|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:53 pm
I, Ward Saka..have decided for the betterment of these humans, elves and other creatures here..to tell of the grand race and culture of my people, and Cymarron's. the Vah.
Let us start with Vah Society, Shall we?
We, the Vah..are a feline race. we are the protectors of Nature's Cycle of birth, growth, and death. We seek to be one with nature, not to rise above it as humans are oft to do. or try to possess it as dwarves and elves. we are part of it. We arrange ourselves as the beast of the wilds do, by pride and pack, and have our own castes and proffesional occupations.
First, the difference in the Pride and the Pack is merely size. a Pack is a small group, at most, three or four families. a Pride is much larger, usually eight to ten families. and by family, we merely reffer to bloodkin, this does not include distant relations. Packs are usually fairly mobile, being small and not needing much room..and able to follow migrations better than Prides, who are usually settled to a territory they patrol and monitor constantly. the larger the pride, the more land they will claim.
Secondly, with such territory, comes the unwanted but unavoidable conflicts of when that boundary is made. as several interlopers find, we Vah are extremely protective of our territory. Intruders are often dealt with harshly, if not killed outright. This is becuase we also select our territory with extreme care, making sure all members of the pride can have access to everything they woudl need. and interloper can take from one member of the pride a rock, which could have been used to make a sturdy spearhead. but becuase the rock was taken, another rock was used that made an inferior spear that broke inside a beast, and the vah was killed in it's frenzy of pain. As such often times we will leave marks to show our borders. they vary form pride to pride, as another way to identify who's territory you are entering. as a point of referance, Cymarron has not claimed any territory for this unique pack of his, as he does not know what the human den mother would use.
Now that we have dicussed territorial needs and the differences in pride and pack, we will talk about the castes. they are as follows:
the Alpha family, the Wards or Huntmaster, the Hunters, and the Pride/Packmate.
The Alpha Family: the ruling family, very simple. this again, only reffers to the mate of the Pride Leader, who is called the Den Mother, and thier kits, though many will respect a Vah who can claim kinship to an Alpha Family.
the Wards or the Huntmaster: in some Prides or Packs, there is one second in command, someone the Pride Leader trusts. this woudl be called the Huntmaster, and he is both in charge of ensuring the safety of the territory, and making sure the young are taught all that is needed of them. in the Pride Cymarron, Myself and Midnight were off, (I mention Midnight only because some of this pack have communicated with him) there were Wards. Wards are a number, usually two or four, of Vah who act as an advisory council to the Pride leader. they are often the most powerful or potent in thier fields. with either case, those in this position claim power second only to the members of the Alpha Family.
Hunters: These are both the military might of a Pack, and the providers of meats and supplies for the home. Hunters are the deadliest of a Pack, the killers. they are often employed to hunt food, and while doing so watch the Pride's territory for interlopers. how they deal with such if they find them, is up to the whims or requirments of the pride leader.
Pack/Pridemates: this is everyone else, form the gifted artisans to the old and weak or sick, to the youngest of kits and most beautiful of mates. They are the ones with the least political power..but the ones who also keep a Pride intact and functioning. Wise leaders do not try to dominate the Pack or Pridemates. after all, one can never tell whem an accident will happen.
Now that you know our basic castes..now on to the major professions.
the Shaman: these are our spiritual leaders. they are the ones who commune with our ancestors, interpret thier will. they heal the sick and injured, give solace to those who have lost friends or bloodkin.
the Assassin: the epitome of the Hunter Caste, these are our scouts, our reconnisance. they are the ones who patrol our borders, who learn the methods of snake and scorpion and spider. they are experts in how to make and use poisons. many interlopers have fallen to daggers and arrows they never knew were coming.
the Warrior: the protectors of our homes, and defenders of our laws. they act like the milita of human cities. many of this profession are titans of raw strength and endurance, and very well armed.
the Bardic: these are our Lorekeepers. most of all our history is orally taught, and these noble vah are the ones who study those stories and keep them fresh in the minds of old and young alike. they are teachers and many are artisans of some skill.
the Beastlord: These are our warrior-priests. the Vah incarnation to the human's paladin or shadowknight. Combining shamanic magic with deadly hand to hand combat techniques, this profession is what we are known for. these are often times feral Vah, being closest to Nature..but wise. they are the only ones able to take thier own soul, and summon from it the Warder, a spiritual companion and weapon. It is in essence a being like the one called Eclispe, but not nearly as complex.
