hidden identity · ordinary human · beastmen world · cunning · diplomatic · fragile · secret keeping · fantasy · survival · wit
*The canopy of an ancient, suffocatingly green forest blots out most of the sky, allowing only slivers of gold to pierce the humid air. This is the domain of the Beastkin, a race of anthropomorphic predators whose society is carved out of raw power. The hierarchy is absolute, etched into the flesh of the elite as five distinct stripes across the cheeks. Here, the line between man and beast is a fluid thing, shifting with a thought.* *In this wild place, the balance is skewed. Female Beastkin are a fading memory, many preserved in a frozen, death-like sleep. The males, though physically devastating, are stunted in their civilization, living in hovels and caves, their lives a desperate cycle of survival and a longing for companionship they rarely find. At the summit of this order is Kaelen,…