| Sahnlinn © 2012 Elisa Ardell & Ryan Fernandes |
Species Name: Felinik (Fel-in-ick)
Species Nicknames: Cats, Hairballs
Empire Entry: 18 years
Animal Category: Carnivorous Mammal
Average Adult Height: [Male] 5.3 feet, [Female] 4.7 feet
Average Adult Weight: 90- 130 pounds
Average Lifespan:
Pre- Empire : 29 years though few have been known to get to 35.
Post Empire : Effects have yet to be fully seen due to their relative newness to the Empire
Standard Eye Colours: Green, Yellow, Orange (Rare: Blues)
Standard Skin Colours: Skin is always pinkish (Fur can comes in any combination of colours as long as the parents aren't the
same colour)
Standard Hair Colours: A darker or lighter version of one of the colours that is found on their body.
Individual Biology:
Who they can Procreate With: Humans and Apolarins.
Sexual Organs: Male genitalia is internal. Due to the fur, nothing is really seen on either gender. Even due to this, they have a
sense of clothes. Traditionally clothes are leaf skirts that are held together by vines.
Mating: Sexual interactions are done for fun as well as making offspring. Sexual tendencies go up when ones mate is pregnant.
This is due to hormones, and also the freedom of being unable to make someone more pregnant. There is no natural form of birth
control to the Feliniks. Though now that they are part of the Empire, most Feliniks have found the joys of 'adult interactions' without
the worry of kits in the future. All made possible thanks to the Empire and their various form of birth control.
Mouths: Feliniks have 30 teeth and can taste 5 flavours. Sweet, Sour, Salty, Acidic, and Bitter
Teeth: Feliniks have 5 sets of teeth in their life time without including baby teeth. Before they joined the empire, they would brush
by chewing on very stringy leaves. Once the leaf was tattered they'd pull it from their mouth a few times. Yanking and tearing it
between their teeth to do a form of flossing. Now that they are part of the Empire and have access to toothpaste. The most sold
flavor for them is 'Fish'.
Hands: Feliniks have 3 fingers and a thumb on their hands.
Eyes: The eyes are quite large in relation to their skull, they allow for a full range of visual pickup no matter the light levels and
typically grant very clear sight.
Gestation Period: 5 months.
Litters: It is rare for a female to give birth to less than 4 kits. Typically they will have 10 – 15. Due to the lack of substantial
medical care, and the location of their homes, most kits don't survive more than a few years.
Social Structure: They follow the eldest individuals. Once a Felinik manages to reach the age of 30 they become part of the
Council of Leaders. As the eldest leaders die, the ageing 'young' elders move up in rank. The head of each Council is picked by
the remaining elders as they pass away.
Growth:
Kit: Newborns are completely helpless when they are born. For the first month they use their hearing and their sense of smell most.
It will be in the fifth to sixth week when their eyes will open. By the time the second month has passed, the Kits are fully capable and
are very active. Even if their activity is usually no more than six hours a day, they make each moment memorable. They have downy
like fur for the first six months of their life and will eat a steady diet of small fatty fish that's been named 'Yuums' by the Felinik.
Adolescent: The kits at this age are the most trouble making. They have a Kit's curiosity, but the body to now head out and try to
do things on their own. This age has the most casualties to it. It is also at this age, that the youths can begin helping their parents
or other adults with everyday tasks. Trying to find the thing they like to do most. This is also the age that they begin to discover if
they have what it takes to be a 'Fisher Cat' or not.
In the later years, the differences become apparent between the two genders. Females will form a downy puffy fur on their chests
when they are sexually mature. It is also during this time that they are paired up with another of the opposite sex and shortly after
they begin having kits of their own. On average, they begin having litters between 12 and 14 years of age. By this age, they quite
possibly will only have another 15 years of life unless they are fortunate enough to reach an age where they could be an elder.
