Ephemer

Ephemer
The Ephemer are the denizens of Halcyon, the city suspended above the Phlogiston pit. Known for their unique mist magic and unique machinery, the Ephemer are a friendly, creative, and innovative race of humanoids. Despite living in the festive, lively city of Halcyon, their erratic temperaments and beast-shifting abilities cause other races to treat them with utmost care and caution.

History
The Ephemer were one of the first to be formed by Zenith, the Hesperide of Life. As she was still experimenting on the creation of sentient creatures, they began as mere human beings. She had no particular plans for them at first, thinking that it would be best to leave them to learn and develop on their own. She had initially hoped for them to cultivate an entirely unique culture of their own when she had placed them within the Halcyon valley.

However, it was also around this time that Thomas, the Hesperide of Anomalies, began to experiment on life on his own. But due to his inexperience and lack of involvement in the concept of the creation of life, he instead created a monster. This monster, whose mere existence caused the Hesperide much chagrin and embarrassment, was left to rampage and wreak havoc within the mortal realm. Before the other Hesperides could take notice, Thomas immediately took the barely finished, barely developed Ephemer and fused them with the monstrosities, hoping to give his creation at the very least a semblance of humanity.

The fusion was effective, and the Ephemer developed the ability to shift into a beast form that was strikingly similar to the demon that Thomas had formed, only more intelligent and polished. When Zenith returned to observe her latest creation, she was shocked to find some of them appearing like monsters, while others constantly shifted in and out of their beast forms at will. They had developed a knack for tinkering and building, which stemmed from when their initial intelligence and the discovery of mines within the mountains of Halcyon. Unable to figure out just how they had obtained such a trait, she immediately went to consult the other Hesperides. Thomas admitted to giving them the "gift," as he'd seen how she had made them so mediocre and simple.

Zenith found it difficult to adjust to, seeing as her creations were meant to be beautiful. She found the Ephemer imperfect and broken, but saw potential in their affinity to mechanical construction. And so she blessed them with the ability to wield the wind and any form of it, in order for them to improve their mechanisms and structures even more. This gift was redefined into mist magic by Thomas in secret, in order to differentiate it from wind magic, which was around the same time the Ephemer were given the knowledge of clockwork and steam-power by the Hesperide Callista. Following the creation of elemental magic, the Ephemer were already able to establish a suspended metropolis composed of structured metal above the Halcyon valley.

They began to use the valley floor as a quarry and a mine instead. Unfortunately, during the development of fire magic, an eruption occured within the heart of the valley, causing lava to oose out and instantly destroy the within it. Hundreds of Ephemer were killed during the event, and the occurence caused them to turn to the mountains for mining. Not soon after it had happened, the magma that pooled and formed into a lake of fire shifted from a fiery red color, to an iridescent, shimmering gold. It seemed to burn and it emitted steam, but was abnormally cool to the touch.

The golden magma was then called Phlogiston, an Anomaly formed from the mutation of lava. Despite having killed multitudes of Ephemer, the Phlogiston is very much revered and appreciated by the Ephemer, as it constantly illuminated their city and provided them with an additional material: Phlogistite.

Biology
The Ephemer are known to have pale skin and dark hair, ranging from red, auburn, and black. Their eyes are a beautiful bright gold, similar to their beast forms, and to the color of the Phlogiston. They have slim, tall figures, with prominent muscles and highly-civilized statures. There is no such thing as "underdressed" for the Ephemer, as they love to pile up layers upon layers of clothing and accessories, a fashion statement that they are well-known for. They tend to gravitate towards dark colors whenever they dress or style themselves, as to better suit their surroundings.

When in their beast form, an Ephemer's height and weight changes considerably. They become hairy, bipedal monsters with incredibly large, muscly arms and hooves for feet. Their faces become large and demonic, with large ebony horns protruding out of their foreheads. They tend to use this form when they are smithing or preparing materials, as the added amount of strength makes laboring tasks much easier. An Ephemer who is willingly in their beast form will retain their golden eyes, whereas a provoked Ephemer would have red ones. When an Ephemer is in their beast form, their gender and original appearance becomes indistinguishible. It is often that an Ephemer tinkers with their own clothing in order for it to slip out as soon as they begin to shift.

Psychology
The Ephemer were meant to be creative and incredibly bright, and thus, they developed sunny, cheerful, and curious dispositions before they fused together with Thomas' monsters. They were friendly, easily approachable, and wonderful storytellers and conversationalists. An Ephemer is often the life of the party, and it is not a rare sight to find their city neck-deep in a festivity of sorts. After their fusion with the demons, they retained their happy personalities, but inherited the inability to manage anger and frustration.

