The Councils
Balance, between light and dark. Heaven and Hell, with Earth between.
But one more realm, the smallest, the quietest, are charged with keeping the balance.
The Councils
The Councils try to co-exist in the underworld - known as The Downstairs. The Downstairs exists in a different time continuum than The Upstairs, and allows residents to move in and out of the regular Time Continuum as they need.
The Shapeshifters Council
The Shapeshifters Council is made up of just over two hundred people, including a few defectors from the Shadow Council and a few Hunters from Upstairs. Their building has double rooms and other than elected council members who have a single room.
The Elected Council is made up of nine members elected every other year.
Most council members fall into one of six working categories. Most work in the fields and help with resources for the council members. Some work in administration. Some work as teachers for the youngest members of the council, as well as teachers/trainers for members training for specific departments. Many work in the Building, doing things such as cooking, cleaning, maintenance, and other related areas. Some work in the Judge & Jury department, mainly for the defected Shadow Council members. The most elite of all departments are the Hunters. Hunters are a species born Upstairs, but they were bred out over the years and new hunters are scarce. Because of that, Shapeshifter Council members are chosen and trained as hunters from as young as twelve. They are meant to find rogue Council members, and try to keep the peace between the Shadow Council and Heaven.
Species
Lifespan
Shifters age for the equivalent of twenty Human years after their first Shift. After that they are immortal, though still open to destruction like any human.
Commonalities
All Shifters have a few traits in common. In both Human and Animal form, they have an elevated body temperature meaning they always feel warm to the touch, they have enhanced vision hearing. They heal incredibly fast, and have high metabolisms, and a high stamina. Two identifiers of Shifters are their eyes that can turn to a bright Amber, and they will also have a birthmark, typically on their shoulder blade or hip that is described to look like the shape of their animal's tail.
Some commonalities are shared between species as well:
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Dogs, wolves, and bears have what could be described as super strength.
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Cats, big cats, and foxes share enhanced agility and flexibility
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Birds, foxes, cats, dogs, and wolves all share enhanced speed. Though it is not super speed, they are able to move and run faster.
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Cats, wolves, foxes, bats, and birds share the ability for night vision.
Bears
Bears are a fairly rare type of Shifter. They are the largest animal in the Britain and Europe Shapeshifter Council.
Wolves
The second largest population of shifters.
Dogs
Foxes
Considered the first species of Shifters, they are the smallest population of Shifters. Some are blessed with powers that include emotion and thought understanding and manipulation/suggestion through touch while in human form.
Cats & Big Cats
One of the fairly common Shifter species, some cat and big cat Shifters have the special ability to absorb any light in the area - known as a Black Out. Big cats make up about 40% of the cat Shifter population, and are made up mostly of lynx and wildcats.
Haflites
Haflites are half Shifter, half Angel. Their eyes shift both amber, and silver. They are the only shifters who can use their wings when in Human form. Take on the Angelic powers of their Angelic parent.
Birds
Some birds have the ability to move things without touching them. Some birds of prey including falcons, hawks, kestrels, and eagles have heat vision ability.
Deer
Bats
Rodents
The largest Shifter population, some types of rodents include mice, shrews, squirrels, rabbits, hares, porcupines, and voles. Some rodent Shifters have the ability to heal others.
Martens
A similar population to the rodent Shifters.
Hedgehogs
With only a few more Shifters than foxes, Hedgehogs are extremely rare.
Hunters
Hunters are included in the Shapeshifter Council despite not shifting to anything. Shifters are born to Human Parents but blessed with many of the human gifts of a Shifter - increased hearing and vision, night vision, increased speed and strength. They also have a natural fighting ability.
The Shadow Council
Further into The Downstairs, is what the Humans call The Underworld - Hell.
The Council is ruled by the creatures of shadow, known as Demons. Though no one outside the Shadow Council is sure how many reside in The Shadow Council, their living quarters is large enough to be home to 20,000 people. They are born of a shadow moment - a great evil that creates a tear in a Human's soul, whether they are the perpetrator or the victim of the shadow moment. Demons are most recognizable by their bright red eyes, that with practice can be shifted to black. Demons are marked with a red scar that looks like a spiral, somewhere on their body (if a Demon defects to The Shapeshifter Council, their Demon's Mark burns and fades into a raised scar). If a Human makes a deal with a Demon, they are given a smaller version of a Demon's Mark.
The Shadow Council is led by the First Fallen Angel. Tasks in the Shadow Council range from no work at all, working in the kitchens and council maintenance, and dealing with the souls sent to the Shadow Council upon their death.
The Shadow Council is also home to the Vampires, of whom numbers have shrunk slowly when The Shadow Council made the decision to have demons bring blood to feed on to The Downstairs, instead of letting Vampires Upstairs to roam free. They can be identified by their dark red eyes and wide pupils.
The residents of The Shadow Council, Demons and Vampires alike, are Immortal, but can be killed by any supernatural. Once killed, the shadow being will pass on to ash.
The Upstairs
What the Councils call Earth, or the Human World, as it is literally up a long set of stairs from The Downstairs. This is where the Timeline exists that can be moved in an out of from The Downstairs and The Heavens.
The Heavens / The Above
The Heavens exist outside the Upstair's Timeline. Unreachable without an Angel, The Heavens is where those judged to have good in their hearts go after passing.
The Angels have silver eyes, and white wings, and have the ability to change their outward appearance. They tend to stick to keeping their hair and clothes neat. There are three kinds of Angels - carers who look after the souls in the Heavens, executive who deal with the business of the Heavens including deciding which souls will be allowed in, and some are warriors charged with both protection of the Heavens and at times the Humans when Demons start to step out of line. There are 8,000 Angels, who are immortal, with their only weakness being the swords of the warriors. Angels exist in a long-established hierarchy, and that hierarchy exists below Them, of whom no non-Angel has ever seen. The Angels take instruction from Them.
Some of their abilities include the ability to read thoughts and communicate without speaking, extreme strength, invisibility, and can create white flame with their hands.
Some can move things with an invisible force from their hands, and some can wrap themselves in their wings and disappear in teleportation.