Shafih (Sha - Fee)
Basic Information
Anatomy
Shafih are two armed, bipedal humanoids, with a thick and numerous skeleton structure, numbering in the 600s. Most bone segments are several smaller bones roped together to form a single limb or section, increasing the overall strength of the Shafih compared to Humans or Drow. They are significantly more muscled on average than any other Humanoid species, save perhaps for the Dawasi.
Genetics and Reproduction
Shafih are mammals, so reproduce in the manner of most mammals.
Growth Rate & Stages
A Shafih will have a live birth, where it enters a cub stage for the first decade or so of its life, roughly comparable to that of humans. After their tenth year they begin to grow far faster than Humans, reaching full maturity around 20. They stay at a physical prime for around half a century, before their bodies begin to quickly degrade. Most Shafih don't live past 70.
Ecology and Habitats
Shafih have the characteristic adaptability of most Humanoids.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Shafih are omnivorous, sharing many of the same dietary requirements as humans, but notably also able to thrive off of wild grasses and raw meat, though more is required to survive than just those two.
Behaviour
Shafih act as HUmanoids do, perhaps with a little more aggressiveness.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Shafih faces take after those of lions. They vary in the same manner that lion's faces do. The head itself is attached to the body by a thick, not particularly long neck. Shafih eyes resemble those of lions as well, however the colour of the irises will be a vibrant red, to a dark purple to a deep blue.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Shafih are found near exclusively in Nubi Hamiq {The Easter Plain} or in the Shifting Plain, being the only ones who know how to navigate the ever-changing land.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
The sight of a Shafih is worse than that of a Human, with an altered perception of colour. Their hearing and touch is on par with those of Humans, but their senses of taste and smell are far better. A Shafih's taste can isolate elements, used in cooking to discern ingredients, or tracking to literally taste the trace of the target, as some examples. It is quite useful for detecting poisons. Their sense of smell is renowned for its sensitivity.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Shafih names will be names of an ancestor at least two generations removed. Their surname will be that of the preferred parent, changing depending on which culture group the Shafih is part of. Most Shafih culture groups have a third or fourth name that will be appended.
Gender Ideals
While sexual dimorphism does exist within the species, it plays little role in general Shafih society outside of childbearing. The intricacies of gender differences vary by culture.
Average Technological Level
Shafih are both less and more advanced than the rest of Diyu. The Shafih tribes have no access to metalworking, relying on trading with settled peoples for metal works. However, their techniques for making bows and arrows surpass anything on Diyu, using guarded techniques to make recurve bows and special fletching on the arrows. They have also developed reliable methods of tracking constellations and navigating the shifting plain, a death sentence to anyone not privy to their secrets.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
The Shafih speak many languages, but those in Diyu know them best as the amalgam language of Mikharish.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
The Shafih that interact often with those in Diyu are divided into five major culture groups. What most in Diyu know of them (very little outside of Nubi Hamiq {The Easter Plain}) is coloured by the Easterlings perception of them. The culture groups are not one tribe each, though they're often seen as such by the Easterlings. In reality, they are a set of common traditions, heraldry, and practices used by several tribes.
The Ihu Dalafl are seen by the Easterlings as the most aggressive of all the Shafih, engaging in the most raids and being the most hostile to the Easterlings. In reality, they engage in roughly the same amount of raiding, trading, and herding as the other cultural groups. They just tend to range the furthest West with their attacks, striking as far as Ju Chen or Ju 'Ih Shid. Their heraldry uses red as the dominant colour, with secondary colours usually being something dark such as blue, black, or grey. Symbols will include calligraphy in the Mikharish script, usually relating to religious omens or short prophecies. They trace ancestry through their father. Name structures are done as Family Name - Warrior Name - Personal Name. The Warrior name is earned by a Shafih's late teens, when they will have achieved their first great feat in battle, such as hitting an impressive shot or slaying a powerful enemy. Usage of the Personal Name is reserved for close friends and family, while the Warrior Name is used at formal events, and the Family Name is used by strangers. An example name would be Um 'U 'Ah Hab Sa Luba Mabbu, roughly translating as Son of 'Ah, the Man slayer, Mabbu, where 'Ah would be the father, the first enemy ever killed was a Human, and Mabbu would be the personal name, taken from a grandparent or great grandparent.
