The Lupus Umbra

A Lupus Umbra is, at its core, a shadow given life by Lord Vrkan. Creatures of darkness, they can change their shape to suit their needs and even take on the appearance of other people or inanimate objects if they please. That being said, each wolf has their own unique appearance that becomes a sort of 'default look' across every form unless consciously changed, featuring identifiers such as fur colors, markings, eye colors, and so on.

While every Lupus Umbra has shapeshifting abilities and can learn to change their appearance to sometimes ridiculous extremes, there are two main forms that are universal to all of them: A quadrupedal (feral) form and an anthropomorphic (two-legged) form. The feral form is the first form, the one used most by these Umbral wolves while in the Umbra itself, and typically the form they are most adept at using to its fullest capabilities. An adult specimen averages about 4 to 5 feet tall in this form and possesses all the characteristics one might expect of any mundane wolf - four legs, a tail, and big, nasty, pointy teeth. You know, the usual stuff.

The second form, standing upright upon two legs like a man, is most often used only by those who manage to pass through the veil into the mortal realm, or some other in which the locals tend to walk upright, as there is little benefit to two legs and opposable thumbs in the Umbra. Being largely primal in nature, some Lupus Umbra have difficulty mastering this form at first - with troubles ranging from balance issues and underestimating how tall they are (with sometimes comedic effects), to difficulty speaking intelligibly in this form. Nevertheless, it can be a useful skill to have for any who's not simply content to spend their days hunting in the wilds of the Umbra and wish to go see what people in other worlds are up to. And then eat them. The average default height for this form is about 6 to 7 feet for a fully-grown adult, though considering this form is largely used to blend in with the local population wherever a traveling Lupus Umbra may find him or herself, exact heights can vary wildly.

Physique, likewise, shows a great deal of variation between individuals, though it is rare to see an obese Lupus Umbra who isn't appearing that way for a very specific reason. Strength being valued greatly in almost every pack and society of these wolves, cultural aesthetics favor a clean, chiseled appearance in both males and females, and while excessively bulky individuals that look to be more muscle than wolf are not entirely unknown, they are often ridiculed as being an attempt to compensate for something, be that mentally or physically. If a species like the Lupus Umbra had a standard ideal of beauty, it would most certainly be something akin to a Roman god - fit, healthy, and athletic, capable of keeping up inside a hunt and pulling their own weight outside one. As an aside, there is a certain amount of sexual dimorphism found among the Lupus Umbra. In their standard forms, females tend to be slightly shorter than males and males tend to be slightly more muscular by default. However, keeping in mind that this is a race of living shadows who can change their appearance on a whim, body type alone is a poor indicator of gender and exists largely for cultural aesthetics. There are, however, rare cases of natural appearances being significantly shorter or taller than the norm at plus or minus 1-2 feet in either direction.

Sharing much in common physiologically, with mundane wolves, the default form of a Lupus Umbra would be familiar to anyone who's seen a wolf, be it anthro or feral. The tail is medium of length and fluff, the legs are long and strong, the paws are large and bear razor-sharp claws, the jaw is powerful and filled with fangs specialized in ripping and tearing like Doomguy's lost puppy, and many individuals possess a mane of fur around their neck - though this can range wildly from merely a slightly-longer trail of fur down the back of the neck to glorious lion-like mane surrounding the entire head.

Genital arrangement for males is canine in structure both in anthro and in feral forms; for females, the genitals are generally human-like in anthro form, and wolf-like in feral form. It is not unheard of however, being shapeshifters, for an individual male to use exclusively a human-style penis or an individual female to use exclusively a wolf-like vagina. It is forbidden, and frowned upon to the point of violence in most packs, for an individual to possess both sets of genitalia at the same time, as it is seen as a sign that the wolf in question has disrespected the forms given them by their god Vrkan and that all they care about in life is sex. Hermaphroditism does not naturally occur in Lupus Umbra, thus any who are known to have both sets of genitals simultaneously are likewise known to have willingly made the choice to be that way and treated accordingly - which can be a topic of great stress for those transformed against their will by spells, potions, or other means. Since Lupus Umbra can change their appearance at will, those wishing to use a different set of genitals will typically just change from a male body to a female body or vice versa, as few packs explicitly forbid changing genders on a whim.

Another aspect of their shapeshifting that may sometimes be observed is for the Lupus Umbra to forgo a definite form entirely, dissolving into an inky black smoke of nondescript shape. This is often done to better blend into surrounding shadows, and being closest to their primeval form it is also the form that takes the least amount of effort to switch to.

As one might expect of a race of natural-born hunters who hail from a world in which sunlight is unknown, the senses of a Lupus Umbra are exceptional. Their noses are sensitive enough to track prey for leagues, their glowing eyes grant them vision in absolute darkness, and they have the ability to sense others of their kind and - often - others not of their kind, even without being able to see them directly. The downside to all this is that as a race, they are more easily blinded by spells like Flash that create blinding bursts of light, and while they can see just fine during the daytime in a realm with a traditional day/night cycle, they certainly prefer nights.