Later on, we will discuss the rituals and rites inherant to the Vah race. for now, however, I will let you absorb what I have dsclosed to you at present about our social structures and titles.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 1:46 pm
Welcome back...now that you know the basics of our society's struture...there are things within it that often confuse, or intimidate non Vah. these woudl be some of the major events, the rites and rituals, to which we adhere to, one I find is particularly important in considering Cymarron and the human Elias, so I will discuss this one first. it is called the Rite of Challenge.
Side note: To Human, elvish and dwarven standards, this is probably considered our most barbaric ritual. it is a combat between suitors for the right to have a female as a mate. And I must explain how very important it is. to the Vah, acts of lover's play is entwining tails, petting, in some cases holding hands. the acts of mates are such things as kissing, nuzzling, the human habit of placing an arm around the waist. However in Cymarron's case petting has become more of a friendly gesture than a romantic one.
To the Vah, taking a mate is a very serious buisness. the Den Mother must approve, as with both parties...and there can be no other suitors objecting. if there are more than one, and both believe they love the female party the most, a Challenge is usually issued by one, or the den mother herself states one. a Challenge is a ritualized combat. power to power alone. no magical artifacts, no mystical weapons or powers. strength and against strength, until either death, unconciousness, or sumbmission. the victor is undispuatable in his effort to mate by the loser. This ritual was created during the time the human speices offshoot, called erudites, had come to our lands and spread human disease, to which we were woefully unprepared. as males more often came into contact and would die, female population was larger. which ment they had to be selective, and thus males were given to trials of strength or combat to prove that they coudl handle or endure potential threats. By choosing to forgo this Rite, I beleive Cymarron showed he cared more for Nailah's happiness than his own. for no doubt had this been evoked, the human Elias woudl have fallen in my mind.
Another Rite is the Hunter's rite of Passage. this is the one that the Pride Leader dictates. While Cymarron was allowed to do this Rite, he was not allowed to gain the resulting symbol by Death Angel's decree in order to shame him. It is a series of Trials, usually run by the Huntmaster or the Wards. They are pitted against the best in thier respective fields. They are pitted agasint eachother, made into a pack and throw into the wild, to see how they work together. then they are to find and defeat each Ward or the Huntmaster, and gain a token. this is to be done in one lunar cycle. Upon completetion, those Hunters are given a marking. for our pride, it was a symbol to Luna, the moon goddess that Death Angel respected, if not worshipped. these marks grant instantly the status, responsibility and command a Hunter deserves, and are often displayed with pride.
There are Shamanic, Bardic, Beastord, Assassin and Warrior rites as well, but those are of little concern to Death Angel, who was more concerned with the overall strength of the territory. And as I do not know of any other of those rites but the Shamanistic one, I will not mention any. Point of Note. During Cymarron's Rite, He was the only Pride member to ever directly challenge a Ward to single combat, and survive the encounter, albeit barely.
the third Rite I will mention is one of the Path. the Rite of Path is a meditative ritual in which the Huntsmaster or Shaman Ward take a younger Vah and through a sometimes terrible or frightening Spirit Walk, find the Path in life he is most able to follow, in relation to a proffesion or trade. this Rite can be repeated, if the first time they come to no decision. but once a Path is chosen that is it. Thier Path will then dictate further training and with whom they train. Cymarron again was not given this Rite, as we later found out from the Old One, who was in essence ordered by thier mutal Master to train him in the Beastlord Path, to be a more effective tool. And I was most pleased to find that Cymarron not only strides well on this Path, but it seems to help with his special circumstances.
Now there are two Rituals I will mention, as both pertain to the Beastlord Path, and are things I see, or have seen, Cymarron perform. The first is the Ancestral Calling.
this is performed in a runic circle, often with either an intimate knowledge, or a personal item of the ancestor in question. it is a summoning, often performed at the morning hours or after twilight, to allow the living to visit and commune with thier ancestory for advice or knowledge. Cymarron's use of this ritual is distorted, though we allow it to be, and is used for him to at least see his deceased mate, Kisshy, and the kit that never was born.
The second one I will mention is the Spirit Walk. this ritual is often done by a spoken spell, between two willing parties. this ritual is one of access and passage through the soul of the other. this is often used by members of a family that have a comatose or severly wounded member, or between lovers. Lovers use it for intimate knowledge of thier mate, for there are no secrets in a Spirit Walk. all ones pleasures, passions, loves, hates..everything is left open to be seen if the other party truely wishes to look. Others use it to counsel troubled souls, by going directly into the root of their problems, still more use it to stay with a dying or comatose family member or friend so they can 'see' them and interact with them.
