Aimur

The Aimur is a rare breed of Tabaxi consisted of humanoids that look more like kitties. Their size is small, they are extremely agile and good at hiding and sometimes have several tails. They are frequently tribal and virtually unknown between the more civilized race.
An Aimur is sometimes bred from normal Tabaxi couple. When this happens, it is considered either as a sign of great luck or great doom, as the Aimur is sure to have a great destiny ahead of them.
Members of such race are extremely rare, and the members of the race are short-lived, living usually less than 50 years at maximum. As a result, the entire sub-race is at risk of extinction.

Naming Traditions

Other names

Aimur follow the same naming conventions as the other Tabaxi.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The Aimur learn from childhood Tabaxi. Upon reaching a certain age, they can learn other dialects as they adventure, such as Common.

Culture and cultural heritage

As the rest of the Tabaxi, the Aimur tends to love music. The songs they composed usually reflect the experiences they had on the outside world, and are seen as sacred or signs by the tribe, that tends to interpret the signs contained within as wisdom coming from the gods themselves. Music and stories sung and told by the Aimur tend to be themselves told in yearly feasts held by the Tabaxi tribe, so that the teachings within are never lost.

Shared customary codes and values

The Aimur culture mixes in with the Tabaxi. The Aimur are considered as sacred beings among the Tabaxi, which are sent to earth to guide them in the path of a great destiny. As such, they are often incentivized on becoming adventurers and seeing the exterior world, and if they come back, they will know the answers to guide the tribe in their intended destiny.

Average technological level

Tribal, medieval when living in human cities or journeying.

Common Etiquette rules

An Aimur is considered a sacred being and a shared secret of the Tabaxi. They are supposed to journey, and when they reach a town the Tabaxi expect them to stay at their homes, as a sign of grace. If an Aimur decides to stay at an inn instead, the Tabaxi occupants will feel deeply insulted.

Common Dress code

When born into a tribe they wear common tribal clothes if anything at all, but from the time the young Aimur is strong enough, his parents begin a journey with them, taking them to see the world. The departure of the family is always held with a great celebration.
When meeting other cultures, the Aimur also adopts their dress clothes. For some reason, however, Aimur usually tends to use rather extravagant clothing, with huge hats, boots or very colorful and large clothes that contrast with their small statures. As they get older, the aimur are filled with more and more vanity and they show this by dressing in a manner to always be the center of attention.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

An Aimur from birth is supposed to travel. As soon as they are old enough to withstand the hardships of such a journey (which tends to happen while they are around 6-8 years old) their parents travel with them. In such travels, the parents teach the Aimur wisdom and what to do and what not to do, and how to relate to other races.
When the Aimur turns 18 years old, it is considered that it is now old enough to guide its own journey, and the parents usually settle into a human town or go back to the tribe. The Aimur is then supposed to spend his days journeying, meeting other cultures and participating in their activities. At the end of their short lives, it should come back to the tribe and tell of what it has experienced, usually in the form of song. These are considered visions and signs of the future, as well as wisdom for the tribe to survive the hardships ahead.
Many of the Aimur resent their fate, for they wish they could settle in a place and create a family like a normal Tabaxi. A few even revolts against it, normally settling into a human town. But as a few years go by they begin to feel the wanderlust with renewed force, and once again continue their travels.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

The birth of an Aimur is always celebrated with a grand feast, where songs the Tribe still knows from the previous Aimur are sung and a banquet is held.

Funerary and Memorial customs

When an Aimur dies, their bodies just disappear, leaving all possessions behind. What the Aimur was carrying alongside him at time of death are usually regarded as sacred relics by the Tabaxi.
It has been tried before, but even the strongest spells can't bring back an Aimur. Some scholars who have met them speculate that they have no afterlife. The Tabaxi, however, think their souls become part of the songs and stories the Aimur has created in life, granting them the power to protect the tribe. When the last song or story is forgotten, the Aimur then reincarnate as a new Aimur, ready to teach and guide the tribe again.
Nothing regarding either theory has of yet been proven correct.

Common Taboos

The Aimur is supposed to journey, and supposed to be free to do so unimpeded. Two Tabaxi tribes that are in a war with each other would allow Aimurs from the other tribes to cross their territory in peace, for not doing so would be to risk the wrath of the gods. A noble who denies access to his lands to an Aimur would certainly win the animosity of his Tabaxi subjects.

Common Myths and Legends

It is the belief among the Tabaxi that the first Tabaxi was indeed an Aimur, who wandered into this world and from him, the whole race was generated.

Historical figures

There have been plenty of famous Aimur in Tabaxi history. One of the earliest examples tells of a female Aimur named Magic Trail, who is said to have found her way to the plane of Magic itself, and came back with incredible powers. She used these powers to reduce a human kingdom who was enslaving Tabaxi to ashes, guaranteeing the freedom of a Tabaxi tribe that would later become the sacred realm of Shadetide. Whether Shadetide was real or not nobody knows (though the Tabaxi believe in it), but there are records of an old human kingdom that was destroyed overnight by an unknown incredible magical power.