Hey guys! ITS FINALLY HERE! CHRISTMAS!!! (I'm pre writing this so idk what I got yet but oh well) I have finally finished a species that I have been working on since JUNE! However, I was not the only one. I was working with TheNerdWing , but sadly, I think that they are inactive. So please remember, I did not come up with this idea on my own. So where credit is due, it is being given. Anywho, let's jump right in! Before I start, these are starting off as a CLOSED SPECIES!!! I will be making adopts and customs very soon in the future, so don't worry! I just have them closed right now so that I can see everyone's reactions. :) These are called Ethereals. Lets get started!

Ethereals are small, cat-like spirits that guide and help humans through mental and physical problems. Ethereals live on a small island in the middle of the ocean. The location is unknown to all but the Ethereals themselves. The Ethereals have a black or dark grey base coat of fur, a short fluffy mane/coat on their neck, and BIG FLUFFY EARS. They also have small horns, that come in simple shapes. A small crest of feathers can be found under the horns. They have long, prehensile tails with a lantern of some kind on the end of it. Ethereals have no gender, and are born from bits of stardust. Their young are called cubs. When an Ethereal is birthed, they are placed in a room in the middle of the island, which contains thousands of lanterns. They must choose a lantern, and at the end of their life, they must create a lantern to put in the room. In these lanterns, they put memories, emotions, and a legacy. This helps the newborn Ethereal to learn, and preserves the memory of all the others before it. Examples of different lanterns are shown below.

Ethereals are covered in glowey scales. The color of these scales depends on their job. After an Ethereal chooses its lantern, it is paired with a human. This human has some sort of mental or physical problem that the Ethereal must solve. This is usually achieved by just being a companion, but tactics may vary, such as leading a lost person out of a thick forest. After helping their human, an Ethereal's scales glow white, and they return to their island to await their next human. Ethereals only die if they fail to help their human, or if their human dies. This means that they are capable of living thousands of years, if they are good at their job. When they die, their scales loose their glow, and they must make a lantern, and put their essence into it. They then return to the stars once again. Below is a scale-color chart. An Ethereal's scales change color depending on the problem a human is facing, and they can have more than one color.

The Ethereals are assigned a human via their leader. The leader's glow scales are gold, not yellow, and they are a bit larger than the average Ethereal. However, their power lies in their lantern. The leader's lantern is not remade, it is kept, and passed down from leader to leader. Once the leader dies, their lantern is placed in the lantern room, and the Ethereal that chooses it is the next leader. Because it is passed down and not remade, the memories and essence in it are much stronger, so the young Ethereal is well equipped for their job. The leader does take on jobs, but very rarely. Below is a picture of the Leader's lantern.

Once an Ethereal has been assigned to a human, the two develop a close bond. Though lacking wings, Ethereals can float, and usually don't stray far from their human's side. They can be seen by their human at all times, but are invisible to others, unless they choose to reveal themselves. Thus to avoid confusion, Ethereals communicate telepathically, both to their human and others of their kind. Ethereals are extremely cuddly and protective of their humans. Despite being no bigger than a cat, they will not hesitate to bite and scratch and threat to their human. This often happens while invisible, which leads to numerous false ghost reports. Note how I never say owner, because the human doesn't own the Ethereal. It's a partnership. Below is an image of an Ethereal perching on their human's shoulder.

While Ethereals are currently a closed species, if you are able to obtain one, you must also create a human to be guided by your Ethereal. The human must have a name, age, personality, physical description, small backstory, and a short story about how they found their Ethereal. You can't just make a half-assed human oc and forget about them. It's a partnership. And once again, THESE ARE A CLOSED SPECIES Just for now!

This is just a small diagram, I'll get a proper ref pic up later. The purple highlights are the glow scales, and I have included some very sciency and professional notes.

This above is a concept I did back in June, so it isn't the best reference, but oh well

Here is a list of names, but of course you can come up with your own once they open
Hope, Faith, Destiny, Luck, Luna, Windchime, Chant, Rune, Serenity, Puzzle, Eerie, Fig, Rain, Liberty, Concord, Symphony, Abha, Firefly, Joy, Dusk, Lani, Gale, Melody, November, Zarah, Fae, Dream, Sprite, Nimbus, Forest, Aztec

The person I collabed with came up with around 75% of these.

ANYWAYS! I hope you guys enjoyed this!!! If you are interested in owning one of these, please tell me so! If these get enough attention, I'll make them their own book! MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, I HOPE YOU GET EVERYTHING YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS AND I LOVE YOU ALL!!!