The Maker's Hand

Life-Cycle: The average tabari will live about forty years. In their first 7 years, they age about twice as fast as humans. Their aging then slows to about the same rate for their adult life. They reach sexual maturity at age 9. They remain strong and active until the last few years of life, but their minds remain sharp until the very end.

Reproductive Cycle: Tabari can and do reproduce with any humanoid species. Those with a tabari father will be of their mother's species, save that they have more body hair. Those with a tabari mother will be tabari. If the father is not also a tabari, then there is virtually no chance the child will be male. Only if both parents are tabari is there a normal chance of producing each sex. The chance of producing a male child increases dramatically if reproduction occurs during the day the female is in heat. This occurs once a year, on the day the female was born. Multiple births are no more likely than in humans if the child is not conceived on the day of the female’s heat. If conceived while she was in heat, she may have a litter of up to six, which might not even necessarily have the same father. In either case, pregnancy takes about five months. Tabari nurse their young no different than humans, and do not have the advantages that cats do in that regard.

Powers: Tabari share many traits with felines that are not strictly powers. They have sharp senses, at least as potent as wild felines. Their eyes can adjust to almost any lighting condition with ease, and they are stronger and faster than humans as well. Their balance and climbing ability is easily equal to any ordinary cat. These abilities are not magical and cannot be suppressed by Disbelief or something similar.

With Second Birth, a female tabari might be allowed to live again, though this process is not easy. If they can orchestrate events correctly, female tabari might be guaranteed immortality. If a male Tabari eats the heart of a female when she is in heat, and still alive, then her mind and soul can be taken from her body, and stored within the male. The soul will be contained in the male about seven days. The first female he impregnates during this time will give birth as normal for her species (whatever it may be), save that the mind and soul will belong to the female whose heart he ate. This can cause mental instability, so most tabari females will do all they can to ensure that they will be reborn as tabari.

Culture: Tabari don't have a unified culture or any cities, but they do have similar traits and habits that are almost universal, thanks to their feline instincts. Tabari are very curious and tend to be somewhat superficial, traveling to and fro on whims and fancy. Unless they are raised by members of another race, they usually lack the conception of "possessions" or "property", taking what they need and discarding it the instant it is no longer useful. This has resulted in warranted suspicion from other races, particularly those with an abundance of property rights. This view extends to land as well. If they can find what they need somewhere, they will stay, viewing it as theirs. When they can’t, they move on. Often they must be compelled to leave, similar to stray cats of a less intelligent variety. Males are more territorial, and will usually fight for "their" territory, whereas females generally assume they can find somewhere better and move on. Older females usually look for a home near males, though not close enough to provoke conflict. Tabari are very intelligent and can make pacts and treaties with other races. This is rare however, since they are usually so transitory.

They prefer to live in wilderness near enough to settlements, so that they can steal or trade for things they can't make on their own. They prefer habitats with animals to hunt and shallow water for playing and bathing and drinking. They take advantage of their night vision and stealth to steal what they need, and will fight to defend it if confronted. Generally most females will flee if they do not think they can win easily. Tabari are very supportive of one another and will always come to each other’s aid if they find each other in conflict.

Divine: Shortly after the Dawn Days were drawing to a close, it became evident that repopulating the earth would be a serious problem with the mass extinctions that took place on all continents. Mastigos created the tabari to satisfy the need for a hearty race that might survive in almost any climate, and to assist almost every race to solve the problem of underpopulation. Defying the usual pattern, Mastigos created two avatars to create the race, a male named Morkut and a female Soltari. All went well for many, many years, until the problem of underpopulation was solved and tabari were kicked out of the towns and villages and had to retreat into the wilderness. Without as much space to roam, conflict began to fester between them. Soltari eventually decided that males were inferior and created the Second Birth ability to ensure that her daughters could live forever. She "tricked" Morkut into helping her grant the species this power, and shift the dominance of the species to the females almost exclusively. Unfortunately for her, two avatars meant that both needed to be involved (which is why using the Second Birth power takes both a male and a female working together).

From below the waist they are , with all the unique features that entails. They have white fur on most of their bodies with black paws, though in summer and spring they shed their long white fur and are either tan or black, changing back to white when winter comes again. Their fur is hollow like the polar bear, allowing them to sleep out in a blizzard without fear of hypothermia, save on their exposed skin. In winter even the bottom of their paws are covered in fur, allowing them to walk in frozen snow all day, and not to slip when walking even on solid ice. Their digestion is one of the strongest in the animal kingdom, allowing them to eat just about anything organic to survive the most difficult months, be it rotten meat or brewed twigs. It's fortunate their sense of taste is quite weak.

