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 Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:50 pm
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Location/land
The Tuli'vivuli are located just east of the Maestros Del Mar, and they fancy the idea that part of their territory overlaps with the pirates'.
The area is a mix of mountains, forest, and savannah, with a river cutting through it and dividing the forest from the grassland. Each of the three clans resides within an area of these lands, with the Owl Clan taking up the slopes along the mountain, the Snake Clan inhabitting the forest, and the Crocodile Clan mostly residing in the grassland and along the river.
Beyond where the elders claim the land meets the Maestros lands, the mountains almost entirely circle the area in the form of a valley. The only other access is past a dead old tree at the south edge of the western forest, with the rest of the trees growing too close to allow a lion pass. Between the mountains and the river, the rest is protected and inaccesable to all but the gods and most the most determined of lions.
History
The Tuli'vivuli pride's history is a long and ancient one. So we're going to compress it a bit for you.
Once upon a time, the Tuli'vivuli were one pride. There was no Shadow Master at the time, but a King, and the throne was inherited father to son. There were still Shadow Stalkers, as well as elders, historians, soothsayers... And many, many other ranks. Once upon a time, there was a divide in the classes - The high class, the working class, and the slave class, and the differences were as glaring as a jungle, a savannah, and a desert. And the Shadow Stalkers were not happy.
In the days before honor was to be had and held, there was plotting. The king had bore three sons, each with the mark of an animal on his shoulder. Beyond that mark... They were identical. They were all a deep blue with black manes, they all had the same fire-gold eyes, the same mix of stripes and spots, and pale bellies. The queen refused to say who was the oldest, and the king had trouble picking his heir. None seemed to be interested in continuing the life of luxury they'd been born into, having what the rest of the nobility called a strange urge to work. The three brothers emersed themselves in the pride, intending to rule together no matter who their father chose, and wished to improve things for their subjects. They wanted to merge the high and working classes so that everybody pulled their fair weight.
And then, when they were young adults, the queen birthed a single living cub, the only one in a litter of six to live. The king was pleased with the rich coat and declared this cub, the newborn brother of the triplets. to be the heir, and began to groom him for the position. The brothers were furious.
One night, one of the Shadow Stalkers approached the eldest brother, Babewana, and told him of a secret meeting. Babewana went to it, and listened to the complaints of the working class. And an idea formed.
Five passes of the sun later, he took his brothers, Fundarere and Ngwena, to the next meeting. And they patiently listened as their brother had, and the plans began to fly. They decided to bide their time, wait for the right moment.
And the unrest within the pride grew, as hunting became scarce. The high class, in their authority, took most of the food for themselves, leaving the hard-working hunters and huntresses with bones to pick at, and the slaves nothing. They began to starve.
The final blow came when the heir, Futahi, demanded from his brothers the entirety of their kill for himself.
It was said that Ngwena was very much like the crocodiles he was named for and that formed a mark on his body. With his sheer size and brute strength, he attacked the much smaller and weaker Futahi, for in all the pampering, their father had neglected to teach Futahi how to fight. What use was it to nobility, after all?
The brothers were banished for Futahi's murder, but the damage had been done. The working class began to refuse to hadn their kills over, eating their fill for the first time in seasons. The king ordered any who refused to hand their kills over murdered, and the status quo seemed restored.
And then Fundarere, the sneaky brother, snuck into the lands, quiet as a snake in the grasses. In the dead of night, he confronted his father, yelling back and forth. When the guards came, Fundarere lashed at the king with his claws, leaving marks on his face and shoulder before being run out with the promise of death if he returned.
It was only discovered later, when the healers checked the ailing king over, that they found out... Fundarere had dipped his claws in mamba venom. The king was dying from his wounds.
With the ruler dying, Babewana returned with his brothers, bold and open about it. The working class, or what was left of it, stood behind him as he approached the king's throne. The words were brief, and when the king still refused to let his sons in, Babewana promised a swift death to the guards from the shadows. When they left again, the Shadow Stalkers left with them. So, too, did the soothsayers, knowing good and well what was going to happen.
The king died two suns later, but the brothers did not return. A distant cousin took the throne, and things became harsher for those left.
And then the Shadow Stalkers returned.
