Y'gran
Sometimes known (nontechnically) as Grytari, Y'gran are the original ancestors of the Tabalix, hailing from the land of Grytr'a.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Y'gran have a mostly Human-like skeletal structure, save for their head, hands, lower-legs and obvious tail. Their heads resemble various cat species, lion being far most common, with the fur coming down just far enough to create a "mantle" of fur around their neck and shoulders; their hands are dexterous paws, with fur up to their elbows; their legs are furred from the knee down, ending in paws; their furred tail protruding from their lower-back. Typically, the rest of their bodies are smooth skin; but some have fur trails that go from their mantle down the center of their torso in a thin line. As mentioned, lions are by far the most common form of Y'gran, this is due to lions being the original species; all other species that Y'gran can be, be they tigers, panthers, etc., are actually mutations - making lions roughly 95% of the species' composition - black panthers, tigers, and lynx take up 4% of the rest of the population, leaving the last 1% to include all other various mutations.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Y'gran are omnivores, hunting and consuming meat just as much as growing and consuming greens. Y'gran actually enjoy salads, vegetables, fruits, and various green meals in high frequency - meats are consumed as luxury foods. Y'gran also love their alcoholic beverages and celebrations involving copious amounts of such drinks, but they are also big fans of juices made from various fruits, flowers, plants, and the like.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Y'gran are found almost exclusively in Grytr'a. In very small amounts have Y'gran left their homeland for one reason or another and those that have can be found spread throughout the world in rare sightings - though they tend to favor culture's that resemble their own, like Ustos.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Y'gran can see exceptionally well in the dark, as well as hear subtle sounds clearly. Y'gran also have a unique sense of smell; though they cannot smell faint smells any better than most, and they certanly cannot track by scent like some races can, Y'gran have the unique ability to smell a change in the air that indicates weather a full five days before it occurs. To this extent, Y'gran can smell when it will snow, when it will rain, when the clouds will cover the sky, when the clouds will be sparse, when it will be foggy, and so on.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
The Y'gran of Grytr'a serve a single king but are divided into knightly houses, called "Ascendancies". Their loyalty to their Ascendancy is fierce and overshadowed only by their loyalty to their kingdom and the one who sits upon its throne. Y'gran are exceptionally competitive against the other Ascendancies, but also recognize when they need to set aside their competitive nature and work together with them, which they can do susprisingly well when the need arises.
Beauty Ideals
Y'gran are very conscious of outward appearance - grooming, apparel, body-form; they sense of vanity is perhaps on par with Elves, but are not prima-donnas about it; if they get mud in their fur, they won't freak out and claim woe is them - they will simply make a note to take a bath when first available. Y'gran knights are used to long treks and rough conditions in which they may have to go a week or more without a proper bath. In their ideal: fur should cleaned and brushed to be smooth, straight, and flat with no tangles; skin should be carefully cared for with even minor cuts tended to and no blemishes left untreated; teeth should be brushed and whitened; paws clean with callous removed and claws sharpened; clothes should be clean, fresh, un-ripped, armor should be polished and properly donned; the musculature should be definable with no excess of fat or thinning to the bone.
Common Dress Code
Y'gran dress very finely when they can - even the commen pesent wearing clothes made from fine silk-like materials. Apparel tends not to differ much between sexes with males and females both typically wearing pants and loose shirts either tucked into the pants or tightened by a leather belt. The only time they commonly differ in the day-to-day is during the summer and spring months when the males will either wear sleeveless tunics, vests, or forgo full tunics and will wear sashed shirts that leave their torso almost fully bare; while females might wear a thinner and more form-fitting tunic either sleeved or sleeveless or they will don a soft-fabric wrap around their breast with a sash that runs diagnal across their torso. Boots are worn when there is rough weather, when the Y'gran is intending to trek a rough road, or clean and presentable boots are worn for occasions of dressing up such as ceremonies or parties; otherwise, Y'gran don't wear anything on their feet. Accessories such as jewelry, armbands, and other such items are common and well-loved by Y'gran. In events where one is expected to be as presentable as they can be, the two sexes begin to differ; males will wear well-fitted suits of various colors and styles or clothes that resemble their everyday clothes, albeit made from much higher-quality materials and with more attention to it cleanliness and appearance. Females, on the other hand, will tpyically wear very fine dresses of various colors and styles while keeping comfortablity in mind with its design. Boots are optional for either sex in such events. Above all, metal armor is considered to be the height of high-class appearance so long as it is properly maintained. Knights are the only ones allowed to wear full armor at any time, Squires are allowed to don very light metal armor, whereas peasents are allowed only armor of hardened leather. In high-class events, knights will opt for metal armor for their apparel, though they will don something for lighter and more form-fitting, typically not even wearing a cuirass of any sort, or a very thin scaled one if they do.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Valor, honor, glory, chivalry - these are the foundations on which the Y'gran pride themselves. A culture of knights and squires that stand for justice and a code of honor and ethics that must be preserved at all times.
History
At the height of Y'gran success, in the year 681 1E, they had been the target of a great evil of primordial origins that threatened to bring them to extinction. For sixteen years they fought against the evil, trying to rid their precious land of it, but thier people dwindled away with each passing year- thus the began a debate to evacuate their home. After a full two years since the debate began, they finally reached a conclusion - two thirds of their people wished to depart and find a new home while one third wished to stay and see their troubles through to the end. The departing people would end up sailing to Tabaal and settling there - they took on a new culture, a new religion, and even their own bodies changed with the second generation by the will of the gods and would become the race known as Tabalix. The people that stayed had to deal with things getting worse. Much worse. All of the inhabitants withdrew into the confines of their city, leaving no-one outside the walls and, in a last ditch effort to survive, the great wizards of their people came together and cast a spell, with the blessing of Kronos, to stop time and freeze themselves. At the start of the year in 316 5E, the evil had been slain (albeit temporarily) somewhere else in the world which weakened the spell upon the city - as was intended by the wizards - and the magic no longer prevented anything from entering. One year later, an merchant had noticed that the fog that had always cloaked the base of a mountain distantly visable along his trade route was suddenly gone; an entire city known to no-one had been revealed. He steered his ship towards this wonder, docking at the harbor, and entered the city. Thinking it entirely abandoned, he wandered through the streets and his very presence broke the spell; freeing the Y'gran from their imprisonment.
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