Kitsune

Kitsune
Race
Pronunciation	Kit-su-nay
Archetype	Human
Nicknames	Fox People, Wild Folk, Beast Men, 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	Superior Agility, Excellent Hearing, Excellent Night Vision, Adept at Magic
Weaknesses	Hypersensitivity to Aether, Aether Dependent, 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 6 Beta
Significant Demographics
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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, and reach maturity at 18 years old. Kitsune will retain their natural youth and beauty a lot longer then a regular human. 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. A tail 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 the human body 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 released from servitude and migrated to regions near present day Haru, Yumiko, Hayamashi, and Sakairen. Those regions were largely unsettled when they first arrived, and they formed primitive villages ruled under a tribal government.

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. The warring villages forced smaller villages surrounding them to swear fealty. Before long the entire region consisted of territories controlled by a few warring villages. Some warring villages had conquered territory as a means of increasing their power, while other villages had preemptively sworn fealty to a warring village to ensure their safety from the other warring villages. These warring villages would then turn to each other after having soaked up all available territory, and thus the clan wars had begun. The military in each village was initially a mixture of human and kitsune warriors, but as the war progressed the ranks of each village would become exclusively kitsune as aspiring human warriors were easily defeated. The kitsune possessed superior senses, agility, and control over complex magic, resulting in them easily being able to overpower human warriors. 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. 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 warring 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 warriors would continue to expand their influence. Some warring villages would form temporary alliances in order to focus on a mutual enemy. The clan based governing structure of the villages would later be replaced with a feudal system. A feudal lord would take care of all domestic affairs within the warring village's territory and appoint governors to rule minor villages that have sworn fealty to the warring village. A warlord would control all military matters within the warring village's territory. Warlords 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 warring villages resulted in countless kitsune deaths, and eventually the human inhabitants of villages were allowed to attend the 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. Humans would compensate for these shortcomings by focusing on their ability to cast more powerful magic then the kitsune. The resulting destruction would result in most remaining kitsune being eliminated and a great number of humans also being killed. Most villages were predominantly human at this point due to kitsune constantly perishing in combat, and the kitsune clans in command their warring villages were slowly replaced by human clans 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 humans used more and more powerful magic to vanquish rival warring villages.

Feudal Servitude

The Temarai Clan, whose warlord presided over a warring village that exists where present Temarai is today, would bring about the end of the clan wars. Through strategic alliances and outright conquest, they were able to eliminate all remaining rival villages and put an end to the war. At this point there were very few kitsune remaining, and the human populace believed that the kitsune were responsible for the beginning of the war along with it's escalation. In order to put an end to all future clan wars and to secure peace for all remaining inhabitants of the feudal villages, the Temarai Clan forced all kitsune into servitude so that they may never achieve a station of authority and spark another clan war. There was rebellion among the kitsune survivors and most of the race was killed to preserve the delicate balance the remaining warlords had achieved. The remaining kitsune became servants, and many would perish as a result of the hard lifestyle. A long era of peace between the remaining warlords who presided over their villages, all having sworn absolute fealty to the Temarai Clan. Over time the unique combat styles which the kitsune had perfected vanished. The magic which humans had learned during the clan wars was purely combat based and served little purpose in domestic life, as a result the prevalence of magic arts grew less until it ceased to exist within the villages. Specialized weapons were replaced with generic spears, bows, and swords. Disputes between lords whom served under the Temarai Clan would become common, and would be settled in honorable combat. The remaining kitsune were servants and assassins for the elite families that governed the major powers of the various feudal states.

A great deal of time would pass, and the era of the clan wars along with why the kitsune were forced into servitude would soon be forgotten. Kitsune would be servants through tradition rather then by law, and some managed to leave the feudal states in search of a life free from servitude. On rare occasion, a noble family member within the feudal states would intermarry with a kitsune servant. This has resulted in there being kitsune nobility among the feudal states, however their cultural responsibilities prevent 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. There are a growing number of kitsune who exist outside the feudal states, enjoying a new life free of servitude and the memory of the clan wars.