Jae

Name : Jae

Sex: Female

Species: Shapeshifting Sphinx/Centaur

the magic there was thick, dense and wild. it heaved within the earth, rippling through the roots and sending Sparks of energy through the air. wild and secret things lived here, in a place on Earth hidden by its own self. a forest hidden by the forest, awash with all manner of creature that had removed themselves from the prying and greedy eyes of humans, choosing instead to thrive within the forest. the magic increased as more creatures hid away, increasing the forests size within, but not without. it became a crackling and hissing life, zapping at the seams as if it might burst. the forest felt the danger, if it were to burst open, it would be found. ravaged and dissected by the humans, so curious and contagious in their ways. and so the forest pulled the energy deep within it's core, into the roots themselves, hardening them as they hissed and coiled, becoming dark with char from the heat. the roots coiled themselves upward, the forest desperate to contain it, keep it in one spot, wrap the roots tighter. they arced through the soft earth, bursting through the soil and into the sunlight, a twisting ball of Ashen roots, as hard as iron, yet sineous and lithe in movement. the forest held it's breath, watching as life took hold of the energy and sculped it into something new. a creature to contain the power, the essence of the forest. as the roots moulded themselves, into the form of a great wolf, and then a bear, and then clawing towards the sky, a great dragon reared its head, maw gaping to snap at the limbs above it, and still on it writhed, into hate and fawn and all manner of earthen creatures. a bright light crackled brighter within the mass of roots as it continued morphing and shifting, faster and faster until the forest itself quaked with excitement. a burst of light flooded the area, blinding those around for a moment. there...standing amidst the upturned earth, lie a strange creature hidden by Vines and large blue flowers. the flowers opened and closed, like the wings of butterflies, and the creature awoke. slowly but without faltering, she stood. her face was human, soft and beautiful, eyes the color of honey peered through a thick veil of Auburn hair. large soft ears poked through the hair, and atop her head stood two large antlers, the same charred roots, the flowers were blooming on them and from her skin itself. her face was all the human she had, as the rest was something all her own. a long slender neck led down to strong shoulders  covered in red fur, and leading down to a lithe cat-like body. her front limbs ended in faintly humanlike hands, but furred, and her back limbs had paws. her tail swished across the crumbled ground, long and soft. she pressed her paws into the ground, feeling the cool soil against her feet. she found herself aware. she was the child of the forest. she was it's guardian and queen. the forest relaxed, having finally contained the energy that threatened to expose it, it had become quiet. elves and fairies quietly approached, curious about the event. a pair of griffons peered at her from behind a tree, and a giant of the woods stepped forward to get a better view.  

a soft breeze carried her a name, as it whispered through the leaves, she heard... jae...

this is when she spoke.

I am Jae. I contain all the knowledge of the forest. I have been here for centuries, but only now do I have a voice...it is... she glanced down at her hands, flexing them and marveling at the feeling. it is... amazing... I know you all, and I feel the energy within you. I must share with you the reason behind the safety here. humans cannot find this forest, but you can. have you ever wondered how that is possible? Jae smiled at them, so pleased to share her secret. It is because this forest is a rift. a gateway, it is a land lost to the earth, but found by another. they have not intervened, for fear of frightening you, but today the energy became to great, and I was born. I can tell you now that if you leave with this knowledge, you may exit to earth, or to Archipelago, whenever you'd like. this hidden forest is your sanctuary, and through it, you may explore the far edges of your rescue planet. 

this all may have seemed unbelievable to a human, but to fairies and spirits, it was simply a new magic to explore and understand. you see, the Archipelago was a place of rifts and anomalous occurances, the result of powerful anomalies banding together to collect all oddities to one place, over time it became a cluster of islands in space, reviving around the great rift in time and space itself. a forest on Earth, when packed with enough magic, had drawn the attention of the Khle'ahd, who had moved it safely to the Arch, removing it from human's sight, but not effecting those within at all. such is the magic of anomalies. the forest surged in growth, fed by the energies of the rift, and such, jae was born. both a child and parent of the forest. it's energy solidified. 

over the next years Jae explored both worlds, and also explored her magical abilities. her ironroot bones, her ability to planeswalk, or shift between worlds and dimensions, her ability to pull herself through time. and of course her ability to shapeshift. she finds that she is bound to earthen creatures moreso than those of the sea or air, but that she also can produce great wings in any form, capable of carrying her skyward of she so chooses. she can control the roots of trees and wood itself, able to change and manipulate it's form or age. the blue flowers on her skin are the expenditure of excess energy, and happens passively around her. the most noticeable one is the large one that seems to bloom exclusively from her right eye, however they may bloom anywhere on her body.

her bones are the ironroots, save for her teeth, which match the expected appearance for each form.

more of her stories can be found here...

