AN: Ooooooookay! So, I realize this chapter has been long in the coming...but somewhat short in the giving...Not so much a plot-type chapter, but more of a world building one. I admit, I was planning something completely different for chap. 8, but...that's still giving me some issues. So, here's what I managed to pull together from my own headcanons and theories for the Caged Animals'verse. I once more apologize for the wait on this one, but, once again, my computer has gone and died. (I'm sensing a pattern here..) This chapter will, however, explain some things in earlier chapters as well as some concepts that will become more prevalent later on, so...thank you for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy!

Species: Phantasmis Phasma

Common Name: Phantom

Classification lvl: 07.0

RTH:* Minimal. A predetorial species which will defend its territory and family-group only if threatened or hatching/fledgling is harmed or threatened. Humans have made friendly contact. *Risk to Humans

Species General Description: Humanoid. Body structure varies little from region to region, the most notable change in physiology being the coloration of skin in differing biomes and forested areas, though the main physical features that don't change are as listed;

-Black sclera in the adults (eye whites)

-Generally, the hair or flames on the head are light in color, ranging from white to dull blue-grays or greens, sometimes shot through with darker patches.

-Smaller then humans. On average, adults around 5'0".

-When fully grown, the skin will turn mottled and patchy to look like light filtering through leaves and branches, so more powerful predators have trouble differentiating them from their tree-top habitat. As stated above, skin coloring changes from generation to generation to suit their environment. For example, if a Phantom with green/grey streaked skin moves on to a forest where the flora is predominantly blue/black/white, then the chances their offspring will reflect those colors is higher, and with each subsequent generation the coloration will change.

Over all, a Phantomin its prime resembles a young human of about twenty-thirty years of age, despite the actual age of the specimen being far younger. Most notable speceal trait is the 'mane' of spectral flame which males develop in adolescence and can be an identifying factor in distinguishing them from their female counter parts.

Encountering/ Place of Habitation: In general, Phantasmis Phasma seems to prefer forest, wooded biomes. The old forests of wood and the Poe lakeshore districts logging and mining plants were recently shut down temporarily due to the discovery of nests and budding family groups. These groups contained hatchlings, so the ectoecologists assigned to the area made the decision to wait until the offspring were a year of age before a relocation program was enacted.

The wooded areas this species inhabit vary in type, though most ectoecologists agree that when presented with a choice Phantoms will choose tall, redwood-like trees to nest. It would appear, the taller the better.

Behavior: This species, despite being wary of humans and other kinds of specters due to their predator-prey status and thus their unfortunate proclivity to be picked off by larger predators, are a social kind. It is not uncommon to find two or three family-groups living in -relatively- close proximity with one another. During these times, unmated members of one familial group will leave and join another without either group presenting much protest at the sudden loss/gaining of a member.

Due to the specie's observed high intelligence levels, many aspects of their behavioral and social interactions are yet to be learned of, however, after basic observations, it is noted that their species is, in fact, not a strict hierarchy based society, and any overly aggressive members are forcefully removed from the society and territory.

While on the subject, single Phantoms, which is to say, Phantoms without any family-group, mate or territory are rare, but more often then not unfortunately, feral. If a Phantom is spotted wandering in an aimless manner during 'daylight' hours or by themselves with no nests in the general vicinity, please contact A.S.E.P. and do not attempt to approach.

There are a few exceptions, with wandering youngsters looking for a new family group or ones looking to take a territory and form their own family group, though these Phantoms will usually be in small groups, and display normal behavior. Feral Phantoms are always alone.

One of the few traits that set these entities apart from others in the Ghost Zone, Phantasmis Phasma society seems more egalitarian then hierarchal. In every family group, there will be one or two mated couples who seem to act as the designated 'leaders', and are normally the eldest of the members. When identified, these ruling pairs receive the name Monarchs. They are responsible for major changes or decisions within social structure, war-like actions taken against an opposing group, or territorial shifts when an area becomes hunted-out or unfit to live in. Monarchs have also been known to 'police' the mated pairs below them, sometimes splitting up those they perceive to be a threat to their authority, or leading the chase-off of aggressive members.

A Monarch pairs' rule seems to be determined by a sort of 'majority vote'. If a Monarch begins to display an abuse of power, the other members of the family group will forcibly put them down, and another mated pair will assume the empty position. When overthrowing Monarchs, more often then not, the defeated pair are shunned from the group for a time before the new ruling couple decide whether or not to allow them to return. Overthrowing doesn't appear to happen very often, but when it does, there is a significant shift in the amount of members leaving the group and new persons looking to join, as if the strays in the area can sense the power shift and the freedoms it provides.

Gender Types: Within the species, the term Male and Female are very loosely used, as is with many spectral entities.