Adult: By cultural standards, a Felinik is an adult either after their first litter, or when they reach the age of 16 years. If a Felinik
reaches 16 without having any kits of their own, they are considered an 'old' adult. Typically by the time they're an adult, they've had
at least two litters of kits and have gotten accustomed to their work load. The jobs available are leaf picking, water foraging, fishing,
net making, building, spear building, or clothes making. In terms of clothes, leaves would either be woven together with vines, they
could be shredded and then woven together. Blankets were also made these ways, as well as inside lining. And as the leaves got
older, they'd be broken up and added to the current bedding that the Feliniks use to sleep on. Making a constant cycle of use out of
the leaves.
Elder: Both males and females have been known to hit the age needed to be considered an Elder. A Felinik becomes recognized
as an elder when they reach 30 years of age. They can then help make decisions about their personal community. There really isn't
much of a change between being an Elder and being a non Elder. It mostly exists to reward the ones that have lived that long.
Dwellings: Feliniks usually home up in the taller trees that make up the Tavarious Forest that's north of Summerset. The homes
are built around the trunks of the trees and are rope bridged across from one home to another in a network that slowly gets higher
and can go down as low as halfway down the trees. Still, this height is well over two hundred feet and if one isn't careful a fall to the
death is very possible.
Language: Their written language has the appearance of dashes and nicks.
The language is usually referred to as 'Scratch' though that is by people who aren't part of the Felinik people. They themselves refer
to it simply as what they use to speak and write by. The language itself has mostly short sounds that have sharper ups and downs
along with a series of 'twitters' and 'crackles'. It's a language that can be learned by most of the other species if they so choose to
try.
The written language when translated to basic consists of the following letters: A C E H I K M N R S T U Y
Religion:
Sarkeet is the name for the 'Original Religion' that Feliniks had before joining the Empire. Though it is still readily practised by the
peoples who still live in the native cities. Since joining the Empire they follow the most common religion in the empire. There's
conversation about how the 'Imperial Feliniks' have lost the ways they used to live by, where as the ones that live in the Empire feel
that the ones that live in the old cities just haven't opened their eyes to see what their god has wanted them to see.
Pre-Empire: Sarkeet was a big part of every Feliniks life. To the point where it was the thing that allowed them to decide that
joining the Empire was the right thing to do. By their beliefs their god Reh who looks like a large serpentine fish populated the seas
with it's offspring. Who in turn are meant to feed the Feliniks, who are also Reh's children. The vastness of Reh's power can be
seen by the endlessness to the sea, as well as by night. Night is when the darkened sky shows off it's treasures. It is believed that
the night sky shows the sea of the gods and only at night is it completely clear. It is a sea which is populated with the delicious
luminescent fish that are so difficult to find in their own ocean. The fish in particular is called Preet, which translates to 'Fish of the
Gods'. During the time when the Empress came to the Felinik homeland to try to get them to join the Empire, negotiations were
slow, and didn't look like they would join. The Empress then presented the Feliniks elder council with fish that could only be found
on the opposite side of the continent. Upon seeing and tasting it, the council realized that their god was also present where the
Empress had come from. With that knowledge they then felt comfortable with joining, feeling that, if their god was present so far
away, that they were meant to become part of the Empire.
Even with such a 'sign' not all the Feliniks left. Many were slower to leave to the eastern and southern lands. Due to the war the
Feliniks numbers had been cut down by eighty percent. Even with the Empire having helped them, they were still terrified to leave
their home. Thanks to the fish, and to their belief in their god, the ones that left, were able to feel safe with leaving the only home
and world they ever known.
Feliniks and Zack Ironhorse:
When Feliniks first came to the Empire, a lot of them weren’t sure what to do. The closeness of the community didn't translate to
this new place well. Since they were spread out far more than they ever had been at home. Many of them, with all this time, ended
up exploring the Empire's culture, and this lead a lot to the Church of Ahn. They had never been apart of something like this back in
their homelands, as a result, many ended up attending regularly. Feliniks due to not properly understanding the sentence 'I speak
Ahn's words' they began to believe that Zack Ironhorse was Ahn. The Feliniks began to join the church in droves, making the once
fairly mixed attendees into one that was predominantly Felinik. They began to donate, money and objects to the man upon every
visit. They began to bring their newborn kits to be blessed by him. He tried to fix the confusion, clearly saying that it was a mistake.
