Country/climate: Ethereal Realms/Earth
Average height: 3ft to tips of ears when on all fours. 4ft from nose to rump.
Lifespan: Roughly 500 though that’s just when the urge to procreate and then die occurs. They can live for as long as they can resist reproduction though it gets harder and harder every century. The oldest was nearly 2000 years old. If a wraith dies in any manner that is not via reproduction, it's soul will not return to the wheel and it is lost forever.
Notable features: Corporeal Form: Animal-like. Walk on all fours on the balls of their feet on two clawed toes. Wings, bat-like. Long, thin muzzle with tight skin. Skeletal. Long forked tail. Colourful, fiery mane - generally non-genetic. Long, horse-like ears. Large, white glowing eyes. Moving, coloured markings on skin.
Ethereal: Wispy and immaterial. Something between smoke, liquid and solid, and constantly fluctuating.
Temperament: Very even tempered and neutral. Judgers but constantly viewing from all angles and perspectives. Very high intelligence. Low-key emotions but curious by nature.
Culture: A sentient creature which appeared at the same time as ancient light creatures. Naturally that which produces light also produces shadow. So when light became sentient the shadows followed. It started with one. She had no name, being well before language was invented. If she had a name it was in a language of molten earth and rock, un-pronounceable in any human tongue and probably combined a word that meant “fear, shadow and danger” in one. Her offspring developed language of their own with which to describe her but the closest it might sound to human was: Syhasashi. In their own tongue - hisses, whispers, clicks and ultrasonic shrieks - it would roughly translate to “Alpha” or “First”. Syhasashi had the power to give life to shadows but because they were watered down versions of herself, only certain conditions could birth a Wraith. The shadow had to be cast under a full moon and only one every lunar cycle, hence the link between Wraiths and their need to feed on moonlight. Syhasashi was incredibly powerful, as were her offspring, but there were very few of them. Sentient light were essentially immortal and thousands strong so in exchange for Syhasashi's benevolence and promise not to harm them, they promised not to harm her, or her offspring, and asked she give them an honourable and fast way to end their existence when they grew weary of immortality. Her offspring showed many key differences however. Where she could separate her soul from body to destroy a light sentient painlessly, her offspring had to physically pull the light sentient’s cores from their bodies. Where she had no need for fuel, her offspring had to feed on moonlight to maintain a physical form. They could not give life to shadow but had their own kind of lifecycle - the wheel of rebirth. While she was interested in keeping peace and showing dignity, her offspring had a cooler, darker temperament and were altogether apathetic when taking the life of a light sentient. The light began to grow fearful of her offspring as they grew in numbers and rumours of their dangerous nature spread. Syhasashi recognised this as well as the fact that her offspring, despite their benevolence, had powers that were easy to abuse. So she made one law. Just one. The law of neutrality. She cursed her own offspring so that they could never interfere with other species, never kill, never meddle. The only exception being when they were specifically asked to end an immortal’s existence or if the light tried to overthrow the balance. If they broke that law, their existence would cease and they would return to Nothing. Syhasashi herself eventually grew weary and once satisfied the numbers of Shade Wraith were enough she disappeared from the world. No one knew whether she died, lies dormant somewhere, or settled in some other kind of form.
Reproduction: Shade Wraiths reproduce in an unusual manner. The male and female (recognised by genetics only) sacrifice both their souls to produce twin offspring and continue the wheel of rebirth. The male pours his soul into the female and over four months her soul is slowly sapped away by her developing offspring. She dies immediately when the two new offspring become sentient within the Ether. They cannot increase their population, making them very fragile. Reproduction can occur at any time after their 500th year.
Diet: Moonlight for their physical form. It is not required as they can live comfortably in the Ether but they need it if they wish to take on a solid form on earth. They cannot consume too much however or they’ll become moondrunk and maddened. A Moon drunk Wraith can be drained of it’s energy by other Wraiths and returned to a normal state as they often go in search of Light sentients to destroy and are often destroyed in the process. While moon drunk, a wraith is immune to the law. A wraith which has become moon drunk is more likely to again and may be intentionally destroyed by it's own kind as an act of mercy though it is never taken lightly.
Other information: -In order to protect themselves, they have several non-lethal powers in their arsenal. FEAR is the most primal and impossible to fight power they have over others. Nothing can withstand it. It roots creatures to the spot or sends them fleeing inexplicably. It triggers the flight or fight response. The effect of FEAR is dependent on how much force the wraith wants to use and how reactive the recipient is.
-Flitting is teleportation in the blink of an eye. It uses void spaces of Nothing between dimensions to travel anywhere in no time at all. Primarily used to get away from a threat.
>>---Nothing (capitalised) is where all things came from and where all things eventually go. The possibilities for creation from Nothing is infinite, as is it’s consumption. All particles of the universe come from Nothing. Wraiths can use these voids for flitting and may also be where their Fear power stems from - the sensation of something blacker than black and more endless and terrifying than death. They are protected for short spells of time during flitting from the effects of Nothing but if they wander too long in the void they will decay physically and spiritually.
