Kitsune

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧-𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐄𝐨𝐬. 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞.

## 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

They share a striking resemblance to the Kitsune of folklore and have made no effort to either confirm or deny these claims. They are diverse in their personalities and lifestyles, as well as their seemingly supernatural abilities. The stronger the Kitsune, the more tails they have. The stronger a Kitsune gets, the more tails they earn. This is a confirmed fact, though a Nine-Tailed Kitsune is said to only be born with all nine of their tails during times of great danger… Whether it be for good or bad remains to be seen, and it would be folly to attempt manipulating the path this individual would walk. This was agreed upon by many generations of elders should such a time ever come to pass, because not only is the future forever changing, but doing such a thing would only make it more likely for the kitsune in question to turn against them and choose the path of apocalyptic destruction.

The Kitsune are best known for their potent magic abilities, particularly their protective barriers and wards as well as their ever-mythical Foxfire that remains forever unique to them. The color of one’s Foxfire is unique to the wielder, and often possesses more than one color. These flames only require magical energy to sustain them, and are numerous in its applications, ranging from powerful offensive spells of all-consuming destruction, a medium for illusion spells, and even restorative healing flames capable of purging all but the most lethal poisons and illnesses. They are not, however, capable of breathing life into the long deceased, especially if the extent of damage and state of decay is too great. And this isn't all they can do either, but rather the skills the race are most known for. In short, the Kitsune are so magically inclined that they are held in only the highest regard by their fellow demons, being the most knowledgeable of the arts, and feared by their holy counterparts for that same reason since being able to properly handle and use such knowledge requires nigh-unmatched mental prowess. It is said that even a well-trained One-Tailed Kitsune can easily close the gap in physical prowess using magical prowess should they ever fight a Red Oni, the most physically powerful subspecies of the Demon Race. This is not to say that the Kitsune neglect the physical aspects of their training either, with even a One-Tailed Kitsune - the weakest of them all and are children more often than not - can utterly dismantle the strongest human alive should they so wish it.

The Kitsune are seen as a breath of fresh air within the Demon Realm due to being the only subspecies that has instead made efforts to befriend the mortal realm, seeking instead to renounce war and violence in favor of wisdom and reason. They, more than any other, desire to once again be able to walk in the sunlight and bask in its heavenly glow. They, more than any other, have renounced eating mortals and other demons in favor of eating mortal food. The Kitsune, more than any other among the demon races, have overcome their demonic blood, even retaining everything that they once were and still continued to be to this day. Naturally, overcoming their curse to even this extent requires no small amount of sheer force of will. It is this same force of will that fuels their ever-present drive to always improve and better themselves as a race and as individuals, in martial prowess and as people both. It is this same trait, this *very human* trait, is what grants them the most overall potential as a species compared to any other within the demon realm.

However, these very things are what makes them enemies in the eyes of the more zealous of the demon queen's loyalists, with the only thing stopping them from raising their blades against the subspecies being the fact that they were heavily diverse in their overall abilities and as such could defend themselves and form a counteroffensive in minutes at the longest. There was also the fact that it wasn't exactly a secret that the Kitsune held no respect for the queen or their god. The Kitsune had long seen them for the tyrants they really were and had always questioned their decisions. It was no surprise to anyone that the Kitsune would eventually decide enough was enough and made no effort to hide their intentions to relocate to the mortal realm.

## Culture

Being the most diverse of the races of the Demon Realm isn't limited to just their abilities. Owing to their reputation as the most travelled of the demon races, they've adopted a number of cultures as well. The Samurai and their Bushido Code, by way of example, was the first to be integrated and they upheld it for a time. This was, of course, until they saw many cases of samurai abusing the authority they held for less-than-noble purposes. Those samurai were killed by the Kitsune in the dead of night by the hands of members who instead adopted the Way of the Shinobi. The bodies of these samurai were burned to the bones with Foxfire instead of eaten, stating to the few witnesses present for these cases that "Even if we the Kitsune were like our brethren and eat mortal flesh, which we don't, those samurai are so tainted that it's a wonder none of those who smelled the taint have thrown up." Similar such cases became so common that the Kitsune opted to instead create their own culture.

### Way of the Traveler

In summary, the Kitsune have been to the mortal realm enough times and travelled it long enough that they feel more at home there than in the Demon Realm. Exploring the world and the nigh-infinite possibilities that every day brings there is now such a big part of their way of life that even children of their kind feel the inherent need to see it all. Hence why it was only a matter of time before they opted to officially relocate to the mortal realm and be done with it. To adopt the way of the traveler is to choose a life on the road, never staying in one place for very long and always seeking new experiences. Always protecting the weak and offering counsel where needed, protecting the livelihoods of others from all internal and external threats, unbound by land, lord, and law.

