Shifters

Shifters are very crafty beings, but few know much about them. They are almost impossible to spot for anyone but Aldar and some ancient Artefices. Frosties have also been known to sense them. They have no allegiance to any groups, or to any goal. They are as powerful as Aldar. Some legends talk of their origin as being corrupted Aldar. Feared and hunted by almost the entire populace, Shifters are one of the few threats that must always be seriously considered and dealt with by any city, villiage, or group.

Basic Information

Anatomy

They are a mist or dust form, with the ability to take the form of any animal or being they have infested.

Genetics and Reproduction

None

Growth Rate & Stages

A shifter will grow as long as it has a supply of its food. There is no known size limit. At a certain stage however, it is theorized that a shifter will split into two distinct beings that may or may not stick together, even though they are probably direct clones.

Ecology and Habitats

Any environment is livable for shifters, but they prefer heavily inhabited locales in order to continue growing.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Shifters are energy and information feeders. They will use the power sources of Artefices to sustain themselves, as well as harvesting the sunlight. For information, they will harvest it out of any sundust infused brain, or from memory cores. While individually their appetite can be small, in a group, shifters can kill off entire settlements within a week, often before the inhabitants understand what is going on.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

Depending on what it has consumed, some Shifters can be craftier than Aldar.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Sight, Sound, Touch, Hearing.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Shifters can form parasitic bonds to almost any species, and have been known to reanimate dead beings.

Scientific Name

Aldar Corrus

Origin/Ancestry

Corrupted aldar.

Lifespan

Unknown

Conservation Status

Anyone who sees a Shifter, and lives to tell of it, will immediately let the nearby people know in order to hunt down and kill it.

Average Height

Varies

Average Weight

Varies