When the brothers finally made their presence known again, the pride was in shambles. Those who spoke loyalty to the old ways had been disposed of, picked off by the Shadow Stalkers. It didn't take long for the pride to be handed to the brothers, who changed everything about the pride they cared to. The nobility that was left became slaves, while the lion slaves became members of the pride, put in positions of historians and artisans for the time being. They did away with most old ranks, only maintaining the Shadow Staker, Soothsayer, Artisan, Slave, and Historian ranks from the old ways. Inheritance was done away with - Babewana declared that any lion who could defeat him enough times, deserved to take his place as a Shadow Master, and the same applied for his brother. No longer would there be any nobility, and no inheritance. Everything you got in life, you had to earn yourself.
The pride divided itself, quite peacefully, into three clans - The Owl Clan, in honor of Babewana. The Snake Clan, in honor of Fundarere. The Crocodile Clan, in honor of Ngwena. Each cherished either wisdom, cunning, or strength a bit more than the other two, but all lived peacefully together, Eventually, with lions joining, they gained a new belief system, new gods from the days of old, and in many respects... New ways.
The only hitch came when their lands were invaded, and the Tuli left their ancestral lands for a new home, hidden away. Nobody from outside knows how to get in or out now.
Okay, maybe that wasn't so compressed... |
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:51 pm
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Ranks
Shadow Master - The leading lions - They are simply the most skilled lions, and have succeeded in sneaking up on the previous leader(s) enough times to receive the title. There are 3 Shadow Masters, one for each clan.
Soothsayer - The seers of the pride, as well as the witches, healers, and apothacaries. Seers are automatically this rank, cub through adult, while those wishing to dabble in some form of healing, witchcraft, or herbology.
Historian - They keep the history of the pride
Elder - The oldest lions in the pride, they can no longer stalk the shadows like they used to, make things as they used to, or even remember as they used to.
Artisan - They make things
Shadow Stalker - The default umbrella rank - They hunt, guard, fight, what have you.
Apprentice - Default juve/adol rank
Little Shadow - Cubs
Trapped Shadow - Slaves - They pretty much watch the cubs. If they prove skilled enough with the shadow stalking, they are freed to become Shadow Stalkers. Otherwise, if their behavior is good enough, they may become Historians or Artisans. This is not a rank lions are born into - The cubs of a Trapped Shadow are considered part of the pride, and raised by the elders and soothsayers. The only exceptions to that are non-lions, who remain Trapped Shadows until either they die, escape, or are rescued. Many Trapped Shadows are left too mentally broken for anybody to believe them about the hidden pride... |
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:57 pm
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Religion/Beliefs/Clans
The Tuli'vivuli worship, first and foremost, Kita'mauti, the Goddess of Shadows.
Following her, they worship the God/dess of Stealth.
Following them, they worship Roho'eusi, the God of Darkness.
Following him, they worship Maskhara, the Goddess of Camouflage.
Following her, they worship Rhin-yi, the Goddess of the Hunt.
And lastly, they worship the God/dess of Honor.
The Tuli'vivuli find each of these gods very important to their daily lives. Their belief is that Kita'mauti hides them, as does Roho'eusi. The God/dess of Stealth makes their shadow-stalking possible. Maskhara helps them to hide, and Rhin-yi gives them the skills to take out their opponents and prey alike. All members worship the god/dess of Honor, as without honor, what is a lion but a filthy pirate or viking? Individual lions may worship other gods, but these are the gods that all members share a belief and worship of.
Only lions may be members of the pride, as the gods are all lions, unless they are Trapped Shadows. Lion hybrids are seen as abominations and killed. Any lion caught having cubs with a non-lion will be killed, along with their cubs, as the lions have lost all honor.
One's honor is held VERY highly. An honorable lion not only receives a great deal of respect, but they give just as much. Cubs are taught the basics of the honor system by their parents, and further learn from others in their clans. They are expected to be respectful of all elders, wether they're actually the Elder rank or simply older than them.
Color is of next to no importance to the pride. Your coat DOES determine if you can be a shadow stalker or not, as a bright coat is likely to stand out far more than a dark coat. It IS possible, though, for a lighter-coated lion to become a Shadow Stalker... If they're skilled enough at it! Such lions are considered especially skilled at the art.
There is almost no leaving the pride. To leave the pride means one tells the secret of where the pride IS, opening it up for attack. For this reason, as soon as somebody leaves with no intention of returning... They will be hunted. There is no hiding, either, as the Soothsayers WILL locate the deserter(By describing what they See around the deserter... Good luck figuring out where that actually IS, though). The only ones they don't really care about killing are non-lion Trapped Shadows.
