Kitsune

Kitsune are very long-lived; the age of a Kitsune can be estimated by how many tails they have, with each tail representing roughly 100 years of age, although they will only grow 9 tails. They sport fluffy ears that match their fox-like tails in color and might have other vulpine features like brightly colored or slanted eyes, sharp canine teeth, whiskers, or long, tough nails. To dissuade attention, kitsune raised by others of their kind learn quickly how to hide their identifying features like ears and tails through an ancestral form of illusion magic, but it does not hide the fact they’re still present on their body. This disguise is in all manners indistinguishable from that of a typical human however. Usually, it retains particular coloration or features that are inspired in some ways by their actual physique.

History

If one were to ask if Kitsune exist, one would probably get the answer “They’re only a legend”. Kitsune, however, do, in fact, exist, but they’re notably small compared to other kinds of beastfolk. Often keeping to themselves, out of sight, or hiding in plain sight, Kitsune are a part of the world and its peoples. In antiquity, kitsune were a curious yet reserved race who found fascination in many things throughout this young stage of civilization. They are affectionately lauded as early adopters of history keeping, "world's first historians." Records they have been responsible for penning are fascinating but don't always circulate through circles knowing the true nature of their authors or are generally rare to find. The breadth of knowledge that has interested the kitsune community alludes to events reaching into more areas of observation than most other archivists have dedicated time to in their lifetimes. There was a time in the far distant past known as The Hunts where Kitsune became the target of a malicious and quite aggressive campaign of fear and hate. Among several reasons, they were mainly targeted due to a developing superstition labeling them harbingers of bad luck and misfortune and a misguided legend of secrets and treasures they withheld from those who would seek them or the corruption of good folk into sin. So crippling was this period that the demographics for kitsune in the present rivals the minuscule numbers of their once neighbors, the unicorns, who are another people with whom they shared both their ancient homes and slaughter at the hands of the Era of the Cruel Hunt. Kitsune today tend to fully hide their true identities using an ancestral form of illusory magic to hide behind a human. For many of their kind, however, their cultural fascination with the world around them and its many events to be documented lead them to live spread throughout the world, keeping a tether back home where they may compile all that this long-lived race can witness.

Geography

Kitsune and their ancestry is so scattered that historians have had a difficult time allocating trends in geography tied to their kind. The only true population known by historians is within Eren, where communities of kitsune lived amidst the southern and central reaches of the Great Forest up until it's burning by the hands of Eldra and the Black Dragonhorde a millennium ago. Kitsune, at least those who live today, tend to be found within a visit-able distance of the larger, more storied civilizations of the world. Other clutches of their kind live in small family clans in secluded areas in essentially every region. Through the presence of Lorekeepers, there is also a notable, albeit secretive contingent of kitsune deep within the bounds of Eiri.

Relations & Society

Though no longer hunted in the way they were before in the current day and age, Kitsune today prefer to continue their practices of hiding in plain sight, finding it easier to blend in with the world around them. Kitsune do share communities with each other, forming families and places of safety to live. They are typically found integrating into other communities of other races. Kitsune have a cultural fascination with setting long-term goals for themselves to accomplish and, in some cases, make it their lifelong goal to pursue and maintain. They are not stuck in keeping to this goal, but changing a goal is often a major decision on their part, and they cherish the opportunities their longevity provides. Certain clutches of their kind like to consider themselves watchers of the world and have been known to enjoy lives as historians, researchers, advisors, and the like. Through this, they help keep the knowledge of history, preserving it so that the past isn’t forgotten. Kitsune in ancient times were victims of what present historians familiar with the legends dictate as the Era of the Cruel Hunt, a period of at least a century in which kitsune would be imprisoned or poached for the inquisition against superstitious omens and bad events kitsune were labeled as being the cause for. They shared this turbulent time with the unicorns, who suffered a very similar fate, and while communication between both beings is minuscule after millennia of no contact, their bonds were believed very amicable before the start of the hunts and even during the early days of that age.

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Interactions Between Kitsune & Unicorns

The First Lorekeepers

Ancestry: Animal Folk
Lifespan: Believed to be up to 1000 years
Adulthood: 18 years
Average Height (m.): 1.6m to 1.8m
Average Weight (kg.): 64kg to 81kg
Type: Mammal
Blood: Red
Contributor: sarielkaisel

Passive Ideas

Foxfire - You may summon up a harmless orb of spiritual fire that can be used to illuminate an area around you as bright as a regular torch. Some kitsune even learn how to make the foxfire wisp float in place or follow along near them so their hands can remain free.
Duplicitous Disguise - Not only are you a master of hiding your foxlike features, but this innate ability is extended to include another boon. You may choose a set of specific pieces of regular clothing like a mask, a sash, an overcoat, gloves, or a combination of something else, and when you hide your form to appear fully human, you may also have that apparel appear. It is indistinguishable from any other of its kind and can even be used like physical things, but follows the same other rules as the rest of your form-change ability.
Nimble Dasher - You know how to move quickly in order to escape discerning eyes. Your natural movement speed is quicker than that of an average humans.