Tabaxi

Tabaxi’s appearance is as varied as their attitudes. Some tabaxi have features or patterning in their fur like tigers, jaguars, or other big cats, while others have appearances more like a house cat. Still others have unique patterns or might style their fur to their preferences—or might even be hairless. Tabaxi are very varied in their physique ranging from 1.20 to 1.80 meters tall, they are all lean and muscular, they evolved in the jungles and forests near the south-western coast of Uxal, and are adept in arboreal mobility, are extremely agile and dextrous tabaxi, are naturally curious and selectively social, they are capable of living in societies both large and small but are also fiercely independent and capable of surviving alone. Tabaxi used to be enslaved by the Leonin Empire, after it fell they lived for a few centuries in decentralized tribal kingdoms, and now those kingdoms are federated under the central authority of the Shashthi Suzerainty, the tribal kingdoms maintain local governance as they see fit, their only obligations being taxes, they also are not allowed to entertain foreign diplomacy, the suzerainty holds all rights of brokering foreign pacts, including trade. Tabaxi like leonin possess retractable claws, their claw however are more suited to climb than fight. Tabaxi live an average of 70 years, females live slightly longer, and they reach adulthood by the age of 15. There are no major differences between female and male tabaxi, except for their reproductive organs.

The Shashthi Suzerainty

Originating from the Shashthi tribal kingdom of Chhatha (literally translated to the sixth), the Suzerainty became a major military and political power in Uxal, fostering good diplomatic relations with both The Western Dragon Empire to their east and the Free Cities colony to the north, the federation is still young, less than 100 years old but it is a stable and prosperous realm in a famously unstable and quarrelsome region. Ruled by a Devi or Deva depending on the gender (Devi is female, Deva is male) the Suzerainty does not impose strict rules on their federated kingdoms, only requiring little monetary contribution and acting as an intermediate between foreign relations. The Suxerainty does possess a small professional army formed by well-paid voluntary citizens, but in times of war relies on the support of the many Leonin prides in the region, the Suzerainty is very rich so it can afford such expenses, it also possesses a small but capable navy recently outfitted with new weapons from the Colonies, and a sizeable merchant fleet that could be conscripted into war should it prove necessary. The Suzerainty does not seek military conquest and it's quite content with defending its borders and trade routes from the northern half-giant tribes. Their food is still provided primarily by hunters and gatherers though there are farms that produce crops and fruits as well as a developing livestock industry. Their mining industry is still lacking mainly focused on a few silver mines in their region used to coin currency and bog iron collected from the local marshes and rivers, but the most well-developed mines are the two emerald mines near the capital, which provide much of the Suzerainty funds. Their main export is silk, spices, local foods such as fruits and vegetables as well as meats, and emeralds found in two large mines near the capital. They do not have a state religion and any federated kingdom is free to worship what they please, usually tabaxi worship cat or cat-like gods, curios, fun-loving, and tricky, there are many such gods in the federation. Usually in the tabaxi kingdoms merchants are the dominant class and almost always the king is a merchant king.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Saanvi, Puja, Ziana, Binita, Ashwika, Adwita, Veda, Agarthika, Verni, Chaaya.

Masculine names

Ashwin, Virat, Sharma, Reddy, Jaspreet, Yadav, Mandhata, Yajin, Srestha, Goshant.

Family names

Agarwal, Banerjee, Ahuja, Anand, Basu, Bedi, Chopra, Acharya, Bajwa, Bakshi, Balakrishnan, Bandyopadhyay, Bhaduri, Bhatia, Bhattacharya, Chakraborty, Chatterjee, Ghosh.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Tabaxi speak Tabaxi a language just slightly evolved from the Leonin spoken in the Leonin Empire.

Ideals

Gender Ideals

Tabaxi are completely egalitarian.