-The Ethereal Realms are a dimension which only they can exist in. They can escape here. Time does not really exist here so any wounds do not worsen. Particles of their body rejoin in the Ether allowing them to heal at a much quicker rate that in the Corporeal realms. Time will continue to pass in the corporeal realms however. They also have more dangerous powers but due to The Law, they are prohibited from using them.
- Prohibited powers: Blast fields (a combination of air, shadow and ultrasound) can push opponents and objects outwards and away from the wraith with great force. It can buckle metal, crumble brick, shatter glass and break bone.
>>--- Shadow fire is a form of dark matter that burns and is like acid to light based creatures. It is what the colourful manes and whisps at the end of their tails are made of.
-They have a sense of foresight and are privy to the death dates of creatures around them. Because they can choose when to continue the wheel of rebirth, they cannot see the death dates of Wraiths.
-They can see possible pathways for events in the future. Their intelligence usually allows them to foresee the possibility of each path being taken and therefore prepare accordingly.
-On rare occasions they can prophesise the future, usually when it is a threat to their species.
-Wraiths are physically genderless and mentally gender neutral. Gender only ever plays a role when they breed or when they must, for whatever reason, refer to themselves in human speech and even then they may choose neutral pronouns.
-Only 3 half wraiths have ever been produced. They are highly incompatible with all other species. Those 3 were created in a laboratory and several hundred wraiths died as well as a handful of carried-to-term abominations in the attempts to create them. Two are exempt from The Law while the other has a full Wraith soul and is included in the law.
-Information is passed on through exposure in the Ethereal Realms. They use this to communicate information without ever coming in contact.
-They can only produce a single tear every lunar cycle. Tears can solidify into a soft stone but they're fragile, and due to a wraith's disinclination to ever shed one are incredibly rare to find. If found, they are usually sealed in clear resin or glass. The resulting stone is then known as a moon tear. Moon tears collect moonlight and are therefore highly prized for their beautiful, ethereal glow.
What do the offspring of the species look like?
More or less, small versions of the adult when they can form physically. Their limbs tend to be disproportionately longer but are instantly self suficient. Most of the offspring remain in a semi-material state for their first few days, appearing as liquid-gaseous blots of darkness with glowing eyes, occasionally melding their smoky substance into partial body shape.
What colour blood do they have? (If they do bleed):
Blackish red like a very dark red ink.
Do they travel alone? Or are they in a herd/pack/clan/tribe/flock?:
Alone generally, although some seek some form of companionship and will roam in twos or rarely threes. Usually these are Wraiths nearing the end of their lives and are therefore biding their time together before breeding occurs.
What do their voices sound like? Do they roar, scream, hiss, speak in a language, etc?:
They communicate through a form of telepathy. The voice or noise finds it's way to the brain without ever being vocally spoken. The sound is indescribable - usually translating into the same voice as the person recieving it would think with.
What are the conditions there [Ethereal Realm] like?
There is a slipstream that they ride on known as the Ethereal winds. They can see things from their place in it although those in the material realms cannot see them. A few special people are able to sense them and sometimes attribute the sensation to ghosts and other apparitions. It is quiet and very few other species are Ethereal.
Why do they live in this particular place?
It is safe from most other creatures. It allows them to observe the world without ever being seen. It is also what the majority of their bodies are made up of and therefore they are, in a sense the Ether.
What is the environment like? (Desert, forest, tundra, swamp, tropical, jungle, ocean etc)
It is like a windy vacuum of space. No air, no climate, no temperatures. There is no sound from the Ether but sounds from the outside world can be heard, but muffled unless listened to carefully. If not then it is silent with a strong wind that has no real direction or source.
At what age do they mature?:
They are self sufficient from birth although they are not full grown until they are about 30 to 40 years old. After that, they seemingly remain in a young state without showing any further aging signs. They are able to continue the wheel of rebirth by mating and therefore dying at about 500 years old.
What is the longest they can live for?:
They can technically live for as long as they wish as they cannot die until they mate and pass their souls on to the next generation. The urge to procreate however will become increasingly irresistable from about 1000 years onwards.
What do they do to attract a mate?
Two wraiths nearing their end just seem to know. They will somehow find each other and travel together for as long as they wish to remain alive unless another, older prospective mate is found.
Is there some courtship ritual or do they fight for a mate?:
Wraiths simply try to find the eldest possible mate. A younger mature male may be sent away by an older male for an older female. They do not fight, simply give their opportunity to die to a more desperate Wraith.
What is the difference between male and female apart from the obvious? (size difference, males are more colourful, have more horns etc):
There is actually no physical differences. Wraiths have no reproductive organs and it is only the genetics that determine the gender of a Wraith.
