WS:Felines Culture

Religion

The first myth holds that the mothers of the Banbutsunoreichou slew God in the Beginnning and established the families soon after. Needless to say, Felines don't have a particularly respectful attitude towards gods.

The closest Felines come to religion is a combination of ancestor worship, honour worship - both of and from the family and the individual and survival of the strongest.

Ancestor Worship

Every child of a noble family is expected to be capable of naming their family back into the distant past, back to the creation of the family and beyond, back to the creation of the race, or the creation of the universe. These recitations can go on for hours, depending upon the glory the family line has accrued over the years. If each ancestor has accrued great honour and glory, and thus has a much longer name, the recitation may take more than a day.

When the eldest child of the Empress stood to recite her family lineage, it took her over 48 hours of speaking almost non-stop.

Lesser families have substantially less complex lineage, but will still always have a shrine of some description.

The Great Family ancestral shrines are marvels of art. The actual form depends upon the history of the family, the deeds of those being more honoured and the surrounds. It is approved of to place the Ancestor Shrine within the environment, becoming a part of the lands.

Society

Felines live in a matriarchal and martial society that is very strongly divided along class and race lines.

When first presented to court, whether provincial or Imperial, the individual is expected to recite her entire family line. She is also expected to ignore the signs of boredom from probably everyone in the room, except for the harpies, who will listen closely, hopeful for a mistake. A mistake is hardly fatal, but will mark the individual for some years.

Such extremely formal events are particularly important to Felines particularly because much of the rest of their society, and their inclinations is to extreme violence. Most cats are loners, creatures that prefer not to associate with others, and Felines are little different. The rituals and rules serve as a social lubricant that allows so many fiercely independent and bloody-minded to operate in some form of peace. Despite these strong controls, it is rare for there to be no conflicts somewhere within the Empire. Especially as the Empire has not expanded in years.

Basic Feline society is like a cross between the Rift War world of Terawan (Kelawan?) and Kzin.

The Supernatural

Mages

Any Feline mage will only study magic to do with war. At least, this is the honourable, and oft claimed thing to do. Unfortunately, the Empire has not expanded or indulged in war in some time.

Of course, nature being as it will, occasionally a mage will attempt to learn or create such things that aid him and only him. Such selfish actions will impact upon that individual's honour. Family and individual actions upon such a discovery will determine people's perception of the family.

Mages are Wu Shi and ranked according to circle or Huan

Hedge Mages

Of course, there are also those individuals who are able to call upon the power of magic less formally, with less training and with less oversight. If discovered, they will be offered a place under a master mage as an apprentice, which placement will usually cancel out the loss of honour suffered as a result of not using their capabilities, as they usually do not do, for the good of the Empire in its more martial capabilities.

Anecdotally, there seems to be a rise in the numbers of such untrained mages, particularly among the lesser races. The numbers are still miniscule, but some concern has been expressed at high levels. The creation of a small force of mage-finders has been mooted but does not officially exist at this time.

Clerics

Feline culture has very little in the way of clerics. Occasionally someone will become acknowledged as a little closer to, or favoured by the ancestor's, and of course as some individuals get older, they practically become walking ancestors, but there is not formal priesthood.

Some older individuals become teachers of cubs, and this can involve educating the young in the ways of Feline culture, mores and religion. They could even be considered teachers of the spirituality of the true people. There is no magic associated with such a role however.

While some speak of being imbued with the strength or the knowledge of the ancestors, there is no commonly known or accepted body of research or dogma or magic related to this.

Healers

Felines never use magic to heal wounds, though they can use magic to cure disease, as magic leaves no scars. Scars are considered honourable.

Mage-Finders

Officially, there is no such organisation.

Felines Outside Kartar

The Feline individual most likely encountered outside the country, at least on the Western Shores, is a Cheetah scout.

The Empire has very little mercantile contact with the Western Shores, although they indulge in some trade with Zylistan.

Roles

Torareichou

The nobility amongst the Banbutsunoreichou are the tigers, the Torareichou. They are most likely to be rulers, and leaders of groups, either mercantile, scholarly or military. They are also the most likely to exhibit signs of magical aptitute. They make the greatest warriors, the preeminent mages and stateswomen and the most implacable of enemies.

Shishireichou

The Shishireichou or lions are the death dealers. While an individual tiger is a greater threat, a small group of these are amongst the most feared of warriors. On a more social level, they are likely to be standing beside the tiger, offering advice or assistance. The difference in numbers between male and female is greatest amongst the lions, as is the treatment meted to the males of the species.

Subayaireichou

The cheetahs are the lowest ranked of the Banbutsunoreichou. They are usually relegated to less honourable tasks, more likely messenger or scout than a warrior. They are also the species with the least differentiation between the genders. Because of the denigration they tend to receive from the other great clans, they are perhaps the most xenophobic of species.

Leopard/Jaguar

Historicall speaking, these great clans varied little on the battlefield. They are the basic troops, the water-carriers. Of course, as the leopard were destroyed centuries ago this role now falls to the soldiers of the Jaguar.

Both groups always seemed to have a stronger connection to the reality and dirt of their jobs, and avoided the arrogance of the greater clans. They also didn't seem to need the rabid protection of rank and position that so afflicts the Subayaireichou. As such, an individual Jaguar is the most likely to deal with outsiders on an equal footing.

Others

There is the very occasional other. Members of the feline species that are not considerd Banbutsunoreichou are seldom anything other than slave or pet. Non-Felines occasionally end up in support roles, as servants and occasionally advisers. The falling population means that non-felines are occasionally adopting roles as high as first adviser to the Major Domo of a minor household.

There are also the strange interbreeds. Rare to the point of 1 or 2 in a century, a creature is born from the breeding between different species and survives. They are technically outcast, but many families will offer them a small portion of feline contact in exchange for the most degraded of duties. The exception is the liger, a combining and lion and tiger that can grow to huge proportions. Accepted because they are also sterile, and the mother tends to suffer a fatal injury not long after the birth, they have been used as gigantic champions for centuries. Some have been reported to have grown to over half a tonne in weight, and more than three hundred centimetres in height.

Oral Tradition

Felines have an oral tradition of recording great heroes.

Names

A Felines is born with no name, and must earn one. The longer the name, the more honour accrued by this person over his or her lifetime. Any Felines encountered on the Western Shores will most likely have a single word, one syllable name, the person a lesser individual striving to earn a greater name or unable to refuse a request from a superior.

Felines with no name are refered to by their duties.

Survival of the Fittest

Until recently, a cub who was not of great health and strength would be unlikely to survive the trip out of the birthing chamber. Further, a cub born with another of exceptional promise would occasionally die so as not to 'confuse the ancestors'. All the promise and resources of the family would be bestowed upon the single child.

In recent years, the quietly acknowledged increasing infertility of the Banbutsunoreichou, especially of the Torareichou, has affected this practice. It has always been the practice for a dame, or soon-to-be dame to have a single attendant, a trained midwife. This attendant, always an elderly dame would have been responsible for the deciding and enacting the cubs' fate, usually ruling very harshly. Obviously, they must be a trusted member of the household and are usually consulted on a range of other issues. These attendants are now much more likely determine a cub will survive than they used to. There is an increasing amount of room for cubs who are less physically and martially inclined, although one with an obvious deformity will still likely not survive.

Associated Pages

• Rulers of Kartar
• Civil Service
• Government
• Magic
• Military
• Peoples
  • Feline Races
  • Slave Races
  • Subjugated, or Subject Races

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• Pei-lei-gang

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• Cliff Notes

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