Vulpine

Vulpines are fox-like humanoids, native to Mithros, but can be found almost anywhere in Zairis.

Biology

Tails

Vulpines are well known for their auratic aptitude, in particular their great versatility due to their tails' relation to their Aura, giving them a number of elemental aptitutes corresponding to the number of tails they have, outlined in the table below:

Number of tails	Number of elements
One	Three
Two	Four
Three	Five
Four	Six
Five	Seven
Six	Eight
Seven	Nine
Eight	Ten
Nine	Twelve

Should a vulpine lose all of their tail for whatever reason, they become Aura blank, which in most cases will stunt their potential for spellcasting entirely, unless they were already versed one or more of the Disciplines.

Subraces

Arctic vulpine

Arctic vulpines are a subspecies that mostly makes its home in Frysgard. All members are aligned to the Ice element, which makes their already robust protection against cold even stronger. Their resistance is on par with that of snow kobolds, but is beaten out by frost Fenrans and Nanuk.

Arctic vulpine population groups of note include the Frostclaw Clan, which is one of the Five Great Clans of Frysgard, and the only vulpine clan that carries that distinction.

Argent vulpine

Argent vulpines don't have a documented origin, but some oral tradition suggest that they had been born among populations of vulpines settled near rich mithril deposits. They tend to have black and/or bluish-gray fur with a metallic sheen, and fittingly, they are always aligned to the Metal element.

The highest concentrations of argent vulpine populations in modern Zairis can be found in southwestern Mithros, particularly the mining city of Medellus, as well as in Nethron, where they are the dominant vulpine subspecies.

Sand Vulpine

Sand vulpines are native to the region of Ka'aras, where they have adapted to the arid climate. Their elemental alignment is always at least either the Air or Earth element.

The best known culture of sand vulpines is the nation-state known as the Ka'aras Sovereignty, and most sand vulpines all around Zairis can trace their lineage back to the region. Another notable population center of sand vulpines is the Serrakka Strip.

Woodland vulpine

Woodland vulpines are the most widely-spread subspecies of vulpines worldwide - they can be found almost all over, but there are no locations where they form a large majority aside from small villages, but they are most abundant in central Mithros and in the southern half of Kyaww-catar. Contrary to popular belief, their Aura is not locked to a particular element, but Fire and Grass are by far the most common alignments.

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History

Origin

Vulpines take their name from the Vul Empire, the last incarnation of the realm in Pre-Draconic Era Mithros of the common ancestor-species to vulpines, felines, and Fenrans. The philosophy of arcane mastery had left the descendants of Vul loyalists with a legacy of strong auratic potential that Fel and Loup had rejected.

Over the centuries between the exoduses of Fel and Loup, and the emergence of dragons in Zairis, the realm slowly fractured into the petty kingdoms recognized from Draconic Era records. At some point between 1000 BDC and 0 DC, other factions of malcontents made similar journeys to the east and north and settled into Ka'aras and parts of Frysgard, creating the sand and arctic subraces, respectively.