Males are about a foot longer than females at adult size, and typically are quite a bit stronger as well from a physical perspective. Males and females alike have scent glands in their large tails, which they use to do everything from mark their territory to communicate to one another about danger. All have a profoundly acute sense of smell, and are able to smell marks left on objects from about 500 feet away weeks after they are left. The most common use of this ability is that of a mated pair marking each other every morning, a sign of their possession of each other and the exclusivity of their relationship.

Life-Cycle: As humans. Alopians are born as kits and grow up at about a human rate, and continue to age at the rate of pre-Event humans. They have a very active lifestyle that generally keeps them healthy into their later years, and a diet rich in fish keeps their minds alert into old age, but these are entirely non-magical factors. There is nothing special about their aging process.

Reproductive Cycle: Alopians resemble the mating process of many other species in most ways. They go into heat once a year (females do anyway) and can produce litters of 4 with each mating. Females are known to be quite selective and delay choosing a mate well into adulthood however, and it is fortunate they can discipline themselves and not mate if they choose not to. This is because once a female mates, she will not be sexually attracted to any other male for the rest of her life. The same limitation is not true of males, who have no special attachment or requirements about their mating. Once they mate with a single male, that female will not be the least bit stimulated by any other male. They /are/ known to sometimes prefer other females when their true mates are not around. But once they’ve mated for the first time, they lose the adaptability to be attracted to anyone forever. They can still produce offspring from others, though most females would rather die, finding the prospect so intolerable. Strangely, this effect is entirely connected to their species, and is not psychological. Those changed into other species even after mating have this limit removed, though they always prefer who mated with them first and will for the rest of their lives.

Powers: Most of the "powers" possessed by alopians are purely biological. Their resistance to cold and ability to drink bad water or eat bad food is completely non-magical. They do have a handful of truly supernatural abilities, however.

First of all, Alopians are immune to the cold. This does not mean they do not feel discomfort; their human skin can feel cold, though generally the temperatures that cause them to feel uncomfortable are the temperatures humans would have unprotected limbs turn black and fall off. This ability goes further, though. Alopians are flexible as foxes, and can curl into a circle just as foxes do. When they do this, shielding their human flesh within their fur, they are entirely immune to cold and snow and even ice. An alopian can be thus sleeping all winter and when the snow melts, they will wake up without aging a day. Water can be poured over them and frozen, and they will remain in stasis until it melts, for weeks or thousands of years, it doesn’t matter. The only requirement be that the temperature be below freezing and that they curl up to protect their human parts. Snow isn't even required. For this reason, a whole camp of alopians will not go to sleep at once, since they will stay asleep until spring if they sleep in the cold. Somebody will stay awake to rouse their fellows when morning comes. The foxes know of this ability well, and sometimes use it to outlast a lean winter, sleeping in the snow somewhere safe until spring comes, and there is more food. The only danger is that they will be discovered while asleep, since they are totally oblivious to all external stimuli until woken. The simplest way to do this is to uncurl them, which wakes them at once. They can easily be killed without being woken though, which makes the practice dangerous to perform out in the open. Even much smaller predators are not above eating them if they sleep somewhere exposed this way, knowing they are helpless.

Second, alopians have variable sizes. Their normal size is scale with humans, but they can also be the size of normal foxes. This ability is so simple it is sometimes overlooked, and there are plenty of foxes who don't know they have it. Foxes are always the biggest there's room for. But if there is a small burrow or passage that their full size would not permit, they will shrink down so as to be able to enter without even scraping their head on the ceiling. They cannot, however, get smaller than the size of wild foxes, or bigger than human equivalent. This ability cannot be willingly invoked without a small place to enter, but a simple space charm can be worn to "trick" the body into thinking somewhere is smaller than it is, thus enabling the wearer to stay small even when out in the open. This is one of the weakest shrinking abilities in the Maker's Hand. No objects may be brought, no clothing. Even food does not scale. A fox who eats a full meal in their full size will find their stomach swelling as they shrink, and may even explode if they don't stop. A fox will remain full from a very small meal if eaten at that size, but will feel hungry again prematurely if they grow back to normal size.

Culture: Very similar to the warrior northerners of the ancient north. They have a strongly patriarchal culture, where females are little more than property. They have a written language and are adept with forging metals. They do not build ships or cross water further than they can swim if they can avoid it, though they will brave ice crossings without a second thought. Personal strength and courage are very important and accomplishing great feats of battle or strength are the only way any individual may prove their worth. Females may travel and fight and hunt, but only if they prove their strength, and the requirements for which are even harder than for young men who wish to compete.

