Shapeshifters

Seldom seen, the shapeshifters are an ancient people who live in the untamed corners of the world.
To many in Genesis, shapeshifters are little more than legend; though they exist in reaonable numbers, shapeshifters are so careful to stay hidden and so often mistaken for nothing more than an animal that they're as much a fireside story as an accepted reality. Their wariness isn't entirely without reason. In the past, shapeshifters were aggressively hunted by humans; though those days are long since past, the lesson has stuck. The shapeshifters have never trusted another race since then, and to even earn their trust on an individual level is rare.

Typical Physical Characteristics

When in human form, most shapeshifters are small and wiry; skintones typically range from medium tan to dark, with amber or blue eyes and dark brown or black hair. While hair color and skin color may or may not transfer to other forms, eye color always does. Light or leucistic coloration is uncommon and typically transfers to other forms, with shapeshifters born outside the normal range are referred to as ‘Pales’. Their coloration is seen as a sign of the Hidewalker’s disfavor, and Pales are often mildly ostracized or treated with suspicion/derision as a result.
While in animal form, shapeshifters are complete indistinguishable from a natural animal. The only indication of their true nature is their eyecolor, which can be a dead giveaway for some forms and inconsequential in others. However, shapeshifters are always capable of recognizing other shapeshifters no matter what form they're in; they can identify each other based on a combination of many senses, and it helps prevent them from accidentally preying on their own kind.
Perhaps as a consequence of their potent innate ability to change shape, shapeshifters rarely express natural magic. Shapeshifter mages are very rare, and members of this race rarely exhibit other unique abilities.

Natural Abilities

Though altering one's shape through natural magic via Shaping is an extremely difficult and magic-intensive process, shapeshifters are born with the ability to do so and regularly change their forms from an early age. They can take on any natural creature's shape, and are encouraged to try many shapes for versatility before settling into a handful of favored forms that they'll generally use preferentially; taking on a new form requires careful observation and analysis beforehand, restricting shapeshifters to creatures they've had a chance to observe if they want to make a proper transformation. While shapeshifters can take on the form of the more vicious and monstrous magical creatures found in the Shards, these shapes are seen as leaving a sort of stain on those that use them and are heavily frowned on. Those who take them on out of necessity are required to ritually cleanse themselves afterwards.

Life Cycle

Shapeshifters are relatively short-lived and have lifespans comparable to a human, though many live shorter lives due to their wild and sometimes solitary lifestyles. Most average somewhere in the range of 50-70 years, though shapeshifter elders can live up to their nineties and are treated with enormous respect.
Shapeshifters are considered adult at the time they successfully complete their Hidewalker's Year, which is typically attempted in their late teens with the exact age varying from 16-20. Most begin thinking of families after they've returned from the time young shapeshifters spend in Coronis, and will often pair off and begin raising children by their mid twenties. Shapeshifter families will often have several children staggered in age.

Reputation

Due in part to their intensely solitary nature and their choice to live mostly in isolation, to members of the other races shapeshifters are mysterious, hard to read, and utterly alien in their behavior. They don't act in a way that the other races find easy to understand or relate to, which in turn adds to the vast gulf between their respective cultures. While a rare few shapeshifters seek out the comforts of civilization, it's unusual and those who do are roughly equal in numbers with those who feel a closer kinship to their animalistic side and live mostly in the company of wild creatures.
When they do choose to make their presence known, shapeshifters are generally given a wide berth borne of equal parts respect and apprehension. Most people find them unnerving due to their animalistic mannerisms and exreme knack for observation. They're known to be independent and intensely self-sufficient, talented hunters and craftsmen well-capable of living in the wilds even without their innate abilties; those same abilities are the subject of fear for some and envy for others. Shapeshifters are very much the Other, and while they resemble the other races superficially it's rare that anyone forgets that they only wear the trappings of civilization when it suits them.

Social Structure

Shapeshifter social structure is based almost entirely around longevity; the natural hazards of their way of life mean that the elderly are seen as experienced, successful survivors. They have a great reverence for their old and bow to their guidance in almost all circumstances.
Shapeshifter society exists as a 'pack' or clan structure, with each pack led by a single elder. Largely autonomous and isolated from others except for during times of crisis, packs have little contact outside of unique racial crossroads like their ancestral homeland of Coronis. Coronis is the one place where shapeshifters adhere to a more intricate leadership structure, and decisions affecting the entirety of the race are made there by a council of all pack elders.
A pack is generally comprised of fifteen to fifty individuals and functions as a single large family, with little to no distinction on the basis of blood. While couples within the group are typically monogamous, children are raised communally without much distinction of their parentage. Packs will often have a tighter, more core formed of the leading elder, individuals who wear a more 'human' form, and the group's children and adolescents; this core will then be supplemented by those who favor an animal form, some of whom are loners only included as members of the pack due to overlapping territory. A pack's living situation varies depending on time of year and the preferences of individuals within it; it's typical to disperse to live independently or in pairs during the summer months when resources are more plentiful, and then gather together for mutual support and semi-permanent housing during the winter months.

Societal Norms and Values

For more specific racial customs, see Shapeshifter Customs.
TRADITION AND CEREMONY
To the surprise of many, shapeshifters have relatively few formal traditions or celebrations. The ones that they do have are treated with great importance, but as a whole they believe that the basis of life is change and that survival requires flexibility and adaption rather than a strict adherence to ritual practices. Their traditions are often a matter of strict practicality than anything else.
LOVE, SEX, AND MARRIAGE
Though they recognize that they live dangerous lives, shapeshifters love their packmates all the more fiercely for it. While they share an close bond with all members of the pack, some choose to form more committed relationships of two or three individuals of either sex; despite a lack of formal marriage, these relationships are considered exclusive and generally last for years if not for life. Sexual relationships are relatively casual, and relationships between shapeshifters can be either short or longterm without being committed or exclusive.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
For shapeshifters the pack is everything, and the small scale of their communities means that crime is rare; what hurts one member of the pack hurts the whole, and to willingly harm the group is near-unthinkable in a life that relies so strongly on mutual support. There's little in the way of petty crime among shapeshifters. Few material possessions means that theft isn't prevalent, and a certain level of minor violence in the form of playfighting and physical disputes is culturally accepted so long as it doesn't lead to major injury. As a result, on the rare occasion when they do happen crimes are generally major incidents. Intentional causing major harm to another, sexual assault, and murder are the main crimes of shapeshifter society, and are most commonly committed against members of another pack or a non-shapeshifter.
When they do happen, these sorts of crimes are met with no tolerance. The guilty party is either driven from the group or hunted down and executed by the rest of the pack; in cases where guilt is unclear, they're held until a Hound of Eihel can be summoned to determine the details of what took place. Shapeshifters have no mercy for lawbreakers, because their entire society relies on absolute trust and the ability to rely on one another.
DEATH
Of all the races, shapeshifters have the least fear of death and treat it with relatively little ceremony or sentimentality; unlike most races of Genesis, they believe that Siarus guides a cycle of reincarnation rather than ruling an afterlife. Shapeshifters approaching the end of their life often shift to a shape that will provide for those they leave behind; the hide of a shapeshifter, when made into clothing, is particularly valuable due to its capacity for changing form with its wearer, and is considered an honored possession. During hard times, butchering and eating the dead is viewed as acceptable and respectful. In times when this is not necessary, the body is left exposed to provide for animals.

Relevant Articles

INDIVIDUALS

LOCATIONS
Coronis Shard

OTHER
The Hidewalker
Feral Shifters