Feline

Felines are a race of cat-like humanoid who settled the central regions of the continent of Dunieth.

Biology

Subraces

Feline subraces on the whole tend to be more biologically distinct from each other than the subraces most of the other civilized peoples.

Crag feline

The crag felines are the subspecies of felines that settled Kyaww-catar. They stand at average a little taller than urban felines but are noticeably shorter than the other subspecies. They have a characteristic tuft of black hair on the tips of their ears, a short tail, long whiskers on their faces, and thick fur that makes for decent protection against cold, though not close to the protection offered by the fur of frost Fenrans, snow kobolds, arctic vulpines, or the Nanuk. Aside from Kyaww-catar, they can be found in other provinces of the Nikosian Empire, the Northranges of Mithros, or in the Sydstrand Coast region of Frysgard.

Dark feline

Dark felines are the residents of Darkfallow. They're tall, tend to a lean, muscular physique, and sport black, short-hair fur. Under the Leograu Empire, many of those who ventured beyond Darkfallow found gainful employment as assassins and thieves due to their aptitude for stealthy tasks learned from their former jungle hunting lifestyle. Outside Dunieth, many found a new home in Blackwood and the Mahogany Isles.

Regal feline

Regal felines are the people who settled Leograu, of which the males are renowned for their distinctive, pronounced manes, which is their most recognizable feature. The females have plainer features and looks that are more in line with the general feline aesthetic. The subspecies' title originates from the days of the Leograu Empire, under which they were the leading race and viewed as superior to all other felines. They still fill out the bulk of institutions like the Nikosian Empire's military as they're the most populous of the physically stronger feline subraces.

Striped feline

Striped felines hail from Jangara. They are a fiercly independent people and are the one feline subrace that is physically stronger than regal felines on average.

Swift feline

Swift felines come from Zauana. They have a distinctively spotty look and have a rich tradition of athleticism, prominently illustrated in the international sporting event called the Tephuil Games.

Urban feline

Urban felines are a smaller variety of felines that usually stand about a five and a half foot tall at most while other subraces (aside from crag felines) tend to exceed 6 feet in height. They originated as a specifically bred servile race under the Leograu Empire, but as their population boomed, they managed to overpower and overthrow their oppressors in the Nikosian Rebellion that led to the succeeding Nikosian Empire being formed on top of the remains of the Leograu Empire. Most urban felines consider Chiwu-zhi their race's home.

History

Origins and settling of the East

The felines draw their name, and are descended from the Followers of Fel, a race of people who traveled to Dunieth from Mithros in the Pre-Draconic Era. They scattered across a great stretch of land in the continent, from the steppes in the Kyaww-catar lowlands, to where the vast stretch of flatlands in Zauana meets the dunes of the Ka'aras desert.

The lost race

The faction of felines that settled the southern regions of Dunieth, on the other side of the Ka'aras desert, was never heard from again, especially after the transformation of these regions into the Underdeep Blightlands. Since then, there are scattered mentions in the annals of history of sightings of unfamiliar feline-like individuals in the southernmost parts of Jangara, which have been theorized to be the individuals of that race. They have been described to appear similar to a hybrid of striped and swift felines, yet unlike both of them.