## 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

The Kitsune are one of the first subspecies of the demon race to have taken shape within the Demon Realm. Unlike the rest of their demonic brethren, the Kitsune quickly proved to have many and more talents, especially for the arcane arts. This alone made them highly valuable within Demon Realm society, with their more animalistic traits making them stand out from the rest. Aside from those traits, they appeared to be very human. They were also the only demonic species that refused to take part in the great war, seeing the bigger picture for what it was and blatantly stating that "Their world is not ours to destroy, nor is any other for that matter. No single person has the right to decide the futures of others, and no single person has the right to decide the fate of anyone except for themselves, save for in the utmost extreme of circumstances... No matter who that person is or the power they hold." The leader of the Kitsune had said this at the time, even straight to the Demon God's face while also imploring all that were present to see things from the perspective of the other races, especially the humans. "Weak as they are compared to all other races, they are by far the most adaptive, making up the difference in myriad other ways. Prone as the humans are to warring against even their own kind, they are not regarded as by far the most resilient species for no reason. It's what inspired us, the Kitsune, to be more like them. To always improve ourselves as a species and as individuals while refusing to do so at the cost of innocent life." The lesson there, as stated by the then-head of the Kitsune subspecies of the Demon Race, was that "Instead of mindlessly and needlessly killing innocent people by the dozen, we should instead be learning from those who dwell in the light of the sun."

This had not sat well with the Demon God who then killed the head of the Kitsune, but the message had still been sent. And yet, all but the Kitsune race ignored it for fear of meeting the same fate. It was at that moment that the Kitsune knew their god and his queen to be little more than tyrants, not unlike those of the mortal realm and thus undeserving of their respect. They would distance themselves from their brethren, relocating to a much more secluded area within the demon realm that they subsequently warded so heavily that not even the demon god could reach them without leaving himself completely drained of power. Since then, even the queen realized that to raise arms against the Kitsune would be to prove them right about her and her god. Since then, the Kitsune had commanded great respect among their peers and refused all subsequent offers of high-ranking positions, knowing fully well that accepting would leave them extremely susceptible to manipulation.

As the centuries passed, the Kitsune's numbers would continue to grow and their members would continue to grow ever more powerful, with the ever-increasing wealth of knowledge to match it. However, they never once consumed any humans and instead consumed human foods and whatever demons were sent to attack them from within. Tensions only continued to elevate between them and the royal court, to the point no demon ever stayed in the same room if both the Kitsune and the queen were also present at the same time. The situation was starting to smell very bad, and rumors would start to spread. Rumors of civil war. Everyone knew that the queen and the six void suns were indeed powerful and among the strongest within the demon realm, but the kitsune, as a whole especially, more than made up the difference in so many ways it had even become a hot topic regarding who was truly the strongest. The loyalists would zealously deny any such ideas of anyone except their god being able to defeat the queen and the six void suns, but those who saw the bigger picture - those who had kept an open mind and ended up becoming supporters of the Kitsune - knew that even they would be hard pressed to overcome the full might of the heavily diverse and numerous Kitsune species.

It also helped that the Kitsune had the one thing in spades that others lacked. The one thing that both the mortal realm and demon realm desperately needed more of... An unbreakable will to do what was right. A sense of justice so strong and potent that no otherwise greater power could dare hope to match up to it. And thus it came as no surprise that eventually, instead of waging a war, the Kitsune stuck to their ideals and opted to announce intentions of relocating to the mortal realm. It was made clear that while they held no respect for the queen or their god or those who blindly followed the two, the Kitsune also had no desire to needlessly spill the blood of their brethren. It was said that if they truly wished to be rid of their curse and be able to walk in the sunlight again as well as conceive children of their own, such a thing could only be done in the mortal realm. That was, of course, to say nothing of the myriad mysteries and secrets they could still learn. Knowledge that could still be sought after. For knowledge seeks no man.

In truth, while the Kitsune had well and truly had enough of living under the iron grip of the queen and her loyalists, they were - first and foremost - seekers of truths and knowledge. All that remained was to say their final goodbyes to those who kept an open mind and became their friends, as well as seek out a new home. They even plan to found a guild of their own in the mortal realm. A guild fit for heroes and explorers, individuals who sought only to help their fellow man and see the world for themselves. A guild that would allow people to - unbeholden to neither law, lord, or land - freely explore a world filled with both danger and excitement in equal measure, possessed of infinite possibilities. And such a guild would need a fitting name, not to mention a base of operations.

