Murylegys

Living in small tribes across Atilel, the Murylegys will live wherever prey is plentiful. They are expert hunters who live in close-knit communities, always eager to make new friends, but savagely fierce in the face of an enemy.
While most rarely leave their home islands, some will travel to start their own tribe when theirs grows too large. Murylegys have become more common on sailing vessels in recent decades, despite their innate fear of deep water and general distaste of being soaking wet.
Very few, if any, Murylegys hold positions of power over a country and it's inner workings. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that the Murylegys people traditionally ignored humans and their companions' machinations towards greatness, preferring instead to live their more simple lives as either members of a tribe or lone wanderers. The second reason stems from the first, in that humans and other such beings that came to rule their own countries took to only seeing the Murylegys as simple folk, lacking the intelligence or social grace required to successfully move in the higher circles.
They've come to be seen by high ranking nobles as troublemakers and lazy folk who possess no drive to gain anything beyond what their existence or others provide to them.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Murylegys are, essentially, large cats shaped similarly to humans. They are digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes like cats do, and use their long tails for balance. While they spend most of their time walking bipedal, they can walk on all fours without difficulty should the need arise.
Their shoulders are fully articulated like a human's. Their upright posture allows them to speak human languages fairly easily, and the special cartilage in their throats allowed them to develop their own language that few others can fully replicate.
Their teeth consist of long canines and sharp molars only slightly smaller than humans', allowing them to both tear into prey and properly chew food. Their muzzle is slightly extended from their face, much like a cat's.

Biological Traits

Murylegys can resemble nearly any species of large cat, from bobcat to tiger. Despite this, they are all still the same species. All Murylegys have a number of different gene expressions coded in their DNA that only changes based on the living conditions of the parents for several years before a child is born. As such, a family that lives in a jungle is more likely to produce a jaguar or leopard child, depending on their lifestyle, while a family living in a more temperate region can produce a cougar or a lynx. The most common varieties are those that would live in dense jungle or forest, due to few Murylegys travelling very far from their place of birth.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Murylegys' diets consist primarily of meats, with some vegetables and berries depending on what the region provides. Fiber is very important to their diets, and it's common to find them harvesting wild grasses to make into a sort of dense bread.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

The greatest concentration of Murylegys is in Cyrina, though they can be found in most places in the eastern portion of Atilel. Some have migrated to the west, but very few will go north as it requires travel by ship and most dislike being out on large open bodies of water.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Their ears are located at the top of their heads and are capable of rotating up to 180 degrees, allowing them to pinpoint the direction a sound is coming from. Their hearing is also far more sensitive than humans', with a range of 10.5 octaves.
Their noses are formed very similarly to a cat's, with a powerful olfactory bulb that allows them to catch even the faintest of scents.
Their taste buds are actually less sophisticated than humans', and as such they can't taste much sweetness but are rather sensitive to bitter flavours. Most "tasting" is done by first smelling a food and deciding whether or not it's good to eat based on that.
Their eyes are very powerful, and have particularly good night vision. Their pupils are slitted, allowing them to deal with harsh sunlight and moonless nights with equal ease.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

There are no set male and female names for Murylegys. Instead, when they are born, the parents will typically give them simple, one syllable names. As they grow up, they oftentimes will change their name to something that they feel suits them better, or better fits the society they live in.
Murylegys don't traditionally have family names, preferring to be called as a member of their tribe, if anything. Those who spend more time in larger communities have taken to adopting last names based off their role in society. For example, one who is apprenticed to someone would use their master's name and a suffix of 'hand' or 'study' or something similar in the local language.

Beauty Ideals

Grace and agility are two of the most important traits to have as a Murylegys. Few things are more beautiful to them than a partner who can, without breaking a sweat, perform feats that a human might only be able to accomplish with years of hard practice. The strength and skill to quickly take down larger prey is also something Murylegys find attractive. Battle scars are seen as badges of honor and worn with pride.

Courtship Ideals

Murylegys courtship typically consists of first the giving of small gifts. If the chosen partner reciprocates with their own gifts, then it signals mutual interest. They may choose each other more often for communal grooming. Play fighting like cubs is also common among courting couples. Finally, the pair perform their personalized war dances for each other. If they are in sync, their dances will slowly come to compliment one another.

Relationship Ideals

Respect and equity are of chief importance in Murylegys relationships. Each partner takes care of the other and does their fair share of work, both providing for the household and caring for children or elders, based on what they are best at and most capable of doing.
If it is ever suspected that one partner is abusing the other, the abuser is ex-communicated from the tribe while the one who was abused is taken care of by the tribe in whatever way they need until they recover from the effects of the abuse.
Loyalty and fidelity are also highly valued among Murylegys, but it is usually up to the betrayed party how they wish to deal with their partner's infidelity, should it occur, unless abuse is also involved.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Murrins is the official language of the Murylegys. It's a rather pleasant sounding combination of purrs, vague meowing sounds, and growls. While other folk can learn to understand Murrins, very few races can actually replicate all the sounds properly due to special cartilage in a Murylegys' throat. There are some localized dialects to be found in tribes from different islands, but whenever there's misunderstanding because of it, they tend to switch to Trade instead.

Common Dress Code

Murylegys are a rather liberal race when it comes to clothing. Because their bodies are covered in fur, clothes are used more as decoration or status symbols than for modesty or warmth. It's rather common to find a murylegys walking around with only a few scraps of loose fabric or jewelry to adorn them. It's only those who travel to colder climates or frequently find themselves among people of other races who are of high importance that wear more standard articles of clothing.

Males generally keep their hair long, roughly shoulder length if not a few inches longer. Females, however, typically keep their hair rather close-cropped to keep it out of the way when performing certain household duties such as tanning hides or fighting against large prey animals.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Anyone who says that Murylegys are uncultured couldn't be more wrong. Not only are the fabrics they design of a fineness nearly on par with those designed by elves, they also bear many varied designs that were moulded through generations of artistic traditions.

Their music and singing, being so highly specialized, is sometimes not fully audible to the human ear, which is a tragedy. They've developed instruments that can only be used with only either claws or a tail, and it's not uncommon for tribes living by the seaside to trade melodies with both local and passing sirens.

Murylegys dancing is fairly unique as well. While most of the dances made popular by humans are difficult to perform with a tail to constantly get tangled between your legs, the Murylegys war dancing serves the dual purpose of entertainment and conflict settlement between tribes. Particularly noteworthy dances from their history are passed down to the cubs to learn and build from when they grow old enough to begin creating their own war dance.

Common Taboos

While trimming one's hair is very common among Murylegys folk, especially among females, shaving any part of the body so the bare skin is exposed is considered to be bad luck and socially unacceptable. This can make life difficult for half-breeds, due to the nature of how their fur grows.

Scientific Name

Mundanus Carnivora Felidae Sapien

Lifespan

75 years

Average Physique

Athletic: lean muscle with little deviation between measurements of shoulders, waist, and hips.