Alopians live in mostly underground burrows, which are built of dirt and wood. Wealthier people may have houses of stone instead. Poor villages or villages in the most desolate places have homes at fox size instead of human size, generally connected by an underground burrow system. This allows the foxes to hunt together, fell one single piece of large game, and share it among the tribe, which will remain at fox size most of the time. Wealthier villages have stone streets covered with a stone ceiling, which water will be poured off of in winter to create a transparent shelter from the wind. The center of every town is a large underground room called a lodge, where warriors and their wives gather for drinking and revelry. There is generally no church to be found, though every home will have a small alter to honor the patron god Vecties, Goddess of Winter.

Foxes are skilled weavers, and find creative ways to cook just about anything. Their favorite food is a slightly decayed and fermented meat, which they may leave exposed to the elements all winter and only eat when spring comes and it starts to bloat. They typically do not cook most of their meat, though they understand other species do and do not press their strange foods on travelers. Every village or settlement is part of a clan, which may have just one village or as many as ten. These clans all work together, and have pacts protecting themselves from one another. Other species are viewed as other clans, and are generally treated well and allowed to trade so long as they are not hostile. Alopians have a favorable relationship with the humans of the north in particular, and the two species have fought together on numerous occasions

Divine: There are two avatars of the alopians, both of which have very different ideas about how to rule. Vecties is the avatar of Acanthus, and she is highly aloof and secretive, though is always amongst the people. She takes the form of a young female ranger, who speaks little unless questioned but can best any male at any physical challenge. She’s said to be physically unable to miss a target with her bow. Vecties travels through the world visiting every village of her people in the guise of a traveler in need of help, though she will offer her services and talents in exchange. It is said that anyone who recognizes Vecties and explains she has been caught will win one favor from her. The most common favor asked is unusual strength in males, and the ability to love someone else for females. She can grant both of these requests, and many more. She hears the prayers of her people and travels so fast between villages where she is needed that some say she can indeed be in more than one place at once, which would be highly unusual for an avatar but by no means be impossible.

Narsis, on the other hand, is the God of Ice, and dwells very near the very top of the globe, at a mountain whose peak reaches into the Astral in a palace shaped entirely from ice. He is worshiped by magic users, though he would never leave his castle. He may be sought for aid by any member of his species, though it is said no member of another species will be able to find his castle. They can travel with alopians though, so long as the quest is not theirs originally. Narsis grants favors even more freely than Vecties, though he always demands something be done in return. The most typical request is to avenge some injustice performed on his people, or to protect the sanctity of magic within his race by eradicating members of it practicing evil arts. Narsis does not believe in personal intervention and could never be made to leave his castle by anyone except Vecties.

Life-Cycle: Wilden grow and mature at the ordinary human rate. They have a childhood of about ten years, and adolescence of ten years, and begin to deteriorate slowly once they reach thirty years of age. Most do not live over 80, though a rare few with extremely healthy diets and lifestyles sometimes do. This is slightly easier for wilden than for humans and other races since they prefer vegetables to meat, though they will eat meat if no other options are available.

Reproductive Cycle: Wilden, like humans, can mate successfully any time of year, and like rabbits they have a reputation for taking this job very seriously. Wilden populations do grow very quickly compared to human ones, though this is as much a cultural factor as a biological one. They reach sexual maturity at 12-15 years of age, and most females have a very high fertility rate until 30-40, when they lose the ability to have children. Wilden become pregnant in the animal half only, and have a gestation of about six months. They give birth to litters of 2-6, about half of which typically live to adulthood given the high mortality rate. It is not at all uncommon for wilden females to have fifty offspring or more by the time they can no longer do so, since the sexual desires are so much more potent than in humans. It is not entirely incorrect to say that mating is one of the wilden's favorite pastimes. For more on this, see the culture section.

