Lore
Riftclaws are magical beings much like dragons or unicorns, with innate abilities that can't be easily explained by scientific methods. They are attuned specifically to the energy of the void, a vast, lightless expanse dotted with the decaying ruins of fallen worlds. Void magic is formless and colourless, but has infinite potential when paired with a strong will.
As they are naturalised to the ambient energy of the void, riftclaws possess a surprising resistance to anomalous effects; it's difficult for them to be charmed or controlled by other void-aligned lifeforms, and they're capable of attacking or defending themselves physically even against intangible void-based beings.
Dimension Jumping
The most iconic ability riftclaws possess is the ability to dig their claws into the very fabric of reality, tearing micro-rifts into the void that allow them to travel between dimensions at will. The anomalous nature of the void, which exists outside all realities, allows a riftclaw to cut in and out of universes at any point. They don't necessarily need to open a large rift to do this; more skilled interdimensional travellers can slip through the tiniest slits in reality at will.
The physical claws of a riftclaw are anomalous in nature themselves; they maintain the ability to tear through reality even after the riftclaw's death or the claw's amputation. Riftclaw daggers are an uncommon but prized magical item that can allow travel in and out of the void at will.
Riftclaws also have some extra senses that most species do not; their sense of spatial awareness is unerringly accurate even in completely lightless environments, and they are capable of "seeing" the ambient dimensional energy of the realities they travel, which manifests as a coloured aura around any person or object and is dependent on both origin universe and that of other universes travelled through interdimensionally. The colour inherent to each reality is consistent across all riftclaws; if a universe is "red" to one riftclaw, it will be "red" to all other riftclaws. This sense does not appear to be affected by an equivalent of colour-blindness.
Shapeshifting
Riftclaw DNA has been greatly modified by long-term exposure to void energy over many generations. Unlike many Earth-based lifeforms, riftclaw DNA is formed of three braided strands, with one strand seemingly encoded entirely differently to the other two. This third strand appears to be the base genetic code of a riftclaw, controlling the genetic expression of their natural form. It’s believed that this unusual DNA structure is what allows them to shapeshift even without magical aptitude, but it’s a poorly studied mechanism, especially since blood or tissue samples removed from a living riftclaw will revert to natural form one separated from the body.
Riftclaws can shapeshift by willing their DNA into different shapes, a difficult skill to develop that takes several years of practice. Their three-strand braided DNA contains a "master" strand that codes for their default/natural form, to which they revert when they fall asleep, are knocked unconscious, or are killed.
Riftclaw skin maintains some of that shapeshifting ability when shed or removed, although unlike the claws the skin will lose its power over time unless frequently warmed with body-heat or other ambient energy (such as electromagnetic or thaumic radiation).
Void Magic
Void magic is extremely versatile; it is the energy formed by the constant destruction and recreation occurring in the void. Riftclaws carry it within them, the way a dragon carries the magic necessary to create fire. While not all riftclaws learn to use magic, Riftclaw spellcasters are masters of creating something from nothing, connecting seemingly unrelated points, or altering reality in tiny ways to suit their spells' purposes.
Void magic can be used to create, recreate, or destroy matter, by converting pieces of unreality into reality and back. The core of void magic is the willpower to make real the unreal, something that can manifest in forms as varied as knitting flesh together, projecting imaginary forms into reality, or even summoning totally new creatures.
Within the clans, "thaumaturgy" is the term used to refer to the performance of void magic. This term has been adopted by the terrani of Terra, who learned much of their early arts from Vaskharr friends.
The use of void magic to mend wounds and hasten recovery from illness is widespread, but has impacted the development of traditional medicine due to its ease of use, and it cannot affect genetic abnormalities directly.