Farthel

A farthel (pronounced /ˈfɑrðəl/) is the result of fasklings henotically merging with other creatures. Farthels differ from fasks in that the latter are made up only of fasklings, whereas the former also include other species in their composition. Most farthels are made up of a single non-faskling creature, called the "base" of the farthel, with a number of fasklings adding some augmentation to its body, such as extra limbs or a tougher skin. Some farthels, however, are more radically changed, and some may combine multiple bases in addition to the fasklings. Although most farthels resemble the base with the fasklings granting some additional limbs, added bulk, or other extra features, but nothing subtracted, this is not necessarily the case. Somehow, merging with fasklings allows the original creature some measure of transfigurement as well, and there are farthels that bear little resemblance to the base creature they contain.

Like fasks, farthels are possessed of something of a gestalt mentality. A farthel retains the memories and (for the most part) the personality of the base, but the addition of the fasklings does somewhat augment its intelligence and awareness. Physical damage to the farthel, especially to the part made up of fasklings, does also decrease its mental abilities, if somewhat less dramatically than for a fask; likewise, a farthel, like a fask, is somewhat less susceptible to some forms of magical healing. In the case of a farthel made up of multiple bases, generally the mentalities of both or all bases combine into a single mind. Multiple-creature farthels in which the component minds still remain discrete exist, but are rare; the separate minds may control different parts of the body, or have to compete for control.

Unlike fasks, farthels may have parts or appendages with smaller dimensions than fasklings, as long as those appendages, or others like them, were already possessed by the base, or in a farthel with multiple bases at least by one of them. This even extends to those portions of the farthel, however, that were not part of the base; for example, if the base had hair, then the farthel can have hair even on new limbs and mass that the base didn't have. Some biologists theorize this is due in some way to the fasklings that make up these new parts of the farthel borrowing a little of the base's genetic makeup, though the mechanism isn't entirely clear.

Farthels tend to be a little tougher than most comparably-sized creatures, and slightly harder to damage, the faskling-merging giving them a little extra resiliency. On the other hand, they tend to compare less favorably when it comes to agility; their composite nature gives them a little awkwardness.

Becoming a farthel

Becoming a farthel is a lengthy process that involves the fasklings gradually merging with the other creature or creatures involved. It is not usually extremely painful, but does yield odd sensations of stretching and liquefaction. In the later stages of the process, the base itself may flow and reshape into the farthel's final form. This does not necessarily imply it will have the ability to change form later; although farthels may change shape during the merging process, in most cases their form is permanently fixed thereafter.

Creatures may come across and choose to undergo this process for a number of different reasons. Some hear of farthels and seek out fasks hoping to be loaned some fasklings to begin the process, or locate free fasklings and induce them to merge with them. A few fasks actively try to recruit people to take on the merging and become farthels, extolling the benefits of the process and the potential abilities thus gained; perhaps these fasks believe that in this way they are somehow furthering the purpose and reach of their race, or perhaps they sincerely believe that they are helping those they convince to become farthels. These proselytizing fasks either give prospective farthels a few fasklings they dissociate from themselves to initiate the process, or keep on hand some unmerged fasklings for that purpose. The wizard Shal of Walgaraw serves as an example of a more unusual method by which someone can become a farthel. There are no known cases of anyone becoming a farthel against his will; it seems necessary for a creature or creatures to voluntarily submit to the process.

The length of time that the merging process takes varies widely; it takes some psychological effort on the part of the farthel-to-be, and some individuals manage it much more quickly than others. In any case, however, it has never been known to proceed to completion in less than two days except under very special circumstances.

If the sexual organs of the bases remain intact and exposed in the farthel, farthels may also be capable of procreation with other creatures of the same species as the base. Generally, the product of the procreation will also be of the same species, and be genetically the child of the base the organs correspond to. It is possible, however, for the farthel during procreation to choose to also pass on some of its component fasklings to its offspring, causing it to develop into a farthel (generally with the same form as the parent, though in some circumstances this may not be the case). Through this method, several true-breeding "lines" of farthel may exist that are in many ways functionally distinct species (and according to some biologists may over time develop in fact into such).