## Physiology

The Kitsune are, by design, a fusion of humans and fox-like traits. Like most other races, they share a generally human appearance and are physically the perfect blend between speed and power build-wise, with the closest comparison being the Apelings despite leaning more towards speed instead of power, unlike their more power-oriented counterparts. While this is not uncommon at all, what is uncommon are the long fox ears as well as the long and thick yet physically powerful fox tails they boast. Like the Apelings, this results in the Kitsune having very athletic appearances. Their hair and fur colors are diverse, going all over the spectrum as a collective with no color giving anyone importance over anyone else, firmly believing that having certain colors give any individual any kind of automatic importance leads only to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Like their Apeling counterparts, the Kitsune's nails instead appear more as claws and they possess very sharp canines.

The men, being typically bigger and physically stronger than the women, are more physically athletic than the women which has the one-tailed males of the subspecies being often mistaken as wolves. Most take this as a compliment, telling that even wolves have more honor than most Samurai, having seen for themselves how most abuse their authority for less-than-noble purposes no matter how well they may hide it. As such, the men among the Kitsune have made it their sworn duty to protect the women and freshly-turned children of their kind, knowing fully well that the women are fully capable of defending themselves. "They need not dirty their hands with the blood of the unworthy." One had said when asked why this was the case. Naturally, this same man also willingly conceded that there was one crucial way in which men were weaker than any woman, one that wasn't exclusive to the Kitsune or any individual race. "When a man learns to love, he must also bear the risk of learning hatred. You can break a man's bones all you like, we have over two-hundred of them, but don't EVER go for the heart... We only have one. And I don't mean that physically either." This also explained why no Kitsune was ever seen in a relationship with a mortal, even if only for appearances. They ran the risk of becoming truly attached, only to lose that significant other in battle or through the passing of time itself. It was a healthy and perfectly reasonable fear, and one that made the Kitsune that much more human in the eyes of the mortal world.

The women among the Kitsune may be typically shorter, weaker, and less physically athletic than the men, but they do not neglect their physical training either, not wanting to fall too far behind. Instead, their bodies naturally possess figures that most women would literally commit apocalypse-levels of mass-genocide for, and are generally better suited for seduction in this manner. They also make up the difference by being even more magically-inclined than the men, whose innate magical prowess is already great to begin with, though most also use their magic to further enhance their seduction capabilities. Out of these women, even more go as far as becoming legitimate housewives for their male counterparts, and have expressed the desire to one day be able to have children of their own... None of this, as the demon queen's die-hard loyalists found out the hard way when attempting assassinations, stopped the women of the Kitsune from being trained front-line killers whenever the situation demanded it. This was most especially true in the case of the Nine-Tailed Kitsune.

## Abilities

### Lunar & Solar Alignment

Being a primarily Fire-elemental species, the Kitsune are the only known demonic subspecies to not have a certain weakness that the rest of their demonic brethren share - Sunlight. By not possessing this weakness, the Kitsune can live among the mortal realm without having to fear the sun, which is crucial to their plans of establishing a stable livelihood in the mortal realm. In fact, the Kitsune are actually strongest during the day, their bodies and powers being further empowered by the sunlight. Moonlight grants similar effects, but not to the same extent. These effects are especially prominent during the Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice, and the Full Moon, even more so with clear skies. It is currently unknown what effects the Lunar Eclipse and Solar Eclipse bestow upon the Kitsune.

### Enhanced Senses

Due to their predatory nature, demons possess sharper sensory abilities. Most notably, demons can discern normal blood from Rh Negative blood. A low level demon is even able to track the smell of something as small as saliva back to its source. Demons are also able to distinguish things Mortals hardly understand, such as blood type, sickness, and genes. The Kitsune, however, have even sharper ears and noses because of their nature, with those specific senses being 1000 times more acute than other demons.

### Menacing Aura

Demons have a naturally menacing presence and aura that evokes fear, with stronger demons having a more intense aura. The aura of Lower demons can make the air feel heavy and thick with a mere gaze, while Higher demons possess auras that can induce fear and physical pain into their opponents or even make them lose the will to fight. Auras of the Kitsune, however, can even go as far as becoming quite visible, causing damage to the ground they stand on and their surroundings. The Kitsune can even link their hearts to their auras due to being incredibly passionate by nature, and as such can do a number of other things. Without the physical use of their auras, a Kitsune can command great respect with words alone, giving off the same feeling and effects their auras normally would. Older, stronger, wiser, and generally more experienced Kitsune can invoke these effects with their mere presence and a cursory glance, and these effects are especially powerful for the Nine-Tailed Kitsune.