Powers: Wilden are a plant people. Almost every individual seems to have a green thumb, and a natural instinct for the needs of growing things. They know without effort how to help plants thrive, and what not to do in order to stop them from suffering. This instinct is a mere shadow of their more potent abilities. For one, they can actively enhance the growing of plants, reaping bountiful harvests in a fraction of the time that should be required, growing out of season, or designing entirely new plants using impossible crossbreeding. This talent comes in handy when feeding their very large families. This is not the most potent of their abilities, however. In times of dire need, an injured member of a non-plant species can be made into a plant version of themselves, equally injured, which allows the wilden to use their abilities to promote a full recovery. The plant species that the individual becomes depends on their species before changing, and on their personality. There is very little control the wilden have over the species. The individual must be severely injured, though there is nothing preventing the wilden from causing these injuries themselves in order to use their abilities. The transformed individual will remain a plant until fully healed and live out the full lifespan of their species, at which point they will either change back or start over as a seed. This depends on whether the individual wishes to remain a plant or not. If not, they return much to the way they were before becoming a plant, usually fully healthy. If not... then they become sapium and leave their original species behind forever. What happens depends entirely on the mentality of the transformed individual, the wilden has almost no control. All they can do is try to keep the individual focused on becoming an animal again, which can be very difficult. Those that have experienced it describe this plant existence as extremely relaxing, peaceful, and easy in general. The transition hack to being an animal is always a challenging one.

Culture: Wilden are a matriarchal culture, one of the few in the Maker’s Hand that exist that way as an entire species. This is because one female is capable of producing so many offspring that they cannot be cared for by a single male. Family units consist of one female and 1-5 males, depending on the wealth and prominence of the female. The decision of mates must be mutual even on the male's part, though the other males need not agree to a female taking another husband so long as the male becoming that husband does. Females with multiple males are very careful to mate frequently with all of them, as to make it impossible for those males to tell which offspring are whose, and ensure that they will take equally good care of all. It is not uncommon for litters to have members from different mates.

There is no separation of duties within the home, though males are stronger and responsible for all of the heavy labor, and usually spend much time doing farm work. Most wilden operate their own farms, with few livestock other than sheep (for clothing), and chickens or cows for eggs and milk. The female's chief responsibility is managing the property of the family and taking care of the very young, which leaves cooking and cleaning and caring for older children to the males, or to other children more mature than the younger ones. Anyone who can work is expected to do so, and typically each child will be entrusted with a patch of garden or field to care for so they can hone their abilities. This patch starts out small, so that likely failures will not impact the family, and gets bigger as the child gets more mature.

Boys are prized, since they are resources that can be used in marriages, and may remain at home as long as they wish (though usually they want to leave and take a mate, so they won't stay long). Females are expected to move out around sixteen, to find land for a farm and to take a mate to get started on her own family, and are only allowed to stay longer if they turn sixteen in winter or land for new farms cannot be found. Adult females are potential rivals, so can be dealt with ruthlessly if they break this rule.

Wilden like to live near each other. One of the main reason for this is that it is well known that as soon as they hit puberty wilden will begin to mate with one another. Until they are old enough to take a mate, wilden are encouraged to use contraceptives, since fathering children or bearing them is the only ceremony required for a pair of wilden to become mated for life. Both feel deep responsibility for the offspring once created, and are always required to move out and start their own family regardless of age unless the offspring are born in winter. Thus, most wilden practice safe sex as a form of survival instinct, since they know full well that if they are too young it will be difficult or impossible to sustain a farm. Living close to other wilden and allowing youth to be in contact from an early age means that siblings are not likely to pair up with siblings, though this practice is only disallowed if the two wilden have distinct physical similarities.

Where wilden are not the majority, they usually function as herbalists and healers, caring for those so sick or injured they are nearly dead and surviving on the payment from these individuals or their families. They also cultivate herbs useful in natural healing, and are seen with a great deal of respect by most races, including humans. Their work is seen as entirely beneficial and useful... though most races do not tolerate very well the multi-husband families wilden so often form in the wild, and they strongly encourage them to not have so many children. Wilden are frequently found in the armies of many nations, acting as healers for the most critically wounded men.

Divine: Kimi, Avatar of Thyrsus, was the first wilden and is the example all wilden look to to model their own families and homes. She is said to he an entirely peaceful and nonviolent being, without even the capacity to harm another person. She once had an enormous family of well over a hundred males, and it was her who helped set forth the customs that would set the species apart from most others. Kimi's wisdom and power with the natural world was said to be greater than even the dryads, though it did not last.

Life-Cycle: As humans, save that at any point, a Wanderer may halt the physical aging process, so that though the years pass, they will not appear any older. Typically this ability is not discovered until past puberty, though in rare cases it may be activated before then, resulting in eternally-young Wanderers.

Powers: The Wanderers' greatest ability is their entire immunity to time, created via Death and Time based Imperium, (Exhision). The fact that they age at all and are able to learn and grow is the result of additional spells working in their creation to restore some limited effects of the passage of time - their aging is a simulation, and in no way an actual reflection of true internal processes. This is not their own unique feature, either. Wanderers have Wild Talents, which vary from individual to individual. The only consistent thing about these talents is that each person has only one. Their strength and application vary widely. In general they involve interaction with the natural world. Powers involving the use of fire, ice, or electricity are not uncommon, which must be mastered over the course of a Wanderer's life. These powers are entirely arcane in root, and are their only connection with the Supernal. Wanderers cannot awaken, and are all treated as having a supernatural resistance trait equal to that of their Talent.

