Credit: ZeroChan (zerochan.net)

Kitsune (Allied Realm)

Man have their walls, elves have their trees, the dwarfs their mines, and the wolves their mountains. What do we kitsune have? Magic! Pure, unadulterated power. We wield the purest form of power of this world, and yet you would insult us with campaigns of brute muscle. You yet draw breath because I have allowed you to contemplate the folly that is crossing Lady Kitsu's children.

-Miyake Hatsuo to the orc chieftain Durgan Giantfeller

Noted by their diminutive size and proficiency with magic, the Kitsune are a proud force to be reckoned with. The eastern societies of this fox race spare no effort to amaze. Whether it be the fantastic, ornate architecture, their specialized style of martial arts, or their use of the arcane, the Kitsune want what is theirs to be not only different, but better than the rest of the realm.

The Foxkin of Umbral

The kitsune hail from the central region of the continent of Umbral, around the Forest of Magic. They are described as short as the typical dwarf, with their large fox-ears giving them an extra foot or more, with the countenance of a human save for a few fox-like features. Their legs take on a digitigrade form, and they have a large, bushy tail.

Kitsune adventurers are most often a type of samurai for hire or a student-sorcerer looking for field practice of their spells. Those that live within the homelands pick up vocations, typically studying under a master beside setting up their own business.

Magical Ancestry

The Kitsune countenance and power takes after their grand ancestor, Lady Kitsu, to whom they pay reverence. It is said that she birthed the first kitsune by gathering droplets of her magic blood and feeding it to a collection of primordial foxes; this created the first Zenko and Nogitsune. They credit their inherent magical abilities to this lineage, even so much as to call her the progenitor of all magic in the realm.

Arrogance and Secrecy

The Kitsune are a proud race, and Kitsune nobles are especially notorious for looking down upon others. This arrogance is not completely unwarranted, however, as their history is full of no small amount of achievement. Having accomplished much in the field of the arcane, they relish in their rivalry with the elves. While elves are interested in the exploration and discovery of magic, kitsune focus their efforts into the practical use of magical power, and are a primary source of magic items and armaments.

They safeguard their works, reserving their creations for their own warriors and agents sent out into the realm. Because of this, kitsune-made magic wares are rare, and highly sought after at extreme prices, but acquiring said items from the black market could set up an adventurer with an unfortunate meeting with the kitsune inquisition. Their secrecy extends also to their capital of Jingitsuhi, which is hidden from the material plane by ancient, powerful magicks. Those from the capital, or in rare cases allowed within, undergo a magical oath preventing them from disclosing any information about the city.

A New Leaf

In the more recent past, Kitsune leadership under the guidance of Emissary Nanako Hikari worked toward mending the wounded trust between the Lycaios and Kitsune people. While the change was slowed by conversative voices, the movement was overall successfull. Diplomacy of wolf-fox relations became commonplace, and it appeared as though the Kitsune were looking to take a more collaborative stance with the rest of the realm.

This change in diplomacy sparked a change on the homefront as well. The population within the capital has dwindled at a staggering pace as the citizenry have left, and those that remain call for an end to the age of secrecy. This outcry has put the people at odds with the Kitsune inquisition on multiple occassions, and with the late Hikari out of the political picture, it appears the conservative voice will have one last push against the crushing wave of change.