That what they believed had been in error. Still many believe that he is the god, and that his ways are the right ones. 98% of
Feliniks that live in the Empire belong to the church, and more than half of them, live in Winter Water due to it being the home city of
Zack Ironhorse.
Inter species Relations:
Telar: are nightmarish to the Feliniks. Their leathery wings, their pale skin and eyes. They look very much like one particular type of
flying monster that attacked, and aided in the near extinction of their people. They approach the species with distrust. In the past
few years, things have gotten better, but Telar descriptions are still used in tales of caution to Kits. Which makes them quite
frightening to the young, which is easily carried over to when they're older. Relations are strained in other ways as well, which tend
to go over older Feliniks' heads. Many of them do not realize that the frightening Telar dislike them to the degree that they do.
Humans: were the first people to see the Feliniks after the war. A lot of Feliniks see them as saviours. Which has been further
instilled into their daily lives due to so many Empire Feliniks having joined the Church of Ahn.
Magnuri: are the only other species that brings out a worse reaction from Feliniks than the Telar. Due to their helping the very ones
who destroyed their cities and people, Magnuri aren't trusted at all. Adults in particular, who lived through the horror have a hard
time with them. It is hoped that in some years, the tensions between the two Empire living species will be eased.
Apolarins: make Feliniks comfortable. Due to their size and their deeper voice they are viewed easily as protectors. The way
Apolarins end up 'coddling' Feliniks in treating them like children, is what has made the Feliniks drawn to them. Though this love is
lost completely when dealing at the Fish Market.
Bluidons: are liked due to their merchants. Feliniks love the coin that the merchants flip and are amazed by the variety of goods
that they always seem to have. They like sniffing at them, because of the species cold skin, it gives Feliniks goose bumps.
Species Nicknames: Cats, Hairballs
Empire Entry: 18 years
Animal Category: Carnivorous Mammal
Average Adult Height: [Male] 5.3 feet, [Female] 4.7 feet
Average Adult Weight: 90- 130 pounds
Average Lifespan:
Pre- Empire : 29 years though few have been known to get to 35.
Post Empire : Effects have yet to be fully seen due to their relative newness to the Empire
Standard Eye Colours: Green, Yellow, Orange (Rare: Blues)
Standard Skin Colours: Skin is always pinkish (Fur can comes in any combination of colours as long as the parents aren't the
same colour)
Standard Hair Colours: A darker or lighter version of one of the colours that is found on their body.
Individual Biology:
Who they can Procreate With: Humans and Apolarins.
Sexual Organs: Male genitalia is internal. Due to the fur, nothing is really seen on either gender. Even due to this, they have a
sense of clothes. Traditionally clothes are leaf skirts that are held together by vines.
Mating: Sexual interactions are done for fun as well as making offspring. Sexual tendencies go up when ones mate is pregnant.
This is due to hormones, and also the freedom of being unable to make someone more pregnant. There is no natural form of birth
control to the Feliniks. Though now that they are part of the Empire, most Feliniks have found the joys of 'adult interactions' without
the worry of kits in the future. All made possible thanks to the Empire and their various form of birth control.
Mouths: Feliniks have 30 teeth and can taste 5 flavours. Sweet, Sour, Salty, Acidic, and Bitter
Teeth: Feliniks have 5 sets of teeth in their life time without including baby teeth. Before they joined the empire, they would brush
by chewing on very stringy leaves. Once the leaf was tattered they'd pull it from their mouth a few times. Yanking and tearing it
between their teeth to do a form of flossing. Now that they are part of the Empire and have access to toothpaste. The most sold
flavor for them is 'Fish'.
Hands: Feliniks have 3 fingers and a thumb on their hands.
