Kitsune are a Japanese fox fae descended from Keiko Inari and claimed by Maeve. One first appears in Rosemary and Rue.
About[]
Kitsune are Japanese fox-spirits. Their strength is measured by the number of their tails, up to nine, although supposedly only their Firstborn has that many tails.[citation needed] Unlike most skinshifting fae, the Kitsune similar to the Roane in their abililty to shift between animal and humanoid form with ease; they do not need a literal skin to anchor their change.[citation needed]
Some Kitsune, though not all, show a strong affinity for memory alteration. They also seem to have a penchant for alchemy and foretelling the future.[1]
The Kitsune form can be stolen at the cost of its owner's life. However, the thief becomes trapped in the form and even takes on a mammalian biology if they were originally a flora-based race.[2] If it's the latter, then any child they bear are predisposed to madness seen in mixed bloods due to their conflicting natures as mammal and plant.
Because of Keiko Inari's actions, the Kitsune were among the few of Maeve's Seer lines that had survived Eira's attempt at slaughtering them.[3]
Kitsune Characters[]
Luna Torquill (former)[]
Luna first appears to be a Kitsune, having mercy killed and stolen the skin of Hoshibara centuries ago in order to escape her father's influence.[4] She appears small and slender with waist-length braided brown hair, silver-furred ears, and three fox tails.[5]
As a Kitsune, she was able to reproduce with a Daoine Sidhe although she nearly miscarried. This would not have been possible in her Blodynbryd form.
Once she had taken on the Kitsune skin, Luna was unable to remove it and return to her true nature until a near-fatal poison stripped her magical defenses.[2] Once lost, she is unable to recover the Kitsune form.
Rayseline Torquill (former)[]
Due to Luna's deception, Rayseline is born with both Kitsune and Blodynbryd heritage in addition to her father's Daoine Sidhe. The mixing of mammalian and plant fae natures, as well as the mixing of Maeve and Titania's blood, contributed to her madness after she was released from captivity. With Rayseline's permission, October Daye removes Luna's ancestry and leaves Rayseline a pureblooded Daoine Sidhe.[6]
Hoshibara[]
Hoshibara was a ten-year-old child and victim of Blind Michael when Luna mercy killed her and stole her skin. She had three tails.[7]
Yui Hyouden[]
Yui works for ALH Computing in Tamed Lightning and has four fox tails.[citation needed] She is killed in 2010, and evidence in her office desk suggests she foretold the company murders before her death.[8] In 2013, she is brought back to life and reunited with her now-husband Elliot.[9]
Mythology[]
Kitsune originate in Japanese and Asian folklore. They are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. They may be tricksters, faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.
Kitsune have as many as nine tails. Generally, a greater number of tails indicates an older and more powerful Kitsune; in fact, some folktales say that a fox will only grow additional tails after it has lived 100 years. One, five, seven, and nine tails are the most common numbers in folktales. These kyūbi no kitsune (九尾の狐, 'nine-tailed foxes') gain the abilities to see and hear anything happening anywhere in the world. Other tales credit them with infinite wisdom (omniscience). After reaching 1,000 years of age and gaining its ninth tail, a kitsune turns a white or golden color, becoming a tenko (天狐, 'heavenly/celestial fox'), the most powerful form of the kitsune, and then ascends to the heavens.
A Kitsune may take on human form, an ability learned when it reaches a certain age – usually 100 years, although some tales say 50. As a common prerequisite for the transformation, the fox must place reeds, a leaf, or a skull over its head. Common forms assumed by kitsune include beautiful women, young girls, elderly men, and less often young boys. These shapes are not limited by the fox's own age or gender, and a kitsune can duplicate the appearance of a specific person. Kitsune are particularly renowned for impersonating beautiful women. Common belief in medieval Japan was that any woman encountered alone, especially at dusk or night, could be a kitsune.
In some stories, kitsune retain – and have difficulty hiding – their tails when they take human form; looking for the tail, perhaps when the fox gets drunk or careless, is a common method of discerning the creature's true nature. A particularly devout individual may even be able to see through a fox's disguise merely by perceiving them. Kitsune can also be exposed while in human form by their fear and hatred of dogs, and some become so rattled by their presence that they revert to the form of a fox and flee.
Other supernatural abilities commonly attributed to kitsune include possession, generating fire or lightning, willful manifestation in the dreams of others, flight, invisibility, and the creation of illusions so elaborate as to be almost indistinguishable from reality. Some tales speak of kitsune with even greater powers, able to bend time and space, drive people mad, or take fantastic shapes such as an incredibly tall tree or a second moon in the sky. Other kitsune have characteristics reminiscent of vampires or succubi, and feed on the life or spirit of human beings, generally through sexual contact.
Book References[]
Gallery[]
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