### Regeneration

Demons have incredible regenerative abilities far superior than any living being or mortal due to the properties of Indra's demonic blood, able to heal any sort of physical injury in mere seconds, including deep cuts, organs, chunks of flesh, entire limbs or even their head and entire body. Stronger demons can heal more serious injuries faster and more precisely than weaker demons. For example, the average demon will take a dozen seconds to regrow an entire arm, while the likes of the higher demons can repair it in the same second it was sliced off, faster than most others can react to, making it seem like it happened instantaneously. The fastest and most impressive regeneration feats belong to the Demon God, Indra, who can heal any injury so swiftly that it makes it seem like the attack simply phased through him or that he never got injured in the first place. The Kitsune, however, are a rather unique case... Their regeneration becomes faster and more precise with every tail an individual earns, with the ninth tail being said to grant regeneration so precise that it bestows the ability of rebirth. Though currently unproven, this specific ability is said to be the most advanced form of regeneration since it essentially means self-resurrection. Willing oneself back to life, being reborn from even a single cell.

## Magic

### Foxfire

The Kitsune race's signature magic unique to them and them alone. The most versatile fire known to the mortal realm and demon realm alike, the flames can be shaped and used according to the caster's will. Like all other Kitsune race abilities, it becomes stronger and capable of doing more the more tails the caster has, with a Nine-Tailed Kitsune - for an example - being able to even resurrect the recently deceased with minimal effort regardless of race and subspecies depending on the condition of the target's body. However, even if the body itself is restored, even a Nine-Tailed Kitsune cannot resurrect someone whose soul has already departed to whatever afterlife awaits the target or the target has already been reincarnated as someone or something else. Naturally, a Nine-Tails' flames have the raw destructive potential to match the highly versatile support capabilities.

### Omniyojutsu (Omniyoji arts)

From a young age, all Kitsune practice heavily in Omniyojutsu, which allows them to bend the elements to their wills. The most common use of this is to turn what would normally be a spell cast using foxfire into a spell of another element. There are six elements that the Kitsune use with this practice: Fire, Earth, Ice, Water, Wind, and Lightning. These elements can be infused with an Astral alignment towards the Light and thus towards Stasis, or an Umbral charge towards Darkness and thus towards Activity. An Astral alignment makes spells weaker yet cost less power, while an Umbral charge makes spells more potent and thus cost more power.

Omniyojutsu can also be used for a variety of other purposes that use the same principles, such as barriers, seals, and even illusions for example, though these draw from the surrounding world instead of the practitioner's own reserves. Practitioners who are advanced enough in the arts gain access to a forbidden branch of Omniyojutsu: Creation Magic. Creating both animate and inanimate forms using naught but pre-existing matter, one's own aether, and the caster's imagination. Naturally, one must possess a truly immensely vast and potent pool of aether to even consider branching into this advanced sect.

### Aether

The Kitsune race's source of magical energy, and is one that the mortal and demon realms both are extremely rich in, permeating even the very air everyone breathes. This allows would-be mages to replenish their reserves over time at a quick rate, though no two people have the exact same amount of it. Aether, according to the Kitsune after hundreds of years of research, makes up the very building blocks of life and can be separated into two categories: Physical Aether, which makes up everything made of Corporeal matter that people can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell, and Metaphysical Aether, which gives shape to the Incorporeal matter that gives shape to souls, illusions, and other such things.

## Forms

### Standard Form

A Kitsune's base form. In this form, a Kitsune appears as a humanoid being with sharper physical features as well as long fox ears and up to nine thick fox tails, each tail dense enough to cause serious damage to whatever they hit without losing any mobility, and each tail at least as long as the bearer is tall. Meaning if a man's average height is 6'0", then each tail he possesses will be on average 6'0" in length.

### Werekitsune Form

A Kitsune's next transformation, becoming significantly taller, more bulky (again without losing any agility) and overall appears more feral in appearance. A 6'0" male Kitsune would become 12'0" in height for example, and the man's tail(s) would adjust to match. Without losing any agility, the man would gain a considerable amount of additional muscle mass in *all* the places that matter, becoming faster and more physically powerful as a result. A Kitsune's base physical traits are multiplied by the number of tails he or she has in this form. In addition, the user's claws become sharper, and the body develops a mid-length coat of fur all over their bodies, including their more feral facial structure.

### Kyubi-no-Kitsune Form

A transformation reserved only for a Nine-Tailed Kitsune. While the practitioner can learn how to freely manipulate the size of this form, the Nine-Tails in question initially transforms into a mountain-sized variant of this final quadruped form. Legends claim that a single, lazy flick of one of its tails can level mountains and cause tsunamis, its fur coating utterly impenetrable by all conventional methods as its all-consuming flames purify all they touch. Such is the awe-inspiring might of this legendary form, seen only once before in the long history of the Kitsune race: Their founder and the first Kitsune, created by the Demon God Indra himself. The legendary form of he who saw what was truly going on and spoke out against his own creator, and beseeched his brethren to open their hearts and minds to the truth that they might see with eyes unclouded. The form of Shirokami Kitsune, he who opposed the Demon God and could have gone as far as becoming the Demon King had he not died that day centuries ago.

## 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚

* ALL Credit For The Image Goes To Sleepingfox On Deviantart!