>>27491813Alright, I'm back on my PC now! So first off, there was another pregnancy kindred in here who had the very beginnings of something written for the pregnancy cult:
https://rentry.org/gx6d6 I believe she also posted this in /luxnoc/ and you responded to it? I also offered her suggestions for how to flesh things out a bit more
>>27122400. I'm not sure where she was ultimately planning to take this, as she got busy pretty much right after this and hasn't done any writing for this thread since. Now, onwards to some of my thoughts about Kindred. Have you read the Kindred creation myth linked in the Luxiem overview? This will make more sense if you have.
- Kindred's shapeshifting ability is a passive effect of Vox's chuubanite, but the people believe it's due to their youkai ancestry. "Adopted" Kindred eventually gaining the ability as well after spending long enough in the Holy Kingdom is a matter of some ceremony, as the people regard it as the newcomer receiving Vox's blessing.
- There are limits to the level of shapeshifting possible based off merely the chuubanite's passive effects. While people can change their appearances and make minor cosmetic changes (black sclera and the growing of horns or claws, for example) they can't make any changes to their basic physiology. No drastic height changes, no complete sex changes -- though they could very convincingly pass for the opposite gender if they so desired -- no functional gills or wings, and so on.
- These shapeshifting effects can be further enhanced by refining the chuubanite and performing a ritual. This is a well-kept religious secret. The commonfolk believe this is caused by stronger youkai ancestry, and thus a closer relation to the original Kindred. Higher-up members of the clergy undergo this ritual, repeating it each time they rise in rank, allowing them to take on less and less human forms.
- The capital city, Akuma Castle, is a perfect recreation of Vox’s old estate. This is both the heart of the kingdom and a Forbidden Palace type deal. Only the highest ranking members of the clergy, believed to be reincarnations of Vox’s original clansmen, are allowed within its walls. These priestesses and the rare priest or two would be the only ones allowed to wear scarlet.
- Functionally, this means as you get further and further into Kindred lands, the people become less and less human-looking as well as more and more fervently, frighteningly devoted to their god.
