Fox

Fox Spirits are a type of major spirit, and make up less than half of one percent of all spirits on Earth. They have existed since Era Dira.

History¶

Nothing for now.

Myths and legends¶

Throughout history, fox spirits have believed a unique version of the common creation myth. In their version, the world was purged at the end of Era Dira and rebuilt by Kerosyn, no other god. Fox spirits were the only ones to believe this until the publication of The Account, which they then accepted as a correction of their version.

A common legend told by cat spirits involves fox spirits. It is said that in ancient times, fox spirits taught humans how to manipulate mystic matter, then unleashed a horde of house cats on the humans, distracting them and causing the accidental creation of cat spirits.

Anatomy & physiology¶

All fox spirits inherently have Alignment and Attunement.

Fox spirits all possess animal ears and at least one tail. Rarely, they may also possess claws that may or may not be retractable, or fur anywhere on the body, the amount, density, and location of which varies wildly. In extremely rare cases, they can even possess digitigrade feet. Their fur, where present, becomes thicker in the winter and may change color depending on their region. All of these rare features seem to be hereditary.

Fox spirits all have vastly superior hearing to humans, capable on average of hearing sounds up to 45 kHz with a particular sensitivity to low frequency sounds, picking out the squeak of a mouse in a field from 100 feet away, and pinpoint directional accuracy due to being able to independently move their ears. Depending on the species of fox that the spirit shares their features with, their ears may be larger than average or differently shaped, which can increase their hearing abilities further.

Their eyes have vertical slit pupils, are capable of exceptional vision in the dark with only one tenth the light required for humans to see anything in the dark, can perceive the geomagnetic field, and are extremely sensitive to movement. Shortsightedness, cataracts, and even blindness are relatively common developments in older fox spirits, but sight-challenged fox spirits typically function very well by relying instead on their hearing and magnetic vision, but most do not develop these problems until at least 300 years of age, and many others never develop these problems at all.

Fox spirits have the best reflexes and sense of balance of all spirits, and potentially all living things. Their bodies are naturally extremely agile and flexible as well, which combined with their small size and light weight, allows fox spirits incredible, almost supernatural movement abilities.

Male and female fox spirits typically grow to the same average height, with females being lighter weight. Males posses predominantly feminine facial features and body shapes and do not grow facial hair, and females experience incredibly subtle breast development, making it virtually impossible to determine their sex by looking at them with clothes on. Their voices typically occupy very similar frequency ranges as well, making it even harder to determine without asking directly.

Life cycle¶

Fox spirits grow at the same rate as humans until the age of 15 years, after which their aging begins to slow. By the age of 100 years, they appear only 30 years old by human standards. The oldest known fox spirit claims to be over 1,000 years old, but only appears 50 years old by human standards.

They appear to be virtually immortal, but this cannot be confirmed or denied. Fox spirits have been studied extensively and there have yet to be any conclusive findings on the subject of their aging.

Fox spirits undergo a physical change every century after their first. Most commonly, at 200 years their tail will split into two, then three at 300 years, and so on. For some their tail simply becomes larger rather than splitting, and sometimes their ears grow larger as well. The reason for these changes is unknown, but is speculated to be a result of their attunement strengthening over time.

Geographic distribution¶

Fox spirits have no preference for climate or terrain, and can be found anywhere in the world. With their tiny population, they are an incredibly rare sight.

Statistically, they are most likely to be seen in Alastor, but even there they remain a rare sight. The only known surviving multi-generational settlement of fox spirits in the world is located there with a population of 193.

Sociology¶

Fox spirits are free-spirited nomads, rarely staying in one place for more than one generation. They are known as innocent pranksters, and for their carefree, curious, and lighthearted personalities, leading many to believe that they are a race of perpetual children, or even idiots. In truth, they are hiding lightning fast wits along with vast wisdom and knowledge behind their childlike appearances.

Regardless of ethnicity and culture, fox spirits tend to prefer names with two or three clear, simple, easy to pronounce syllables. They do not give middle names to their children, allowing them instead to adopt their own middle name later in life, be it a nickname they’ve picked up, a preferred name, or something meaningful in some way. They also tend to call other non-fox people by nicknames, even when their real names are short and simple.

Males and females are treated as absolute equals among their kind, with both sexes sharing all the same roles, responsibilities, and expectations, and they do not identify any behaviors or personality traits as masculine or feminine. To them, the only reason to distinguish the sexes is to reproduce, and they tend not to think about that.

They are typically asexual and aromantic, but may develop an innocent crush and turn out to be demiromantic and/or demisexual. They prefer to move very slowly in relationships and partner monogamously for life, with a divorce rate near zero among their own kind. Fox spirits are also mostly adamant on having only one child, should they start a family, except in the case of a multiple birth, though it was less rare for fox spirit families to have two or three children by choice prior to the modern era.

An incredibly common practice among fox spirits is to keep a series of journals or diaries, usually on a weekly schedule, or at least for major events in their lives. Fox spirits have great memories, far better than that of humans, but it’s impossible even for them to remember multiple centuries accurately.

Interracial relations¶

They view all species, intelligent or not, as equally important and do not give any single species special treatment over any other. With their extremely long lives and innocent hearts, they are naturally impartial to politics that do not threaten the lives of others and typically choose not to think about that, but some fox spirits develop a different attitude through their life experiences.

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