Guide to the Arcane Realm

Henge

Henge are sapient animals with the universal ability to shapeshift into at least a humanoid form. Henge progenitors resulted from feral animals acquiring the magic power of the collective unconscious within the spiritual plane. This accumulated magical energy developed into their sapience, sorcery, and the ability to pass down these traits to their offspring once they come of age.

Henge can use the magical power within themselves to take on multiple forms. The larger the changes from their previous form, the more magic power is spent to transform. A henge will not be able to change forms until their body reclaims a sufficient amount of power. Each form a henge takes on is genuine and thus will not be dispelled by magic items or abilities that reveal illusions. This also means that they only exert their magic power to transform but none is spent to maintain it.

The animal form is considered the original form of a full-blooded henge. When in animal form, the henge is indistinguishable from natural animals of its kind. Conversations with normal animals are usually limited to a few simple phrases and concepts, depending on the sophistication of the animal.  The henge can speak any language they know (including sapient and animal languages), and have any innate senses of their species.

However, they also have the limitations of their species body type or senses like a limited range of manipulating objects or color vision. Also due to this or the shape of their body, they may be physically restricted from performing certain magic, and wielding certain tools or wearing certain things.

In a humanoid form, a henge looks to most like a member of a hominin species. As a humanoid, the henge can cast spells, wear armor, and use weapons and equipment made for humanoid races. However, they may lack most specific animal senses, appendages, and abilities. A henge can opt to retain some of their animal features when changing for a less costly transformation. They appear virtually like a humanoid race with completely hominin skin, face, nose, and a hominin skull, torso, and limb structure. The prominent traits of their animal species that persist in this modified form can be claws, horns, eyes, ears, tails, reduced fangs, specific senses or instinctual behaviors.

Henge Species

Drakains

Drakains are dragons with sapient intelligence and the ability to shapeshift into a hominin form. Their race were the ones that wrote down details of their enlightenment that were meant to teach future generations, some of which were copied and lead to other species of henge coming into existence.

The race actually originated from sea dragons, but later terrestrial dragons were made into drakains and interbreeding incorporated both variants of true dragons. While they were in their height of power and glory during antiquity, they began to decline in power and numbers during the Ghulat Warring Period.

Juweihu

Juweihu are red foxes that have accrued magical power with age, culminating in longer lifespans, intelligence, and preternatural abilities. Their main distinguishing feature is multiple tails in their definitive form.

Juweihu are also known for shapeshifting, especially into any one of the hominin races. They are often tricksters, with motives that vary from mischief to malevolence, but some act as faithful guardians, friends, even lovers.

Tanuki

Tanuki are a henge species descended from racoon dogs, a smaller species in the canid family. Tanuki are special in that like juweihu, they are able to change their forms into that of inanimate objects for disguises or trickery.

They are reputed to be mischievous and jolly, masters of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absentminded. Tanuki value cleverness, handiwork and humor above all things. They mostly thrive by having small villages with many hunter and gatherer camps and a typical village will have 20-30 individuals in it with families having 5 or 6.

Okurinu

Okurinu are a henge species descended from the gray wolf. Among their ranks are Inugami who are dogs, a subspecies of gray wolf. The Okurinu are widely dispersed throughout the world, often near wherever hominins live. And because okurinu are so widely distributed across the world, they come in various color, shape, and size despite being the same species.

Some people have confused them for werewolves of old but that is a misconception. Werewolves were a clan of shapeshifter races known as theianthropes whose humanoid forms could turn into wolves or a hybrid like form. Okurinu start off as intelligent wolves that learn how to take on hominin form and lack the hybrid humanoid form.

Bakeneko

Bakeneko are a cat species of henge. Even in a full hominin form, bakeneko retain subtle feline traits like their diet or their agility. Bakenekos are highly sociable and are able to live in a wide range of environments.

In general, bakenekos are about as proficient as other races when it comes to magic, but less so with technology, preferring to rely on their physical abilities and instinct instead. Bakenekos living in cities however, are used to using technology for solving their problems and tend to adopt a city's style of clothes, livelihood, and cuisine, though their diet remains primarily meat-based. Wild bakenekos form tribes around a source of food, with one usually being dominant over the others but how they are organized, however, differ immensely from group to group. They tend to prefer hunting in very small groups to stay as stealthy as possible.

Jorogumo

Jorōgumo are a henge species descended from the Joro spider, a type of golden orb web weaver. All jorogumo are female and require a humanoid male in order to reproduce their kind. Unlike most henge, they do not have a original animal form; instead they are a demihumanoid liminal race with the upper body of a humanoid woman and the lower body of a spider that dwells in dark places such as caves and deep within forests. They have a reputation for changing their appearance into that of a seductive hominin woman to attract and kidnap travelers to sire with offspring.

In the wilderness era, just before modern times, jorogumo were known to steal away any potential mates they found from society. This behavior as well as their original form is why they where called monsters for generations. Eventually things happened that caused researchers to question whether certain monsters were always dangerous and some brave souls attempted this with this race. It was found that jorogumo didn't mindlessly murder and had to capacity to empathize, though their acceptance was a long and rough process. Governing bodies mandated jorogumo in their jurisdiction to keep their mates alive and created programs to encouraged future generations of jorogumo to develop emotional attachments with their mates and children that continue today.

A/N: So now we get to the Henge. If you know anything about Japanese folklore, you probably have a good idea of what influenced these creatures. Still I spend a lot of research to make these races in particular something I could be proud of and I hope you enjoy them too.