In Asia, Africa, and the Scottish Isles, the endemic Wildcat populations share a historical reputation for gathering and prompt delivery of intelligence.
In times of war, troops camping in the woods would sometimes encounter wildcats; upon feeding them, the animals would return, and often with bounties stolen from nearby enemy camps. This practice resulted in an unspoken symbiosis lasting thousands of years, expanding into a consistent reinforcement of this relationship from both parties. Their fur began to lay flatter against their skin, allowing their bodies to take up less space when squeezing through tight spaces; their bodies became smaller to reduce detection during or following an infiltration.
Over time, wildcats formed not only packs, but entire clans devoted to the aid of favored armies. Following the War of Black Ash, many clans had been lost following the collision of Africa into Asia and Europe, yet a handful of clans located in both affected areas managed to survive and migrate. The following years saw alliances of wildcat packs with newly-ascended Minor Gods, then expansion of skills used previously for espionage to instead transmit written messages. With this new means of peaceful long-distance communication accessible to any in proximity of a cat and writing utensils, wildcats became a preferred means of transmission among divine and mortal alike.
Scottish Wildcats
The wildcats native to the Scottish Isles became known for their fierce devotion to duty in even the toughest conditions. Prior to the establishment of the
Cult of Ludovic, the wildcats of the Isles offered aid to both military camps and local villages alike. Their duties included the usual gathering of intelligence and warning of enemy presence, yet also expanded into protection of the villages they served against hostile wildlife. This behavior spawned the nickname "shepherd cat" in small farming settlements, eventually undergoing a linguistic evolution to refer to a loyal and protective individual with deceptively cute looks.
Around the time of
Ludovic's birth, many of these protective clans seemed to consolidate into an encompassing fission-fusion dynamic for the benefit of their omnia neighbors. This de facto consolidation likewise lent to the appointment of an "alpha", though the position in practice more closely resembles established mentorship than established dominance; for this reason, elders were often given this honor. This tradition carried on for about a century until the last alpha of the clan, a wildcat known by locals as Wheat-shielder, met an unexpected end by disease, leading to the appointment of his still-young successor,
Link.
Following Link's ascension to Godhood, the reputation of Scottish Wildcats had only been bolstered not only locally but worldwide. The killing of a wildcat is thus seen as an especially heartless move in Scottish culture; it is symbolically interpreted as silencing every message the cat could have carried, not to mention blasphemous towards the Messenger God.
African Wildcats
TBA
Asian Wildcats
TBA
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