Shifter
Shifters are a race with a bestial aspect. Sometimes called weretouched, they are sometimes maligned as lycanthropes, or descendants thereof. In truth, their lineage is the result not of a curse, but a divine gift.
Long ago, a forgotten kingdom was beset by a terrible plague that resisted even magical healing. The people prayed for salvation, and their prayers were answered by the goddess Ehlonna. Though she cleansed the plague from their lands, the people were forever changed by the bargain, taking on the aspects of the creatures of the wilderness that were Ehlonna's domain.
Since that time they have spread out into Syra to live among the other people of the world. Though they are few in number, they have never forgotten their bond with nature.