Shiftblood, AKA "Goblin"

The most stigmatized sorcery

I'd rather not talk to you. Experience has taught me that you will twist my words and use them to call us all monsters.

— "Lem", who agreed to talk on the condition that they could review our words.

A specific form of sorcery that grants the sorcerer minor shapeshifting powers. However, Shiftbloods often cannot perfect their appearance, and many changes away from and back to the face they were born with results in slightly strange or unnatural features. This odd disfigurement of their faces leads them to be ostracized from a large portion of people, the crueler or more ignorant of whom nickname them "goblins".
This shared mistreatment has formed a close bond among Shiftbloods as a whole, who often form tight-knit communties in the towns and cities of the Blue. Though sorcery is not heridary, these communities often resemble extended families not dissimilar to the Noble Houses of the Empire, though at the other end of the social heirarchy.

Culture

Names

Slave Names

Shiftbloods refer to the name they were given, either by their parents, or, commonly, their owners, as their "slave name", even if the Shiftblood was never enslaved. When first joining a Shiftblood community, it is common practice to truncate their slave names, so they might distance themselves from their former life.

True Names

When a Shiftblood fully embraces their culture and community, they choose a new name for themself, called a "true name". It has very little to do with previous name, current appearance, or anything else. Very popular are complex but short sounds, which are pronounced so subtly that most cannot tell the difference. With faces that often blend together when viewed by an untrained eye, likewise the slight variations in names are often only pronounced differently by other Shiftblood.

"No, no. Try saying it slowly. Uhh-Llmm. Ulm. Not Ul-em, no, or A-lm. Ulm. You know what? You can call me Lem, that's close enough.

— "Lem"

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Among Shiftblood, uniqueness is praised above all else, with a large emphasis on change. Larger changes are accepted, if a bit odd, with most Shiftblood opting instead to focus on smaller changes over larger periods of time. Being unique is very important when the same small errors occur on most Shiftblood's faces over time, with the faces very easily looking like a least common denominator of popular and attractive faces after a while.

Gender Ideals

Gender among Shiftbloods is often thought to be strange and complex, but in reality it is just removed from their physical form. There is no expectation among Shiftblood for anyone to look any way, no matter their gender. Gender can, though not always, be signified by a small shape on their wrist: A styalized 8, often vibrantly colored. When running across the veins, it represents femininity, and when running along the veins it represents masculinity. It can be angled in any direction to represent current orientation, and is often changed on the fly among the more genderfluid Shiftblood.

Traditions

Coming of Age Rites

Coming of age has a different meaning among Shiftbloods, as their first real milestone in their life was when their sorcery revealed its presence. This is often not a pleasant time to remember, and many Shiftblood completely ignore any further aging milestones. With their form-warping magic, they are plenty capable of not appearing to age for the rest of their lives. Others try to reset the clock, only counting and celebrating milestones after they join a community of other Shiftbloods. Among this second group, you will find those who celebrate a sort-of birthday, a "naming day", or sometimes a "true naming day", in celebration of the date that they chose their true name.

I don't really understand naming ceremonies anymore. When I revealed my true name, it was a small, personal ceremony. Nothing like the parties of hundreds that children throw. Not that there's something wrong with showing off your name. Just that they've lost some of what made it special.

— "Lem"

Abilities

As Shiftblood magic is the least-well researched sorcery, there is not as much recorded knowledge about the distinct abilities of a Shiftblood sorceror. Shiftblood communities have a much better understanding than Academics, and so their terms and words are below.

Shift

As every young Shiftblood discovers, we have the ability to change our forms. I cycled through traits, tweaking my appearance over the course of years, until I was happy with how I looked. Sometimes I switch it up, just a little, but not much. Some go even further, molding their bodies like clay, far from human features. I suppose that's fine.

— "Lem"

Hold

Something that younger Shiftbloods often struggle with is what Academics refer to as the "absence" of Shiftblood magic. We can, though many people do not favor it, hold our forms in place. We can prevent ourselves from appearing to age, and some say (though I have never seen it) that it is possible to use this to thwart cuts and burns.

— "Lem"

Root

Shiftblood sorcery is among the least researched, and so there is not much proof to back up speculations about the Root of their magic. That being said, the most popular theory is that Shiftbloods embody and control change. Why this is limited to only the Sorcerer's body, unlike every other sorcery, is unknown.

We call you lot "Stillbloods". In our eyes, we're the normal ones, and you're the ones who are weird by never changing.

— "Lem"

Body Art

Shiftbloods, like all other people, sometimes express themselves by modifying their body in some way. Because Shiftbloods are able to achieve much more drastic changes without the permanence something like peircings or tattoos would bring, it is seen as something much more akin to clothing choice.

Slavery

A very large portion of Shiftbloods either are enslaved or were enslaved at one point. Many are sold by their birth family, even those not born in the slave colonies, simply because of the stigma against having Shiftblood children. More still are captured by illegal slavers, who would rather sell their captured Shiftbloods in black markets than accept the ransom from their communities.

As far as I'm concerned, I don't have birth family.

— "Lem"

Hybrid Bloods

Featherblood

A mixture of Shiftblood and Skyblood, Featherbloods are able to fly by both making themselves less dense and the air around them thicker.

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Lustblood

A mixture of Shiftblood and Songblood, Lustbloods are able to manipulate the attraction of those around them, as well as change their bodies.

The Formless

A popular tale among Shiftblood communities is of The Formless, a being who changed his form so much he forgot what he originally looked like and became featureless for the rest of his days. It might seem like a cautionary tale, but it is actually more often seen as something to be envied. There are even some Shiftblood that try to emulate the tale, either drastically removing themselves from anything that looks human or seeing how close they can get to what they see as 'perfect blankness'.

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