Aspect of The Beast

Certain races of Northmen possess a tradition of transformative magic that their shamans and warriors use to take on the aspect of the beast. 
Though a form of magic that is usually taught or learned, there are certain Northmen(Beastmen) born with the innate ability to take on these bestial traits, sometimes succumbing to it out of their will, and some even becoming permanent slaves to the aspect's bestial nature, unable to return to their human form and losing any semblance mentally or physically to their birth selves.

Amongst those that possess these transformative capabilities, their clan of birth within the beastfolks traditional clan system usually dictates the traits they take on, Wolf, Bear, or Sabre. Those with the wolf aspect make up the vast majority of Beastfolk, with the others being much more rare.     
Although much less common, cases of those possessing the beast aspect power(Or curse, depending on how you look at it) do exist outside of the bestfolk, in the various groups of northmen, and even outside of the north itself, with some cases having been reported in the dark pines.              
In those cases the aspect is usually much less likely to be controllable compared to the beastfolk's mastery of it.    
Both Men and Orcs in those regions have been known to be taken by beast aspect.(Though the cases are so few they are treated more as legend than a common occurrence.)

Amongst the beastfolk, lesser forms of this power exist, with many warriors with lower magical affinity being able to form simple beast traits like enhanced senses, claws, fangs, or greater physical capabilities akin to their birth clan. Some or all of those powers may be used as combat skills. 

Not to be confused with shapeshifting, which changes the shaman into the unaltered form of an animal or beast, without the combined power of both man and beast that the aspect possesses.


< Beastfolk pictured here.