The vhasi- (v-HACE-ee), whose name comes from an old Aril word meaning "white wolf"- are the wolf Elwens, most social of the shapeshifting Elwen races. They usually live in packs of fifteen to twenty members, though these packs are likely to keep away from non-vhasi. They have been called withdrawn, aloof, and arrogant for their widespread refusal to associate with other races. In truth, the vhasi simply feel they are living in a different world than most other races, one it is useless for non-wolf Elwens to try and understand.
Come among them, if you will- the Wolf Elwens, the Children of the Pack.
PHYSICAL MAKEUP
The vhasi have perhaps the widest variation of skin tones among any Elwen race. Many are born with white, black, brown, or gray skin, mimicking the natural colors of wolves. However, some also bear red or red-tinged skin, and among the northern people of the Wolf-Kingdoms (see below), colors not found on ordinary wolves- such as dark blue, silver, green, and gold- are also quite common. A vhas's fur in lupine form echoes his or her skin. This is true even of patterned colors. If a vhas has dark blue skin flecked with silver in wolf form, her coat will be dark blue with tiny patches of silver fur here and there. Wolf Elwens like this are sometimes hunted for their pelts. The vhasi usually respond to such criminals by hunting them down in turn and flaying them alive.
Vhas hair varies, even more wildly than their skin, and does not always echo their fur, though sometimes vhasi with dark skin and pale hair will have pale heads and ruffs as wolves. Among wolf Elwens born with pale skin, hair the same color as the fur tends to be more common. It is usually worn long in both males and females, as most packs do not wear clothes (due to the barriers clothes present to sudden shapeshifting) and so may depend on their hair to protect them from sun and wind in Elwen form, as well as provide a modicum of modesty. Among more "civilized" packs who spend a lot of time in Elwen form, it is usually worn to the shoulders, with a slight curl at the ends.
Vhas eyes are large and diamond-shaped, even as wolves. They can be any color or combination of colors, though, again, hues that appear in the eyes of ordinary wolves- amber, gold, green, and black- predominate. Most vhasi have poorer eyesight than other Elwen races, though a much keener sense of smell. No matter what their form, they bear pointed ears, tails, and sharp teeth.
Wolf Elwens are also unusual in having fairly heavy builds. They often have muscles that show in both two-legged and four-legged form, and can weigh up to 200 pounds. Their height varies; as Elwens, it ranges from 5'4" to 6'1"; as wolves, they stand four to five feet at the shoulder. Being hit by a charging vhas is a sure route to a sprawl.
Vhasi have the silver blood common to Elwens no matter what the color of their skin. They are capable of short bursts of cheetah-like speed in Elwen form, but as wolves have a more potent weapon: the endurance-trot, at which they can run at a steady speed for more than eight hours on end. Unless slain first by accident or violence, they live about ten thousand years.
EMOTIONS AND PSYCHOLOGY
Most wolf Elwens are extremely law-abiding, respecting the ancient and sacred Laws of their people. It is often said, only half-jokingly, that the Laws are more important to vhasi than any god. They regulate all aspects of vhas life, from the proper greetings to superiors to what to do when a pack meets in the middle of a trail. The wolf Elwens who do not obey the laws are usually offered the choice of exile or ritual death. Many more choose death than exile.
Exile is such a terrible punishment for a Child of the Pack because wolf Elwens are social creatures- much more so than other Elwens. They live, as noted above, in packs of fifteen to twenty members; usually a pack will split when it grows larger than this, though many wolf Elwens living near each other with different alphas are not unknown. The pack structure usually resembles that of a normal wolf pack, though there are some differences: alphas can be both male and female, and rule the pack with a compact of trust between them and their subordinates; challenge in the pack involves winning contests of both strength and intelligence; some wolf Elwens take special positions in the hierarchy because of inborn magical talent (see below); and youngster do not usually fight for a place in the pack until they are nearing fourteen or fifteen.
All wolf Elwens live together with a well-understood system of signals, mostly adapted from the ordinary lupine language, that forbids alphas from going too far or subordinates from treading too much on the tails of their superiors. If a vhas bares his belly to another, that wolf Elwen will not under any circumstances attack him. Likewise, if a subordinate is getting above his rank- say, trying to eat from a kill before it is his turn- the alpha usually only has to snarl to warn him away.
Alphas are the center of life in a pack, even when they do not have a mate and children that the rest of the pack helps feed and protect. They grant permission to mate and marry to other vhasi, decide who will lead a hunt or communal howl, make all decisions in wartime, and usually rule in the rare times when vhasi congregate in cities or villages rather than wild-roaming packs. They maintain a system of honor with their subordinates calle the Compact, which imposes severe consequences for the abuse of power. In some packs, they lead an informal council composed of the beta and gamma wolf Elwens, or even more of the higher-rankers if the pack is large enough.