Jae is a magical creature, who's origin and lore is complex and ever-shifting, like her appearance. She is a persona for me, one that develops and changes along with my artistic journey.

Deep in The Quiet Forest, hidden away from the modern world, lies a village of fantastic creatures. Dragons, Elves, Centaurs, Dinosaurs, Kirin and more. Living together in peace. In the center of town, a cozy little burrow sits tucked neatly under the roots of a massive tree.  Small creatures flutter and scurry throughout it, flitting in and out the circular windows. This is the home of Jae, the guardian of this place. She is the one who helped sculpt this secret shelter for magical creatures, and it was she who had saved them multiple times from discovery and disaster at the hands of humans and other destructive beings. Many of the inhabitants were brought here by her, and see her as sort of a mother figure.

Read more about Jae in her Library.

Shapeshifting
She can shapeshift into any creature she can imagine, including mythological creatures. She can shift into having wings in any form. Her strength can vary based on what form she is using, however they are still limited to a maximum power level, based on her current strength and fatigue levels. While shifting, lost parts fragment into leaves that fade in color quickly, seeming like she breaks apart into autumn leaves, and gained parts are built first by a skeleton of twisting dark branches which are then covered by swirling leaves, fading to the proper colors as they come into place.

Ironroot
Her Ironroot ability consists of control over a specialized root system she carries within her, stored in her bones and antlers. By drawing on the strength within the earth, she can manipulate these roots and branches into any shape with surgical precision. She can choose to leave roots behind, creating walking staves, weapons, armor, ect.

Blossoms
The ironroots within her body grow and die continuously, constantly refreshing themselves through the earth. A result of this is blossoms that bloom on her skin. There are usually at least one or two blossoms on her at any time, but during times of excessive use, or emotional reasons, there can be excessive amounts of very large blooms. The most common places for them to bloom are her right eye, and across her face, neck and chest. They CAN grow in other places, and they do not damage her skin or eye. It is not painful to remove these blossoms, or when the petals fall. Think of it as simple as dry skin falling off as the ironroot thrives.

Timeshifting
She can slip into the stream of time, navigating to any point in history at will. The amount of time she can stay is based on her experience and strength. Any changes she makes while in other times will shift historically as soon as she leaves, allowing her to make only very small changes, or purely physical changes. (i.e. making a fence post out of ironroot, which will shift into normal wood as soon as she leaves that time).

Plainswalking
She has the ability to use the streams of time to also visit other places, worlds and realms. She has the least amount of knowledge of this ability and is still very inexperienced with spatial travel this way.

Nature, Leather, Animal Items (Antlers, Teeth/Fangs, Leather ) Branches, Leaves, Flowers, Braids, Beads, Lace

•Loves anything long and Flowy. Dresses, Skirts, Shawls, Cloaks, Scarves, belts, Beads.
•Scarves, Dangly Earrings/Chains/Clasps,
•Any clothing she makes and wears would be hand-made by herself, shawls, cloaks, hats, scarves, tail wraps, ect.
• Scarves are worn most often, followed by metal or natural material ear danglies (earrings, chains, clasps, vines, ect)
•Flowers, leaves, vines, leather, wraps,
•Wings are optional on any form.

• She has gifted Ironroot staves to both Arya and Ami. 
• She is one of the only people that Somewhere will talk to, and is often seen with the timid creature perched on her.
• She doesn't really shapeshift into aquatic creatures very often at all.

Orielyn - Adoptive Sister

Arya - Best Friends

Somewhere - Best Friends

While her form does change greatly while shifting, there are usually the same design elements that carry with her from one to the others.

All Forms;
- Can have blossoms, usual bloom area is right eye
- Can have antlers

Fantasy and Beast Forms

- Reddish Brown Fur
- Lighter Underbelly
- Darker Legs and Tail
- Sometimes Light spots/Freckles

Humanoid and Elf Forms
- Long hair, usually orange-red, sometimes gradient
- Wears earrings when in human areas.

When drawing this character please keep these guidelines in mind.
Do not draw her in any sexual or provocative situation/pose.
Please do not draw her fighting anyone without asking my permission first.
When drawing her in a humanoid form (i.e. Human, Centaur, Gijinka, Kemonomimi, ect) Please keep these clothing rules in mind, as this character is reserved.
    •High neckline (cleavage would never be showing at all. Not even a little).
    •Midriff never visible, arms covered to elbow or further, legs covered to ankles or floor.
    •Wears leggings under dresses/skirts.