The Ihud 'U Qiyyiqas Diya are the most likely to be seen with non-Shafi as part of a tribe. They are known as the "traders" of the Shafih, again a generalization. Their attacks are usually the most damaging, due to their ability to cart of more loot. They are notable among other Shafih for using wooden carts pulled by bison, carrying families, goods, and booty within. Their heraldry usually uses green as a primary colour, with blue or red as a secondary color, and symbols of gold or goods. The symbol on the flag will usually become the name given to Qiyyiqas tribes, famous examples being the Jan 'U Rahakqab--the tribe of the buffalo--or the Jan 'U 'Ih Dalaflud--the tribe of the good bows. Names are formatted as Tribe Name - Parent Name - Personal Name. An example would be 'Ih Dalaflud Jutaz Shawwu, Jutaz of Shawwu, from the 'Ih Dalaflud tribe. Personal Names are those used by tribe members to refer to other tribe members. Parent names (as chosen by the Shafih at 15 years of age) are used in conjunction with personal names when speaking to Shafih from outside of the tribe, and all three are used together when speaking to non-Shafih. Neither matrilineal or patrilineal descent is followed, as each Shafih chooses which parent they are "descended from" at 15 when they choose their parent name.
The 'Umayya Jan, or the hidden tribe, are the least interacted with of the five major groups. They are seen in just high enough quantities by Easterlings to be distinguished from other Shafih, but little of them is known besides their heraldry, blue primary colour with geometric shapes outlined in green or yellow as secondary and symbolism. Their flags are the most simplistic of all the Shafih, and of Eastern Diyu in general.
The Riq Miad are the most common in urban settings, as they have mostly melded into the culture of the Easterlings. It is from them that influences such as constellations and myths, or farming techniques are derived. Their nomadic brethren have also adopted many non-Shafih into their tribes, in smaller numbers that the Qiyyiqas tribe, largely due to them not allowing the outsiders to retain cultural independence. They get assimilated, and influence the Riq Miad in turn, rendering them a nomadic version of the Human and Drow urban dwellers. It is from the outside influence that the Riq Miad use complicated coats of arms featuring stylized animals and complex colour patterns as part of their heraldry. Names also follow similar patterns to the Easterlings, with a Personal Name chosen by the parents at birth, and a family name taken from that of the father. It is their study of the shifting constellations above that makes their tracking through the shifting plain the most reliable, though they rarely stray far east.
THe I'a 'U Rummua are the only Shafih to make the transition from bison herding to bison riding. This is a relatively new development, brought on by the incorporation of an exile from the Coven of the Beaten Hoof--the rulers of the City of Great Beasts--and her teaching the Rummua how to properly ride the bison. While they have yet to attempt the same with the Duwa Hus, it is likely to come once the riding technique is adopted by the other tribes. They have experienced the most recent success in their military ventures, with rumours of a great Khan abound, one of their number is likely to attempt to take the mantel.
The Ihu Dalafl are seen by the Easterlings as the most aggressive of all the Shafih, engaging in the most raids and being the most hostile to the Easterlings. In reality, they engage in roughly the same amount of raiding, trading, and herding as the other cultural groups. They just tend to range the furthest West with their attacks, striking as far as Ju Chen or Ju 'Ih Shid. Their heraldry uses red as the dominant colour, with secondary colours usually being something dark such as blue, black, or grey. Symbols will include calligraphy in the Mikharish script, usually relating to religious omens or short prophecies. They trace ancestry through their father. Name structures are done as Family Name - Warrior Name - Personal Name. The Warrior name is earned by a Shafih's late teens, when they will have achieved their first great feat in battle, such as hitting an impressive shot or slaying a powerful enemy. Usage of the Personal Name is reserved for close friends and family, while the Warrior Name is used at formal events, and the Family Name is used by strangers. An example name would be Um 'U 'Ah Hab Sa Luba Mabbu, roughly translating as Son of 'Ah, the Man slayer, Mabbu, where 'Ah would be the father, the first enemy ever killed was a Human, and Mabbu would be the personal name, taken from a grandparent or great grandparent.
The Ihud 'U Qiyyiqas Diya are the most likely to be seen with non-Shafi as part of a tribe. They are known as the "traders" of the Shafih, again a generalization. Their attacks are usually the most damaging, due to their ability to cart of more loot. They are notable among other Shafih for using wooden carts pulled by bison, carrying families, goods, and booty within. Their heraldry usually uses green as a primary colour, with blue or red as a secondary color, and symbols of gold or goods. The symbol on the flag will usually become the name given to Qiyyiqas tribes, famous examples being the Jan 'U Rahakqab--the tribe of the buffalo--or the Jan 'U 'Ih Dalaflud--the tribe of the good bows. Names are formatted as Tribe Name - Parent Name - Personal Name. An example would be 'Ih Dalaflud Jutaz Shawwu, Jutaz of Shawwu, from the 'Ih Dalaflud tribe. Personal Names are those used by tribe members to refer to other tribe members. Parent names (as chosen by the Shafih at 15 years of age) are used in conjunction with personal names when speaking to Shafih from outside of the tribe, and all three are used together when speaking to non-Shafih. Neither matrilineal or patrilineal descent is followed, as each Shafih chooses which parent they are "descended from" at 15 when they choose their parent name.
