Soul Siren species notes:

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Species notes TL;DR:
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- Part bird, part cat. In North Star's case, she's part phoenix.
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- You can pick one cat species and one bird species to mix together. Mythical is fine.
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- All Sirens carry a message or a guiding purpose. This can be solidly set or open in the air to interpretation.
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- A Siren's magic is either Spiritual, Celestial, Physical or Blood related.
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- Ordinary Sirens can master only one type. Rarely they can master two. Those that can master three types, the maximum, are known as Muses and are incredibly rare.
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Cat parts:
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- Ears; these ears are then covered in a cuff, which is always worn. Cuff design is chosen at a young age and kept for life.
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- Tail; the tail then carries their soul bead, which is incredibly important.
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- Feet; they are incredibly lithe and move across rough terrain with ease.
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- Pawpads; though generally odd shapes, the pawpads at the bottom of their feet are incredibly smooth and squishy to the touch, yet very hard to cut open or harm.
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Bird parts:
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- Wings; usually a small pair between their shoulder blades, and another pair either on their wrists, waist or ankles. This depends on their messenger type.
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- Voice; all of the Sirens have a bird like chirp or melodic tone to their voice. They all enjoy singing at their base species birds respective time of call, joining in the chorus.
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- Tail; most carry some tailfeathers bunched around their cat tail. These can be either long or short, or carry none at all.
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- Head feathers; under their hair and against the back of their neck lay crest feathers. These small, very smooth feathers puff up when they are angry or cold, and smooth down when they are calm or hot. These are not easily visible on long haired Sirens.
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Important traits:
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- Pupiless or cat's eyes: Those more akin to soul reading lose their pupils after their first dive beyond the veil. Those more atune to hunting keep their pupils, increasing their sight immensly.
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- Soul bead: All carry a soul bead at their tail, though not all beads are activated. An activated bead carries the Siren's 'halo', which appears when they channel magic in any form. These beads are suitably strong and not easily broken, though can chip and become scratched if not properly cared for. Hunters tend to have scratched orbs, while soul sirens care greatly about their appearance. A broken bead denotes an insane Siren. The bead cannot be removed, even if broken, once attached to a Siren. Beadless Sirens are unheard of.
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- Different colour blood: No two creatures bleed the exact same hue; their blood shifts like the colours of the sky, generally in different gradients of the same shade.
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Optional traits:
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- Halo: These appear at the tail, and are a sign that the Siren has reached 'bloom'. This does not entirely mean that they are stronger than those that are not awakened, however - this is only a spiritual thing.
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- Gems: These can appear anywhere on the body, and are the same colour as the Siren's blood. These usually appear as a symbol echoing to their destiny, and are considered a 'seed'.
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- Piercings: These are optional and can be placed anywhere on the body. These tend to be cosmetic only. Others will wear piercings that slowly drain their veins, giving them a constant supply of blood without cutting for blood based magic. Common places to pierce at the ears, nose, lips, tongue, collar bone, bellybutton, and clit. The ankles and wrists are also pierced with some regularity, but only by those that use blood magic - even if they are only a light user of the craft.
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- Colour changing beads: If a Siren is overly emotional or has trouble controlling his or her feelings, the bead will change colour to match their mood swing. There is no set colour for each - in most cases, the bead will pale when sick or highly upset, glow vibrantly when angry or excited and settle at a deeper, stable colour when happy or thoughtful. It is not easy to tell a Siren's mood from these colours at all.
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- Extra beads: Sirens can wear as many beads on their tail, in their hair, even on their feathers!, as they would like. However, they can only have one Soul Bead, which is gifted to them at maturity, crafted from their very own egg shell.
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Physical, Spiritual, Celestial and Blood magic:
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- All Sirens carry at least a small amount of spiritual energy, and have the ability to see the aura of others.
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- There are three key components to a Siren - areas where their magic attaches. These areas are the Voice, the Blood and the Heart. Some concentrate on mastering a single skill attached to a single area. Others will attempt to shift their natural attunement to a different area as they believe in it's strength more than another.
