Mutations

Encompasses all types of ears that are smaller than standard. This mutation can also be stacked with the pointed, rounded, lop, or upright/forward mutations. This mutation does not stack with oversized ears!

Temporary illusory images left behind when an elnin walks. Phantom step can appear to be illusory very small critters (mice, insects/butterflies, small fish, small birds, etc.) or flora (flowers, grass, plants, leaves) or other fx (Fire, water puddles, clouds, pawprints, etc.)

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Phantom Critters

Phantom Leaves

Phantom Fire fx

Details:

• Illusions must stay near the elnin's paws/ground. If any are near an elnin's tail/trailing behind a little, it is assumed that the tail is on the ground where it is near the illusion rather than the illusion being far from the ground near the tail.
• Illusions will accumulate over time if the elnin is standing still. Over a long enough period this illusion can cover their body in phantom images. This larger illusion is dispelled immediately when nin begins to move again.
• Any critter-like illusions should be no larger than an elnin's paw and simple/have little detailing and few colors per illusion. (3 colors tops per small illusory shape, not counting black or white, on a single mouse or butterfly. Individual butterflies could vary more in color. Like 1 pink and purple butterfly, one yellow and blue, another green and orange, etc. as long as they are kept simple.)
• Illusory critters should be smaller than an elnin's paw not just larger animals scaled down. (For example no hawks but a tiny hummingbird would be fine. No whale sharks but tiny goldfish would be ok, etc.) If you're pondering acceptable size comparisons it would have to be an real life critter compared to a cat paw.
• Illusions should not vary in type. So if the phantom step is butterflies you would not see a mix of birds and butterflies or puddles and frogs.
• All illusions (critter or otherwise) should not appear to be interacting with anything physical (ie. No touching/carrying any physical objects or braiding fur strands). The elnin may interact with the illusions they've created, such as looking at them or pretending to shoo them away as the elnin manifests the illusion. The illusions themselves would not interact with the elnin visually if the elnin's not an active participate/paying attention. Illusions would also not be able to touch the elnin aside from maybe laying next to or on a tail resting on the ground if the elnin pauses for a stride. These are non-sentient/non-living illusions and for that reason they do not think at all.

FX/Critters/etc. Not Allowed for Phantom Step:

(The following list is not all inclusive and may be expanded upon at later time.)

• Vertical lines (typically associated with mana bleed)
• Black/shadow-like appearances like flat black or near black 2D silhouettes.
• Mythical creatures. All critters for phantom step must have a reasonable world earth counterpart that's referencable for sizing as smaller than a cat paw even if it's just generic. For example a critter doesn't have to be a specific species of hummingbird/color use so long as the shape and size is the same.

Please Note: The above information is a rough guideline for the phantom step. As this mutation has a lot of variability, much like some higher tier crowns, approvals for this trait will be responded to on a case by case basis. The team may need to cross check if something strays far from confirmed examples of this mutation, or exceeds expected levels of complexity, etc. We highly recommend running sketches/ideas past the team alongside a design approval if you have this trait. Visuals will be required for examples/related questions.

Please be patient with us as we see how these updated guidelines go. There will be things we have not thought of but that does not necessarily mean everything will be allowed without question given the illusory nature of this trait.

Lore:

• Phantom step can be hidden at will. It's just shrunk out of existence consciously by the elnin. For masterlist art the phantom step mutation has to be visible but for prompts/general lore purposes then it is fine to turn it off.

Unlike the standard ears that are plush and have a noticable tuft/flare of fur at the tip, pointed ears are sharply tapered to a point at the ear tip, with very little extra fluff around the edges. This mutation does not stack with the rounded ears mutation!

[3] or more distinct colors present within the anima, usually appears as a gradient. Flavor lore: A seamless blending of more than two colors within an elnin's anima is said to be the ultimate sign of energy in harmony.

Unlike the standard ears that are plush and have a noticable tuft/flare of fur at the tip, rounded ears are plush and curved at the ear tip, with little to no extra fluff around the edges. Any fluff present on the edge of the ear curves with the rounded edge of the ear rather than flaring outward at the tip as standard ears would. This mutation can also be stacked with the lop and/or upright/forward mutations. This mutation does not stack with the pointed ears mutation.

Standard scales are small scales similar to those you might find on a reptile or fish. These scales are generally small in size.

