privately (through books and experimentation) or learn one on one from someone who can do it.Details
Some humans have the ability to shapeshift magically. In this case it is under their control, with some say in what animal they turn into, though there are usually one or two classes of forms that are more 'natural' for someone to learn, and other forms that are much harder to learn. Someone extremely skilled at it might learn a dozen significantly different forms, but most people learn one or two. (Often one smaller and one larger - common classes include things like 'small cat' or 'large cat' or 'large reptile' or 'small bird') It is theoretically possible to turn oneself into trees or stones, but it is not recommended. Trees and stones have a vastly different sense of time and space. It helps a lot if you have a natural talent for it, but it can sometimes be learned without that. Many people think shapeshifting is a myth or a legend, or a very rare thing. The reality is that many people do in fact know someone who can, but most people who can keep it private, because of the vulnerability inherent in the system. Notably, the head of Seal House must be able to spot the potential talent for shapeshifting. (They do not actually need to be able to shapeshift, but it is usually the case they can as well. In many cases, they do not advertise that.) People who can shift can usually also spot others who can, but do not know whether they actually do, or what animal they turn into. In Magician's Hoard a character explains that there are a series of ancillary skills: people who learn from Seal House are usually taught them, people who learn in other ways may not have them. Natural talent often shows up in the form of very vivid dreams for several months, and a growing obsession with a particular type of animal that leads to close observation and study, often without being entirely aware that's what you're doing. People generally have a preference for a particular class of animal: felines, canines, mustelids, pinnepids, reptiles, etc. Some people will learn a small form and a larger form (i.e. a panther and a house cat, a small bird and an eagle or owl) but there's usually not much benefit in learning more than that within a given class of animal. It's increasingly harder to learn multiple distinct forms, especially ones that are close but different (i.e. felines and canines share a number of traits, and yet...) Some types of animals are also much less common - people really struggle with them. Very intelligent birds are common issues here (ravens, parrots) as are cetaceans. In general, people do not turn into magical versions of the animals (i.e. basilisks, sphinxes, etc.) though there are a few documented cases. It is not a risk-free magic even without the social issues. (But what kind of magic is risk-free?) It is possible to get stuck in the animal form, or to find oneself in a situation where you can't change, and the setting is dangerous or fatal without all the instincts and knowledge an adult animal would have. This is probably the most common cause of mysterious unsolved disappearances in the magical world: person turned into an animal and something happened.Examples
Magician's Hoard has a character who is a shapeshifter, who also appears in Chasing Legends. Mabyn Teague discusses it (and the historic story of Isobel Gowdie) in The Hare and the Oak. There is at least one shapeshifter in Illusion of a Boar.Notable experts
Spoilers! List of who can shapeshift
- Ibis Ward
- Richart Hase, one of the Schola staff
- Cammie Gates
