Monster to Nomad
This tells of Changelings in their first most primitive form. From their instinctual personalities, to their mating rituals, and so on before they began working together as one clan.
After being created by Cennad Erde and Cennad Sterne, Changelings found themselves lost within the shadows of the world. They were monstrous and almost wraith-like in nature, only showing themselves long enough to murder a creature of another race. Changelings can only shift into creatures they have defeated, and at first this was solely by killing their opponent. In ancient times, they were known as Dopples, short for Dopplegangers, as they would try to not only take the form of what they killed, but also tried to assimilate into their victim’s life. As they were solitary creatures at first, changelings tended to mate and forcibly switch their offspring with that of another race. The taken child often suffered a grizzly fate, to better cover the changlings’ tracks. Though there were rumors of non-changeling children being found coming out of the forests. Changelings were not known for their parenting skills. As changelings became more and more common they had to learn how to not only morph, but to truly assimilate and become one with their new form. They also became more picky in choosing mates, because changelings mate for life. One time mates led to nomadic tendencies where a changeling couple would hunt out a possible family to switch their unborn child with. They became less monstrous in nature and started to become much more nomadic.
~Ancient Mating Rituals~
Long ago, changelings were nomadic and secluded. They tended to stay close to other societies, studying them from afar. After finding a suitable race, the changelings would go through a mating period. Much like dragons, the female chooses a mate and tends to stay in one place much longer than the male of the species. A male who comes across a possible mate must match the changeling in a combat dual, and many would stay with their own birth sign, which changelings use as the basis for their social hierarchy. If a low birth sign male came upon a high birth sign female, the male would have to do much more to prove their compatibility than a mate of a higher standing. During this duel, a male must show they are more, or equally skilled to that of the female. There would be multiple duels throughout a 2-3 week period. If the female deemed the male worthy, she would let the male come into her territory without conflict. Once a mate is chosen, the two stay together for life. Together the two would look at the nearby races, and after conceiving, would search out a suitable substitute family.
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In their most uncivilized days, they would forcibly steal the other society’s child and leave their own. Normally changeling parents would pick their would-be parents during the other race's pregnancy stage. They would search for similar values that the changelings also stood for. As time went on those who chose accepting and compassionate pseudo-parents tended to have a higher offspring survivability. It became a trait for survival to find kind-hearted, honest, and respectable people. It is believed it was due this evolution trait that changelings have become so accepting of all. Those who failed to pick the right kind of parents to switch their child with tended to lose their child. This caused a decline in Changeling numbers. Those who picked the most welcoming and accepting tended to have a higher chance of survivability. After giving birth, the changelings would switch the children and some were rumored to attempt to raise the new child as their own. Though with poor parenting skills this tended to end badly. Some would watch their own children from afar, while others preferred to step-back from the area to take more time on raising the new child. If they didn’t eat the other race’s child first.
~Growing Years~
It should be noted that being successfully switched with another race’s child is the first defeat that a changeling goes through and is the reason why a baby changeling appears to be able to morph at birth. Changeling children tend to be outcasts within their new society. Many have a feeling of unrest and act out during their early years. Some societies kick them out of their area at young ages, other even killed the changeling child, but it is the duty of the changeling parents to choose a safe and welcoming society to trade their child to. Other societies see changelings as blessings and help the young changeling learn how to morph into the society they're in. It should be noted that changeling children are able to gain “personas” in a way adult changelings cannot. Before puberty, changelings can learn to assimilate and take the form of any race they are around the most. It starts off as a baby almost instantaneously, helping them to pass as the other race’s child. At about the age of three, changeling children will start to be able to morph out of the race into their true form. This can be scary for the pseudo-parents, and this is normally the make or break point of changeling survival. If they survive and thrive, they are able to both morph into their adopted race, but can also take up small physical traits from different members of the society if they wish. If there are other species within the society, they can begin to morph into those as well. As changelings get older and get to prove their worth to the society, some settle down. Yet, most feel called to adventure, especially by puberty. Once puberty begins, changelings lose the ability to assimilate freely to one race to the next without a true defeat by combat. Adult changelings must defeat another race to gain the ability to morph into them.
~Historical Documentation~
Due to starting off as small, nomadic couplings, changeling children tended to be raised by another race. As such, they would learn without guidance of other changelings on how to assimilate and take on the looks of the race they were apart of. About 3 years after the age of puberty changelings have an instinctual need to explore the world. A lust for adventure. Some would do this by finding a role within the society they were raised. Others would leave the family who raised them and venture into the world. It would not be uncommon for the changeling parents of the child to then show themselves and explain the ways of the changelings. Children would be put through trials, or challenges, to see just how adept they were at fighting, tracking, and surviving while holding onto an attitude of acceptance. They believed that the stars guided their paths, and that the stars were the one certainty on the earth. After all, even when the stars are hidden by clouds they are still out there,changing and guiding the changelings from afar.
This is why changelings have a firm belief in the zodiac constellations. All changelings adorn themselves with their birth sign. It is a form of self pride, and a throw back to the history of old. Those of Capricorn are believed to be the youngest and most fool-hearted souls, while Aquarius are believed to be the eldest souls.Changeling parents would take their true child under their wings and help them get through their last few years of adolescence. Many changelings were rogue-like hunting and traveling through forests, and did not go near heavily populated areas except when needing to find a mating ground. As time grew on, the changelings became a larger race, and more well-known throughout the lands. This made it hard for them to settle down to mate, because they would be noticed and chased away before they could start mating rituals. On the other hand,as societies with an accepting race became well-known, competition for the right parents became an issue. Changelings had to start making compromises with other couples, and normally this meant only 2 in every 5 changeling couples in the area could find an ideal match that did not cause them to lose their child. Due to this, changelings started traveling in groups, and many had to raise their own changeling child out of fear of the child being killed or raised with incorrect values for survival. It's hard to raise a changeling child properly though when only among other changelings, though,because they cannot learn how to morph and assimilate into a society when not in society outside of their own race. To prevent this, changelings began creating alliances with other couples to create nomadic clans. This became known as the Great Unification.