Shapeshifting
The act of Shapeshifting is an advanced magical technique which involves changing one's form into another via the use of meditation, spiritual power and skillful use of magic.
Whilst some wish to credit the Dragons to be the first users of shapeshifting, this type of magic dates back all the way to the inception of existence via the Gods themselves. When civilization begun to flourish, the Gods would create smaller forms called Avatars in which to walk the lands in corporeal form to appear in front of Mortals on rare occasions. At certain points in history the Gods of Auria were even able to force shapeshifting unto others like they did with the Humans that invaded Gwynbrenon turning them into the Wolfen.
Since Dragons were the first living creatures with access to Magic and they held the role of protectors of the galaxy, it was only natural for them to also use the skills of shapeshifting to give themselves alternative forms, which usually were of common Mortals simply so that they can blend in with society almost seamlessly. Dragons generally take one Humanoid form with which they stick with and develop as a character they play, often times coming up with backgrounds and origins for their persona so that they are more convincing.
With the advent of Magic, many Mortals began to practice the art of shapeshifting too particularly those following Druidism or Shamanism so they could create strong bonds with nature. The Elves and Wolfen of Gwynbrenon practice shapeshifting with the latter of which having a strong connection to the technique.
The most common place to learn Shapeshifting is Nytlerei City, the capital of the nature-bound Elves and their allies. Within the Grove of the Wilds many students come to learn from druidic masters all that it means to be a Druid in their culture. Though the lessons cover many topics and techniques, Shapeshifting is considered one of the more important ones.
In Etherin Academy many students enroll in the lessons of Illusions and Shapeshifting as it is also a popular technique taught in sorcery.
Lower Dragonhearth's Academy of Knowledge is Auria's largest and most exclusive school of magic where almost all types and forms of Magic are researched and studied extensively. It would be expected then that Shapeshifting is covered here too. Draken often find themselves in need of creating disguises to hide their true identities from the world to avoid racism and scrutiny.
Upper Dragonhearth has many places where magic is taught to young Dragons and since Shapeshifting is an integral part of their existence it is made priority to be taught how to cast proper forms to blend in with Mortal cultures.
Technicalities
Shapeshifting is considered a difficult art to master. The first steps of the process includes actually making the shape one desires to be within their psyche, detailing and molding the form to their liking and often drawing inspiration from other real life things or creatures. The process of creating a form is often the hardest and often requires hours of uninterrupted meditation to make sure the form is safe to use. In the process of creating forms, one may also infuse magical elements or effects into it to give it unique traits that the original body does not possess like increased healing or night vision.
When it is created, the form exists in an ethereal state within the soul of its creator, allowing them to transform into and out of the shape with a simple transformation spell. It is worth noting that after the creation process the form remains permanently within the soul unless it is destroyed by a powerful spiritual spell. One person may possess multiple forms to take but each form is more difficult to create than the last. The limits of magic is entirely based on a person's own willpower, creativity and determination and this is no different with Shapeshifting as some historical figures have been witnessed using dozens of different forms. Archdruid Bronn Silverbark was rumoured to have over a hundred forms though the truths of this myth are left in the air.
The form's body acts individually from the body of its creator and any damage inflicted upon a form is not carried over when shapeshifting... however injuries affect the form much like it does a real body and they remain even after shapeshifting; for example cutting off the limb of a form causes that form to permanently lose it but the original body of the creator remains unharmed.
Changing the appearance of a form or its trait is generally considered difficult as it requires erasing the form and recreating it within the mind of the shapeshifter first which can be a challenge to complete efficiently.
Though each form is a different body, the soul and spirit is connected between them all. That is why killing a shapeshifter in a form will also kill them in all other forms. This also means that the personality of the shapeshifter remains largely untouched between forms though some inconsistencies may occur due to the nature of the forms. Forms can also be damaged even when the shapeshifter is not in them via the use of highly-concentrated chaos magic.