Appears to be in their mid to late teens most often
Varies
Varies
N/A
Varies
Asexual
Wanderer
appearance
How does one pin down the appearance of a shapeshifter? One moment, they are a beautiful woman, blond hair tied up in a tight bun and skin as pale as alabaster. The next, they are an old man, his knees shaking and bones creaking with every step and eyes haunted with both wisdom and regret. In yet another, a wild wolf, fur as black as pitch and eyes glinting silver in the flitting moonlight. There is never one form, and yet never an infinite amount either. Iden has spent their life learning, touching, feeling, being every person and living being they have come into contact with, for that is the only way to learn to shift. After all, how could a shifter know to change to a rabbit if they have never encountered one?
If something could be said of the shifter, when in the company of others, they tend to become a male teen with darker, bluish hair and gray, speckled eyes. His clothing tends to be tight fitting, as it has been spelled to change with the shifter wherever and whatever they become, and remains in neutral, dark colors fitting for blending into the forests when it is actual clothing. When he carries a pack, it is worn and has seen much use, but he tends to travel light as shifting and worrying over possessions cannot go together.
The only marks they carry between forms are a series of silver earrings in the left ear that, much like the shifter’s clothing, adjusts with their body to fit, and a tattoo that snakes from the back of their right shoulder in a diagonal down to their left hip. The tattoo is always there, be it beneath fur or feather or on human skin, and they take pride in such detailed work wrought upon their body.
personality
Positive Traits: Insatiably Curious Friendly Open to New Ideas Incredible Memory and Observational Skills Vivid Imagination Accepting and Inclusive (unless given a reason to not be) Adventurous Excitable Resourceful Driven
Iden does not function like a normal human being. For one thing, many of the social constructs make little sense to them. The idea of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are mostly arbitrary and pointless when all they see is the destruction and death that so often accompany trips into the wilderness. Yet they cannot help but seek out humans. They are fascinating to witness, and even more fascinating to study, even when they seem less than pleased about invasive questions and constant prodding.
A rough upbringing, to say the least, helped form the manipulative, cunning being beneath the veneer of cheer and acceptance. Constantly aware that others may take advantage of their lack of understanding, Iden always assumes someone is lying, and in turn trusts no one. There is no one to truly reach out to anyway, and companions have been fleeting when they learn of Iden’s true nature. To that end, Iden remains alone much of the time despite the want and need to learn about everything the world has to offer. Violence and peace interest them equally and they are determined to see and experience in equal measure.
When their interest is piqued, their excitement is incredibly difficult to contain. They go to almost any extreme to discover more and more to the point of frightening away some of their subjects. That being said, Iden is open and friendly to almost anyone they meet, and reaches out to learn what there is to learn. ‘Causes’ and ‘missions’ and ‘duty’ hold little meaning to them, as does ‘loyalty’, as the concepts have not been taught to them. It is for this and other reasons that they see little problem in harming or saving on a whim.
history
While working magic in a small, hidden den, several wizards attempted to create a new weapon to give their leaders in the Valland government. Desperate times called for desperate measures, or so they claimed, and between them they manipulated elements and combined magics in ways no one had tried before. It was during this process that a great explosion took the room and killed all but two of the wizards, leaving the two survivors in a terrible state. With the building on fire, and rapidly being consumed by the flames, they saw something emerge. One claimed it was a ‘someone’, while the other saw only a vague shape they could not later name.
Thus, Iden was created.
It took time and patience and discovery to see what had been wrought, and by the time such things were decided, it was clear to the two who had lived there would be no winning the conflict destroying their country. They took it upon themselves to learn all they could about their newest creation, which shared the same curiosity about them like a mirrored reflection. This curiosity grew and grew even as the studies grew more painful and more invasive. Iden saw nothing wrong with any of it, as beyond understanding ‘pain’, there was little else to consider. It was not until later, when Iden had killed both scientists just to see what would happen, that they realized perhaps the bloody remains were not always the best route to take.
Iden owed them a debt, however – without them, Iden would not have thought to attempt their shifting. Shifting brought with it a multitude of possibilities Iden had never considered before. With no one to answer to, Iden simply became a traveler, exploring the world and learning with each step something new. They discovered forms that were unfamiliar, people that were strange in their ways, life that had little connection to Iden’s understanding of the world. That view rapidly expanded, and the insatiable need for more knowledge only grew with each passing day.
It was through this need that Iden traveled to Fiore. Sometimes among wolves, an always temporary companion to a pack, sometimes as a man or a woman, but always moving and always testing the limits both of their own ability and the abilities of others. They studied the guilds with rapt fascination, and turned away from them when they saw only more chains. Iden refused to be chained any longer, either by their own limitations or by others.
So, driven on by desire and interest, Iden has stayed in Fiore, and has watched as the country slowly tried to pull itself together. Foolish, for they knew the truth of people, the deception that all were capable of and needed to use to save themselves. It would not be long before conflict once again erupted in the world, and Iden would watch the fires burn much like they had witnessed their own first moments of creation.
Primary Magic
Name: Shapeshifting Description: Technically speaking, this is not a magic usage. As Iden is a Shapeshifter, this ability is as normal to them as breathing, possibly more normal, considering some of the creatures they have become breathe differently than human beings. Iden is unable to use magic in the traditional sense as far as they are aware.
That being said, there are limitations to Iden’s shifting. No matter what they are shifting into (be it an animal, a person, etc.) they must have encountered this other being at least once and had interactions with them (just seeing someone/an animal once does not count). Iden does not automatically know how to behave as a certain animal or person unless they have been studying said other person or creature, or have become the being in question multiple times.
For example, should Iden become a wolf, this is a creature they are very familiar with, and the shift is easy and straightforward, as is returning to a human being. Most common animals (cats, dogs, rabbits, livestock, horses, various birds) Iden can become with little to no trouble. That being said, it takes a few seconds for one form to become the other, and they are vulnerable during this transition.
Any attributes that a creature would have Iden inherits. Weaknesses, strengths, physical prowess all come with the territory of transforming. As a rabbit, for instance, Iden gains the speed, sense of smell, and love of carrots, but also becomes small and easily destroyed.
Iden is capable of going from one form to another (wolf to rabbit to human to cat) without trouble, but it will tire them out fairly quickly. They prefer to stick to two or so forms a day simply as a way of conserving energy. Also, any injuries sustained in one form continue on to another.
Signature Ability
Name: Shifting (see above) Element: non-elemental Description: See above
