Nation Race(s): [Morphs] Contrary to the sound of their names, Morphs do not wield exceptional shape-shifting abilities for a majority of their life-cycle. Instead, they are androgynous humanoid figures with pale, eggshell white skin and large empty eyes lacking pupils or irises. Often slender in frame, morphs stand at the same average heights of humans. Morphs lack noses and ears, having smoothed heads and bodies with very rounded features. To the touch, morphs' flesh is soft and malleable. However, their skin may be hardened to incredible densities at will, and sometimes unintentionally in reaction to high amounts of pain or stimulus. Some morphs that have gained a higher level of control over their body actually can shape-shift, causing minor adjustments to a single  limb such as the changing of an arm into a blade or another simple shape (color change is never a result of shape-shifting).
One morph 'variant' also exists as an uncommon mutation. While not having an official name, they are colloquially referred to as "Tainted" by many morphs. Tainted hold no adversity with regular morphs, and are heralded by some morph cultures as natural born leaders or commanders. Tainted are easily identifiable by their darker skin color, often shades of grey and occasionally black. Their skin is hardened in a way similar to an exoskeleton, and several sharp spines protrude from their back, lacking an identified purpose. Unlike normal morphs, tainted lack any skin hardening or shape-shifting abilities, however they often feature above average strength, speed, and/or intelligence.
An interesting trait of older morphs is their ability to double over as a sort of parasitic mimic. Although not able to transform for the majority of their life-cycle, morphs gain the ability to take the form of seemingly common objects which are referred to by most as "artifacts" in the later part of their life. Artifacts form a symbiotic relationship with whatever host wields them, causing morph-like traits to appear in the host as the artifact begins to siphon energy from their body. Artifacts have been known to grant the wielder the strength of the morph prior to the morph becoming an artifact (due to this, many wielders do not even notice an absence in strength or energy due to the abnormal power they gain from wielding the artifact). Powerful artifacts are often sought out by military powers due to the strengths they can bring to a military. In many instances, stronger morphs fracture themselves into multiple artifacts in order to find multiple wielders to siphon energy from. Artifacts spawned from the same morph can often be recombined to form stronger artifacts.
When an artifact has consumed a host's energy entirely, the host's body is absorbed as well, and the artifact condenses into a circular egg roughly the size of a human's head. These eggs act as the first stage in the life cycle of morphs. During the egg stage, the previous morph's memories are lost as the morph will takes on a similar body shape to the recent host. When the egg has sat for approximately fifteen days, it will take shape as a child, often no taller than two feet tall. Within a matter of weeks, a morph will grow to full size, then proceeds to exist in the main stage its life-cycle for up to over 200 years before taking on its own artifact form. The strategy of a morph splitting into two or more artifacts is so that they may create at least twice as many new morphs.
Alternatively, two or more morphs may combine into what can only be referred to as "a pod." Pods produce new morphs in regular intervals of 10-15 days. Tainted cannot be born from pods or form pods. This is due to tainted being unable to shape-shift or form. Instead, tainted are created when a morph is absorbed by an artifact rather than a proper host. The egg created turns black and takes a longer time to develop. Tainted do not become artifacts either, but instead live on past that stage, eventually dying when their bodies decay at around 300 years old.