Felmer

The Felmer are the proud peoples of the south. They are often mistakenly seen as the sentient versions of wild animals, but this is not actually accurate. Their appearance resembles of wild animals, but in fact, they are sentient people, just like all the other races. Their diets may remind one of what the animal counterpart eats, but all the Felmer are omnivorous, even if they preffer either plant or animal-based food sources.
They are the most diverse of all corporeal races, as they come in five sub-races, each of which is unique, and have their own culture, although they are all very much influenced by each other, and they all share the same religion.

Culture

Each Felmer race has a unique and distinct culture, but there are a few common threads that play an important part in their respective cultures, even though they might be played very differently.
In order to understand Felmer culture, you have to understand their religion. They believe in an all-powerful bear goddess named Lita, about which you can read more in the following article: Ursanism

Bears

They believe that bears are sacred, and that offending the bear race, which they believe existed a long time ago. This means that all bears in their forests are protected, and killing a bear is a grave sin.
Bears are seen as a symbol of righteous fury, protection, and strength, and many Felmen houses will have bear insignia on them, the design often depending on the region.

Dedication

They believe that the right to enter the afterlife is earned, and they place great emphasis on achieving good in life. What this means can change per sub-species, but the idea is universal.
Generally, the races respect each other's interpretation of what dedication means, and they might even incorporate the ideas of others, if they feel that it will help.

Humility

Being good is a virtue, but boasting about it is a deeply shameful behaviour, and even worse, putting others down, simply because you think you are further ahead on the route towards acceptance into the afterlife.
Children who fail to be humble are often sent to the temples to live with the monks for a time, which is meant to teach them how to be humble.

Food

Giving thanks is an important part of Felmen life, especially when they eat. All races have eating customs, where food is often shared between family, friends, or extended communities.
Food is also an important part of all celebrations, as food brings people together.

Children

Child rearing, although handled differently by each race, is considered a sacred duty, one entrusted to the people by Lita. Children are seen as objects of hope, and raising them properly is something to be proud of.
Having your children do well in life reflects well upon you as a parent. Having them do poorly has the opposite effect. Children who stray from the faith or end up as disgraced criminals will reflect poorly upon their parents, and people have even been known to be rejected because their children ended up on the wrong side of the law.

The Races

The Felmer race is divided into five subraces, each with its own distinct physical features and appearances.
They appear as a certain animal, after which they are named.
However, all of them have humanoid body plans, having two arms and legs.

Wolf

Height: 1.8 Meters
Ethnicities: Greys, Blacks.
Nation: Lupinor

Appearance
They have short fur, short muzzles, and black noses, most natable is their short tail, shimmering eyes, and hard claws at the ends of their fingers.
Their ears are pointy, and most similar to those of elves, just more hairy.
They have strong builds, with dense muscles and bones.

Culture
The wolf race lives in the forests of the north-east, on the border with the Nalsai, who have long invaded the lands of all Felmer. This has forced the wolf race to live a life of warfare, and they have developed a stern warrior culture in which nothing is more important than skill in battle.

Dedication
They believe dedication means fighting the Nalsai, who seek to exterminate all of the Felmen. They believe in hard work and taking care of one's family. Only when this is done correctly can one enter the afterlife.

Eating
In Wolf culture, it is customary to eat with the family, where the children eat first, and then the rest of the family. This is how they eat every day, and before each meal they give thanks to Lita.

Feline

Height: 1.8 Meters
Ethnicities: Stripes, Dots, Rosettes.
Nation: Felinor

Appearance
They have short fur, shorter even than their wolf kin. Their eyes are so keen that they reflect light in the dark. Their nails are retractable, and they keep them very well-maintained and very sharp. They have round ears, most like those of humans, just hairy. They have small black noses and no muzzle.
They have more lead builds, flexible and fast, and despite having the same average height as their wolf kin, they are often lighter, and much faster.

Culture
The Feline are a somber people, they once lived in lands now long lost to the Nalsai, and like the Wolf race, they fought for a long time. What remains of them now lives in the south, still practicing their combat skills, which are still among the best in the world.
They tell stories of their lost lands, and secretly hope to one day return there.