Ephemers have short tempers and barely a thread of patience, and should always be approached with much caution. As observant as they are intelligent, they observe and take in the words and actions of others meticulously, and if annoyed or insulted, they can easily let their inner beast get the better of them. In a nutshell, the Ephemer are somewhat bipolar; initially unassuming, but later on, inexplicably violent.

Society
The Ephemer are led by the Four Governors, a group of men who have perfected the power of mist magic and mechanical engineering. As they were blessed by the demigod of time, the Four Governors do not age. However, they are still mortal, and thus they are capable of perishing from sickness or injury. They are often seen swathed in similar dark clothing and having a dark, foggy aura about them as they mingle with the citizens of Halcyon. While initially appearing intimidating and unfriendly, each governor is just as friendly as the rest of the Ephemers. As of now, no one has seen them in their beast forms, as they have all mastered the ability to withhold their inner beast from appearing whenever they are threatened. The Four Governors decide on the rules and regulations of the city, and are often the ones pioneering events and guiding the citizens of Halcyon.

The Ephemer consider one another as equals, and as a race, they are tightly knit and extremely close to one another. It is rare to find two or more Ephemers to be strangers of each other, and at the very least, any two Ephemer are acquaintances. Their knowledge and understanding of their own inner beast allows them to interact with one another without the risk of provocation or altercation. They are the friendliest to their own kind, and while they remain welcoming and cordial to other races, they put their own first above others, and tend to view themselves to be a much more superior race as compared to others. Names The Ephemer prefer simple, short names, as compared to long ones. Introductions are much quicker when their names are shorter, as they prefer to get on with conversations at once. Last names are not used among the Ephemer, but some tend to assume one in order to become a more distinguished member of society.

Brume
The Ephemer have a special type of magic that gives them the ability to wield a special kind of mist. The art of practicing mist magic is called Brume, and was a gift exclusively given to them by the Hesperide Thomas. They were initially able to wield the wind to a certain extent, in order to power their machinery, but Thomas imbued their ability and morphed it into an entirely different form of magic, in order for it to be a separate entity from his creation of wind magic. An Ephemer's mist is unique, in such a way that each Ephemer has their own unlimited supply of mist stored within their bodies.

The mist can only be destroyed by the Ephemer who created it, but mists can be mingled together from two separate Ephemers in order to supply a machine with more power. The mist gives the Ephemer an easier time powering their machinery, as it is inexhaustible and never runs out once it is placed within one. Once a specific amount of mist has been released and created, it can be manipulated into machines or during battle. Once an Ephemer releases its hold on the mist, it retains its form and existence until he takes control once more. As they are somewhat an extension of an Ephemer's existence and intelligence, once they are instructed to function in such a way, they maintain that task until told otherwise.

If an Ephemer is killed or dead, all of the mist that he had released or created will evaporate and disappear. However, if an Ephemer uses too much mist within a short period of time, their bodies become burned out and weaker, and the effects of a burnout can leave an Ephemer sore and bedridden for days. A cool off period of thirty minutes is required between each use of mist, and while the amount of mist used does not exactly affect the required cool off period, profused leakage and manipulation for more than one hour can cause months of soreness or even sudden death.

Festivities
The Ephemer are ones to make excuses for hosting parties and celebrating events. They celebrate and hold many festivals every year; one for the Hesperides, and another for the Hesperide Zenith specifically; one for the demigod, Tempest; two for Phlogiston, the Anomaly; and five for the Four Governors, to celebrate their birthdays and their service. Numerous contests are also held to showcase the talents of the Ephemer in the field of cooking, Brume, engineering, and fashion. Most festivals are prepared for with food, activities, and multiple decorations. No festival is celebrated the same way every year, as the Ephemer tend to experiment on food, games, and designs whenever the event occurs once more.

The most notable festivity, however, is the Phenomenal Festival, a three-day event that begins two days prior to the Phenomenon's appearance. The Ephemer prepare lavish feasts and decorations on the first day, eat and hold activities on the second, and spend the rest of the third day enjoying the breathtaking view of the Phenomenal from their incredibly high mountains. Many other races come to Halcyon in order to witness and partake in the event, as it is only in there where the Phenomenal is visibly clear.

Religion
Aside from worshipping the Hesperides, the Ephemer consider the demigod of the wind, Tempest, as their patron. There are numerous festivals and parties in celebration of the birth of Tempest, as well as events commemorating the birth and existence of Phlogiston. The Ephemer appreciate and rever Phlogiston for its large contribution to their culture and mechanical production, and despite it having killed many of their own kind, they continue to live harmoniously with the Anomaly, and consider it an integral part of their existence and development.