Kitsune

Kitsune
Race
Pronunciation	Kit-su-nay
Archetype	Human
Nicknames	Fox People, Fox Servants, Fox Girls (Gender Specific)
Languages	Kusanji
Vampiric Conversion	Not Possible
Aetherial Affinity	Class S - Naturally Casts Magic
Roleplay Difficulty	Hard
Racial Traits
Aetheriality	Semi-Aetherial
Max Age	1000 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 280 lbs
Eye Colors	Brown, Hazel, Blue, Green, Amber
Hair Colors	Black, Brown, Blond, Gray, White and Red
Skin Tones	Ranging from Pale to Brown
Average Physique	Slender to Muscular
Aetherial Limit	Power III - Control VII
Significant Demographics
While this doesn't mean your character has to come from one of these places, it's recommended they do. Senkyou Feudal Clans

The Kitsune are best described as humans with the addition of several large tails, fox ears, and an extreme sensitivity to magic. As a semi-aetherial being, Kitsune are a particularly interesting race. They are characterized by their primal desires and unique 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 which 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 1000 years, the longest of any non-vampiric race. Kitsune will retain their natural youth and beauty for most of their lives, only visually aging in the last 50 years of their life. Kitsune children don't have any tails until they reach twelve years old, after which they will get their first tail. They will get a tail every 100 years (starting at 200 years old) until they are 900 years old, receiving their ninth tail. A tail will grow in a matter of a day or two, it's growth being accelerated by 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 and the natural elements than humans.

Fenekku

There is a variant of kitsune referred to as fenekku, they live in the Tierran Desert and have a very different appearance from normal kitsune. Fenekku have exclusively light tan colored hair and tails, and also sport exceptionally large ears. Such large ears enhances their hearing ability significantly, at the cost of being very vulnerable to the cold. Their average height and size is also significantly less, only reaching a maximum of 4'6" tall. Fenekku only get a single tail which grows up to 3 feet long in adulthood. They also maintain a lean build, never going above athletic. They are highly adapted towards living in the desert and can go without water for several days, and only need a minimal amount in between.

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 part 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. Kitsune were a personal favorite of the exodian aristocratic elite, proving to be ideal candidates for elite servants. After the fall of exodian society, the kitsune followed their masters and escaped the cataclysm. They somehow ended up on the Islands of Senkyou through unknown means. Upon arrival, it is believed they killed their former masters and formed their own free society among the islands.

Several small villages would form over the passage of time, and the kitsune population would grow. They developed their own language and cultural traditions during this period, contributing to modern Senkyou culture. Some of these villages would give birth to clans that would grow to a considerable size. The strongest among a clan would be elected as kakenage, and rule over the village they were based in. As kitsune villages grew to a considerable size, the kakenage grew restless for a conflict.

The Clan Wars

What had originally started as a conflict between neighboring kitsune villages, turned into an all out war involving every village. The larger villages used their military advantage to annex smaller villages, overthrowing any rival kakenage and installing a governor in their place. This war would eventually become known as the clan wars, the most important era in kitsune history. Villages originally consisted of a mixed military force of both kitsune and humans whom used swords, spears, and bows. The kitsune's superior agility and senses rendered human soldiers obsolete, leaving only kitsune to take on military positions. Humanity became the civilian backbone of most villages, producing war supplies for the kitsune soldiers. The elite among these soldiers were referred to as samurai, masters of many weapon types but predominantly favoring the sword. The war between villages would start to evolve as kitsune soldiers started to explore the possibilities of magic.

The kitsune's superior agility, senses, and aetherial manipulation would give birth to unorthodox combat strategies which favored agility and subterfuge to overwhelm opponents. These strategies proved to be successful, and evolved into entire combat styles. Practitioners of these unorthodox combat styles were called kitsuja, and in addition to their acrobatic and weapons skills possessed two key forms of magic called kisugu and gensugu. Kitsuja were so successful in dominating the battlefield that kitsune villages stopped producing regular troops and instead opened war academies to exclusively train kitsuja. And thus the kitsune villages would become known as kitsuja villages. Battles during this emergent period were accompanied by spectacular feats of acrobatics, deadly kisugu attacks, and clever veils of gensugu deception.