Culture: In a word, wanderlust. The Wanderers were once a nye-unstoppable race with divine potential, but all of that is gone now. Their illusions of grandeur for total domination of the Phenomenal world is long gone, and in its stead is a hole that nothing seems to fill. Every Wanderer is looking for something, though almost none of them ever realize what it is. Most of the race were born long after the dawn days, but those few that have survived from that time are to be greatly feared.

On a whole they are a refined species, and as most individuals are well older than most members of other races will ever be, they tend to defy expectations of knowledge and power placed on them, particularly by those who assume them to be human. There is little in the form of cultural consistency, save that most tend to pick up tricks along their many wanderings. Speaking many languages is extremely common, as well as knowing the locations and keys for many gates between worlds. Some even learn ritual magic or collect magic items, though none can or have ever awakened as true mages. Their time-immune state also protects them from becoming members of other species as well. None will undergo the first change and they are immune to the vampiric curse. They /can/ become changelings, though in most cases they end up becoming True Fae instead. Though very rare, there are a handful of Sin-Eater Wanderers, roaming endlessly in the world of the living as well as the dead.

Contrary to what might be expected, the Wanderers maintain a single, almost mythological city, Alexstrose. Tales on this city vary widely. Some say it is never in the same place twice, others argue that it simply lifts into the sky and flies through the air. Whatever the case, it cannot be denied that the city does move. This it does irrespective of plane, though it cannot and has not ever appeared in the Supernal or Astral worlds, these being far too conceptual for a species that is entirely physical. In many ways the Wanderers are apart from the culture of the rest of the Maker's Hand. Their city is a place for roamers, a place for wanderers to gather and share their stories of what they have seen. It /is/ said to employ some humans, which were taken as slaves during the Dawn Days and are used to this day to produce enchanted stones, both allowing for travel to remote locations and to inform the possessor of the location of Alexstrose. These humans are no longer slaves, and each serves the Wanderers for different reasons.

Divine: The Wanderers were not created by any of the divines, or more accurately, not by any that currently exist. The Wanderers arose during the very earliest parts of the Dawn Days, created by mightiest primordial spirits that survived the genocide of the Shadow. These spirits created the Wanderers with one purpose: create a species that could sweep across the Earth weakened by the Event and take it for spirits, restoring the old order through martial might. The spirits formed great armies and marched at the head of those armies as their gods, sweeping away many of the survivors of the Event who would not submit to their rule. This event is little known in the history of the Earth, though those familiar with such history may refer to it as "The Wildfire" or something similar. But it did not continue forever. Before any serious damage could he done, the Divines intervened, creating the Firstborn and the dragons to stop the Wanderers at their march. The cataclysmic battle that resulted is the origin of the Shattered Sea.

Theytans may take the shapes of any objects, though they prefer those which have an intimate connection with their owners, and they carry all the time: clothes, cars, laptops, etc. When they take on the shapes of these objects, they become special: they do not wear out as easily as well as seeming to their owner to have adapted human traits. Nothing supernatural... just a feeling the owner will gradually develop that their object is alive.

Life-Cycle: Theytans gradually become more important objects over the course of their “lives,” larger and more complex as they near their humanity. When they have finally realized what it means to be human, they transform, becoming a real, physical, ordinary human... Some retain their memories, many do not.

Powers: Theytans are Twilight beings totally immune to harm except via Spirit/Death/Prime archmastery. The objects they inhabit may be destroyed however, banishing the theytan from them. Theytans experience sound, sight, and touch via the object using a modified “Binding” Numen. They also become human spontaneously at the end of their journeys, the potential for which was with them since the beginning. Objects possessed by theytans often become extremely coveted, and bloodshed over them is not uncommon. Those bickering rarely realize why.

Culture: Theytans can communicate with each other via telepathy at the range of human speech, though only master-level mind spells can detect it, and archmaster-level spells open that communication to mortals. Theytans have an extremely eclectic “culture,” though passing down stories of wisdom when with other theytans and talk about what sort of person they will grow to be is very common.

Life-Cycle: Mature after childhood of about 10 years, reaching the size they will occupy for their whole lives. Compared to humans, they look about sixteen for their whole lives (when mature). Do not die of old age, but almost always from time travel related accidents. Their lifespan seems more an aspect of fate than a problem with their bodies.

