Nyařuřu

The Nyařuřu are catfolk that originate from the now-dead realm of Kylorne. Originally called the “Mřau,” the new term was forced upon them due to the already existing race of Mřau (sometimes known as the Gnirusull;) the languages of the two cat races being the same is thought to be a strange side-effect of their travel through the realms.

Much like their counterparts, the Nyařuřu are a race of humanoids with catlike features; although, their culture is very different from one-another, and after some adjustment time, they now have their own dialect of Nya’owo.

= Appearance and Physiology = The Nyařuřu appear to be a mix of humans/humanoids & cats; though, the exact ratio of humanoid to cat varies between individuals in the group. The Nyařuřu are most commonly referred to as just "catfolk" because of their similar appearance to other cat-like creatures. Despite them looking similar to humans however, no direct genetics appear to link the two races.

A Nyařuřu's average lifespan is technically between 75–90 years; though, almost all of them manage to live for longer, this is due to the Nyařuřu all having an innate ability for magic within them. It is this strange trait that causes them to be able to live 9 separate lives; their bodies regenerating almost completely once "killed." The only exception to this is their scars; even though it becomes healthy skin after one of their rebirths, the marks remain. A Nyařuřu also doesn't forget their past life when reborn, so this effectively raises their lifespan up to 675-900 if they live wisely throughout all of their 9 lives.

= History =

Kylorne
The Nyařuřu were considered a very ancient species in the realm of Kylorne, though it is unknown exactly how long ago they originated. The Nyařuřu also spoke their own language, and was thought to be one of the oldest languages in their original world, but it has been lost to time, consumed by Kylorne’s great fog.

The Nyařuřu were originally native to the jungle regions of Kylorne, though most wandered throughout all of the world’s lands, spreading thin the overall population throughout the world. Because of their lower population overall & the disaster of the Meh’yah tribe –one of the most successful & populus groups at the time, not many catfolk were left alive by the time they migrated to Eldham.

Eldham
The arrival of the Nyařuřu –and other groups from Kylorne– put Eldham & Rathnir into an unusual state. The sudden rise in population made many places panic, with some even becoming too full to reasonably house more people. This left few options remaining for the Nyařuřu, with them eventually deciding to move into Lutum after discovering that there were other catfolk like them there.

The majority decided to move into Nekoshire, a walled city on a remote island within the Clucify Canal.

= Religion =

Old beliefs
Most, if not all of the Nyařuřu believed in Has'eumu; a religion in which there were two gods. The first god is Has, the sun; they believed Has was a giant warrior lion who fought so bravely that she was placed among the great sky.

The second is Eumu, the moon. They believed that he was such a great scholar, that he found a way to place himself among the stars, in order to better understand the natural world.

The faithful Nyařuřu believed that there were two paths you could take in life; becoming a warrior to defend your people and tribe, or becoming a scholar to find new ways to thrive and survive. The warriors praised the sun for its fiery passion & unwavering heat, lighting up the world with its strength; conversely, The scholars praised the moon for revealing glimmering secrets in the sky, and its dim, celestial-like glow.

Post-Kylorne
After Kylorne began its slow collapse, many Nyařuřu began doubting their two gods, with a majority becoming atheist out of anger & sorrow.

Once they arrived at their new world of Eldham, most of them migrated to the land of Lutum, due to the large catfolk population. Because of this, the large amount of atheists, and their want to integrate quickly into their new lives, many ended up converting to Berrism.

= Culture =

Gender Roles
The Nyařuřu’s long standing belief in Has’eumu has greatly shaped their culture & practices over time, one of which is the role that each gender plays within Nyařuřu society. Nyařuřu women typically have features or wear clothing that other cultures would describe as "masculine." They also do a lot of the solder-work & hard labor; in contrast, a lot of Nyařuřu men had features & accessories that could be described as "feminine," as well as doing most of the at-home work.