Phantasmis Phasma after much study, has been determined to be nearly agender. Whatever genitalia the beings possess is mostly non-consequential in their overall physiology, rather simply a holdover from the human template these specters were created from.

'Females' are mostly denoted as the type not bearing the distinctive flaming mane. While not showing any notable differences in strength or intelligence then their 'male' counterparts, females are known to stick closer to the nest during brooding, often using this time to feed the eggs and strengthen social bonds with other members of the group, though after the offspring hatch, will return to normal hunting and other duties.

'Males' act very similar to females, in that they too feed the eggs with collected energy and guard the nest in brooding times, though less so then the female, instead choosing to roam the farther reaches of the nest-site checking for caught prey or maintaing the nest structure. Male Phantom physical appearances are usually, though not always, slightly more masculine then females, being taller, and heavier-set, much like human males.

Both males and females take an equal share in raising the young.

There exists a third gender type within Phantom society, though it is rare and sometimes difficult to identify unless behavior is observed for a substantial amount of time. This third gender is the xemale.

Xemale is appropriately named, as this Phantom gender-type appears to have no gender, as humans understand within our binary. The xemale acts neither male nor female, taking no mate, nor competing for dominance over younger members and other group-mates. Behaviorists sometimes refer to this gender as the 'omega' of the Phantom world. The role of the xemale is debated as suitable observation subjects are hard to come by, and even then it is easy to confuse this third gender with a younger male Phantom, but scientists have made a few educated guesses as to its purpose, the most widely agreed being that the xemale is the peacekeeper between group-mates. Fights over food, space, and with the younger members, mating rights to each other (as the young come into 'sexual' maturity wanting certain other members for mates becomes and issue, sometimes driving the young away to join another family groups) aren't unusual, so the xemale parts the opposing members and 'comforts' them until tensions ease.

It has yet to be fully proven, but its thought that family groups with xemale members have a longer Staytime - time period in which the same members stick together and the group grows larger - then those without. The usual Staytime is thought to be around thirty years or so. One group with a definite identified xemale was noted to Stay for thirty-eight.

It is unknown the birth percentage of the xemale, or if xemales are even born at all, rather then simply start as male or female and lose the few gender traits that separate the two.

Hatchlings/Fledglings: Phantom offspring are formed through the combined efforts of two adults. The adult pairing is usually a male and female, though female-female and even male-male have been seen.

The first sign of a mated pair readying themselves for the strains of creating a child firs appear when the male (or if no male is present, the female partner that will act as the male) begin spinning separate layers of webbing higher in the tree canopy if said rearing-webbing is not already present, or what is already there needs expanding to accommodate the eggs.

The first layers will be the hard, semi-pliable loadbearing threads, followed by the more flexible netting. In normal circumstances, this is where a Phantom will stop and the structure would be complete, if not for the afore mentioned use. After the simple structure is done, the male will then dedicate hours, even days of work into spinning and weaving 'downey' silk to fill in the spaces. This type of silk is smooth, and is created in sheets, rather like the human world cobweb, lining the nest until it meets the other mate's satisfaction. When this step is complete, the parents begin to form the eggs.

Phantom eggs are not eggs as humans would know them. The child is not incubated within the body at all, anytime, nor is the 'shell' of the egg hard or brittle.

Phantoms will collect ectoenergy by means of hunting and trapping other beings within the webbing of their home nest. They wait until the ensnared entity dies of injury or strangulation, suffocation, starves, or kill them straight off, then consumes the remains. In eating, the Phantom's core will generate a higher amount of energy for a short time before settling down and distributing the energy to the rest of the body at a more moderate rate, causing the Phantom to go into what a human could compare to a sugar high. It has been the source of an amount of entertainment to field scientists observing the spastic antics of a feed-high Phantom. If the Phantom is creating or feeding eggs, however, this energy induced high will occur but the parent does not spend the excess energy on themselves.

This extra energy will be diverted into feeding the eggs.

Phantom 'eggs' are made of a combination of the parents energies, mixed until a psudo-core begins to form, and a thick coating of silk and webbing is applied to form a sort of amniotic sack, keeping impurities out, and the needed energy in. In order to form the core, around which a child will form, the parents must give the egg energy by channeling the energy through their hands directly onto the surface of the web sack. The fibers of the casing are made of the same ecto purities secreted by the adult Phantom to make webbing, and will transfer the energy to the forming core.

Important; both parents must take part in the feeding, or else a core will not form properly.

A.S.E.P. biotechnologists and molecular experts, after much observation and testing, have attempted to recreate this phenomenon, combining ectoenergies to form an ectoplasmic core, though each attempt to date has failed, some for yet unknown reasons. The scientists interviewed chalked such failures up to simply "they (the entities that would have formed around the artificially created cores) just...know something's up. Something's not right, and they just...don't go through with it. I dunno, it's like we've said before, these things are smart. Maybe not human-type smart, but they're still intelligent - probably in ways we don't understand yet."