Reproductive Cycle: Females lay eggs which must be fertilized by males. Males differ from females only in they produce sperm cells and lack breasts. They appear phenotypically similar with regard to other sexual traits. Since time-fairies are so flat-chested anyway, many do not know their own sex until they reach maturity and swell with eggs. The energy required to produce these eggs or to produce the germ cells to fertilize them is absorbed naturally when time-fairies are exposed to temporal damage. This effect is not optional... though most fairies do not realize this connection. For this reason, males and females that discover each other often stay together for life. Eggs are laid in clutches of 20-50.

As far as the actual process is concerned, considering the seahorse will be helpful here. In an ideal situation, the female passes the eggs directly into a waiting male, which will carry them until he is exposed to the energy to fertilize them and can do that, only then birthing the eggs and attaching them wherever he feels is best. A female alone will have no choice but to hid the eggs somewhere. Ordinarily they would dry out when unfertilized in about a day, but since she can fly back to that moment once she finds a male, this usually happens only if a female is killed.

Culture: Time-fairies are a very natural, “primitive” race. They do not build cities or research magic... ironically they have no concept at all for past or future, including their own. All time is one to them, so they do not build or plan, but focus on their current needs. Parents do not remain to see their eggs hatch: most instinct is genetic, like an insect. Siblings cleave together from birth, in large “flocks” which disperse as individuals naturally drift apart and find mates. Time fairies are intelligent and can be taught, though most would be difficult to convince to stay in one place long enough to do so. They do not wear clothes or make things or store food. Not usually, anyway. Some rare individuals have been observed exceptions to this.

Purpose: It is said that time-fairies were created by the divine of time when humans began to use time magic, unknowingly making tears and wrinkles in the tapestry. Time-fairies are drawn to the very subtle damage of powerful time magic, which they absorb and convert into the energy to reproduce. They /like/ this feeling... absorbing damage and fixing it is like eating to them, and critical to the propagation of the species.

Powers: All time is one to time-fairies, from beginning to end. They can and do fly as easily through time as space, so long as they have their antennae. Without them, they are trapped, powerless. It takes no energy for them to do this and knowing how comes almost from hatching. These powers are easily disrupted by /active/ spells in the present, which can temporarily strand time-fairies in one moment.

Life-Cycle: Stonekin vary in apparent age between sixteen and 25. They grow to these ages at the normal rate, then stop, seemingly at random. There is no telling where any individual will stop, except that it is when they are most attractive. They do not die of old age, though they can get sick when “alive”, and this is the most frequent cause of “death” in stonekin.

Reproductive Cycle: Stonekin reproduce in the usual way for mammals, even though they scarcely qualify as such. These sexual pairings can produce offspring in one of two ways. If both partners are stonekin, then the child will be born stonekin. If either is not, then the child will be of the non-stonekin species, /however/ the parents will both become stonekin by the time the child is born. Yes, this can and does produce stonekin that do not have an ordinary human body shape. Any humanoid species is eligible.

Powers: Stonekin don’t get their name for no reason - they may effortlessly change from “living” into indestructible stone, freezing in a matter of ten seconds. The type of stone mimics the appearance of the rock in their environment. As stone, they are aware of all happening in all directions around them, with all five senses. Their minds slow down dramatically during these times, and they can slip into and out of a trancelike dream state. Typically, this state can last for a /very/ long time - there is no limit on how long a stonekin can stay petrified. It is easy for them to /become/ petrified, but once there they are mere statues and cannot do anything to free themselves from that state. There are several triggers that may free them. Water freezing on their bodies will wake them up, as water is one of the few things that can harm them. Light from the full moon will also wake them, so long as there is enough to cover their whole body. Lastly, if a stonekin initiates their own willing petrification while touching another, the two will have just enough time to switch places before the other petrifies.

The petrification process works only for their bodies, not for clothing and possessions - these remain on them exactly as they were. There seems to be some innate magic to allow them to be made into part of structures, however. If they petrify on a fountain, or a stone pedestal, or anything else made of stone, they and the object will change in subtle ways to incorporate them, so they will be indistinguishable from the rest of an environment. This process grants whatever they become a part of their same indestructible nature, so long as they remain. Master-level matter magic can force them to de-petrify, but only archmaster-level spells or artifacts can harm them when petrified.