Lifespan

Farthels tend to live somewhat longer than the base creatures they are made up of. On average (or rather, as a median), they can expect their lifespans to be approximately doubled. Farthels do not, however, die of "old age" as most organisms do. Most farthels, in fact, do not show any readily visible sign of aging, but once merged remain as they are, apparently unaging, indefinitely. When a farthel finally does "die" of natural causes, it is not usually due to any of the factors usually associated with old age, but because of some kind of loss of coherence of its component fasklings. The entire farthel—including the base—will simply collapse into a pile of fasklings, which may later combine into a fask, or merge with another creature into a new farthel, but cannot generally recreate the henotic creature they just were. The farthel tends to start dropping occasional fasklings for a few days prior to the total collapse, leading to some warning that its "death" is imminent, but once it has progressed to this stage little or nothing, short of powerful magics, can be done to forestall it.

Some farthels manage to resist this fate for longer than usual, leading to a few hardy farthels surviving for much more time than the norm. In fact, some farthels have stayed intact for many times the lifespans of their base creatures before dying by violence or some other cause, and there are a few who have succeeded in avoiding such an end and still remain alive, showing no signs of approaching decomposition. The maximum possible "natural" lifespan of such unusually enduring farthels therefore remains unknown, and it's entirely possible that farthels—like fasks—are potentially immortal.

Possible changes

Aside from the features that all farthels share, there are other possible abilities and enhancements that some, but not all, farthels develop. Some changes, of course, depend on the farthel's form; a farthel with wings may be able to fly even though the original creature could not; a farthel with long legs may be able to run much faster than the original creature; a farthel with claws (where the original creature had none) may be able to use them to attack; a farthel with extra limbs may be able to use them to multitask efficiently. A farthel may place eyes all around its body to be able to see in any direction and avoid being taken by surprise, or enlarge its ears for better hearing. And, of course, the larger the farthel, the stronger and, in general, the more intelligent (though, like fasks, larger farthels tend to be slightly clumsier), though some choose to focus on mental abilities and develop mental faculties above the norm for their size.

There are other abilities some farthels acquire, however, which do not seem directly tied to their shape and size. Very few farthels have all these abilities, but many develop a few of them. One of these abilities is the power to alter their shapes on the fly, like a fask. Most farthels that develop this ability are only able to change the part of themselves that is made up of fasklings, not the base; some few farthels, however, are somehow able to extend the fasklings' transformative abilities to their original forms, and are able to transform their whole bodies just as a fask can. Even in those rare cases, however, the process is still much more time-consuming and much more fatiguing for a farthel than for a fask; a typical farthel with this ability may take half an hour to fully change its form, and will be fatigued for the following day. Furthermore, farthels seem to be somewhat more limited in the range of their transformations, able to dramatically alter their features but not to grant themselves new limbs or other useful appendages. Some farthels manage to overcome these limitations, and can alter forms as quickly as a fask, or can be as versatile in their changes, or both; but such farthels are very far in the minority. It's relatively common, however, for a farthel without the fask's transformative versatility to nevertheless manage to master one or more particular transformations, more complete than those a farthel would normally be capable of, that it can do.

Aside from transformation, other abilities gained by some, but not all, farthels include:

• Flight
• Dissociation
• Sharing information through imprinting
• Hardened skin (resistant to physical damage)
• Immunity to certain poisons
• Ability to digest unusual foods
• Reduced (or no) need for sleep
• Ability to go without breathing like a fask
• More acute senses

Society

Many farthels, particularly those with small or subtle changes from their base creatures, continue to live among like creatures with little problem, especially if they are able to disguise their modifications and pass as ordinary creatures like their bases. Other farthels, however, must find their own ways in the world. In very cosmopolitan cultures like those of Eidecia, even radically altered farthels may have little trouble gaining acceptance, but where people are less open to the strange and different they may find it a great struggle to find a place in society, and may have to leave civilization and live on their own, or found their own communities with other farthels (if they exist). True-breeding lines of farthels may be simply considered new races in their own right, with all that entails.

Most farthels keep the names of the bases and consider themselves to still be the same people as they were before their merging, the (generally small) changes in their intelligence and personalities notwithstanding. Some few farthels, however, consider their merging to have made them into new individuals, and take on new names accordingly, essentially considering themselves to be starting over with entirely new identities. In the case of farthels of multiple bases, often one base will be dominant, and the farthel will take the name and identity of that base. When this is not the case, the farthel may take on a name that is a portmanteau of the names of its bases, or combines them in some other way. Farthels of multiple bases, however, are more likely than single-base farthels to simply consider themselves to be new creatures, and give themselves a new name and identity distinct from that of any of their bases.