The 'Umayya Jan, or the hidden tribe, are the least interacted with of the five major groups. They are seen in just high enough quantities by Easterlings to be distinguished from other Shafih, but little of them is known besides their heraldry, blue primary colour with geometric shapes outlined in green or yellow as secondary and symbolism. Their flags are the most simplistic of all the Shafih, and of Eastern Diyu in general.
The Riq Miad are the most common in urban settings, as they have mostly melded into the culture of the Easterlings. It is from them that influences such as constellations and myths, or farming techniques are derived. Their nomadic brethren have also adopted many non-Shafih into their tribes, in smaller numbers that the Qiyyiqas tribe, largely due to them not allowing the outsiders to retain cultural independence. They get assimilated, and influence the Riq Miad in turn, rendering them a nomadic version of the Human and Drow urban dwellers. It is from the outside influence that the Riq Miad use complicated coats of arms featuring stylized animals and complex colour patterns as part of their heraldry. Names also follow similar patterns to the Easterlings, with a Personal Name chosen by the parents at birth, and a family name taken from that of the father. It is their study of the shifting constellations above that makes their tracking through the shifting plain the most reliable, though they rarely stray far east.
THe I'a 'U Rummua are the only Shafih to make the transition from bison herding to bison riding. This is a relatively new development, brought on by the incorporation of an exile from the Coven of the Beaten Hoof--the rulers of the City of Great Beasts--and her teaching the Rummua how to properly ride the bison. While they have yet to attempt the same with the Duwa Hus, it is likely to come once the riding technique is adopted by the other tribes. They have experienced the most recent success in their military ventures, with rumours of a great Khan abound, one of their number is likely to attempt to take the mantel.
History
The Shafih have existed as a nomadic people wandering the Shifting Plain for millennia. Their native traditions say they were born from a plains lion who refused to finish a dying god, so the latter gave the lion intelligence and a new form to spread out over the world. While Shafih native traditions remain strong among those who exist in the vastness of the Shifting Plain, those Westerners who interact with Diyu have either converted to the Arakan Pantheon, the Profligate Path, or some combination of their native traditions and the aforementioned two.
The Shafih are the only ones capable of navigating the feylike everchanging plains, so the few who take up as traders have made fortunes by carting outsiders across from Diyu to the distant lands and back again. Well, they claim they do. Most of the time they take the travelers in question far away from Diyu then kill them, leaving the bodies to be forever hidden by the Shifting Plain. Territorial disputes and the sheer vastness of the plain makes such ventures near impossible. It is the few Shafih who know how to manipulate the changing nature to their own ends, rather than simply navigate around it, who are actually able to see both worlds on each side of the Plain.
Shafih interaction with the settled peoples of Diyu was minimal until the ascension of the Hannau 'Ih. The Hannau 'Ih made various attempts to subjugate the Shafih, not understanding the true nature of the peoples or the Plain. Their legions were lost every time, but their interference brought the Western Shafih closer to settled politics. Some Shafih tribes paid tributary status to the settled states, others took up as raiders, and others just migrated away, herding their bison to greener less complicated pastures.
The Shafih are the only ones capable of navigating the feylike everchanging plains, so the few who take up as traders have made fortunes by carting outsiders across from Diyu to the distant lands and back again. Well, they claim they do. Most of the time they take the travelers in question far away from Diyu then kill them, leaving the bodies to be forever hidden by the Shifting Plain. Territorial disputes and the sheer vastness of the plain makes such ventures near impossible. It is the few Shafih who know how to manipulate the changing nature to their own ends, rather than simply navigate around it, who are actually able to see both worlds on each side of the Plain.
Shafih interaction with the settled peoples of Diyu was minimal until the ascension of the Hannau 'Ih. The Hannau 'Ih made various attempts to subjugate the Shafih, not understanding the true nature of the peoples or the Plain. Their legions were lost every time, but their interference brought the Western Shafih closer to settled politics. Some Shafih tribes paid tributary status to the settled states, others took up as raiders, and others just migrated away, herding their bison to greener less complicated pastures.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
While many engage in interspecies relationships, Shafih are unable to reproduce with any other than Shafih.
Khan
Khan is the title for a warlord, a military leader who unites two to more tribes. They tend to wear ornate armour and wield large stylized weapons. While all Shafih know of their existence, they are a rare find in practice, due to the tensions that exist between most tribes.
Scientific Name
Humanoid
Lifespan
70 years
Average Height
2.5 meters
Average Weight
150 kg
Average Physique
The average Shafih stands significantly taller and significantly bulkier than a Human, due to the tougher skeleton and increased muscle mass. Female Shafih tend to be slightly shorter and less bulky than males, however to the average human, the difference is negligible.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
A Shafih's entire body is covered in short fur, usually, any colour ranging from light tan or yellow to dark brown. On occasion, an albino Shafih can be found. Most Shafih have one or two long stripes than run around their chest or limbs, coloured black or dark brown.
Geographic Distribution
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