The growing offspring within the eggs need a consistent stream of energy. As such, while one parent feeds the eggs or rests, the other is off tending the pre-set snares and web for captured prey. If this energy feed is cut off before the egg has a stable psudo-core formed, however, the egg will start to eat away at its silk coating in attempts to gain the necessary fuel, before dissipating and degenerating into nothing. As such, when mated pairs decide to have children, (and it has been proven this is an intelligent choice, not simple instinct) it is somewhat of a group effort. Older hatchlings and fledglings are passed off to friends and group-mates for looking after; sometimes closer members will help in hunting and snare duties so the parents will have more time to devote to the soon-to-be offspring.

Gestation duration for Phantoms seems to vary from area to area, though the average appears to be around 3-4 human world months. When the psudo-core is stable, the energies and ectoplasm surrounding it will condense and start to form a body. This process normally takes anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks, depending on the core strength. When the body is fully formed, the child will begin to fight its way out of the silk egg.

Much like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, Phantom hatchlings cannot be assisted in their hatching, or else the newly formed muscles and body will not gain proper strength, and the child will either die or have stability problems for the rest of their life.

-Hatchlings are usually defined as birth-to-three human years old. They earn the term fledgling when they gain the ability to fly. Phantom children look very similar to human children - their skin color resembles that of a human, and their sclera are still white. The hair still like a human's, no matter what gender the hatchling is.

Over the course of the first two years, offspring are watched over carefully by parents and older siblings, who mainly make sure the children are fed, and don't wander away from the nest-site too far or fall to their deaths. As the children are unable to fly yet, they will cling to the webbing of the nest using it like ladders and bridges to scale the trees of their home.

Phantom children depend almost entirely upon their parents for food and security the first few months of life, staying cooped up in the safety of the brooding nest with their siblings and same-age group-mates.

As they are mostly helpless, but have yet to develop the camouflage and ability to fly or spin web as their elders do, Phantom hatchlings possess the rather unique ability to suppress their aura, the telling flare of energy surrounding ghosts and other ecto-enteties which alert all in the immediate vicinity to the entities' presence. To any observer, a hatchling in distress will not cry out or make any moves to flee; rather, they curl into a tighter ball, wrapping their spectral tail about themselves and dampen their aura. The spectral tail of a hatchling, no matter what coloration the parents' are, is always black, helping the child blend in better to the dark surroundings* when cornered. In most normal cases, this would suffice as a parent or older sibling is usually within range to protect the hatchling. This ability stays with the child until late adolescence, when their core becomes too powerful to dampen.

* Phantoms are crepuscular/nocturnal, and some places in the Ghost Zone become so dark during the nights the glow of their auras and the nest are the only lights provided.

As the hatchlings grow older, however, the parents begin to wean them off of total dependency, sometimes not bringing food to the children, or batting them away when begging for attention. This is seen as the first step of becoming an active member of the family group, learning to live on one's own and find their own place within the family-group. As the hatchlings continue to grow, they will learn from parents, elder mentors and siblings how to set traps, (even though Phantoms do not begin to produce silk until they are nearly adults) avoid predators, and survive in a world as harsh as the Ghost Zone can be.

As the children continue to grow, so does the perceived neglect. Parents will respond to the offspring with more aggression then simple pushing away, leaving the child to find its own means to an end, lest the wrath of their elders be incurred. This time in a Phantom's childhood would seem cruel to outsiders, particularly to us humans who value and cherish our children, but in Phantom society, this is a crucial part of growing up. The parental and (sometimes) elder sibling ridicule enforces boundaries, while allowing the youth to disengage from the younger generations and move on to fast-approaching adulthood.

Relations With Humans: When first encountering Phantasmis Phasma, archivers agree the initial reaction on both sides was...tentative. It was unknown the intellectual levels of the species, and many field agents reported being quite put-off by the highly human appearance. After the first unsure reactions, came the hesitant 'hello' in Ghost-Speak Common, as was used with a majority of ghost-kind at the time to communicate.

The Phantoms did not respond well. It is still unknown what exactly the miscommunication was, but Records believe that, from the few recounts of the event, what was a greeting made in friendliness could have been perceived as a threat or offense. Thirteen field agents were attacked by the newly discovered family-group, and were forced to retreat, sadly, taking an unknown number of Phantom lives with them. After the attack, it was decided to cut off access to the wooded area, until A.S.E.P. could accurately take stock of the threat level the new species provided.

It was nearly fifty years afterwards before the Atmosphere had been fully breached, and the first humans began to explore Settling, and coming across more ecto-forest, and naturally, more Phantoms.

