Religious Belief(s)
The Ursataur worship no particular god, but rather pray to spirits and are often assigned spirit guides from the clan's eldest shaman, an old wizened female named Treebones in the common tongue of the Isles.
When an Ursataur reaches their late teens, Treebones calls upon a spirit to guide them for the rest of their life. Sometimes on special occasions a spirit guide will find the teenager before Treebones performs the rites of passage. This usually indicates that there is a special task in store for them and that before their life is done they must perform the task or they will never pass into the Great Forest.
The Great Forest is the Ursataur's afterlife. A paradise that is a neverending forest, but it is also filled with dangers. The hunters and the hunted are within this ethereal plane and there are tales of spirits reaching the Final End where their spirit ceases to exist.
Cultural Belief(s)
Their morality may be viewed by others as lax. Their neutrality towards the overall way of life oftentimes frustrates the other races that encounter them. For example, were an Ursataur to see a Cervitaur and a Wolftaur battle to the death, it will not choose sides and protect one or the other. Instead it would allow them to battle to the finish since that battle was not its own and it was not asked to join. Should one of them cry for help then perhaps it would assist, the choice from that point is theirs.
Ways of "The Hunt":
If a creature preys upon another creature, that is The Hunt.
If the hunter falls when the prey fights back, that is The Hunt.
If the prey begs for mercy and receives none, you may go unpunished in the mortal realm but be prepared to be hunted in the Great Forest.
If the hunter shares his kill with his mate and cubs, s/he will be rewarded in the Great Forest.
If the hunter does not share his kill when he is asked to, the spirits will not answer him when next he calls to them.
If the hunter forgets to speak to his spirit guide and ignores his spirit guide's calls, he will forever be lost in the Great Forest and no other spirits are allowed to aid him.
Social Ranks & Status
Mothers/Children - Children are most important, particularly to the mother. A pregnant female is given choice meat or other foods from the harvest lest the spirit guides be angry that they've mistreated the cub even before its birth.
Clan Leader - A clan leader may be male or female, but it is most common for the male to lead and the female to advise. Matriarchs are, however, not unheard of.
Clan Hunters - Clan hunters consist of both males and females. They are the protectors during times of confrontation and provide the clans with their meat.
Clan Artisans - The artisans produce everyday items for the clan in exchange for food. Things such as blankets, baskets, clothing, jewelery, headpieces, wooden and clay utensils, jars and jugs, tanned animal skins, bone needles, flax and wool threads, dyes, and paints.
Shaman/Healer - The shaman is also the clan medic. They know the wisdom of what plants are good to eat and what plants are best for seasonal cultivation. They know the ways of the sun and moon. They know the old magic and in times of old they even spoke to the Unitaur. Only the shamans may create talismans, potions, and salves.
Lone Walkers - Solitary wanderers are not actually exiles or outcasts, but those who chose the nomadic life to learn more of the world at its ways or are on a quest assigned to them by their spirit guide. It is actually a very honorable rank in that they give up the ways and comforts of clan life in exchange for greater knowledge.
"Wild Eyes" - It is said that Wild Eye was the first Ursataur that was born into the world, but his mate Gentle Wind tamed him to create the first child of the more civil race we all know today. But there are some Ursataur that are never "tamed" and they revert to a feral way of life. They rarely speak or form sentences and they live as wild, dumb beasts. Treebones says that even their spirit is "raw like the earth" and that its spirit was pushed into that form before it had time to mature.
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