Caishen the Archdruid, Father of the Caisheni

Caishen is the most famous druid in history (see Caishen’s Triumph), though little to nothing is known about him prior to his becoming an archmage. An elf or half-elf, Caishen was a follower of Barashendu the Righteous, sabretooth trickster god of hunting, righteous war, and (later) caisheni. He and his followers are responsible for unlocking the secrets of creating fertile humanoid-animal hybrids such minotaurs, harpies, and tabaxi, people now known as the caisheni.
Caishen is said to have been born more than 8,000 years ago in what is now western Dvin in the High Kingdom of Nymera. Before about a thousand years ago, however, Dvin was the eastern edge of the great Carentan Forest.
Legends say that Caishen's consort and moral compass was the awakened panther Bathassa. It is said that the first caisheni were born to Caishen and Bathassa long before any other caisheni. These were the hero twins Nimrys and Nimros, the first tabaxi and the legendary founders of the High Kingdom of Nymera.