Culture: Two virtues are extolled among stonekin, and there are two distinct groups of stonekin in the world. The first, larger group is the “Symbiotic” group, so named for the way they do not build societies of their own, but become a part of others. Any civilization that builds with stone might be partnered with - humans are a favorite, dwarves are very popular, and most elves. Several now-extinct species also partnered with stonekin. These stonekin don’t wear clothes and can be found in art exhibits, public squares, gardens and parks, as well as part of buildings. These stonekin don’t mind being art, and very much enjoy spending their days listening and watching the world go by. Two nights or so every month, when the full moon comes, they get together for an evening, sharing stories and enjoying one another’s company. The fact that stonekin do not eat or sleep or breathe or drink makes their lives very easy - the nourishment they need is attention. Those left alone will not die but will begin to look hungry and weak and will feel it after... a few hundred years. Symbiotes are the less patient form of the species and seem to need more attention and activity than their other cousins, the Independants.

The Independents were once Symbiotes, first and foremost to the divines themselves in the City of Fire. When that city was abandoned, its structures wore away over eons and let the moonlight in. So the city gradually woke up. The ancient stonekin (one of the longest-lived species in existence) were left alone without their divine masters and had to fend for themselves. Despite having few physical needs, they decided not to depend on other races anymore. They built up the ruins and began to live their own lives, harvesting underground plants to sell, making art and inventing their own written language. These stonekin look down on their Symbiotic cousins as “giving in” and “submitting” to the so-called “living” races. These stonekin travel the world and are the only ones who wear clothing, which is usually mismatched and not quite the right kind for the occasion, since they have no need for it.

Stonekin fear very little, except water. They do not need to breathe, but repeated melting and refreezing can crack and break them, even if they are “alive”, which is why freezing water wakes them. Snow does not - they can be completely buried in snow to no effect so long as it doesn’t melt. Ice is the same way - water must be present. For this reason, stonekin hate ship travel and avoid large bodies of water at almost any cost. They are far too dense to swim, so if they fall in, the must walk to escape.

Stonekin have no concept of modesty, but this is a matter of culture and not instinct. Sex is no more or less important to them than for humans, and they will not engage in it haphazardly, particularly with non-stonekin.

Divine: Stonekin were created by Moros when the City of Fire was established early in the Dawn Days. Even for the divines, this was a testing ground, as they were very new then at... being divines. The frailer species that had before lived among them were prone to being accidentally killed by various things. Obrimos would not have it, but many of the people in the city loved the divines and did not wish to leave. They came pleading to Moros for help, so that they would not be forced to leave. Their leader was a girl whose name is lost to time... Moros invested her with his power and she became the avatar of the stonekin, which were hardy enough to survive in the insane conditions. Their instincts caused them to petrify if they were in danger. This allowed all who wished to stay to remain, forms hardened by matter magic.

Souls possess a third form, called a Super-Ego, which is a syntheses of the first two forms. For more information on this form, see the powers section.

Life-Cycle: Split-souls age and grow to maturity as humans, save that their Id halves grow in tune with human growth-rates, not animal. The Id half remains in the same shape throughout the individual's life, which has contributed some suspicions that an element of predestination is involved in the lives of every split-soul. This theory is not entirely unfounded, as the Id's form always gives away the soul's personality. There is no element of being mentally forced into these behaviors, but someone with a fox for their Id will always "act like a fox", while someone with a butterfly will always “act like a butterfly”. What that means is entirely subjective.

Reproductive Cycle: Split-souls would have an identical reproductive pattern to humans, were it not for the involvement of their Id. This does complicate things somewhat. Suffice it to say that reproduction always involves both partners, and strangely cannot take place while both mates are in their Super-Ego form. They /are/ compatible with similar tauric races while in this form, though. In split-soul reproduction, both partners end up carrying part of the child, as someone's Id is /always/ the opposite sex from themselves. While the female Ego in the pair carries the human half of the child, the female Id carries the animal half of the child. This means that for the nine months of pregnancy, mates must remain physically close, or else kill both halves of their unborn child. Fortunately, both mothers feel this pain as though it were their own, so it is impossible for them to accidentally kill a child this way. This also provides a very easy system for any split-soul to know when they are pregnant, even without technology or magic. The phrase "we're pregnant" becomes particularly applicable in Super-Ego form, as both partners will have a pregnant half.

Powers: Souls can and do awaken as mages and learn magic no different from any race, though only the Id half can actually perform the magic. The human halves act as automatic familiars, which provides a bizarre reversal to the usually human-dominated relationship. From a young age, all split-souls can form effortlessly into their Super-Ego form, which is a literal synthesis of their bodies /and/ their minds into a single being. This being is a literal, human-sized tauric combination of both halves. Both halves retain their original sexual traits, though since the human half begins only just below the naval, souls with a male Ego are female while in their Super-Ego form, even if their lack breasts or any other female sexual trait on their still-apparently-male human-halves. The reverse is true for females. If pregnant, either half remains pregnant when combined. As in all other parts of the soul's life, the human half is the one actually "conscious", though the animal half contributes memories and personality traits that the conscious human can't entirely ignore, and usually embraces. Souls in this form can mate with similarly-sized tauric races, though usually don't, since their genders don't work the same way, and this is usually awkward for everyone involved.

