The Change
For more information on the Selkes, see article The Selkes: General.
Symptoms
Selkes are among the best shape-shifters of Alven. They can mimic any number of animal shapes, but they are particularly keen on human or humanoid forms, which they find very convenient for different reasons, notably opposite thumbs.
The Selkes have had a long-standing fascination with the landbound bipedal species that have populated Alven since millennia ago. The Tribe of the New and the Tribe of the Maya maintain a somewhat covert presence in the Muster (Court) of the Thanes through the presence of an official Envoy and its retinue. See the article on 'The Others'.
Shape-shifting is vital for Selkes as it enables them to perform actions that their natural shape as a seal-like creature cannot, and vice versa. Selkes can only reproduce in their natural shape, and a youngling or pup will not be able to shapeshift at will until they are at least 8 years old. Shape-shifting only takes a few seconds for adults, especially if they are conversant with the form they want to take.
The condition called 'the Change' by the Selkes came about gradually over the last 500 years but has been well documented. It is now apparent that shape-shifting among the younger generations is becoming increasingly problematic.
What used to take a few seconds to happen is now taking longer and has become a more painful process. Some shapes are also becoming more challenging to achieve, especially if they have not been practised many times. The condition still worsens, and no one has found a remedy for it yet.
What's more, Selkes could maintain a form indefinitely. Nowadays, younger Selkes find it tiring and, even sometimes, impossible to maintain a different shape than their natural one for more than a few days at a time. It has created a new impediment to their interaction with humanoid species, as Selkes have traditionally hidden their shapeshifting powers from other species.
Genesis
For the first time, the start of the change was noted in the Tribe of the Reds 400 years ago. The Reds kept quiet about the difficulties some of their youngsters were facing initially, but soon, the changes became known in other tribes, notably in the most ancient and powerful Maya tribe.
At the start of the 'epidemic', many blamed the Reds for what seemed to be a plague. The tribe was ostracised for the first twenty years after the symptoms were known, but to no effect.
In a very public case, the heir to the present Maya Chief, Bellon A Oosan, had been unable to shift back into his seal form since he was 18 and, thus, unable to continue the Oosan hereditary line. This is an extreme case, but it illustrates how severely the change can affect some Selkes.
The brightest Selke Healers and Mages have spent many years working out what is the Change and if it can be reversed. Nothing conclusive has been discovered so far. The Change targets younglings indiscriminately, and there does not seem to be patterns to the shapeshifting 'disease'.
However, the more gifted a youngling is with magic, the less affected they are by the Change. Many healers and thinkers have linked the Change to a lessening of magical forces within the Alven world. The reasons for this dimming of extraplanar forces are yet unknown.
Many scaremongers among the Selke communities have blamed the humans now spreading in great numbers through Alven for this turn of events. Humans are, by far, the species less affected by extraplanar forces at work within the world. Their blindness to magical forces is well known, and very few are strong enough to manipulate or understand the forces called 'magic'.
The Tribe of the Deep has many exponents of that theory, and these Selkes have come to view humans as a menace to Alven's future. These dangerous philosophies are not yet prevalent throughout all the Selke tribes but are starting to gain traction in some layers of Selke society.
Consequences and Societal Changes
The Change has brought many societal tensions and changes since it has become widespread. Find below a quick summary of the main impacts of the Change on Selke society:
Conflicts
Three centuries ago, when the Change started to spread to other Selke tribes, the Deep Council and Tribe Chief decided that the only way to stop the 'plague' was to root out the Reds and chase them away from their ancestral lands in the Brechin Ridge.
The Tribe of the Deep thought they had the will of the gods on their side and saw this as a crusade to stop the unholy 'disease' from spreading. On a summer day, at dawn, the Deep Selkes' armies swam out of their dark homes and invaded the Reds' coral plains and, without warning, set about rounding up whole families, killing those that resisted.
However, the Deep Selkes had chosen the wrong tribe to mess with. The Reds, justifiably, had a reputation for having the best warriors among the four tribes. The Deep Selkes found a formidable army waiting for them on the High Plains. The Reds did not take any prisoners. They fiercely pushed back the enemy and sent the Deep Selkes back down to the Brechin profound foothills. This short but deadly conflict was called the Battle of the Coral Field.
Stronger Political Unity
After the Deep Selkes' defeat, the Maya Chief, Galdianne A Oosan, successfully negotiated peace between the two tribes and instituted the Council of Four. The Council was an assembly made up of delegates from the four tribes. The Council meets at least four times a year (once per season) and discusses international matters. The Change is often on the Council's agenda.
Diaspora
Around four hundred years ago, the Tribe of the Maya went through another traumatic event. As the Change spread throughout the tribe for the first time, Galdianne A Oosan's daughter, Jova A Oosan, made the terrible decision to banish any pup who showed signs of the Change.
In view of the inhuman treatment of their kin and their offspring, many families decided to leave the Brechin Ridge and look for a new home. The outcasts founded a fifth tribe, the Tribe of the New. They did not have far to go to find a new home: the New settled in the fertile kelp forests south of the Brechin Ridge that they named the The Greenfields Hills.
Relationships between the New and the rest of the Council of Four are never straightforward. The New Selkes do not trust the old tribes to do right thing, and they are always very suspicious of what decisions the Council makes. The Council is also very wary of the New Selkes' fascination and involvement with the Alvenites.
Magical Talents
As magical talents became rarer, Mages with abilities grew in influence and power throughout Selke society. In most communities, Mages and Healers now hold important positions. These families, where talents are still visible, are keen to ally themselves with similar families and put all chances for talents to appear in their offspring.
Some ancient, powerful Chieftains' families have seen their power diminished as their line ends without offspring and diminished abilities. Power is changing hands at the higher echelons, sometimes peacefully, sometimes through conflicts and civil wars.
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