The duality of the two –and the need for a larger population– led to men typically being married to women; though, it was possible to occasionally see other types of couples. This synchronization of the two main facets of Nyařuřu society caused them to be one of the more advanced cultures at the time.

Men
Most Nyařuřu men became scholars, they studied the stars, agriculture, and sciences. Many of them helped treat wounded soldiers with new medicines, and would often brew the medicines themselves. When not in war or battle, a lot of the men also performed most of the needed tasks at home, such as; baking, cleaning, organizing, etc… A lot of them also often scavenged for fruits & grew their own gardens.

Women
A majority of Nyařuřu women became warriors, hunters, and protectors, many even becoming leaders of smaller tribes & managers of events. They made up most tribes’ military and would usually do the required hard labor –like mining, collecting firewood, hunting animals for food, or otherwise– even when not in war.

Practices
Due to the large amounts of hunting the –mostly female– Nyařuřu did, a lot of tribes often had large stockpiles of bones. While most of these bones were grinded down into fertilizer for plants, a decent chunk were repurposed.

One of the main clothing traditions of the Nyařuřu were their skull helmets. This tradition was started very early on in the Nyařuřu’s history, back when almost all of them resided within Kylorne’s jungle. During one of their larger wars with another jungle group, a large chunk of the Nyařuřu men were left in charge of keeping the village tidy & in-order. One day, in their boredom, one decided to wander around the village, eventually making it into their bone stockpile. Naturally curious, the cat man decided to fashion some sort of accessory for his wife, who was currently on the battlefield. After some tinkering, he created a decorated helmet out of multiple different species’ bones. Seeing this, the other male Nyařuřu decided to do the same, as sort of tributes, or gifts, for their partners. These helmets eventually became tradition for partners to give to each other during a wedding, and after a long, long time, it became a sort of tradition for parents to make these helmets for their children. It was also fairly common to see any orphans carving & crafting their own helmets.

Similarly to the skull helmets, Nyařuřu are often found wearing cloaks whenever they go out. This was originally due to the harsh jungle terrain, with the cloak stopping their clothes from getting dirty, and branches from scratching them. This is not the only reason for them however, as they became a sort of fashion piece. Many Nyařuřu even decorate their cloaks with personalized items & accessories, usually symbolizing important achievements in their lives.

Government
The typical Nyařuřu's system of government for large settlements was a diarchy; they would place a scholar & a warrior into the positions of ruler to keep each other in balance. Every 5 winters, a new ruler would be elected by the general Nyařuřu public.

Although this was the main system of government for the larger tribes, many smaller tribes simply opted to give the title of ruler for life. And even smaller ones often just had a single ruler, usually being female.

Social ladder
Nyařuřu society had a fairly simple social ladder; though, it was quite harsh. Often, their social standing affected whether or not they would be invited to community events, allowed to own more property, purchase certain items, etc… Some tribes even have records of not allowing lower class citizens to vote.

Lower Class
The lower class was made up of those who had not contributed enough to the typical Nyařuřu lifestyle, this included stuff like; not raising a child (whether adopted or not), not gathering enough food, not making enough scientific or magical progress or going to war (usually depending on the Nyařuřu’s gender), not being sociable, etc…

Typically, the lower class was unable to own more than a small plot of land, buy decent clothing, or even attend large community events.

Middle Class
The Nyařuřu middle class is just as it states, in the middle. They could attend events, buy good clothes, and own an okay bit of land. They also were allowed to buy as they pleased; though, a lot often didn't have enough money for the nicer & fancier items.

These people were often those who did okay; they gathered their food, did their war duties, helped with research, etc… they were overall, the average Nyařuřu.

Higher Class
Nyařuřu higher class were esteemed members of the community, and often treated like celebrities. They were often given gifts by people & often wore many accessories over their clothing, as well as having decorations lining their helmets. They often owned a large plot of land for their home & garden(s.)

These were the types of people who truly showed high military prowess, discovered great things about the world, provided tons of food, etc… They usually knew most of the people within their tribes & were very sociable.