Culture: Split-souls are a fairly modern people that live freely within human society, and are well-respected by the same. They make nor take any claims of separation, and are given all the same rights and privileges as any human would be. This does not mean they are usually in the same financial position as humans, since they do not have human's innate magical gift in a magically-dominated society. They do usually form friendships with others of their own kind, with no respect to the species of their Id. Due to the comparative high numbers of their minority, many cities and towns among humans have a quarter where souls live, not in poverty but usually not in wealth either. The human half is seen always as dominant, though the soul is viewed (incorrectly) as possessed entirely by the Id. It is their role to advise the human half, to care for them. and to ensure their success. They are used to express emotions and feelings of the human, and for that reason most souls are very easy to read by anyone who can read animal emotions. In other ways they are the same as humans, save that they do not possess the same focus on magic that humans do. Magic is typically avoided by most split-souls, though not in nearly the same way as it is with many naga.

Life-Cycle: Slimekin don’t /have/ much of a life-cycle, since they are “born” as adults and don’t visibly age from the moment of their birth. They live without showing signs of aging, until one day something sudden like heart failure kills them in their sleep.

Reproductive Cycle: Slimekin reproduce by exploring the dreamtime, finding a dreaming member of another species, and pulling their dream-self “out” of the dream into the physical world, waking up beside a brand-new member of the species. The body is created instantly, at adult size, and is entirely magical in origin, though possessing an appearance as close to the slimekin appearance will allow to the body of the being the slimekin came from.

Powers: Oneiromancy - Slimekin can enter the dreamtime while they sleep at will, exploring it to discover the dreams of anyone who is sleeping. They are experts at dream-combat and dream-crafting, very naturally gifted. They can travel physically through the dream, emerging beside the sleeper. They may also use dreams to reproduce, crafting a dream symbolic of what they are attempting to do, usually very intimate. If the person accepts, succombs, whatever... then the dream abruptly ends, and there are two snails half the size of the original one (they will both have to grow to full size). From that point on, the dreamer will not experience dreams in their true form anymore. Instead, when they sleep, their snail body emerges from its shell and begins a new day. Experiences are totally vivid and real, not feeling at all like vague dreams, but true memories. There is no proper time relationship - each night is variable, though they usually last for 1-14 days before the person wakes up in their true body. Yes, this relationship does correctly imply that time is not at all consistent. This is for good reason, as the dreamtime is not in any way in line with the rest of reality from a temporal perspective. Slimekin can be “born” thousands of years before they are actually conceived or years later. They might live two days one night, and many the next. It is never consistent. Their snail-self never skips time, though. It picks up exactly where it is left off. This continues until the death of one body, when the individual becomes a permanent resident of the other. A great many people do not last too long, snail life being as difficult as it is. Slimekin can also manipulate otherspace within their shells, storing huge amounts of stuff inside themselves.

Culture: Nothing unified. An awful hodgepodge of just about every intelligent civilization, even non-magical races like plasmids or the naga. A few things are consistent, however. In those that survive, an exceptionally adventurous attitude prevails. These people all have other lives, and use their slimekin to live they way their true self could not. Craft is a popular skill, using various stolen or found materials to make tools, journals, weapons, or anything else they need. Their skin is too sensitive for clothes, but they frequently adorn their shells with “camouflage” suited to their environment, attaching it with their own slime. There are no stationary cities - the only gatherings of more than a few slimekin typically take place in huge shared dreams in the dreamtime. Typically, slimekin will stay with their “parent” until one of them dies, which is typically not too long. It’s a difficult life: many have tried, but few last long. Sometimes the same slimekin will recruit the same other person more than once. They are welcome to do this, but the both of them are always half the size, which can make survival very hard in most situations. Not impossible. Sometimes small villages do develop, but they never build structures, making use of those they find and cooperating to find food. Very rarely do these groups have more than twenty people. All slimekin speak the same language and frequently gather into groups to explore exciting places all over the world. Exciting to them... It is considered totally inappropriate to talk about who they really are - an unspoken taboo that is rarely broken. Slimekin are not usually a violent species, but they sometime can be. Not that snails fight very well...