Kitsune

Kitsune
Race
Pronunciation	Kit-su-nay
Archetype	Human
Nicknames	Fox People, Fox Servants, Fox Girls (Gender Specific)
Languages	Common
Vampiric Conversion	Not Possible
Aetherial Affinity	Level 5 - Naturally Casts Magic
Roleplay Difficulty	{{{roleplay}}}
Racial Traits
Aetheriality	Semi-Aetherial
Max Age	160 Years
Strengths	Incredible Agility, Superior Senses, Excellent Aether Control
Weaknesses	Hypersensitivity to Aether, Aether Reliant, Primal Desires
Height	5' to 6'6"
Weight	100 to 220 lbs
Eye Colors	Brown, Hazel, Blue, Green, Silver, Amber
Hair Colors	Black, Brown, Blond, Gray, White and Red
Skin Tones	Ranging from Pale to Brown
Average Physique	Slender to Muscle-god
Aetherial Limit	Class 2 Theta
Significant Demographics
While this doesn't mean your character has to come from one of these places, it's recommended they do. Shogunate of Senkyou Island of Ae'Tezan

The Kitsune are best described as humans with the addition of several large tails, fox ears, and a particular sensitivity to magic. As a semi-aetherial being, Kitsune are a particularly interesting race. They are characterized by their primal desires and peculiar culture. Very few in number, most people of Amestria will live their lives never seeing one of these magnificent beings.

Physical Characteristics

Kitsune are very similar to the humans that they were based upon, however their aetherial soul has caused various aspects of their physiology to reflect their aetherial nature. They have standard human skin, hair, and eye colors, but will also have up to nine tails, and fox ears instead of human ears that will be the same color as their hair. They also have slitted eyes, complete with fantastic night vision. They have a naturally athletic body, and their high metabolism makes it almost impossible for them to gain excessive weight. They also have exceptional agility, having faster reaction times and more precise reflexes then humans. Their ears are very sensitive to sound, allowing them to hear things at great distances or even underground. Some kitsune may sport whiskers like what a fox would have. They are extremely sensitive to aether, more so then any other race. This sensitivity comes from the unnatural nature of their half aetherial soul and human body. They can live up to 160 years of age, and reach maturity at 18 years old. Kitsune will retain their natural youth and beauty for most of their lives, only visually aging in the last 20 years of their life. Kitsune children do not have any tails until they reach ten years old, after which they will get their first tail. They will get a tail every 10 years until they are 90 years old, receiving their ninth tail. A tail will grow in a matter of a day or two, it's growth being accelerated the their aetherial soul. Tails will go from 3 feet long in childhood to 6 feet long in adulthood. Kitsune require a constant intake of ambient aether to survive, their body requires food and water also but their aetherial soul requires aether to continue to exist. If a kitsune is starved of aether they will die. Kitsune are far more resistant to diseases then humans.

Mental Characteristics

Despite their similarity to humans physically, kitsune are very different mentally. They alternate between their human and aetherial beast natures. As they were created from aether beasts, one side of them lacks empathy and has very strong primal desires. The other side comes from their human based body and has empathy and compassion. They constantly flip between the two sides, and it is a constant and unending cycle. As a general rule, they will have more control over their primal desires as they obtain more tails. Kitsune are naturally flighty, being very easily frightened and prone to hiding or running from things they are scared of. Just like the aetherial foxes they were created from, they are very clever and have a gift for deception. They are also partial to being playful, creative and in some cases flirtatious. Most kitsune do not like being around large groups of people and prefer to be in close knit social groups or alone.

Primal Desires

The most prominent aspect of a kitsune are their primal desires, which are a major aspect of their personality and character. Primal desires come and go much like emotions, however while the desire is present the kitsune will feel a strong urge to fulfill it. These urges are more controllable as the kitsune gets more tails, but can be very overpowering in the early years of a kitsune's life. The following list contains the most common desires and their associated behavior. As a general rule of thumb for primal desires, they are animalistic in nature and are associated with a sub-sentient creature's need to survive.