Again, I leave you to digest this information about our culture. I promise that I will return to allow you more knowledge, if you wish it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 5:33 pm
It has been requested to discuss the physical variations among our race. the local elves I believe find such things facinating. first thing to note, is that Cymarron is not a typical Vah in some respects. for example, the averag Vah have feet very much like a human, nad out claws are not serrated nor do our eye teeth bear venom.
The common traits among our race are that we are a large race, commonly standing between six to seven feet, and the males are usually heavily muscled, and the females leaner. all bear claw and fang, and all have fur. common eye colors are golden, green and yellow.
However, there are far more variance besides those traits.
Every Vah as a fur pattern unique to them, usually only other Vah seem to notice, however. there are as many variances of 'tawny' fur as there are Vah that bear it, just as the patherian vah. Often our fur patterns are of pather, mountian lion, african lion, bengal tiger, siberian tiger, leopard, cheetah outlooks.
Often times as well, the fur pattern, or type of Vah, determines certain traits. african lion patterned Vah do grown lion manes, and have the puff at the end of the tail. Cheetah and leopards are commonly very fast runners, and built for speed over strength...while the tiger styler furred are physically strong.
While we are often a large race, we do occasionally sport 'runts' of the litter, so to speak. these are usually odd colored, and smaller than average. the smallest Vah to date was Cymarron's mate, Kisshy, at a mere five foot two inches. there are elves taller than that. But the most unique varaiton of our race are also the greatest shame. these are the Throwbacks, though I would not call a Vah one if I was less than capable to dealing with a Vah becoming enraged.
the Throwbacks are a genetic abberation we beleive caused by a period in time when the Erudites, particularly the outcast necromancers, woudl capture and experiment on the Vah with magics and physical tools. over the decades, the magics used woudl mutate the children of vah that escaped, causeing them to possess unique Gifts, and physical traits. the first defining trait of the throwback is the eyes. often red, blue, and steel gray eyes dominate, and many Vah who are not throwbacks that have such colored eyes will take care to hide this behind glasses or under hoods.
Fur patterns of the throwbacks are strange. some are usual patterns, only like Cymarron, darker in color than normal, or they possess no patterns to thier fur, only coloring, as Kisshy did, her fur being wavy and silver. still mroe have patterns and marking like common housecats or alley cats, such as calico. Some have no claws, others have claws longer than normal. the averge claw is about one inch. Cymarron's are one and a half fully extended, however I find he rarely extends them that far as a way to hide this fact.
the Gifts of the Throwback vary as much as fur pattern to normal Vah. Some possess ungodly strength, others have overly acute smell or hearing or sight. others possess access to magics Vah normally cannot use. Kisshy was one of those, being able to channel the will of a human Diety through herself as a cleric or priest might. still more are incredibly fast, or have claws able to rend even mithril tempered acrylia.
Cymarron's gift is the least seen, and most dangerous. often throwbacks that show signs of that gift are killed.
So in general we are as varied as any other race..just not to human or in many cases elvish eyes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 2:54 pm
With the advent of a pregnant female..I am inclined to dicuss our family strutures. first there is Bloodkin, this is the directly realted family, and there are cousins and packmates. not bound through blood, but through mates or other means.
the basic family unit is a father, mother, children. though some families possess three or more parents, as often unmated brothers and sisters will join the family of those who are mated...thought wether or not they share other privilages is between them. and more often then not, they don't. The father of the kits is always the dominant male in those situations, and as part of that, is responsible for the provision, protection, and teaching of the young in the areas of hunting and crafting. the mother is to care for the physical needs of kits, teaching them how to gather items, teaching them the mannerisms of being part of the pack, and is more often responsible for disipline of the kits.
Vah have normally one to three kits at birth, and usually the kits establish thier own 'pecking order' fairly early. thier parents usually do not mind this, in fact males probably like it as it shows the strength of thier kits. Kits are often breastfed, and weaned as human kits are. Kits are treated with respect, and temperance. no kit is ever without an adult to provide for them...it is often found that if a tough pregancy causes a female to be unable to produce milk, other Vah with kit will help provide.
Kits are schooled in the areas of history, standing, learning how the Vah society works at the ages of five to thirteen. after this, they are give the Rite of Path, and then taught that path by those on it. this is also the age that most young Vah are left to the Elders of thier Path, thier parents no longer responsible for thier care. Unless the young Vah is unable to find a Path, then these Vah are often left with thier parents, who try to help them find thier path. it is not uncommon for some Vah, particularly those without a definate talent or desire, to stay with thier parents until the age of eighteen. after this they are invariably forced out into some type of training and path, thought they are not bound to it until a Rite of Path dictates it.
