Dream Fur Fox

Idea and Written by Drackzahn

"On my way home from collecting mushrooms, I saw a big red fox with sparkling fur. It was easily the size of a wolf, but was fully gentle in its way of approaching me. Once I touched its fur, I fell asleep and had the most beautiful dream I ever had. I was the captain of my own crew with a big cargo ship full of exotic wares for our markets. After waking up, the fox was nowhere to be seen anymore and I felt drained and tired nevertheless that I slept long enough to see the sunrise after waking up." Young unknown sylvan elf of a remote village.

by Volt

Abilities 

Dream Fur

Their fur of them is soft and very fluffy. It sparkles not only in sunlight but especially in the light of the moon or torches. Once a prey touches its fur, the fox releases a magical spell that let its prey fall asleep very quickly. It is assumed that the spell travels through the body and not through the air, as physical contact with the fur is required. Once the spell is working and the prey is asleep, the Dream Fur Fox can uphold this condition for hours.

Dream Control

Once you are sleeping, a Dream Fur Fox will wrap its body around your head or will let you sleep on its body. In either way, the Dream Fur Fox will begin invading your dreams, taking full control over them. From there on, it depends heavily on the mood of the fox and how much they like you. If they had a liking for you, then your dream will be wonderful and fulfilling, containing your wildest and deepest dreams and desires. Prey who tried to hurt the fox or are otherwise disliked by them will get the other extreme and will be trapped in a nightmare with the darkest horrors that their minds can imagine. Yet, as long as the Dream Fur Fox is controlling your dreams, waking up is impossible.

Soul Energy Vampirism

While you are sleeping, the Dream Fur Fox will absorb your Soul energy. This is the fuel not only for their abilities but also for their nutrition. The process of sucking your energy up takes hours, but as you are sleeping and are under their control, they have all the time they want to absorb it. Once your soul energy is depleted, they will leave you be. Once waking up, you will feel drained and lethargic, but otherwise fully healthy.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dream Fur Foxes have four legs with paws and a long fluffy tail. They run on all 4 legs and uses their tail for quick direction changes. Their extremely fluffy fur seem to sparkle like they were emitting some kind of dream dust, the reason for their name. They have four eyes and a long snout as a mouth and nose. Their sizes vary heavily depending on their age and the amount of energy they had harvested over their lifetime. The youngest and weakest ones have the size of a cat, while ancient ones can easily reach the size of a big bear. In local legends, there exist Dream Fur Foxes that were as tall as trees and moved without making a single sound. These legends could not be confirmed to this day.

Genetics and Reproduction

Dream Fur Foxes can reproduce by mating with a member of the other sex of their species. A Dream Fur Fox is able to mate at the age of 10 years, but won't probably do so at this age. Most Dream Fur Foxes only mate every few years or even decades and only if they find a good partner that they deem worthy. A typical pregnancy lasts for two years and ends in a single child. The pair stays together during this time and the first few years of the new offspring. After this, it depends on the harmony of the pair and if future offspring are wished for by them.
If they do not find any partner, but still wish for offspring, they will search for good prey. After their typical hunt and Soul energy draining meal, they will absorb their prey into their fur. While the body is fully digested, the soul of their former prey is bound into their body and creates new life. The reborn prey will have access to their former memories but will be fully a Dream Fur Fox by nature, physical and mental. Only female Dream Fur Foxes can create offspring.

Growth Rate & Stages

A Dream Fur Fox never truly stops growing once they have reached their adulthood. As a kitten, they are around the size of a small cat, from which they only grow marginally till they reach adulthood at around 5 years of age. After that, their growth heavily depends on their age and the number of meals they take in. A Dream Fur Fox can stay the size of a cat for decades or can grow to the size of a bear in only several years. The bigger they get, the more meals they require for further growth. While the size of a big dog is reached rather quickly, the growth rapidly becomes slower with each further increase in size. A Dream Fur Fox with the size of a bear has most likely lived for decades and consumed the soul energy of hundreds if not thousands of prey.

Ecology and Habitats

Dream Fur Foxes prefer to live in areas with low civilization, like forests, swamps, or high mountain ranges. Their fur protects them from coldness, which allows them to live even in artic environments. Temperated areas are their most common habitat, while deserts are uninhabitable for them. Dream Fur Foxes will also search for a living area with low visibility like forests, cliff areas, swamps, and similar. They try to avoid open planes and steppes. They will stay close to potential prey and their habitats, for example, a forest area with some small villages nearby to hunt for prey.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Different from most predators, Dream Fur Foxes rarely consume their prey physically. They can absorb the body of the prey, but they only do tho to transform them into future offspring. It is not your body they are interested in, but your Soul, or more on spot, the energy that your soul emits. Their body as well as their powers only require soul energy to work. Only in emergency situations, do they consume natural food like fruits.

