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Post by The X-Ray Dog on May 21, 2011 21:54:30 GMT 8
A "Farkasember" is considered by some to be a sub-species of werewolf: a large, generally bipedal wolf-like creature that features strikingly humanoid biology. Their long, muscular arms end in powerful hands and clawed fingers. Their faces are mobile, capable of complex expressions, their muzzles pliable and capable of complex language, but they are, for all visual purposes, wolves, capable of shapeshifting between their large anthro state and a more feral, wolf-like one. Farkasember do not have a human form, like most werewolves do and therefore, never technically change their species. Therefore, they are not actually "werewolves".
APPEARANCE
Farkasember are large, tall, anthropomorphic wolves, very very similar in appearance to bestial werewolves. When at rest, they stand upright on folded, digitigrade legs that balance their body weight on their wolf-like paws. Their torsos are long, their limbs a little bit short, but their bodies otherwise resembling a perfect blend of humanoid and animalistic anatomy. Males have generally flat chests with prominent muscles, while females have more narrow shoulders and a bit fuller chests, but no visible breasts unless actively tending to young. Both genders are built strongly- their bodies thick and muscular, athletic and powerful. Their hands are somewhat paw-like, possessing five blunt, thickly built fingers with bony, bent joints and dull, curved claws. Their hands still have wolf-like pawpads on the palms and finger tips, which are generally soft and kept clean for use in managing tools and manipulating their environment.
Farkasember do occasionally move about on all fours as well. Again, they are a perfect blend of wolf and man, not at all dissimilar from most types of werewolves. When moving quickly or scaling complex terrain, they tend to prefer four-legged locomotion. They can easily manage it as well, able to run much faster and move much more swiftly on all fours than when standing upright. The average Farkasember has a top speed of 50 mph- very swift creatures when on the move.
Like wolves, Farkasember have large, narrow, tapering skulls with round heads that end in a long, somewhat thin muzzle. Their faces are visually identical to normal wolves, complete with the square black nose and the piercing usually golden eyes set just above the muzzle's bridge. They have two small but erect, pointed ears set upon their heads which are highly mobile, keen and prone to moving with their expressions. Like wolves, they will lay their ears back to display submission or perk them forward in aggression or when alert. But unlike wolves, Farkasember can speak and make many complex vocalizations, going as far as to have their own language and writing system unique to them. But they can also communicate easily with other, non-speaking canines, as well as most humans, using both body language and facial expressions to fill the gaps not filled by words. Farkasember are highly social and thrive on communication, so they are very active speakers, often making lots of gestures with their hands and expressing a lot with their faces when talking. They will snarl with angry, stick their tongues out when feeling silly or joking with someone, they will howl when happy or excited, and may even offer a wag of their short, fluffy tails when necessary.
Part of the reason for this is that some Farkasember are born deaf. The species is massively inbred so many offspring are born with genetic problems and physical defects, deafness being the most common. Fortunately, hearing is their least noticeable sense so they do get along fine without it. Most deaf Farkasember learn to read lips and are keen to subtitles in body language. Like I said, they are masters of communication- so much so, that even losing a sense cannot stop them. Some may also be born with strange visual traits, such as missing tails, floppy ears, or a split tongue. None of these are particularly unusual among Farkasember.
In all other manners of speaking, Farkasember look identical to normal wolves. They have a thick ruff of fur on their heads and necks, which travel down their backs somewhat in the form of longer guard hairs. Their torsos and limbs tend to be covered in finer, shorter, fluffier hair that thins out around their faces and extremities. Most Farkasember also have a "mane" of sorts that trails down their backs from beneath their neck ruffs. This is particularly common in females, while males tend to have shorter manes either naturally or through cuts and trimmings. Long mane hair is considered a very girly trait, as it requires a lot of trivial time and upkeep that males just do not like. These manes are very commonly styled with braids, charms, feathers, beads, and dyes. They are very similar, in design and texture, to human hair.
In terms of general color, Farkasember are again identical to regular wolves. They come in a wide variety of colors, but almost all are some sort of neutral tone. Browns and grays are most common, with some tans, some golds, some reds, and some gray-blues occurring every so often. Pure black or pure white Farkasember are almost unheard of. Almost all individuals have some amount of markings or shadowing in their pelt, which usually follows the general pattern of being dark of their backs, necks, heads and faces, while their stomach, chests, limbs and paws are lighter. So, although many Farkasember may pass as being "white" or "black", in truth, they will still usually have some subtle markings or patterns on them. Many white Farkasember will have brown bridges to their muzzles and brown ears, for example. Black Farkasember often sport red or gold highlights and/or white patches on the chest or paws.
Eyes vary in color as well, normally occurring in something of a natural range. Gold is by far the most common eye color for them, but blues, greens and hazels are nor uncommon. Brown is surprisingly uncommon however, unless an extremely light tan-sort of shade, or an extremely bright almost red or orange color. Silver-gray is also considered a rare but possible color.
Many Farkasember do wear clothing, mostly to depict their rank, class, and overall status in society. They are not strangers to the production of armor, but all of their clothes are generally rather primitive. Armor is restricted to types of cloth and leather, with the occasional bone or rock accent. They have very minimal knowledge of more complex construct techniques and materials. The average Farkasember will wear very little during times of peace. They are very relaxed in the area of clothing, and many wear actually nothing at all: their fur is so thick that their genitals are not normally visible anyway. But clothing is considered a luxury so, they do wear it when they get the chance. Mainly items such as loin cloths, belts and sashes, midriff shirts constructed of animal skins, and primitive robes. Most of their clothes are very practical in terms of design and they will often say a lot about the Farkasember's life style, occupation and rank. The more complex the clothes, the higher the rank. Many will also inscribe insignias on their armor to represent family lines, as family life is very important to the Farkasember.
MAGIC AND ABILITIES
The Farkasember are unique in that they are largely void of any innate magical abilities. Other than the ability to shapeshift, all magic must be learned through tedious study and practice, requiring years of focus, dedication and craft. Though Farkasember are capable of learning almost all types of magic, only Shamans really bother to take the time to actually learn any. The average Farkasember is powerless, for the most part. Small spells may be learned, but these are largely used for entertainment purposes. Parents may learn to cast cute illusions on their paws to entertain children, for example. Some may learn very rudimentary healing spells to heal wounds, or may learn to cast a tiny amount of fire from a finger tip to light campfires at night or quickly cook food. But even these small spells require weeks and weeks of study and practice before control is gained. The vast majority of Farkasember do not bother.
Shamans are the social class generally responsible for learning and controlling the tribe's magic. Shamans are chosen at a very young age, taken from their families and isolated for the majority of their young lives so that they may concentrate on their studies. It is a tough role to fulfill. But, with all those years of guided practice and hard-work, a Farkasember shaman may learn to control almost any type of magic. Generally Shamans are considered peaceful guardians, so the typical magic is defensive in nature, often related to nature, light, and natural elements such as water and fire. However, some Shamans specialize in the manipulation of time, which they use to tell stories of the tribe's history and maintain a healthy record of the past.
Another magical social class are Mages. Mages are warriors trained by the tribe's Shaman to wield magic in battle. A Mage can be trained in just under a year and the spells they are taught are rather rudimentary. They are usually limited to casting fist-sized fireballs, bending small amounts of water or ice to trap enemies, or controlling wind to stop projectiles from hitting allied warriors. But that is generally the extent of it. They, like Shamans, are typically defensive and based strongly on the natural elements.
LIFE SPAN
REPRODUCTION
LIFE STYLE
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