Anids

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Anids are sentient animal-people, and they have their origins in rituals involving powerful Spirit and Spatial magics. Exceptionally powerful rituals may leave behind a magical residue. Decades after the event, this residue may wreak a strange transformation on an animal or animals in the surrounding area. The affected creature retreats to a deep, dark place and lies, paralysed, for days or weeks. When it emerges from the state, it does so as an Anid, changed in mind, body, and spirit.

Anids are by far the most varied 'Race'. It's really more of a loose categorization.

## The Transformation

When Anids transform, they gain the intelligence of a sentient creatures. Additionally, they take on the body structure of a humanoid biped. Arcane Scholars theorise that casters who conduct rituals of Spatial magic leave an “Imprint” of themselves in the residual magic. The addition of Spirit magic allows this residual Imprint to affect animals. This means that, to a certain degree, Anids reflect the body and brain structure of the original caster of the ritual. Due to this, Anids are all roughly similar in shape, and are all at least the size of a halfling.

Outside of size and rough shape, Anids are as diverse as the animals that they were derived from, and can even differ greatly in the extent of their metamorphosis. Those who underwent a less complete transformation retain more animalistic features such as fur, horns, and tails. If the animal was large and strong, the Anid will frequently retain these elements. On the other end of the spectrum, the caster’s imprint can dominate and leave only a handful of identifying features. Even further along this spectrum are children of Anids and Humans, who often resemble only one of their parents. For example, someone who is half snake-Anid and half human may look almost entirely human, with only a forked tongue and a handful of scales marking the difference.

Anids never retain their aquatic or aeronautic capabilities upon metamorphosis, as the change is far too dramatic. Wings and gills may be transferred over, but Anids cannot fly, nor can they breathe underwater. However, other animalistic quirks are often left intact. For example, a crocodile Anid may have a prodigious lung capacity, and eagle Anids can always tell North.

Magical creatures such as dragons and unicorns may never become Anids. Some Arcane Scholars theorise that this is due to the beasts already possessing a strong internal magic, which interferes with the process.

## Misfits

Anids first appeared in about 600 AS and immediately started causing headaches for polite society. Anids often do not fit in especially well because their sentience and intelligence does not necessarily override their animal instincts.

One particularly significant issue is food, and the various moral issues surrounding it. The Anids of Nur, the main Anid nation, have decided that eating regular animals is just as reprehensible and repugnant as eating other Anids. Other Anids, usually carnivorous ones, treat everyone and everything else as prey. Other Anids still may adopt more conventional views, deeming the consumption of non-intelligent animals a non-issue.

## Naming your Anid

The many sub-species of Anid often confuse those who have not taken time to learn the proper names. Outsiders commonly deal with this by adding the “-kin” suffix to the name of the original animal, such as ‘Bearkin’ and ‘Batkin’. Some Anids find this reductive and irritating. A few notable Anid strains have names that have entered the common vernacular and psyche. Goat Anids with a human-like torso, for example, are generally known as Satyrs.

It can be difficult to distinguish between an Anid and a Warped one.

## Notable Subrace: **Leech Anids and Vampires**

The Anid which attracts the greatest most negative stigma is the leech Anid. And that is understandable. Outside of their sharp, needle-like teeth, Leech Anids survive by drinking the blood of others. Most are decent folk, however, who get by on drinking the blood of animals. But all have suffered from the evil reputation of a few very dark deviants, the vampires.

Vampires are leech Anids who employ secret techniques of dark magic to drain and absorb peoples’ life energy as they consume their blood, with the blood acting as a conduit. They first appeared in Traansadoor, which had an unfortunate habit of holding spirit-spatial magic rituals in leech-infested areas, and have since spread internationally. Vampires are powerful, the theft of life energy granting them immense speed and durability. Many also dabble in mind magic, combining arcane arts with potent secreted toxins to turn others into mindless thralls. What makes them even more deadly is that vampires are organised. A few outliers aside, the vampire community resembles a cult, a dark, far-reaching web of Melitta followers who view themselves as ascended beings entitled to murder and drink as they please.

True vampires can only survive by drinking the blood of sentient creatures. They are also vulnerable to light; where a normal leech anid might find the sunlight irritating, a vampire finds it painful. Worst of all is the spiritlight Traansadoor uses to light its cities, this, vampires find unbearably agonising. Vampires also tend to have warped appearances, beyond that of a normal leech anid.

Vampires are the monster under the bed in many cultures, and most leech Anids have suffered from the stigma, which only drives more into the arms of these supernatural horrors.