Spirit animals are animals that can sense and harness spirit power. They possess human-like intelligence and can shift between animal, anthro, and human forms. Their population is quite small, and they often disguise themselves as humans.
Becoming a Spirit Animal
Experience shows that animals becoming spirit animals to be a purely random phenomenon. Unlike folklore stories, this transformation cannot be achieved through will or effort. They often discover their special abilities at various points in life, making it hard to identify a pattern. Additionally, humans cannot obtain spirit power on their own.
Leiting is a rare case of a human becoming a spirit animal after touching an item from a deceased spirit animal – not everyone who touches the same item got transformed. Currently, there are two such cases in Dongguan, both involving children.
Spirit animals generally believe that karma is the key factor in determining if an individual can become a spirit animal, though the exact mechanism remains unclear.
Basic Forms
A spirit animal can transform into anything through the use of shape-shifting spells, the most commonly used forms being animal form, anthro form, and human form.
The animal form is the real form of a spirit animal, resembling its base species but featuring extraordinary colors and patterns. This form does not require extra spirit power to maintain, so spirit animals often switch to this form during rest to quickly replenish their spirit power.
The anthro form is the typical form of a spirit animal, combining features of both animals and humans. This form has a human-like body, making it easy to live in human society (can wear human costumes, use tools, fit in furnitures, etc). With dexterous limbs and hands, they can cast complex spells in this form. The anthro form is maintained by shape-shifting spells that consume spirit power; but since it retains many traits of the real form, it doesn’t require much. In areas without humans, spirit animals generally prefer the anthro form.
The human form is the disguise that spirit animals adopt around humans, maintained by shape-shifting spells. This form differs significantly from their real form and thus requires substantial spirit power to sustain. Most spirit animals cannot remain in this form all day; when their spirit power wanes or emotions fluctuate, the transformation becomes unstable, forcing them to hide from human sight. Additionally, in human form, spirit animals have a diminished ability to sense and utilize spirit power, necessitating the use of a spirit band for assistance. Consequently, they may not recognize each other’s identities within human society.
Characteristics
Spirits animals can sense, generate, and control spirit power to perform various spells. Their bodily fluids glow with a rainbow hue due to the high concentration of spirit power, which emits photons as it dissipates. Unlike the exaggerated portrayals in mythological legends, spirit animals do not have outrageous abilities; their use of spirit power is primarily for minor tricks to assist their daily life.
Spirit animals have human-like intelligence, but this requires spirit power to maintain. When their physical or mental state declines, they are more likely to succumb to their animal instincts.
Spirit animals retain some traits of their base species, but their animal instincts are disrupted by the interference of spirit power and higher intelligence, hindering their survival in the wild. As a result, most spirit animals prefer to live within human society.
Spirit animals have a lifespan similar to humans, likely due to them spending most of their time in human or anthro forms.
The offspring of a spirit animal can be either a human or an animal, but they do not inherit their parent’s spirit power.
Relationship between Humanity
Spirit animals have coexisted with humans for eons, often acting as “oracles” and “talented craftsmen” in ancient human tribes. Humans provide shelter for these spirit animals, which in turn use their powers to support the tribe, creating a symbiotic relationship. This dynamic is reflected in the animal-inspired totems of primitive tribes and mythical creatures in folklore.
Spirit animals in China believe that mythical creatures in folklore like Daji the Evil Fox Queen, Bai Suzhen the White Snake Lady, and Sun Wukong the Monkey King, may have been inspired by real spirit animals. However, they all faced tragic fates when their secrets were exposed. Modern spirit animals have learned from these tragedies and now live carefully under the guidance of the 4C Principles: Coexistence, Cooperation, Compliance and Concealment.
Although modern human technology and organizational power far surpass that of ancient times, spirit animals continue to play a vital role in various areas with their unique abilities.
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