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Standard

Standard

Scales on Grove Tail

Scales on Shoal Tail

Spread Sparingly

Details:

• Standard scales should not cover more than 50% of the elnin.
• Are small and generally more oval/soft-edged diamonds (like snake scales) or half-moon (like fish scales) in shape. Keeled scales are also allowed.
• Standard scales are generally staggered or clustered relative to each other, but not always.
• Scales should be three dimensional and rendered either with or without lineart.
• Standard scales most often appear across the back, shoulders, and sparsely down the tail (in areas of short fur on tails like grove or shoal) if at all.
• Tails will never be fully scaled with this mutation, unless a subtype specific or rarer scaled tail style is present on an elnin.
• Scales should not imitate gems or markings. They must be distinctly read as scales.
• What can affect the standard scales?
  
  • YES: Body suffusion mutations, such as metallic suffusion, shimmering suffusion, iridescent suffusion, starlit suffusion, emberglow suffusion, and luminous suffusion. Body suffusion mutations cannot only affect scales and must also be present in other non-scaled locations.
  • NO: Anima mutations would not affect scales (*Unless crystallization is present on the scales, in which case anima mutations would be localized on scales and any related effects would be in very very close proximity to the scales themselves.)

Imagine your elnin had glitter thrown on them, and you have Shimmering Suffusion! This mutation is defined by a sparkly shimmering quality to the coat or hair in reaction to a light source. Does not give off independent light. Please avoid "twinkle" effects or stylization since that could conflict with Starlit Suffusion.

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Shimmering Suffusion

Shimmering Suffusion

Shimmering Suffusion

Details

• Varying the opacity of your dots and having them overlap in places is a good way to achieve this effect
  • If you do not have Shimmering Suffusion but want to have small dots on your elnin, please try to keep them to be all a the same opacity and not overlapping to avoid conflicting with Shimmering Suffusion

Shape mutation characterized by a much longer than average midsection and a gracefully curved spine.

A pronounced line of fur running up from the tail and/or down the neck. Can be a full or broken line between the neck and tail.

Starlit mutation present within the anima. The starlight is also able to come off of the anima's surface, creating a small aura of sparkling starlight around the horns and eyes.

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Standard Starlit

With Starlit Suffusion

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Standard Starlit

With Starlit Suffusion

Details:

• If Starlit suffusion is present, the anima can display a galaxy-like effect.
• The starlight needs to be to either be white or a near-neighbor to the anima color.
  • Exception: If the Elnin also has Starlit Suffusion, the starlight may be the same color as they are in the Starlit Suffusion

Lore:

• Starlight within anima implies celestial favor.

Fur is full of twinkling points of light as if full of tiny stars. Coat is self illuminating and actively gives off a softly shimmering radiance. Tiny stars and constellation markings will also float off of the elnin, often spreading into the hair and tail. When moving, starlight will trail behind momentarily before disappearing. Light and twinkling effect can be dimmed or hidden at will. "Starlit suffusion" also covers all constellation-like markings.

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Star Shapes

Constellations

Small Solid Star trails

Small Line Star Trails

Details:

• Starlit suffusion adds small stars that float off the elnin's base coat and around their body, but the effect is general and should not localized to any one very small part of the body like just around the feet or near an elnin's head.
  • Avoid placing starlit suffusion near eyes/horns/anima colored paws and paw pads closely to avoid it being mistaken for starlit anima or phantom step.
• Constellation markings only occur if starlit suffusion is present.
• Some stars in starlit suffusion can have little trailing tails, but they should be kept relatively small.
• Starlit suffusion does not add any sort of large solid glowing trail or after image behind an elnin's body as they move, only the small stars themselves can appear to trail behind an elnin when they move.

Causes an elnin to have four identical tails.

Causes an elnin to have three identical tails.

Causes an elnin to have two identical tails.

Ears that are perpetually upright and perked forward as if at attention. Standard ears lack the range of motion to rotate forward in this manner.

Details:

• Upright ears are naturally pointed at their tips, but fluffy tipped upright ears are also an option
• Keep in mind that upright ears should mostly be facing forward. They can rotate slightly, but not to an extreme degree.

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Long kitty whiskers sprouting from muzzle or cheeks.

Details:

• Only cat whiskers are allowed for this mutation. Thin lines protruding from the muzzle or cheeks of an elnin without any sort of outline.
• Whiskers should not exceed the length of a standard elnin's body (roughly 2x the width of an elnin's head) but may be shorter.
• Dragon-like whiskers are not allowed for this mutation
• Fishy whiskers (like cat fish) are not allowed for this mutation unless the elnin also has aquatic influence mutation present as part of the undine elnin subtype!