Overview
Ethereal shapeshifters (also known as Ethereal shifters, simply as Ethereals, or derogatorily as Ethlings) are an extremely strange race of shapechangers descended from Peaulanic humans, but now are far removed from the species, genus, even entire kingdom, and dwell on the ethereal plane.
Appearance
In human form, they are typically tall, pale, and thin, with long straight hair that is often pale blue, silver, gray, white, or rarely black or dark purple. Their eyes have the same range of colors. In animal form, they tend to take on colors natural for the species, but can still produce very strange colors (such as blue cats or metallic silver reptiles). Their genetics are 'scrambled' and strange at best, with each form having its own unique set of colors, and each form's colors being hereditary to the next generation; but these can be crossed and mingled (such as Yunae inheriting his great-grandfather's silver hair for human form, but bicolor eyes from his father's cat form...in human form).
A shifter's natural form is actually somethng resembling a very large brain stem and nervous system. It is anywhere from 1'-3' long, being thicker at the front and tapering off at the tail, with little temporary hairs or tendrils that grow from it to function like a cat's whiskers. It is blue-white and semi-transparent, looking almost like a glass sculpture except for the somewhat corrosive clear slime coating it. (Because this is their natural form, Ethereals are technically genderless entirely; gender is only part of superficial appearance and temporary biology contained within sets of genetic code. It is therefore possible for one individual's seperate animal forms to be of different genders, depending on what chromosomes go in each.)
Physiology
Ethereal biology is, to say the least, freaky as hell. As described above, their natural form is hardly more than a single massive sensory/brain organ. They only take on other forms by absorbing matter with their corrosive slime and taking mental control of the consumed matter's molecules. They then willfully direct their matter to superficially resemble various creatures depending on genes. They cannot turn into inanimate objects, having no genes to do so. They can, with practice however, produce small inanimate objects by forming it out of their redundant matter. This is how they create clothing for themselves, which never unattaches from them and thus feels pain and can bleed.
Their natural form is the only part of them that cannot shapeshift. It generally builds bodies around it and takes the place of the brain and spinal column (making that their only weak spot). Striking the 'head' of it (usually at the top of the skull in animal form) causes them to randomly undergo a transformation. Pinching off any part of the 'tail' causes severe pain and paralysis, and eventually atrophy or death if sustained for too long. Electrocuting them at all scrambles all of their nerves, sending them into an seizure (which is also very common in them and can be caused by flashing lights as in epileptic humans). Sufficient trauma or injury to the head or tail at all will cause them to lose all matter control and their redundant matter to melt into liquid or sublime into gas.
They have no true bones, only a mild stiffening of inner matter to give them mobility. They have no muscles, simply directing their limbs at will. They have no blood veins, only a single 'sheet' of blood between two layers of dermis; thusly, they bleed equally from any wound, whether it be on the toe or the throat.
They have a voracious and insatiable appetite at all times. They must consume solid matter as much as possible (even inedibles such as rocks) to maintain form, for they are constantly shedding themselves as anesthetic gas in the form of a rosy-smelling pheromone. They produce no waste aside from this, and have no true digestion system; in fact, no true organs at all. Most of their inside is hollow with only stiff tendrils forming necessary support to stand. This hollow interior is full of their corrosive sweat-ooze.
Their outside is also constantly consuming and recycling itself, which heals injuries and cleans (eats) dirt off of them. For this reason they cannot wear real clothes, or jewelry or anything at all, because within 24 hours it will all have been absorbed into them. They can force it to happen all at once, with some effort, if they need to heal massive amounts of injuries quickly.
They cannot suffocate or drown. They are resistant but not immune to fire, but become sluggish and dizzy in cold weather, as it slows down their molecules and makes it difficult to even move (which is a form of mild shapeshifting in itself). They are immune to most diseases, viruses, and toxins, but are still susceptible to some powerful drugs, esp. tranquilizers.
Because of their overall blood coverage, they bleed from the hair, which is why they never get haircuts because it could prove to be fatal (not to mention highly painful).
If an Ethereal sustains injuries too high to heal instantly from, it will go into a feeding frenzy, consuming anything it can nearby until it restores enough matter to cover the blood loss.
History
The Ethereal shapeshifters originally descended from a group of human wizards in Kinina, Wherem. They were created when the wizards prayed to the Goddess Avkwi to grant them shapeshifting powers, and to bind them with a particular element. She did so, creating not only the Ethereals, but the types of shifters Sanguian, Umbrian, Terrous, Hydrous, and Phloxian as well. Not satisfied with their already amazing powers, they continued to magically experiment on themselves, eventually mutating in 500 years to their current horrible selves. They have a long-standing rivalry with the Sanguians because of a dispute between one of each of their ancestors.
The Ethereals eventually migrated onto the Ethereal plane where they felt most comfortable. At one point, peace was made between them and all the other races; they appointed diplomats to form the Elemental Shifter Council, and those diplomats and a large handful of representatives from each of the species, all dwelled in a huge manor built to resemble a cathedral on the outside. Eventually, the old resentments resurfaced however, and hostilities erupted during a meeting with no one but a few Sanguians surviving. From then on, peace was never made again, except between Sanguians and Umbrians.
The Ethereals at a later point started to dwell en masse within the empty manor, and built a small village around it that existed on both the ethereal and material planes. Some marauding Devehkrino, however, happened upon them, and massacred them all, with only a single survivor this time; she only escaped by playing dead.
Due to not only their centuries-long snobbiness and want to be pureblooded, and the two separate massive deaths of their people, most Ethereals by now are inbred and related, with an ever-shallower gene pool.
|
Characters
Agatha
Akita
Amber
Jacqelina
James
Klaihn
Penelope
|