Mortal Races: Shifters

Not all humans went to the cities. The Wild Men, also known as wood-wose or shifters, are humans who live in the wilderness, closer to animals. They are popular subjects of art, where they are depicted covered in hair, or with bestial characteristics. There are also stories about people who are stricken with madness, who live in the wilderness and become indistinguishable from animals. Shifters are exoticised and romanticised as being more natural and having an instinctive wisdom. There is a fashion among rich nobles to find shifters and bring them to live on their estates as a form of living ornament. 

For all that shifters are seen as being wild, they are no less intelligent than civilised humans, if less educated. In times of need, a wood-wose who knows human languages may approach a local rural community. They will not venture away from their homes, or into a city, unless the need is very great indeed.

Image result for renaissance art wose
Art: Detail from 'Histoire d'Alexandre.' Jean Wauquelin, c. 1450.

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