Children are seen as precious and protected at all costs. They are also tolerated for any pranks or play they want to commit, unless an adult's temper is unusually short that day. Even then, a sharp snarl or nip is the only punishment administered. Children cannot break pack law, as they are seen as learning it, and are not seen as part of the pack hierarchy until they are ready to fight for their place. Such contests usually take place in early spring.
MAGICAL POWERS
Vhasi have little magic compared to some races. On the other hand, as most live outside of cities, they have little need for many things that other races of Elwens use magic for as a matter of course.
Common to all wolf Elwens are:
Shapeshifting. All vhasi can turn into wolves. As this involves the actual physical change of the body, clothes are torn or shredded in the process. Also, a vhas taking a wound in either form will bear it when he changes back into his other form.
Clear-speaking. Vhasi have extremely clear voices, and can often be heard miles away. This enables the spread of news by nightly howl, so that a messaage originating in the north of the continent can travel to the southern end in as few as two nights.
Packmind. When in an especially emotional situation- such as in war, or at the death of a pack mate, or at the birth of a new pup- the pack bonds into a single mind, a single thought, a single emotion. This is similar to a mob mentality, but the packmind is usually directed by itself, rather than wild. While it is in force, the pack moves and acts as one being. Their coordinated attacks in packmind are often the terrors of their enemies.
Born in some vhasi are:
Natural-born alpha powers. Some vhasi are born with the ability to command others. This takes the form of authority and power that exudes like a palpable aura around the vhas when he or she wills it so. It can also work on other animals, so that a vhas with such magic can stop a charging herd of cattle or swim unharmed through a frenzy of sharks. Most natural-born alphas are trained from birth to assume command of packs, and also never to misuse their power.
Dreaming. This is a shaman-like ability to venture into the Otherrealm, a strange place of illusion and almost-reality that interesects with the physical world in odd ways. Dreamers can walk the Otherrealm and gather visions of the future. They can also, with sufficient training, create images in their minds- such as lightning or fire- and make them real with power drawn from the Otherrealm. Because of their potentially awesome ability to misuse power, Dreamers are also strictly trained from birth, and can never rise to alpha status (though many are betas).
In addition to this, many pups are born with singular wild talents, and all pups are tested at birth to see what might emerge.
ORIGINS AND MODERN SETTLEMENTS
Vhasi were born from a flash of starlight, as were most other Elwen races, in northern Sweptoria. The goddess Chilune, who believes that She should be the ruler of all shapeshifters, has tried to claim a hand in their creation, but few believe Her.
From the beginning of their existence, wolf Elwens have been lawful, and have walked with one foot in each of their two worlds, wolf and Elwen. They wandered greatly fron their birthplace, but almost never with the intention of conquering. Small packs exist now in many places, mostly remote and wild, such as high mountains and deep forests.
The most important modern settlements are the four Wolf-Kingdoms of Elenyi, Terling, Yulima, and Yllalla, where the alphas rule as hereditary Kings and Queens. Founded by the Lady Elenyi, the last of the Five Heroes and the only one to survive the War of the Falling, the Kingdoms are great underground sanctuaries of magic, lit by their own suns, where trees grow, oceans roar, deer and other prey animals roam at will, and the wolf Elwens can adopt what lifestyle they want, either living in houses or in the wilderness, either close to or separated from each other. Few strangers enter the Kingdoms, both for lack of knowledge about their location and because the vhasi are determined to preserve at least one place that is home to only their own kind.
The rulers of the Kingdoms are chosen in intricate tests in which they must win the approval of the stars, the land, the people they will rule, and their predecessors. Failure at this test is seen as proof of moral unworthiness to lead a pack, and those who fail are slain or exiled.
Most wolf Elwen "settlements" elsewhere consist of packs living wild, or small villages concealed in the hearts of forests.
LANGUAGES
It is uncertain whether there was ever one ancestral wolf Elwen language, in the way that other races had their own. Most vhasi speak wildly ranging dialects today, often mixed with words from other tongues, and establishing a base seems impossible, with one exception (see below). However, some common traits, such as a love of case endings that seem baroque to other races, can be made out.
Ahkahvan. This is the exception, the language used in the Wolf-Kingdoms. As the Kingdoms keep in touch with one another- the royal lines of Elenyi and Terling are related, and the others were founded by friends of the Lady Elenyi- the language stays mostly common, with little of the dialectical variation present among the wilder-living packs. Ahkahvan has two categories often referred to as "genders," though they have nothing to do with masculine and feminine: when words are inflected in one way, they pertain to vhasi; the other, they pertain to outsiders. Thus a word might mean "outcast from the pack for some terrible crime" in one context, and simply "outcast, exile" in another.
Most wolf Elwens who live in packs, as noted above, have languages whose history has not been traced and is impossible to establish. Vhasi who do live in towns or villages almost never live solely by themselves, and tend to adopt the languages of the peoples they live among.
More to come, I promise.