Often as well when a mother is expecting, they spend much time with the pack or pride shamans, to ensure thier kit's well being. teas, blessings, fetishes are given to help. in some cases, Shaman take special interest and ask for the Totemic spirits to guard kits. often time the Den Mother is given this honor, and those relations to a shaman are given it as well.
Now that I have given all the pleasentries of family life as a Vah..I come to the unpleasent. Vah kits who are malformed, others that are sickly at birth, and in some cases, throwbacks...are often either killed by thier parents, or exposed to the earth. before you judge us harshly on this, it is for the best. you see by malformed, I mean extreme deformity. things like three arms, one eye, missing or having a partially fused lower jaw, etc. Some males insist they are killed outright, others place it upon the mother to either choose to care for them or expose them to the elements. if there is more than one kit born, and one is healthy, then there is no question the malformed is returned to the spirits. Extreme sickness is again not something small. these are kits to whom there is no immunity to any disease. the slightest chill wind is near lethal. these kits usually grow some, but are often simply given too much of a soothing herbal tea that lets them pass on. throwbacks are another matter. to some, the birth of a throwback is an insult, a deformity like no other. akin to a human giving birth to an animal. other see it as a blessing, that thier child is special. in these cases it is entirely left to the parents how to deal with this, and they are given leave to deal with it as they see fit.
the Kit who is healthy always takes precedense over a kit who is not at birth, thus we keep our people strong.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:31 am
Ah. now a topic to which I am the most familiar. our religion, if you can call it that.
We Vah hold in reverance our Ancestors, and the Totemic Spirits. Since the days of the first Vah, our ancestors have watched over us after death. they have given us advice, guided our Paths, helped us understand our place in the natural order. As we die, we too join the ranks of our ancestors, to be judged for our earthly lives, and to be given either a place of reverance, or a disgrace and place of torment. When we die, we are brought before a great Tribunal. all the lives we have touched, both good and ill, are allowed to make thier cases for and against us becoming one with the Ancestors. it is a dark time for all Vah indeed, who fear this. For others, it is a time to be known for thier good deeds.
If they are found worthy, they become one of the Ancestors, and thier decendants will hold them in reverance, thier names not forgotten, at least to thier own bloodkin. They will be allowed to help guide thier decendants, to let them benifit form thier wisdom. IF they are nto found worthy..thier names will be forgotten, thier decendants will not remember them, and they will be unable to do anything but watch the world they cannot effect. in some cases, they are even cast out, or given special torment to atone for thier living lives. Cymarron himself, believes that all those that died to his claw and fang will far outnumber those who would support him, and beleives his time will come with torment. He is sure that his Beast will be seperated from him, and he will spend the rest of his time Hunted by his own darkness. or would, had he not violated the laws of the Vah.
For my own part, I was presented with the lives ruined becuase of my support to the mighty Death Angel. the countless Vah and human, dwarf and elf that fell for the Pride Leader's arrogance. but I also was shown that my love for my Pride helped many more find thier Paths, helped many mothers have healthy kits. but my greatest failure turned out to be my greatest reason for the Ancestors to allow me into thier ranks. After the death of the Pride Leader to Cymarron's Acension..and a good portion of the pack...I stood alone agaisnt him. I tried to reason with him, calm his down...but I did not succeed. I was struck down, but he did not consume me. by trying, and failing to reason with him..his body wasted precious fuel. after strinking me down he passed out. I was seen as a type of Martyr, giving my life so the rest of the pride could escape.
But back to the topic. Cymarron performed a ritual, thanks to his devotion to that human woman, Nailah, to bind his soul to the grounds of her home, this Manor. so now Cymarron will not come before the Ancestors, he will not be given the Tribulation. But in doing so, he also will never see Kisshy again, or the kit that was never born. and Kisshy, is actually proud of him for it, which I cannot fathom.
Our Ancestors also watch us, and try to mantian the Order of Nature. Life, growth, death. thier will combined is as potent as any human diety, and they can cause great calamity, or miracles. Several Vah have attempted to defy the Ancestors only to find themselves suddenly facing thier judges when something they did not expect happens. I have also been tasked, by the Will of the Ancestors, to watch the newly bonded Hunters...lest they gain the Conduit's immortality, or through Cymarron's Gift, become a danger to the natural world. The Ancestors are debating wether or not to take action to prevent it.