There are three clans in the pride - The Owl, the Snake, the Crocodile, and the -. They each are situated in a corner of the pride, with the Owl Clan being in the mountains, the Snake Clan in the jungle, and the Crocodile Clan along the river. Each dedicates itself to being more like its silent clan animal.
The Owl Clan are patient and studious, with something of a wisdom to the world. Elders, regardless of birth clan, retire to the Owl clan. They are the absolute most silent, as they ambush their enemies from above.
The Snake Clan are agile, moving in an almost serpentine way. They're often of few words, and their strike is considered the most deadly, as some lions have been known to dip their claws into snake venom, never mind how they even GOT it.
The Crocodile Clan are almost as silent as the Owl Clan, and likely WOULD be, if they weren't so bulky. They are the brute strength of the pride, using force only if they are spotted - And to great effect. Their favored tactic, outside brute strength, is to ambush.
The Tuli'vivuli despise the Maestros Del Mar with a deep and burning passion, as well as the Myrsky Syntynyt, because they do not believe either pride has any honor. Especially the Maestros. To call a Tuli'vivuli a pirate or a Storm Born will bring a swift death from the offended. It is not unheard of for the odd ninja to steal a breeding with a pirate or viking, though, and considered a great source of pride if they can seduce either one... And not get taken home by the other partner!
Not unherd of is the practice of cubnapping. Many lions in the past have done so, though only in times when the pride is low on life. Such cubs are raised by the Soothsayers and Elders, who tell them that they were saved from a horrible life and have now been blessed by the gods.
Relationships and breeding
On the matter of relationships, a single lion may have only a single mate. This isn't to say they aren't allowed to have flings - Maybe a guy likes a new little piece of tail brought in from outside, or a girl thinks that dashing rogue would sire ideal cubs.... Or a guy likes another guy's girl, and same for girls about other girls' guys.. You get the idea, it happens, and so long as the cubs are raised by the pride's ideals, nobody minds(Unless the father/mother is a filthy pirate or viking... Then the offending parent is reduced to a Trapped Shadow).
There is a limition on the age(s) of mates - The youngest any mating lion may be is adolescent. If a male or female claims either a cub or juvenile as a future mate, they will be brought before the Shadow Masters and asked why. If a valid reason(And that will be case-by-case - Such as, the lion in question has no other choices, such as there are no other adults or adolescents, there's no other unrelated lions, or both issues at once. Then it is treated as an arranged marriage, and the cub/juve remains with family until an adolescent) is given, then it will be allowed. If not, then the offending lion is reduced to a Trapped Shadow.
Trapped Shadows may not declare another a mate. The closest they can get is 'consistent breeding partner'. If the pair both shed the Trapped Shadow rank and obtain a new rank, then they may be mates. Until that point, though... Lion cubs of Trapped Shadows are raised by the Elders and Soothsayers.
If two lions share a relation closer than 10 generations, it's considered a bit TOO close for comfort. Any lions caught declaring somebody closer related as a mate will be executed. The Tuli take inbreeding risks VERY seriously. ((OOC: While I[Andranis] don't actually like the idea of ANY relation breeding... I recognize the issue that... Dear GAWDS half of SoA is related!))
Rogue breeding is not only permitted, it's encouraged if a lioness can't find a mate(Or wants to increase genetic diversity within the pride, or just doesn't like any of the guys in the pride)!
Most of the time, breeding is open. Make cubs to your heart's content! But if the number of cubs and juves exceeds the number of adults and adolescents TOO much, breeding will be switched to applications until the youngest cubs BEFORE the switch point are adolescents. Then it's free breeding for all again!
On the matter of homosexual and bisexual lions - The Tuli'vivuli, for all the rogues they've taken in, have no concept of either - It hasn't occured to ANY lions within the pride yet, not even the Trapped Shadows. For this reason, I[Andranis] don't want a lion to randomly pop up gay or bi. I have nothing against them, but this is something I'd want introduced in a controlled manner, so the Shadow Masters may discuss it and weigh the pros and cons, and what have you. And then, if that proves inconclusive, a pride-wide vote(Which means I will want some variety out of any ninjas you may have, instead of being 100% for or against... -Pokes some people- Gray area can work for 'variety'). |
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:03 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:10 pm
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Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:45 am
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Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:45 am
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 6:43 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 2:13 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 2:22 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 5:14 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 5:17 pm
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 9:11 am
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:33 am
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Reply
