Catfolk
Before the Nova Age, catfolk largely resembled humans in appearance, save for downy fur that blanketed their bodies and catlike ears and tails. In the wake of the regicide and the subsequent creation of Blood Space, however, many catfolk underwent radical changes in which their physical bodies twisted and deformed, causing many to resemble actual felines. Subsequently, catfolk possess greater physical dimorphism than any other known species within the Azan-Ra System, save for the deoxyians. Catfolk variance is strong even among catfolk kin, and can possess catlike or humanlike eyes, ears, claws, teeth, skeletal structures (digitigrade or plantigrade), and facial features in virtually any combination. Even paired limbs or organs can be split between humanlike or catlike traits, such as a catfolk with one soft, humanlike arm and one catlike arm tipped with wicked claws. Despite this variance, compatible catfolk remain capable of siring children with one another, regardless of how different their physical bodies seem.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Catfolk names tend to derive from one of two places— ancient catfolk traditions by way of warrior chieftains, folk heroes, or favored ancestors, or pleasant-sounding names that a catfolk’s parents heard somewhere and liked during their time off-world during their youth. As a result, catfolk can pull their names from those of almost any other races, though using deoxyian names is largely frowned upon. Traditional catfolk names tend to emphasize softer sounds in a way that sounds like the guttural vocalizations of felines—purrs, meows, and roars especially. Some examples of catfolk names are Ahnanje, Arwewo, Biwuro, Caeim, Carrow, Druwea, Efrie, Gerran, Geraw, Jirey-rae, Kiteri, Miriri, Misru, Misruvi, Murur, Nyktan, Nya-Nyo, Rouqar, Seshmi, Umeri, Yri, and Zirawro
History
Catfolk, called bantosiai in their racial tongue, call Bantosian, the feral moon of Ulo, their ancestral homeland. Large by lunar scale, Bantosian provided generously to its feline children, who lived harmoniously in balance with nature before the arrival of the Azan-Ra Empire. A civil war erupted when the Azan-Ra, egged on by their deoxyian allies, began numerous strip mining operations on Bantosian for precious bantic crystals that lay buried within the planet’s crust. By employing hit-and-run tactics and using the vast jungles of Bantosian to avoid imperial pursuit, the bantosiai managed to gridlock the Azan-Ra Empire in an unpopular war of attrition until a treaty was established between the bantosiai and the empire.
In the treaty’s wake, the bantosiai joined the Azan-Ra Empire proper and established their home (as well as several other inhabited worlds) as a sanctuary world.
In the wake of Regicide, Bantosian was bathed in mutative blood space, and the result forever changed both the bantosiai and their home world. Many of the fauna and botanic inhabitants of Bontosian were granted sentience while many catfolk became mutated with a conglomeration of feline and humanoid traits. Worse of all, however, was the fate that became off-worlders. Those not native to Bantosian rapidly devolved mentally and physically into brutish states all but incapable of sentient thought. Worse still, the blood space that caused these mutations lingers in Bantosian’s atmosphere today, making it impossible for all but a handful of the Azan-Ra System’s peoples from traveling on Bantosian’s surface without space suits. Despite the inconvenience, most catfolk enjoy this development, as they see it as an appropriate deterrent for the many vagrants who roam the Azan-Ra System following the collapse of the Azan-Ra Empire.
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