Biological Cycle

Dream Fur Foxes are active through the whole year, but can take longer hibernation phases if no prey is available for them.

Behaviour

Dream Fur Foxes are natural lone wolves and prefer to live in quiet areas far away from the civilized species. Yet, for hunting, they will seek closeness to remote villages or will approach merchants and other travelers. Their sparkling fur and their gentle appearance allow them often to get close enough to their prey without any requirement for a real hunt or a fight. Once they are close enough, they let their prey touch their fur, resulting in their prey falling asleep. The Dream Fur Fox will then gently wrap itself around its prey's head and began influencing their dreams. This may result in wonderful dreams full of your most deepest desires, but may also be your darkest nightmares. The Fox has full control of your dream and waking up on yourself is impossible once you fell prey to one.  As soon as you are trapped in your dream, the fox will begin sucking your Soul energy out of you. This process takes hours. After your energy is depleted, the fox will ensure that you are safe before leaving. Most of them stay close by to give their prey a chance of waking up and getting into safety and not fall prey to other hunters of the forests. In some cases, a Dream Fur Fox will even engage a fight with other animals to protect their prey. The reason for this behavior is unknown, but it is assumed that it is their way of thanking their prey for the meal.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Loner, not having a social structure with other members of their species outside of mating relationships.

Domestication

Dream Fur Foxes are a highly valuable pet if domesticated correctly. The easiest way is to capture a very young one and slowly get it used to live with you by allowing it to feed on your soul energy regularly. This method can also work on older foxes and depend heavily on the situation of the fox and what you can offer them. They are highly intelligent and can decide for themselves that being in your care benefits them. A hungry fox may at first hunt you to get what it wants, but after you come back, again and again, to let it feed on your energy, it learns that you are not only prey but friendly towards them. They may decide that living closer to your home benefits them and after some weeks, they may even sleep with you in your home.
A domesticated Dream Fur Fox is still an animal and has its own mind. Its nature is that of a longer, so it will avoid situations with too many people around itself like parties or bigger gatherings. If their friend, their owner, brings an unknown person to them, they may flee at first before slowly approaching and getting a taste of their soul energy. Owners that have a deep connection and friendship with their Dream Fur Fox may have the honor of touching them without being affected by their Dream Fur spell. They see their owner never as the one controlling them, but at most as a friend. If that friendship is broken, the fox may decide to leave.
Especially the countryside Nobels of Blessed Nation of Syl often try to have a Dream Fur Fox as a pet or even partner for life. Some families have such tight connections with their partners, that they even leave their children in their pet's care. This shown trust is often returned by the fox, making it possible to have a Dream Fur Fox child growing up together with the owner's own child. In many regions, the Dream Fur Foxes are symbols of connection with nature and the blessing of the local gods.
It is not uncommon that a female Dream Fur Fox will stay on the deathbed of its owner. In their final moments, the Dream Fur Fox will absorb their owner and then leave the house to take a journey back into their former home away from civilization. There, they will allow their former owner to be reborn as a Dream Fur Fox kitten.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Dream Fur Foxes live far away from each other. It is rare that two share the same hunting grounds outside of a mating partnership. The hunting grounds of a single Dream Fur Fox can be huge, including whole forests.

Average Intelligence

Highly intelligent for an animal, able to read the emotions of their prey and understand languages.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Their hearing and their sense of smell are very strong, but nothing compared to their four eyes. The outer two eyes allow the fox to have a very wide range of observable area, while the inner two eyes can see up to several kilometers to find potential prey. It is most likely that a Dream Fur Fox has seen you many hours before you even notice their presence. They are using the combination of their good eyes, their well hearing, and their strong sense of smell to not only find new prey but also avoid any potential predator that could prove dangerous to them.

Scientific Name

Somnium Crinitus vulpes

Lifespan

Unknown, but legends suggests several hundred years at least.

Average Height

Between 50cm up to 5 meters, depending on age and absorbed soul energy.

Average Weight

Varies with their height and can be between 5kg to 200kg.

Average Length

Their tail grows with their body and can reach several meters in lenght.

Average Physique

Dream Fur Foxes are weak, and not comparable to a wolf or a bear. They depend on their Dream Fur ability to hunt and defend themselves.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

All colors of fur were mentioned in legends and reports. The most common are red, yellow, orange, white, and black.

Geographic Distribution

• Sylvan Lands