Eyes: The eyes are quite large in relation to their skull, they allow for a full range of visual pickup no matter the light levels and
typically grant very clear sight.
Gestation Period: 5 months.
Litters: It is rare for a female to give birth to less than 4 kits. Typically they will have 10 – 15. Due to the lack of substantial
medical care, and the location of their homes, most kits don't survive more than a few years.
Social Structure: They follow the eldest individuals. Once a Felinik manages to reach the age of 30 they become part of the
Council of Leaders. As the eldest leaders die, the ageing 'young' elders move up in rank. The head of each Council is picked by
the remaining elders as they pass away.
Growth:
Kit: Newborns are completely helpless when they are born. For the first month they use their hearing and their sense of smell most.
It will be in the fifth to sixth week when their eyes will open. By the time the second month has passed, the Kits are fully capable and
are very active. Even if their activity is usually no more than six hours a day, they make each moment memorable. They have downy
like fur for the first six months of their life and will eat a steady diet of small fatty fish that's been named 'Yuums' by the Felinik.
Adolescent: The kits at this age are the most trouble making. They have a Kit's curiosity, but the body to now head out and try to
do things on their own. This age has the most casualties to it. It is also at this age, that the youths can begin helping their parents
or other adults with everyday tasks. Trying to find the thing they like to do most. This is also the age that they begin to discover if
they have what it takes to be a 'Fisher Cat' or not.
In the later years, the differences become apparent between the two genders. Females will form a downy puffy fur on their chests
when they are sexually mature. It is also during this time that they are paired up with another of the opposite sex and shortly after
they begin having kits of their own. On average, they begin having litters between 12 and 14 years of age. By this age, they quite
possibly will only have another 15 years of life unless they are fortunate enough to reach an age where they could be an elder.
Adult: By cultural standards, a Felinik is an adult either after their first litter, or when they reach the age of 16 years. If a Felinik
reaches 16 without having any kits of their own, they are considered an 'old' adult. Typically by the time they're an adult, they've had
at least two litters of kits and have gotten accustomed to their work load. The jobs available are leaf picking, water foraging, fishing,
net making, building, spear building, or clothes making. In terms of clothes, leaves would either be woven together with vines, they
could be shredded and then woven together. Blankets were also made these ways, as well as inside lining. And as the leaves got
older, they'd be broken up and added to the current bedding that the Feliniks use to sleep on. Making a constant cycle of use out of
the leaves.
Elder: Both males and females have been known to hit the age needed to be considered an Elder. A Felinik becomes recognized
as an elder when they reach 30 years of age. They can then help make decisions about their personal community. There really isn't
much of a change between being an Elder and being a non Elder. It mostly exists to reward the ones that have lived that long.
Dwellings: Feliniks usually home up in the taller trees that make up the Tavarious Forest that's north of Summerset. The homes
are built around the trunks of the trees and are rope bridged across from one home to another in a network that slowly gets higher
and can go down as low as halfway down the trees. Still, this height is well over two hundred feet and if one isn't careful a fall to the
death is very possible.
Language: Their written language has the appearance of dashes and nicks.
The language is usually referred to as 'Scratch' though that is by people who aren't part of the Felinik people. They themselves refer
to it simply as what they use to speak and write by. The language itself has mostly short sounds that have sharper ups and downs
along with a series of 'twitters' and 'crackles'. It's a language that can be learned by most of the other species if they so choose to
try.
The written language when translated to basic consists of the following letters: A C E H I K M N R S T U Y
Religion:
Sarkeet is the name for the 'Original Religion' that Feliniks had before joining the Empire. Though it is still readily practised by the
peoples who still live in the native cities. Since joining the Empire they follow the most common religion in the empire. There's
conversation about how the 'Imperial Feliniks' have lost the ways they used to live by, where as the ones that live in the Empire feel
that the ones that live in the old cities just haven't opened their eyes to see what their god has wanted them to see.
