Vulpur

The Vulpur (Lycanthropus vulpes) originated in the southern parts of Eldham in modern day Serrona. The people were forced to migrate from their homelands due to rising militaristic threats in their lands, threatening the entirety of the race with extinction. Nowadays, they are mainly found in Vulpinia, Nova Azoria, and Vulmire.

Although Vulpurs are extremely similar looking to Kumiho and Foxtarians, and are often mistaken to be the same species, the three are completely different, and have seemed to have a convergent evolution. Despite this, it is theorized that they may have a common ancestor and evolved from said ancestor in different ways.

Biology
The Vulpur are humanoid fox people that typically grow heights similar of that to a human and are usually quite slim in body structure. Both female and male Vuls typically range in these height boundaries. They usually reach their final height around the age of 15 to 18 years old.

The Vuls lifespan reaches anywhere from 80-90 years old, while reaching the age of maturity around the age of 16.

The skin color of a Vul heavily depend on the parents though in some are cases were children can be a complete different color than both parents. Hair color on Vuls can vary widely, with it usually being brown, red, tan, grey, orange, white, and more. Black eyes are common for Vuls though other eye colors such as green, amber, brown, grey, and a few others have been recorded.

The following sections covering vulpur anatomy are extracts are from NuncioNull's book Liber Vulpur: A comprehensive study on the Vulpur people.

Bone Anatomy
Broadly speaking, the bone anatomy of the Vulpur are very similar to that of humans or smaller of that than a human, however there are crucial differences that make the Vulpur anatomy unique. The crucial differences that the Vulpur contain in their bone formation is the characteristic shape of the skull Fig. 1 (similar to that of wolves and foxes), the appearance of a posterior appendage (tail), and a clear difference in the location of the bones and joints in the lower limbs of the body (causing a digitigrade stance).

What characterizes being digitigrade is that unlike humans, the Vulpur walk supported only on the toes of their legs, without supporting the heel joint; They have relatively long carpal and tarsal bones and the bones that would correspond to the human ankle are set much larger in the limb than in a human. Fig. 2

Maintaining the digitigrade posture allows the Vulpur to have greater agility and speed than average humans, as well as reducing the noise when emitting footsteps, allowing them to maintain a level of stealth.

The tail maintains a function closely linked to the form and posture; This works as a type of stabilizer, distributing the weight backwards, as well as allowing the spontaneous change of direction during a run or sudden movement.

Digit Anatomy
Unlike humans and other species, the Vulpur only have four digits in each appendage of the limbs (handsFig.3 and feetFig.4). Despite this, the distribution of the digits in the hands allows the use of tools and specialized work.

The Vulpur's hands and feet are paws, and each one of them contains five pads: four digital pads (beneath the fingers and toes) and a heart-shaped metacarpal or palmar pad (under the sole and in the palm of the hand). These pads act as a cushion for the load-bearing limbs of the Vulpur.

The paw also includes a horn-like, beak shaped claw on each digit.

Fur & Eyes
In response to the environment in which the Vulpur originated, they developed a coat of fur that covers every inch of their body. The fur protects their skin from environmental circumstances, such as rain, snow, sun, etc.

The eyes of the Vulpur also have their peculiarities, they have vertically slit pupils, which provide them with significant advantages: Primarily, allows the Vulpur to more precisely regulate the amount of light entering the eye, helping them accommodate in different light conditions. It is also known that Vulpur can see the same wavelengths as humans. Fig, 6

Clothing
Vulpur usually wear clothing that covers the majority of their body such as cloaks or ponchos with long sleeved shirts underneath. Though they rarely wear hats, because most have long ears and hats cause irritation to their large ears.

Religion
The majority of the vulpur people follow the Vulpur Nabu faith and their daily lives are greatly influenced by this religion. A small few have been known to practice vulpur magic.