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- The Voice is considered the area of truth and confidence. The Blood is considered the area of strength and loyalty. The Heart is considered the area of love and kindness.
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- Most are skilled in a single set of magic, while still carrying small skills in the other. With great practice or genetic luck, some are born with the ability to master two, though usually this weakens their skill with the last two massively.
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- There are those of deity level power that can master three skills, leaving a single skill either completely dormant or incredibly weak. Those connected to three skills are known as a Muse.
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[[In North Star's case, she would be considered a Muse. Her voice is connected to the spirits, her blood connected to the stars. Her blood magic itself controls her physical body, connected by the Heart. In her case, the physical side of her is incredibly weak; though she can move with some speed and keep up thanks to blood magic, she suffers with many ailments such as sight, migraines and fainting.]]
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Learning a Common Magic type:
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In most cases, a Siren can only learn one Core Common Magic type. Some Core types can be learnt in addition, though not many.
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A naturally connected Siren can learn a Core Magic type very quickly. Mastering such a skill takes most years, if not many human lifetimes.
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Those who are not naturally connected can still learn about the magic type under the name of apprentice. Some can gain a very small amount of ability in that core type this way, though never reach the extent of a learning. There is only one group where this is untrue. Bio-tech mages, otherwise known as Druids, can teach apprentices to the extent of becoming Masters in the field, though this takes a Siren's lifetime of dedication to do.
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Diet and Lifestyle:
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- Sirens are considered parasitic. They must have something or someone to give their message to, or to guide. This thing must be alive in some manner, although it does not have to be intelligent. For example, a bio-tech Siren may choose a forest as his host, with their calling being related to guiding the plants to newer, safer home.
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- They are omnivores, eating near enough anything offered. They need to eat daily to live, though only small amounts.
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- While in their natural habitat they will eat things such as tree bark, sap, fruits and nuts. They avoid killing living things, only taking what they need to survive from the environment around them. Milk is regularly drunk from animals and people who are willing to donate theirs.
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- Their bodies can process hardened sustinance, such as minerals and rocks. However they dislike eating such things, and prefer to suckle on gems if offered them. Apparently, they taste nice.
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- Giving a Siren sugary foods is a bad idea for everyone around them. They become hyperactive incredibly quickly on small amounts, and can reach an intoxicated state on larger amounts.
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- A Siren who kills for their food is stigmatised by their peers. There is no stigma attached to eating food from a hunt that is offered to them by a host, however.
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- For a species that try not to kill to eat, Sirens make great hunters. It is not unheard of for a Siren to have a calling to train others in the art of killing. Hunters that kill are highly respected for following their calling, especially those that live to a ripe old age.
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- Sirens do not get on well living together, only meeting in groups for Covenant business or if their callings align. Despite this, gossip travels fast. If someone does something wrong you can be certain that most of the Covenant will know about it within a week.
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- Despite being antisocial towards their own species, Sirens love making friends with other creatures and possible hosts. Currently, they work incredibly closely with the Blooms.
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Breeding, Birth and Death:
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- Sirens can mate with any creature, incredibly rarely producing eggs from the event. Impregnation is more likely to happen during mating season, and has an even higher chance if mating is done with another Siren.
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- Sirens will occasionally fall into heat - there is no set time for it to happen naturally. Heat can be forcefully induced via aphrodisiacs, lots of sugar or certain pheramones.
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- During heat, most Sirens become incredibly weak and docile in nature. It is the only time that they can put aside their calling. Some creatures keep Sirens in this state constantly, keeping them as pets. This is illegal in most areas as it is purposefully stopping the Siren from living their own life, though it doesn't stop it from happening.
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- A Siren in heat cannot activate their halo, and the symbol magically inscribed on their Soul Bead will shift to show this.