No pure-blooded Lupus Umbra has a natural scent, and since they all have the ability to shapeshift, they must rely on other means to identify each other - namely through a demonic presence, aura, or energy. Each individual has their own aura as unique as a fingerprint, unable to be changed willingly - though with some effort and creativity, it may be possible to hide it outright. There are a few rare circumstances, generally beyond the individual's control, when this aura is altered slightly - though the underlying detail is normally still recognizable as belonging to that specific wolf. Namely, when a female goes into heat, this can be detected in her aura. Certain curses or spiritual damage can also alter the aura, similar to how a disease or a permanent scar might alter the appearance of a mundane wolf.

In addition to the shapeshifting and senses listed above, all Lupus Umbra have certain inherent racial abilities that are not unique to one particular wolf. Chief among these is Umbramancy, the art of bending shadows to one's will. All Lupus Umbra are capable of at least basic shadow-magic, though their proficiency does depend somewhat on the amount of time, effort, and creativity put into mastering this skill, and - to a certain extent - their lineage and surroundings. A pure-blooded Lupus Umbra born and raised in the Umbra, for example, will learn to make extensive use of their abilities for almost every aspect of life from transportation to hunting, or even just for their own amusement or utility. A halfbreed Lupus Umbra hybrid born and raised in the mortal realm, on the other hand, may not have as much necessity for the use of their Umbramancy due to factors such as living conditions, locally-available technology, or access to other schools of magic that may achieve the same or similar effects for less effort and/or without drawing unwanted attention - as many of the more superstitious mortals regard all forms of shadow-magic as the work of evil no matter how it's actually being used.

Capabilities of Umbramancy include disappearing into a shadow to reappear somewhere else, creating body doubles or summoning shadow-monsters in combat, using naturally-occurring shadows to heal or repair damage to one's body, and creating weapons, armor, or other physical items out of shadow, etc. Some may even summon lower-ranked shadow-creatures (such as Umbral Rats) to perform menial tasks for them, such as organizing items, cleaning up messes, or just to play with. In combat, Umbramancy can be used to blind opponents, cast curses, move enemies into more advantageous positions (or out of combat entirely), ambush foes from shadows, and more. The uses for Umbramancy, whether for violent or peaceful purposes, are limited just as much by the user's creativity and problem-solving skills as they are by actual magical talent.

In addition to Umbramancy, an aspiring Lupus Umbra magi can learn other schools of magic fairly easily as well. The creatures are long-lived and quite intelligent, so a studious learner could become quite the skilled arcanist if he or she put in the dedication required to master other forms.

A Lupus Umbra can naturally form in one of two main ways: Either being created directly by Lord Vrkan himself or by sexual reproduction. The original Lupus Umbra were created many thousands of years ago, long before the founding of the first mortal civilizations, and Vrkan has been known to periodically create new ones or grant reincarnation to those who have fallen. Otherwise, reproduction works more or less like any ordinary animal - penis goes in, baby comes out. The particulars for when, why, and how Vrkan decides to grant life to a Lupus Umbra are not widely known beyond that it happens, as there aren't many bold enough to ask a god why he does the things he does - most are generally just happy to be given the chance to exist.

Natural-born litter sizes range from 1 to 4, with no apparent bias towards a specific number, and larger litters have been recorded though never in excess of 6. Of note, without the aid of fertility spells or potions, it is highly unlikely for a female Lupus Umbra to conceive outside of her heat cycle. Whether or not a female of a different species can become impregnated by a male Lupus Umbra outside of her heat cycle depends largely on the species in question, as does the size of a litter a female Lupus Umbra bears by a male from another species.

Crossbreeding has been known to occur, with other canids (be they mortal wolves, hellhounds, or other) the most likely candidate for interspecies breeding and, at a biological level, the most likely to both successfully result in pregnancy and successfully carry the child(ren) to term. With interspecies mating, the offspring has a high chance of exhibiting Umbral traits ranging from an innate talent for Umbramancy to being nearly indistinguishable from a true Lupus Umbra; with most mundane races, the Umbral genes are more likely to be dominant, though certain magical beings - such as dragons - have higher chances of creating hybrids that possess traits from both parents.

Lupus Umbra, and hybrids thereof, are quite long-lived - functionally immortal, in fact. Even a Minor Umbral Human hybrid will enjoy a lifespan several times that which an ordinary human could survive, regardless of whether or not they inherited their Umbral parent's other racial abilities. Immortal does not, however, mean invincible. While a pureblooded Lupus Umbra is exceedingly hard to kill for good, it is possible and has been known to happen, at which point their spirit joins Vrkan in his Hunting Grounds until such a time as they are granted reincarnation by their god. Reincarnated Umbrals rarely remember their previous lives, and those who do generally only remember such vague bits and pieces or familiar sensations that they can easily be passed off as merely being the creations of deju vu or dreams. Their auras may contain certain similarities to the auras they possessed in previous lives, however they will still be entirely new beings.