The want for naturally ectoplasm infused building materials on Earth had begun to grow, and with the finding of the Settling, the demand grew. However, the beings already there often said otherwise, Phantoms included. While not as explosive a reaction as the first contact, relations between humans and them remained strained, at best. Scientist worked furiously to determine if communication was possible so agreements about land and territory could be reached, but results still remained inconclusive. Then, on April 9, 2421, an up-and-coming team of agents proposed a new idea: The Unveil Projects.

The Unveil Projects were a series of research and observation/outreach campaigns made towards the Phantom species.

As the species was thought to be highly intelligent, possibly borderline Breach, the Unveil project was set up to try and bridge the divide between humans and them. However, this hopeful attitude only lasted so long.

Language barriers were the first major problem encountered, naturally. Translation technology was in it's barest infancy, and Phantoms spoke not in ancient speak nor ghost speak so intent was often lost in translation. Attempts to teach them human-known languages, even the children, were met with seemingly indifference towards the agents at best, and outward aggression at worst. The most the very few successful tries garnered was some basic vocabulary and object Signs from the ASL (American Sign Language).

Other problems arose with social and territorial matters. It is true, the presence of humans in the territory drove off certain prey species the Phantom people depended on, which triggered high tension, despite the agents willingness to provide the food resources necessary to make up for the loss. The longer the humans stayed in the territories, the more outwardly antagonistic the Phantoms became towards them. This growing sense of territorialism triggered more confrontations with their own kind as well. After a brief but intense clash of two monitored clans, the Unveil projects went into reconsideration and review, to perhaps find a better way to keep communications and teachings possible but after much deliberation on part of ASEP and data review from other major ectological associations, it was decided that Unveil would be put on hold until better engagement protocols were formed and more readings on the Phantom Species was gathered.

To date, the spectral entity known as Phantom is categorized as Sub- Breach intelligence and low level RTH but with a nonRosetta note for any who wish to pursue personal academic study with these specters. Much to the dismay of many of those who had studied and worked in close contact with the entities, multiple ecto foresting and mining industries were given the go-ahead to begin material acquisition, pushing many family-groups to the edge and eventual death.

Vocabulary

Breach- the point of intelligence in spectral entities to where assimilation into human culture and society (partial or full) can be achieved.

Rosetta- the cognitive ability level in spectral entities to be taught a human-base language and pass on this knowledge to others of its kind.

RTH- Risk To Humans. Many spectral entities are not friendly towards humans and when encountered, will seek to destroy them. The RTH spectrum runs from 01.0= harmless in all aspects to 10.0= never attempt to approach without a highly trained team and sufficient weaponry and protection.

Atmosphere- The gaseous layer of the Ghost Zone, the first layer to be discovered and explored. Thought to be all there was, until it was found that the Atmosphere is a literal atmosphere, this layer is inhabited by ghosts, and other mainly non-coporial entities. Much of the Atmosphere consists of Mespos, Doors, Snapspots and vortexes leading down to the Settling.

Mespo- (also known as a Meca) is a place within the Ghost Zone where high concentrations of energy called snapspots condense to form land masses which, much like volcanic islands on Earth, become populated with ecto flora and fauna over time. Mespos can be anywhere from a few yards to a few miles wide, depending on how charged the snapspot it formed from was.

Some Ghost Zone residents (ghosts) have stated that Mespos can be forced into creation with enough applied force of will and power, though this phenomenon has yet to be observed, and sufficient data on how much 'will' is needed to form them proves the theory of Force Creation dubious.

Settling- The layer below the Atmosphere, like the actual 'earth' of the Ghost Zone. This is where mainly coporial entities (like Phantoms) reside. This level is perhaps the closest in parallel to earth, though it isn't without its quirks. Energy from the Atmosphere filters down, creating or influencing the Settling, thus giving it its name. The Settling possesses mountain ranges, plains, lakes, rivers, forests, canyons and any number of other biomes found in the human world, though being a part of the Ghost Zone, these biomes are prone to energy shifts, like any of the other layers. When the energy shifts, a biome will become unsuitable to sustain 'life' forcing whatever is living in the area to move or be destroyed, and could possibly form a vortex into the final layer of the Ghost Zone.

Void- The layer below the Settling. True to it's name, the Void is just that; an abyss into true nothingness. As far as humans know, nothing sentient or comprehensible to the human mind resides in the Void. So little is still known about this layer, as there are very few times a vortex is open for long enough to study it, though many state they wouldn't want to even if they could. This attitude towards the Ghost Zone's final frontier has earned it the nickname 'Hell', by those who've gotten close enough to gain readings on a Settling vortex into it. It is unknown if any layer exists below or beyond Void.

Vortex- a spiraling channel of energy, able to face any direction, on any level in the Ghost Zone, which often leads to other areas within it. It is possible to access the Settling from the Atmosphere without the use of a vortex, though the process is greatly lengthened, sometimes into weeks worth of travel. The Atmosphere is most susceptible to naturally occurring vortexes.