Oracle

Oracles are humanoid creatures with digitigrade legs and massive moth wings. They are normally are monochrome in color, but bicolor Oracles have been known to happen as well. They have no eyes or nose, and their mouth has six sharp fangs at the front; four on top and two on the bottom. These fangs are used for grabbing onto food items like fungus and fruits, as well as acting as a defense. The fangs are also used for puncturing skin to taste blood, which can cause them to have visions of the bitten's future. At the back of their mouth are flat teeth to use for grinding up their food. Their tongue is split at the end, and their saliva has a healing quality that will seal wounds. They breathe through vents on their chest that appear very similar to gills.   Four antennae stick out from their head, two slender for smelling and two that have delicate fur on them, making them appear as feathers; these are used for sensing micro vibrations from high-pitched sounds they send out for echolocation. They have no eyes, and therefore these feathered antennae are their only way to see. They have another set of short pointed ears that pick up lower-frequency sounds.   An Oracle's skin is actually covered in minuscule scales, making them feel very soft and smooth. They have thick, fluffy patches of fur that is incredibly soft but strong and act as armor to sensitive places. Their fur covers their head, neck, part of the chest, down their spine, their groin area, slightly over their naval, the back of their elbows, their feet, and along the wing bones.   The wings of an Oracle are decorated with patterns, much like a moth's. Their wings can be three different general shapes; pyramid, cross, and clover. Pyramid is the most common, taking on the look of most moth wings pointed downwards. Cross looks like a dragonfly's and is uncommon. Clover appears like the shape of a butterfly's wings, and is very rare. Though these are the general shapes, the edges of wings can contain small flairs that make each Oracle's wings unique.   The tiny scales that cover an Oracle's wings can lift and they can produce a phosphorescent light beneath them. Oracles most often use this when they are frightened or feeling threatened; they will flare their wings and flash the light intensely, stunning their target and giving them time to flee. Another use for this is to use their wings almost like a screen to show visions they have through controlling the small scales.

Oracles, like most of the species in the Wildes, will not die from aging or regular illness, and though they're considered a weaker species, their living location and tendency to cover themselves in hallucinogenic pollen makes them difficult to attack. On average, Oracles' heights vary from 5'6" to 7'0" and their weight from 150 - 260 lbs. The only physical difference between sterile and fertile Oracles is the fur that reaches over their stomach. Fertile Oracles will have a line of fur connecting the fur on their neck and chest to the fur in between their legs, while sterile Oracles do not have this. It's often impossible to tell whether an Oracle is fertile or sterile until they are at least 45 years of age, when their baby fur has finished thinning out.

Oracles have only two defined sexes; fertile and sterile. Those that are fertile can both carry and fertilize eggs, while sterile Oracles cannot. Once a year, around the same time the oracle trees bloom, Oracles can decide to produce eggs. For the eggs to be fertile a second Oracle has to fertilize them. The carrying Oracle will lay the eggs after a week; they are about the size of a tennis ball, a pale pink, round, and soft, with an almost rubbery feeling to the outside. Over the course of a month the eggs will elongate into an oval, growing to a foot in length. The outside becomes harder and begins to wrinkle, giving the appearance of repeatedly crumpled paper. Once the shell has darkened to the color of wood, the babies, called aphids, will hatch.

Aphids hatch entirely white, with no fur and their wings folded up against their backs. Their wings are very small, about the size of a hand, and take a few hours to straighten out and dry. Aphids are entirely defenseless for the first month of their life, but they grow quickly to the size of a human toddler and are able to walk within 1-2 months. Their fur grows in by then, very fluffy and covering most of their body in the early stages of life.   By 5 months aphids are about the size of a human 6 year old, and the pattern on their wings begin to form as their color starts to show. Once their color comes in entirely, their growth rate slows to a crawl. By the time they are 10 they will be the same size as a human 7 year old, and at 20 they will appear as a human 12 year old. They reach physical maturity at the age of 50, where they stop growing entirely and are at peak physical condition.

Oracles are born and usually live in the Oracle Trees, which are towering, massive trees that have been hollowed out in the bases to make homes. The trees bloom each spring and release massive amounts of pollen that cloud the air. This pollen causes intense hallucinations in all other species, but Oracles are immune to it and often collect the pollen to cover their fur in for protection. Oracles can survive anywhere in the Wildes, but they don't have much fighting ability, so living elsewhere can be dangerous.

Because of their ability to taste blood in order to see visions of the future, Oracles eat mostly fruits, roots, nuts, berries, and fungus. They are known to also hunt the massive bugs that can be found in the Wildes, as the bugs do not have blood that effects the Oracles' clairvoyance. An Oracle could eat the meat of another creature, but it would cause visions that the Oracle can't process because the creature is already dead. Usually this leaves the Oracle gasping and with an overwhelming sense of dread and paranoia for hours. Because of this, Oracles will eat meat only in case of a very bad emergency.

Oracles have a very loose social structure. They're one of the few species in the Wildes that are a social species and live in large groups. They're quite peaceful and timid creatures that will try to avoid a fight at all costs, so physical violence is rarely an issue. There are Oracles who have more dominant personalities that tend to take leadership roles when they are needed, but there is no official structure among the species.

Oracles are most often used for their clairvoyant abilities, which is quite easy to gain access to with a gift of a new or interesting smell. Oracles love new scents and will do plenty of favors for them. They are killed for their fur, which can be used to make wool-like clothing that is used like armor. Drinking an Oracle's blood can cause intense visions of the future, but when diluted or mixed into other potions can offer things such as insight, truth-seeing, accurate predictions of the very near future, and a very strong sense of hearing. From an Oracle's wings, phosphorescence that never fades can be drawn. Oracles have been knocked unconscious only for the attacker to take the Oracle's wings and nothing more, leaving them to awaken without them. This is physically and emotionally traumatic and it can make an Oracle's future-seeing abilities skew towards the worst outcomes.

Because there are only fertile and infertile Oracles, pronouns are used much like names; merely a signifier in conversation. Oracles are referred to as "they" unless they decide to use different ones.

Oracles will adorn themselves with decorative sashes and simple jewelry from things like acorns, feathers, wooden carvings, and bug chitin. They usually don't cover up entirely, as the positioning of their wings make this difficult.

Every spring, Oracles will spend most of their time collecting the pollen that falls from the Oracle Trees when they bloom. The pollen induces a faint calm feeling in an Oracle when ingested in a food or drink, but otherwise has no effect on them. The majority of the pollen is used throughout the rest of the year to brush into an Oracle's fur and used as a defense, as the pollen causes intense hallucinations to other species. When Oracles are frightened or feel threatened, their fur will puff up, releasing the pollen into the air around them.

Tasting one's own blood is considered horrific at best. It is an addictive practice that allows an Oracle to see their own future based on the choices they decide, often escalating to the point where an Oracle continuously bites themselves in order to taste their own blood in order to make decisions. This leads to the mental degradation of the Oracle as their mind blurs the difference between the present and the future, as well as the reality of all the different futures they see. Biting oneself more than once can lead to banishment from the Oracle Trees. Tasting another Oracle's blood is not an offense one is often punished for, but it is frowned upon and considered vulgar.

Oracles are viewed as low in the Wildes hierarchy because they aren't very powerful, and are mostly seen as useful for their body parts. However, because of their ability to taste blood and see a person's future, they aren't often killed unless someone has something specific they have in mind to use the body for. They aren't often used for food, as their constant ingestion and inhalation of the Oracle Tree pollen makes their bodies cause a less potent but still powerful hallucinatory effect. Oracles are most often left alone, or sought out with extreme caution, well away from spring time.