Primal Desires: (All desires fade after a few hours or a day)

• Flight - The kitsune will feel a strong desire to flee, usually from the rest of society or an object of fear. Commonly results in ending up far away from any other people.
• Playful - The kitsune will feel a strong desire to play with another, perhaps even forcibly.
• Wanting - The kitsune will be compelled to take or grasp a specific object and not relinquish possession of it.
• Hoarding - The kitsune will be compelled to amass a collection of a particular thing (likely food), and will be very aggressive towards anyone who wants to take from the collection or even get near it.
• Aggression - The kitsune will feel a strong desire to either fight or avoid the object of aggression, depending on their personality they may want to fight physically or verbally, or simply display cold behavior.
• Dominance - The kitsune will have a strong desire to assert superiority over others they deem inferior. This may include anything from competitive behavior to all out brawls.
• Procreation - The kitsune will experience a strong desire to procreate with another individual. This does not involve any shared feelings and is purely primal lust.
• Safety - The kitsune will be compelled to hide in an area or space they consider safe and will refuse to leave.
• Hunting - The kitsune will have a strong desire to stalk a lesser animal and kill it if given the opportunity.
• Protection - The kitsune will have a strong desire to protect someone close to them or someone in need, and will be very aggressive towards anyone who threatens the safety of the protected individual.

History

Ancient History

The kitsune were created during the Exodian Empire's golden era. The exodians were known for their mastery of magic and machines, and fused aetherial foxes from the forest with a body of flesh using Humanity as a template. This resulted in a being that was of both worlds, and of neither at the same time. The kitsune proved valuable to the exodians, with superior physical senses and hypersensitivity to aether. They were used to detect spells and anomalies that could not be detected by human mages, as well as serve as servants and assassins for various members of the exodian aristocracy. After the collapse of the Exodian Empire, the kitsune were no longer bonded in servitude and migrated to regions near present day Haru, Yumiko, and Hayamashi. Those regions were largely unsettled when they first arrived, and they formed primitive villages ruled under tribal governments.

Knowledge of this tribal period in kitsune history is scarce due to most of the records being destroyed by the clan wars. However it is believed that these primitive villages prospered and over time evolved into a more civilized culture. These villages were originally ordered based on a hierarchy where age played an important role. Elders held the most power, and would be in charge of directing the village's largest tasks. Historical evidence suggests that these villages grew in size and had exceptionally large populations of kitsune living in them. It was during this era that large numbers of humans migrated into the region and were integrated into the preexisting kitsune villages. The rapid increase in population caused these villages to adopt a clan based power structure, with a single clan holding control over a village that harbored smaller clans. Disputes between clans were common, and ruling clans could be overthrown resulting in the village changing leadership. Most villages were eventually led by the strongest clans that were able to hold their authority over the other clans of the village. Some of these clans became highly militaristic and looked towards outward expansion. This would soon result in a period of time within kitsune history known as the clan wars.

The Clan Wars

What originally started as a dispute between a few villages quickly grew into an all out war. Large warring villages forced smaller villages surrounding them to swear fealty. Before long the entire region consisted of territories controlled by a few large villages. Some villages had been conquered by these large villages, while other villages had preemptively sworn fealty to the local warring village in their area to ensure their safety from the other warring villages. These large villages then turned to each other after having soaked up all available territory, and thus the clan wars begun. The military in each village was initially a mixture of human and kitsune warriors, but as the war started the ranks of each village would become exclusively kitsune as aspiring human warriors were easily defeated in traditional combat. The kitsune possessed superior senses, and agility resulting in them easily being able to outmatch human warriors which at the time did not possess any magic. The human residents of villages would become the backbone of a village's work force, producing equipment and rations for the kitsune warriors that served the village.

The kitsune's unique physiology resulted in the creation of unorthodox combat strategies later condensing into unique combat styles that took advantage of their agility and precise aether detection and manipulation. Their weapons and armor would also come to reflect the unique styles of combat which they had begun to develop. These warriors would become known as kitsuja, and in addition to their unorthodox combat forms they also possessed two styles of magic known as kisugu and gensugu. Battles during this emergent period are best described by incredible acrobatic feats and emphasis on outwitting an opponent rather then outright overpowering them. Skill and experience played a much larger role then sheer numbers in combat during this period, resulting in the formation of various war academies within kitsuja villages that teach young kitsune the unique combat arts that had been developed by their forefathers. Over the course of many generations these combat styles would be perfected and villages with the greatest number of skilled kitsuja would continue to expand their influence. The clan based governing structure of kitsuja villages would later be replaced with a feudal system. A feudal lord would take care of all domestic affairs within the kitsuja village's territory and appoint governors to rule minor villages that have sworn fealty to the kitsuja village. A kakenage would control all military matters within the kitsuja village's territory. Kakenage were normally descendants of the most powerful clans that once ruled the village in the past, but could also be selected by unanimous election.

