Shapeshifting ceremonies

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Just like humans, the Aliens have a long history of intra-species warfare. While humans have invented numerous forms of external armour to wear into battle, the Aliens have instead focused their effort into developing a psy-based shapeshifting ability that grant them a higher level of protection.
Since this ability is so ancient and central to Alien life, a number of important rituals and traditions have naturally evolved around it.

War

A fundamental characteristic of the Aliens' shapeshifting ability is that it is extremely costly in psy energy. Since their intrinsic psy energy is at the base of most of the Aliens' weaponry, they cannot afford to deplete it by shifting back and forth between their "battle form" and their humanoid form.
Therefore, two ceremonies have been implemented:

1. Departure ceremony: Before going away to war, the entire army all transform into their battle form; this form is then kept for the entirety of the campaign.


2. Return ceremony: Once the war has been won and all members of the army are completely sure of their victory and certain of their safety, they all shift back to their humanoid form.

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Departure ceremony

For the departure ceremony, the entire army assembles in front of witnesses, usually during a parade. They then make an oath stating their objectives for the war and proclaim they won't turn back until they've accomplish them,. They end this by actually shifting to their battle form.
In the past, each branch of the army marched in front of their monarch one after another to swear the oath, as they could not all fit in the same space at the same time. This meant that the commanding officer of each of these branches had the freedom to craft their own oath, with their soldiers repeating it or saying "I so swear" after them. The wording chosen by the commanding officer was therefore highly politicised and debated afterwards.
Nowadays, cameras recordings have removed this contraint, and so it is rare for anyone other than the leading general to have any say on the wording of the oath.
In case a monarch goes into battle themselves, they have no superior to which they can present their oath. Instead, they appear at a balcony of their palace or an a stage built on a public place, and they swear in front of their court and a crowd of commoners representing their people.

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Return ceremony

The return ceremony is held in front of the same crowd as the departing ceremony. It is accompanied by a parade during which all war spoils and prisoners are presented to the crowd in a show highlighting the army's glory.
Once everyone is gathered in front of the monarch, all members of the army gather and shift back at the same time. The individuals who swore the oath before departure will then each give a speech detailing all of their wartime exploits and how they achieved their goals—and goals always have to have been achieved; if necessary, the facts can be twisted or presented under a "new angle" to ensure his.
In rare cases, the monarch or one of the war leader's political opponents uses the occasion to publicly defy them and dispute their success. In such cases, the proper form would be for this contestant to give a speech, and then to defy the war leader to a duel that will be held another day—once everyone would have recovered their psy energy.
Occasionally, the contestants will want to use the war leader's vulnerability to attempt to kill them immediately. However, this is always seen as an admission of weakness and as an invitation for future rebellions. Furthermore, this can also turn against them if the war leader has high psy energy reserve and can still shift back to their battle form and defend themselves. Historically, a few individuals have achieved legendary status thanks to this.

Other circumstances

In modern days, these ceremonies are still carried out, but they have also been adapted to circumstances other than war.

Duels

A mimicry of the ceremony is held during duelling tournament and sometimes also other kind of tournaments.

At the beginning of the tournament, all participants ceremoniously give a speech regarding their determination to win before shifting form.

They then only shift back once the winner is declared. Shifting back in the middle of the tournament is often intended as a forfeit, although it can also be an insult towards the other competitors and a show that they're not being taken seriously.

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Political events

During political events that are going to force adversaries in close proximity, participants might be made to shift back and forth into their battle and humanoid forms.
This accomplishes two things:

1. This ensures that they deplete their psy energy and cannot attack each other anymore.


2. This also has a symbolic meaning showing that all participants consider the hostilities to be over and that their intentions are peaceful. An accompanying speech usually makes this explicit.

Both of these points will ensure a peaceful encounter. In theory.
Examples of use:

Negotiations, especially between different monarch (for peace, trade or other political agreements).

Political debates held inside one of the countries that make up the Alien empire, or a debate held in the emperor's presence.

Events held during the selection of an emperor, when all candidates have to gather together.

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