If the Ancestors are our God, then the Totemic Spirits are our Angels. These noble spirits, the purest form of thier kind, are often called upon to bless or protect the lives of others, often Kits..or they themselves choose people to mark as thier own. the Totemic Spirits guide those under thier protection as a mother or father woudl a kit, to thier greater good. often giving them gifts to aid thier lives. those under the protection of the Hawk, such as the human Tyler, may find in time that thier sight is akin to the animal of the wild. or that they can commune with the living hawk, as a wizard might a familiar. communing with the living animal, to call on them for aid, or gaining the most noble of the animal's qualities, is common. other times the Spirit simply helps those under thier protection along, offering advice in the way of signs or omens. Not all Totemic Spirits are considered 'good' however. others, like the Snake, are considered 'evil' because of the nature of the beast. a viper has no issues killing its own for it's needs, and neither does the Totem. the rat is quick to abandon, and the scorpion knows no honor. often those with these Totems watching them are considered 'cursed' rather than 'blessed'. others like Midnight, enjoyed being selected by these darker totemic animals, and enjoyed thier gifts. Often Midnight woudl claim he was 'blessed' by the Scorpion, which is why his poisons were so potent.
As you can see, the Ancestors of the Vah are akin to our Gods. they can be kind or cruel, and they hold sway and judgement over most of us. We revere thier Wisdom, and we fear thier Wrath. the Totemic Spirits, they are our spiritual link to the natural world. they guide the Beastlords in the Wild, they grant the Shaman his mystical gifts derived from thier essence. and like other races, some of them are considered good, other evil..some neutral.
Oh yes, before I go. Many religions find a place in the spirit world for them, depending on how thier earthly lives were. we have such a place. it is called the Grey Fields. though they are far form grey to the dead. to the living, they do indeed appear grey and faded, like mist. to the dead, they are lush and green, with flowing rivers and blue skies. this is where all the Vah come to when they die..and all Vah may stay here save those cast out by the Ancestors or do thier bidding, or choose to stay on the earthly plane. the old one chose to stay, to watch his pupil live his life. I am here to monitor Cymarron, because the ancestors feel he is some kind of potential threat or such nonsense. We can travel between the Grey fields and the earthly plane..others like Kisshy..have chosen the grey fields, and remain there. and that I beleive is all I can disclose, unless somone of this manor insists on more information. until then, I bid you a good day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 3:06 pm
I am the Old One, given leave to replace Saka in his teachings about the Vah people. Saka..is facing a judgement of his own for actions I will not disclose here. Recent activity, however, prompts me to mention a few more things. these things are punishment, and pregnancy.
As the little kits found out, the Vah are not beyond the punishment of kits for wrong doing. depending on the action, punishment differs. for things such as thievery of items with intent to return eventually, making massive messes..and for some cursing thier elders or the ancestors..the punishment is usually the human spanking, done with the tail as opposed to the hand..also the equivilant of the human slap on the wrist.
Fighting, greater acts of blashemy such as spiting on the totemic images or verbal abuse to the summoned form of an ancestor, or striking at an adult with serious intent to injure..these are met with the spanking by hand. the reason the hand is more severe is that commonly, the pressure on the palm from spanking causes the extention of claws. which means kits spanked in this manner often recieve claw marks as well.
These are the punishments for young kits. older kits are often punished through ordeals. things such as being left behind outside the pride and not allowed back until a certain point in time is reached, though they are not left unsupervised. Others are made to stay with the bloodkin of the one they offended, and are treated accordingly. they are made to walk in the shoes of those they hurt. manual labor in service to another is not uncommon as well. and you can rest assured those that are given this power over the offending kits use it to its fullest.
Also, the older the kit, the higher in the pride or pack punishments are given from. after a certain age, the father and mother cannot protect the kit from the anger of the pride leaders. a kit of age that breaks a hunter's spear or purposefully damages armor or weaponry doesn't face thier parents, but faces the Hunter they have wronged and possibly the Ward or Huntsmaster in charge for punishment. and once they are old enough to learn thier Path, they face the judgement of the pride leader and den mother.
But now, on to the other subject. I have heard that the Raven and Cymarron have discussed having kits of thier own. Vah pregancy is much like the human, though we have sidifigantly shorter time span, more akin to the large cat then the human breed. Symtoms are very much the same, including the strange cravings. However I need to talk about the term of body mother or fathers. this is wehn either the male, or female is unable to concieve children, as it is as of yet unknown wether or not he Raven as a conduit can concieve. it is not uncommon for another male, or female, to be brought into things for the purposes of mating with the condition being should a kit be produced, the couple they was unable to concieve on thier own will be given the child. I beleive this discussion did come up between Cymarron, and the human, Elizabeth, though nothing has been agreed upon yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