Late in the clan wars era, the number of kitsune would drop to only a fraction of their former numbers. Constant battles between kitsuja villages resulted in countless kitsune deaths, and eventually the human inhabitants of kitsuja villages were allowed to attend war academies and inherit the unique combat styles that had been perfected by the kitsune generations before. Humans lack the senses, agility, sensitivity to aether, and precise aether control that the kitsune possessed, and humans compensated for these shortcomings by focusing on their ability to cast more powerful kisugu. The resulting destruction killed off most of the remaining kitsune and also caused massive human casualties as well. Most villages in the region were predominantly human at this point, and the kitsune Kakenage in command of their kitsuja villages slowly transitioned to human Kakenage as the kitsune perished in combat. By the end of the clan wars, it was human versus human, and the human inhabitants of each village had inherited the kitsune's conflicts. The war had become very devastating and violent as the human clans used more and more powerful kisugu to vanquish rival kitsuja villages.

Feudal Servitude

A kakenage from the Temarai Clan presiding over a kitsuja village where present day Temarai is located, would bring about the end of the clan wars. Through strategic alliances and outright conquest, he was able to eliminate all the remaining hostile kitsuja villages and achieve peace. At this point there were very few kitsune remaining, and the human populace believed that the kitsune were responsible for the beginning of the clan wars along with it's escalation. In order to eliminate the possibility of a future clan war, the remaining kakenage held a council and agreed to force all remaining kitsune into servitude and to never be allowed a station of authority. There was rebellion among the kitsune survivors and many kitsune were killed to preserve the delicate balance the remaining kakenage had achieved. The remaining kitsune would become servants, and another rebellion was never attempted due to there being so few kitsune left. A long era of peace existed between the remaining kakenage and their villages, of which had elevated the Temarai kakenage to become the head of the alliance.

Over time the state of the alliance changed and the Temarai Clan appointed a new supreme ruler known as a shogun to rule over all the villages as head of the Temarai Feudal States, and the position of kakenage was abolished. Every major village was ruled by a daimyo, a great lord who was a vassal of the shogun. The clan that the daimyo belongs to is labeled as a noble clan, and future heirs of these clans would become daimyo to replace the previous generation. The era of kitsuja faded away and all the kisugu, gensugu, and unique fighting styles which had been developed were banned to prevent another clan war, and would be forgotten in time. Conflict would arise between the noble clans often, and was settled by wars which had been permitted by the shogun. Armies of these villages consisted of normal weapons such as spears, bows, and swords, however there were elite warriors among these armies known as samurai. Surprisingly the armor used from this point to present day is similar to the armor used in the kitsuja era. The remaining kitsune had become servants and assassins for the noble clans that ruled over the remaining villages.

Over time, memories of the clan wars along with why the kitsune were cast into servitude were forgotten. The history of the clan wars was relegated to dusty unused scrolls, and the kitsune had become servants by tradition rather then by law. Many kitsune left the Temarai Feudal States to seek out a life free of servitude. On rare occasion, a noble clan member would intermarry with a kitsune servant which served to elevate some kitsune to nobility status. However the cultural responsibilities of these kitsune nobles prevents them from liberating the rest of their race from servitude and instead are forced to live a life of nobility with all the social responsibilities it demands. Kitsune who live outside the feudal states have found great success in their exploits, and in fact there are more kitsune living on the distant Island of Ae'Tezan then on the entire Exodius Continent.

Interbreeding

In human + kitsune pairings, the offspring has a 50% chance to be kitsune. No matter the ratio of blood, kitsune will always have same traits.

Kitsune + Dark Elf Daisune Less Magic more intelligence. Socially averse desires replaced with curiosity and intense need to socialize.