Arakanth

The Arakantis was once a thriving species native to southern Vyldes. However, they had an ongoing territory-based conflict with the werewolves just to the north of them, and when a drought hit Laugk Tj'is, the Arakanth capital, they had to slip into the werewolves' territory to find water. The werewolves found out about this soon enough, didn't understand the situation or want to, and stormed into Laugk Tj'is, burning the place down. Many Arakanth died or evacuated to southern Kortha as a result, and the species as a whole is now considered endangered.

Because of their dwindling population, modern Arakanth are much more likely to breed with other humanoid species rather than other Arakanth. A purebred Arakanth a very rare find nowadays - over sixty percent of the Arakanth population of Laugk Tj'is is made up of halfbreeds.

Arakantis are shapeshifters. Each individual has a single animal that they can shapeshift into, and there is no real limit to what that animal can be. Impossible hybrids are not unheard of, nor are common creatures from another planet entirely. It has been rumored that certain Arakanth can even obtain a form matching a bird god that some Arakanth worship, although this is a very rare occurrence.

Arakantis are venomous and sometimes vampiric. The venom is usually nonfatal to large animals, and instead creates a numbing effect on the area bitten down upon. On occasion, though, an Arakanth will overproduce venom (this happens every few hundred years or if the Arakanth hasn't used their venom in a while), increasing the dosage per insertion to far beyond fatal.

While an Arakanth does not require blood to live, the inclusion of it in their diet can promote digestion, increase fertility, and act as an aphrodisiac.

Appearance
Arakantis have a few obvious, defining features, including their bright colors and their animal halves. The animal form of an Arakanth will almost always be brightly colored, although if an individual only has some Arakanth blood, they may be more likely to have a natural color instead. The color of the animal shows in the color of the Arakanth's hair in human form. Arakanth have a broad spectrum of color in their irises, though one color is often more pronounced than the others, and so the Arakanth will appear to have a single, muddied eye color from afar. This enhanced color is not always the Arakanth's assigned color, although that and the compliment of the Arakanth's color are the most common instances.

Arakantis also can include parts of their animal form in their humanoid form if they so choose. Tails, large ears, manes, wings, and other such things that don't already exist on their humanoid form (paws, teeth, beaks, non-mane fur, etc. usually cannot be included) can be grown and retracted from the skin after the Arakanth reaches a certain age. This is incredibly painful the first time it is attempted, but practically painless all recurring times. When retracted, the location where parts were grown from is marked with a large, obvious scar, but otherwise shows no evidence of anything having existed there in the first place, allowing an Arakanth to enjoy some degree of stealth in less accepting locations, although they cannot disguise the color of their hair and eyes without dye and contacts.

The animal form and the color scheme of an Arakanth tend to correlate somewhat:

Red: Common animal, typically a mammal, fish, or reptile. Orange: Usually a warm-blooded animal. Yellow: Reptile or amphibian. Green: Rarer color, no real limit on species. Typically not alien animals. Blue: Hybrids, birds, and rare or alien animals. Occasional bird-gods or 'messengers'*. Purple: Almost exclusively hybrids.

Purebred Arakanth tend to have a large, stocky build, while, for whatever reason, halfbreeds tend to be short and lean in comparison. Partial Arakanth also tend to lack the numbing venom of their species, but retain the occasional vampiric urge.


 * Messengers are very rare Arakanth that cannot take a human form but instead shift between various species, retaining the 'blue with rainbow tips' color scheme of the bird god.

Culture
The Arakanth that remain in Laugk Tj'is maintain a relaxed lifestyle for themselves, but are wary of outsiders. While some prefer to interact with strangers as little as possible and hope they move on soon enough, others outright mock them - this is quite the common joke in bars and the like. Not all Arakanth are xenophobic, of course, and they attempt to include the strangers in some of their activities despite the distrust shown to them. Arakanth are actually rather fun-loving as a whole, spending much of their free time socializing. Most members of the species have an odd affinity for brightly-colored trinkets and tend to place lights and art all over their living spaces.

All Arakanth have some musical talent built right into their genes, and so music plays a big part in their culture. In modern days, this mostly involves daily promises of entertainment and music-related activities, but in the past, it played a major part in their religion and the summoning of the bird god.

Korthan and seabound Arakanth have taken up a lifestyle of trading and pirating. They still share the penchant for music and glitter that Vyldes Arakanth do, but prefer to show this in the goods procured overseas rather than in a flashy nightclub. These Arakanth tend not to share the xenophobic nature of the Laugk Tj'is Arakanth, having become cocky from their lack of proximity to the original besieged capital.