Appearance

Size and Coloration

Shadowings resemble birds, and vary in size based on the population of sapient species where they grew up. When fully grown (At around 2 years of age), they can range in size from a Cockatoo to a Great Horned Owl. They can have up to three feather colors- a main body color, a highlight color, and a secondary highlight. All Shadowings have one highlight color, but they can occasionally have two. I’m general, the highlight colors are lighter than the body color.

Dimorphism

Male and female Shadowings vary in appearance, though it’s not that cut and dry. In general, male Shadowings have spiker ears and head feathers, while females have more rounded ears and head feathers. However, exceptions are rather common, and many modern Shadowings choose to have their feathers styled in a way that suits them.

Attributes

Crests

Shadowings have chest markings called Crests which denote their elemental abilities. Psychic is most common, followed by Fire, Water, Ice, Electric, and Wind. In addition, Shadowings can have Crests that give them a mix of abilities, or abilities completely unique to Shadowings- for example, some Shadowings have a Plant Crest that allows them to influence the growth of plant life. In general, a Shadowing’s abilities are weaker than similar abilities displayed by the Greater Species.

Communication and Feeding

A notable feature of Shadowings is their lack of mouths, which prevents them from utilizing verbal communication and eating. Shadowings must instead communicate using telepathy. To sustain themselves, Shadowings unconsciously absorb a small amount of energy from other sapient species within a certain range of them. The energy drained is imperceptible, especially when a Shadowing draws from a large pool of others, but it can lead to some interesting effects on the Shadowing. For example, if a Shadowing absorbs energy from only people who are drunk, the Shadowing will exhibit signs of drunkenness.

Breeding

Shadowing breeding only requires two willing Shadowings- the attributes of the parents do not matter. Shadowing mating always takes place on nights with a full moon and clear skies, and entails an elaborate, ritualistic dance through the sky. Through unclear means, this produces Shadowing eggs, which hatch on the following new moon.

Shadowdragon Form

In specific circumstances, Shadowings have the ability to transform into a Draconic form, called Shadowdragons. While in this form, they have greatly increased physical and elemental abilities. Shadowing transformation is very rare, only occurring in times of extreme stress or through blessings from one of their Gods. Shadowings cannot hold their Shadowdragon forms for long, and, after changing back, are often too exhausted to even fly.

History

Shadowdragon Gods

Shadowings have three deities they pay respect to: Gekido, Ikusai, and Futada. Unlike other Shadowings, these three are able to remain in their Shadowdragon forms permanently, and may, truthfully, only be considered Gods due to this. They may also bless Shadowings to achieve a Shadowdragon form of their own for a short period of time. Little is known about them beyond this, but it is believed that they travel the world disguised as Shadowings, observing its various happenings.

The Shadowdragon War

Long ago, there were no Shadowings. Only Shadowdragons walked the land, and their massive intelligence and power allowed them to be the most dominant species in the world. However, they were stubborn and arrogant, and this resulted in a series of skisms that soon devolved into a full-blown war, where Shadowdragons fought for themselves, their kin, and nobody else. It was extremely costly, wiping entire cities of other species off the map, but Shadowdragons showed no signs of stopping. Ultimately, Futada, who was, at this point, nothing but a Shadowdragon with an unusual ability, utilized their power to force all Shadowdragons into Shadowing forms, with greatly diminished abilities. This ended the war, though some Shadowings in the present still resent Futada’s decision...

Tab coding resource from _featherweather/a-brilliant-loser