The bloodshed between kitsuja villages increased as their kitsuja warriors perfected the combat styles that had been developed in the past few decades, leading to a large reduction in the overall kitsune population. Constant battles had resulted in a greatly reduced number of kitsune warriors, ultimately forcing kitsuja villages to let humans into their war academies to learn the kitsuja arts. Humanity was long considered to be inferior to the kitsune in traditional combat, but this changed once humans learned the perfected techniques handed down to them by the kitsune. Humanity lacked the agility and senses of the kitsune, but proved to be superior in casting kisugu. It did not take long for human kitsuja to develop kisugu techniques that were significantly more powerful then anything that the kitsune could conceive of. The resulting destruction killed off most of the remaining kitsune and also caused massive human casualties as well.

By the late clan wars era, the number of kitsune dropped to a mere fraction of their former numbers. Most kakenage and kitsuja were human at this point, having replaced their fallen kitsune comrades. The war between villages had reached an unprecedented level of destruction, and the remaining kitsuja villages were beginning to get desperate for a resolution to the war. This resolution would come from the prodigal kakenage of the Temarai kitsuja village, Temarai Kusanaga. Through tight alliances and selective conquest, he was able to bring about the final days of the war. There was a point by which he was able to get all the remaining kakenage and their respective villages to sign a peace agreement and finally end the war. Permanent peace was tentative at first, but after a decade it became apparent that no one within the Senkyou Forest wanted any more bloodshed for generations to come.

Feudal Servitude

The remaining kakenage assembled in Temarai village to discuss how they would preserve the peace that they have achieved. It was decided that the villages would all unify under a single elected official which would dictate laws and ensure that no village starts another war. The kakenage of Temarai was elected, and with his newfound power restructured the villages under a new identity known as the Senkyou Feudal Clans. Temarai Kusanaga's new elected position would solidify into a hereditary title known as Kushonin. He combined the delegation of both civilian and military affairs under a new single title known as a daimyo. The existing kakenage were transitioned into new daimyo positions with their village's feudal lords being placed beneath them.

After several decades Kushonin Temarai Kusanaga decided to put an end to old traditions once and for all. With no more war and conflicts between the villages, the occupation of kitsuja was no longer needed and therefore would be phased out and replaced with traditional military roles. The occupation of samurai had been in decline for many centuries during the clan wars, but was given new life after the re-implementation of traditional military roles and tactics. And then finally, Temarai Kusanaga's final act as Kushonin was to subject all current and future kitsune to mandatory servitude. The kitsune attempted to refute Temarai Kusanaga's proclamation, but the position of Kushonin was absolute and with so few kitsune left they were forced to submit. Many kitsune openly rebelled against this change, and were subsequently executed. From then on, all kitsune would serve as servants to their feudal overlords. Today, very few kitsune remain, and those who do are almost always servants.

Interbreeding

Human

A human and kitsune pairing results in children each having a 50% chance to be pure-blooded kitsune, otherwise they will be a pure-blooded human. If the child is a kitsune, then their children will always be kitsune if the other parent is a kitsune. If the child is a human, their children have a 75% chance to be kitsune if the other parent is kitsune. However if both the child and other parent are human, then their children will have a 25% chance each to be kitsune, with each dual human pairing after this halving the chance of a kitsune child. If a kitsune is born to a ninth generation dual human pairing after the initial half pairing, then the child will obtain a tail every 2 years after getting their first tail resulting in all nine tails at age 28 (very rare only happened once). This child would also likely succumb to insanity by receiving too much power at a young age. After the ninth generation of dual human pairings, it is no longer possible to have a kitsune child.

Assorted Info

• While Exodia created kitsune in volume, they also created a small number of semi-aetherials based on other creatures during their diabolical experimentation.