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- No matter the gender, a Siren will fall into heat. All genders have the ability to be impregnated, as long as they are bred with a penis or ovipositioner.
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- A Siren will lay one to three eggs per clutch after a month of pregnancy. These eggs will then go into stasis, not hatching until they are properly incubated. The incubation process takes fifteen months. The eggs must be kept constantly warm, either being given near constant body heat from the mother or by being bathed in flame once every two hours.
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- Siren's that are not kept by a host will return to their home planet to lay the eggs, handing them over to a hatchery once done. Sirens who live with the calling to be Broodmothers will then work to hatch the eggs together. These Broodmothers are usually elemental casters, choosing to hatch the eggs by bathing them in their flames. In most cases, the chick will never find out who its mother is.
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- The type of Siren born from an egg is near always related to its mother. Occasionally an anomaly occurs, creating the birth of a subtype that may or may not have been seen before.
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- Once hatched, Siren chicks grow incredibly fast. Most are furred and feathered within a year, growing to adult size within ten years. During this time their egg shells are crafted and carved while they are taught about their history, lifestyle and importance of following their calling.
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- A Siren chick will feel compelled to follow their calling, despite not knowing what it is yet. Their calling is hidden away until maturity to stop completely reckless behaviour as well as giving them a chance to learn without pressure.
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- Every five years there is a massive ceremony in which all Sirens that have reached maturity gain their Soul Bead. All Covenant leaders are present, and a special mage known as the Weaver binds the now adult Siren's Soul Bead to their tail. It is the Weaver that reveals to each Siren their calling, despite it being known from birth by the Broodmothers.
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- Between the ages of twenty to thirty, a Siren's second pair of wings will grow. By this stage the Siren will have an idea of what set of wings will help them the most in life; hunters tend to choose arm wings for added strength to their attacks; those that regularly travel far distances tend to choose hip wings; those that need to be light on their feet tend to choose ankle wings. Once the choice is made, growth is stimulated with magic on the desired spot until they sprout. This can take weeks to happen, then a couple of months after that to fully grow. This process is itchy and uncomfortable for the Siren.
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- Sirens are known to have nine lives; the average Siren will live nine human lifetimes, living up to 900 years old naturally. However, many die before their natural span comes to an end.
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- Despite their long lifespan, many die to disease or combat related injury. Their drive to complete their calling tends to lead them into dangerous, life threatening situations - which they run into with glee.
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- Physical connected Sirens can take a lot of damage before losing their life; Blood connected Sirens can near enough bleed completely out before dying; Celestial connected Sirens can survive extreme heat and cold before freezing or burning to death; Spiritual connected Sirens can absorb the life of other beings to heal themselves in a pinch.
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Siren's calling: Messengers and Guides:
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- All Sirens believe that they were born to be messengers or guides. The message they carry is not always clear, even to the Siren themself, though they will throw their all into attempting to complete it.
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- The type of message they carry is usually attached to the magic they are more skilled in. A Siren skilled in Blood magic attached to the Blood area would likely become a skilled healer in the surgical side of things. A Siren attached to Voice while skilled in Spiritual magic may become a Priest.
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- A Siren's message can be hard to interpret. Even if a Siren has spent most of their life attempting to complete their calling in one specific way, they will still listen debates on interpretation. A Siren who has their mind changed will grieve over the time lost as if a loved one had died, before resuming their calling in the new manner.
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- The calling is given at birth, inscribed within the Siren's egg. This cannot be changed, and can always be found within the soul bead.
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- Incredibly rarely, a Siren's calling is changed due to the future taking a different path. A change in calling is instantly felt by the Siren - a pain akin to heartbreak slams through their body. This never fails to drive the Siren mad, sending them into insanity and eventually bringing their death. A broken Siren is easy to spot, not only due to their twitchy, unhuman like movements but also due to the smashed Soul Bead barely attached to their tail.
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- Muses tend to have a wider calling, leading a group of Sirens who share a similar yet likely more defined calling under them to complete their tasks.
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