Shezmu Clan

## Overview

A clan of cursed individuals that use their Kekkai to turn them into creatures that can only be described as bat-like gargoyles. They are victims of Senjutsu as their bodies start to constantly collect it over time and if they don't learn to master their abilites, they become little more than statues that dot the landscape.

### Background

The Shezmu started their lives as a group of desert nomads that traveled the sands as people that only knew survival and nothing more. Every day was a death notice if enough resources couldn't be scavenged and every night was a moment of silent prayer that they would wake up again. But why stay in a place that wanted them dead? They knew no other means of survival, they only knew how to just barely make it in life and to hope that one day they'd find a better way.

They couldn't flee to the forests of the west, monstrous apes and monkeys that somehow knew how to wield weapons, savagely protected their borders. They couldn't flee south, monsters that were part cat and part snake would kill on sight any Shezmu that would try to sail for a better land. It was like they were somehow drawn to their kind and didn't want them to escape their domain. They were trapped, and because of that, all they could do was seek out power to even the scales... and so they prayed.

***And something answered.***

Ihmos, an entity that had wings that seemed to be made of the night's sky, appeared in front of the Shezmu clan leader. It looked at her with eyes of pure crimson and extended a clawed hand. The leader, conversed with her clan that night and after a vote of 500 to 27, the clan accepted that life that was being offered. New life flowed into the 500's bodies and they were cursed for the rest of their lives and so would be their progeny.

But what happened to the 27? They were the feast of the "turned", a secret sorrow that the clan would always bare as a mark on their body in remembrance.

### Appearance

Every Shezmu has red irises that reflect briefly in the light when they're hungry. They all have long hair that they keep in ponytails, male or female that doesn't matter. Their teeth are normal except for having elongated fangs on their top and bottom jaw, only noticeable when they laugh or smile. At the moment of their' kekkai being awakened, they are tattoed by an unseen force, in remembrance 27 forsaken clan members who's life blood fed the rest of the clan upon their first change. The tattoo is always red but can be put anywhere on their body, there are no exceptions. Once you get the kekkai, you are "marked".

## Abilities

The clan's kekkai allows the user to take on a bat-like hybrid form that grants them sharp claws, and wings with lengthy talons, which can be used to fly for added mobility. In their bat-like form, their body passively absorbs small amounts of nature energy - users of the kekkei genkai, however, are rarely able correctly handle the absorbed nature chakra without a high-level of experience with Sage Mode and the Sage Arts. As a result, their bat-like form will frequently turn to stone, whereupon their wounds heal at an accelerated rate. Unlike typical instances where those who incorrectly absorb too much raw nature energy remain in a stone form permanently, Shezmu members return to a regular, human state once their body has finished healing - though it is uknown exactly how their body is able to recover from the incredibly detrimental statue-like state, it's most often described as their kekkei genkai's "self-defense mechanism." Shezmu members who master Sage Mode and the Sage Arts are often even able to use partly detrimental effects of their kekkei genkai to their full advantage.

### Gargoyle Form

The primary ability that their kekkai grants is the ability to take flight in a form that resembles a humanoid bat. As the form becomes stronger, an ability to turn into a statue is earned. While in this stage, wounds begin to mend to more manageable levels in exchange for being unable to move or defend.

### Nature Energy

The clan passively collects nature energy which is dangerous since most members aren't meant to Sages. Use of such energy is costly to them but should they ever become a Sage, they'll find the built up energy to be useful.

## Trivia

* The Shezmu are distantly related to the Hayashi and the Mizumi. Their common ancestors are beings that have a unique property that draw strong creatures to them. Whether its just a joke that draws these entities in or if their life energies somehow give them sustenance, it's not known, but each branch from this common ancestot has been marked in the same way.
* The Shezmu's clan trait triggers late in most people, usually after puberty. The first turn is usually very chaotic and once signs of turning are seen, the person in question is usually put on house arrest until they have found a way to control themselves.