Pre-Empire: Sarkeet was a big part of every Feliniks life. To the point where it was the thing that allowed them to decide that
joining the Empire was the right thing to do. By their beliefs their god Reh who looks like a large serpentine fish populated the seas
with it's offspring. Who in turn are meant to feed the Feliniks, who are also Reh's children. The vastness of Reh's power can be
seen by the endlessness to the sea, as well as by night. Night is when the darkened sky shows off it's treasures. It is believed that
the night sky shows the sea of the gods and only at night is it completely clear. It is a sea which is populated with the delicious
luminescent fish that are so difficult to find in their own ocean. The fish in particular is called Preet, which translates to 'Fish of the
Gods'. During the time when the Empress came to the Felinik homeland to try to get them to join the Empire, negotiations were
slow, and didn't look like they would join. The Empress then presented the Feliniks elder council with fish that could only be found
on the opposite side of the continent. Upon seeing and tasting it, the council realized that their god was also present where the
Empress had come from. With that knowledge they then felt comfortable with joining, feeling that, if their god was present so far
away, that they were meant to become part of the Empire.
Even with such a 'sign' not all the Feliniks left. Many were slower to leave to the eastern and southern lands. Due to the war the
Feliniks numbers had been cut down by eighty percent. Even with the Empire having helped them, they were still terrified to leave
their home. Thanks to the fish, and to their belief in their god, the ones that left, were able to feel safe with leaving the only home
and world they ever known.
Feliniks and Zack Ironhorse:
When Feliniks first came to the Empire, a lot of them weren’t sure what to do. The closeness of the community didn't translate to
this new place well. Since they were spread out far more than they ever had been at home. Many of them, with all this time, ended
up exploring the Empire's culture, and this lead a lot to the Church of Ahn. They had never been apart of something like this back in
their homelands, as a result, many ended up attending regularly. Feliniks due to not properly understanding the sentence 'I speak
Ahn's words' they began to believe that Zack Ironhorse was Ahn. The Feliniks began to join the church in droves, making the once
fairly mixed attendees into one that was predominantly Felinik. They began to donate, money and objects to the man upon every
visit. They began to bring their newborn kits to be blessed by him. He tried to fix the confusion, clearly saying that it was a mistake.
That what they believed had been in error. Still many believe that he is the god, and that his ways are the right ones. 98% of
Feliniks that live in the Empire belong to the church, and more than half of them, live in Winter Water due to it being the home city of
Zack Ironhorse.
Inter species Relations:
Telar: are nightmarish to the Feliniks. Their leathery wings, their pale skin and eyes. They look very much like one particular type of
flying monster that attacked, and aided in the near extinction of their people. They approach the species with distrust. In the past
few years, things have gotten better, but Telar descriptions are still used in tales of caution to Kits. Which makes them quite
frightening to the young, which is easily carried over to when they're older. Relations are strained in other ways as well, which tend
to go over older Feliniks' heads. Many of them do not realize that the frightening Telar dislike them to the degree that they do.
Humans: were the first people to see the Feliniks after the war. A lot of Feliniks see them as saviours. Which has been further
instilled into their daily lives due to so many Empire Feliniks having joined the Church of Ahn.
Magnuri: are the only other species that brings out a worse reaction from Feliniks than the Telar. Due to their helping the very ones
who destroyed their cities and people, Magnuri aren't trusted at all. Adults in particular, who lived through the horror have a hard
time with them. It is hoped that in some years, the tensions between the two Empire living species will be eased.
Apolarins: make Feliniks comfortable. Due to their size and their deeper voice they are viewed easily as protectors. The way
Apolarins end up 'coddling' Feliniks in treating them like children, is what has made the Feliniks drawn to them. Though this love is
lost completely when dealing at the Fish Market.
Bluidons: are liked due to their merchants. Feliniks love the coin that the merchants flip and are amazed by the variety of goods
that they always seem to have. They like sniffing at them, because of the species cold skin, it gives Feliniks goose bumps.
| Pictured: Felinik dressed in Traditional Wear. Typically this is found in their homelands. |