They live in small, nuclear families, with two parents and their children, who leave to live independently as soon as they reach adulthood. Siblings are known to stay together in adulthood after they come of age, at least until they find a life partner, to start their family with.
In cities, they live in small households that function much the same.

Dedication
They believe dedication means silent reverence, the warship the bear in shrines and under the sky, and the hone the sharpness of their claws, hoping to one day prove their worth. They believe that self-sufficiency is the key to survival, and to success, and to overly-rely on others is shameful.

Eating
In Feline culture, it is customary to eat with the core family, parents, and children. And it is common to bring gifts of food to neighbours, as a way of building contacts and maintaining good relations.

Rat

Height: 1 Meter
Ethnicities: N/A
Nation: Rodentia

Appearance
They are short, but they have strong limbs. Their fur is brown and rough, and it proveds them much protection. Their noses are round, and their ears are too. Their eyes are like black beads. They have short snouts and large front teeth.

Culture
The rats are the shortest of all Felmen races, but they are also by far the most numerous and the most urbanized. Their cities are huge networks of houses, cross-city highways, markets, farms, and pretty much everything else you could imagine from a city.
They don't have any major ethnic differences between them, most of them being brown or black, and they mostly identify themselves by their home city.

Dedication
They believe that dedication means creating. They are hard-working, industrious people, and they believe that the better your crop, the smoother your woodworks, the tougher your nails, the better your chances of getting into the afterlife. They are well respected for this dedication, even if not all the races have the same idea about it as they.

Eating
In Rat culture, people eat with their family most of the time, but they break this once a week, because at the end of every week, the community organizes a feast together, in which all people from the neighbourhood come together to share food, and eat together, usually preceded by the local representative, or neighbourhood president, sometimes a religious representative, giving a speach. This is a vital part of Rat culture.

Ape

Height: 1.6 Meters
Ethnicities: Red Furs, Black Furs, Long Tails, Red Shouts.
Nation: Xamylkar

Appearance
The ape race have short fur, wide mouths, and large canines. Most notable, though, are their long limbs, espeically their arms, which make them look lanky and clumsy, which they most certainly are not.

Culture
The ape race are well regarded as skilled craftsmen, traders, and mercenaries. They also have a less savory reputation as pirates, who raid the coasts of Armir, serve in foreign lands as mercenaries, and bring their wealth home to their families. Their favorite targets are the Nalsai kingdoms, and it is because of this that the other Felmer mostly leave them be. They also regularly raid Borlandian towns, which are their main rival.

They are an exceptionally tribal people, with their loyalty being to their clan allegiances over anything else. They live in extended families, never moving far from the rest of their tribe, and they rarely marry outside of their clan.

Dedication
They believe dedication means service to your betters. The Ape race is among the most zealously loyal to their leaders. They believe that this service and dedication to being the best they can be is what will get them into the afterlife.

Eating
In Ape culture, it is customary for extended families to eat together. Occasionally, the local tribal leader will organize a big feast, in which he shares food with all his subjects. This is an important part of keeping the peace, and this is always used as a chance to maintain relationships with individuals one might not see very often, but by the tribal leadership, as well as any other attendees.
When a male wants to attract a female, they often makes gifts of food.

Hog

Height: 2 Meters
Ethnicities: N/A

Appearance
The Hog race are the tallest of the Felmer, and the biggest. They have thich skin, often covered in sparse, coarse hairs, concentrated on their heads and necks. They have short snouts, large round noses, and round tusks, which can grow quite large in the men. Their men are broad-shouldered and often built quite massively, but their women are more wiry, still around the same height, but often half the weight.

Culture
The hog race is often underestimated because their appearance is that of pig people, however, they are crafty, intelligent, and the largest of the Felmer races. They live in mixed family structures based around elders and maternal lines. More important than their familial ties are the community they live in. The Hog race lives in tight-knit communities that only grow stronger and closer as things get harder. These communities are often the same as the group that attends the local temple, or of a particular neighbourhood. They are incredibly social people, with a skill for haggling. They are reportedly also very funny.
They are hard workers with a skill for the art of war and metalworking, but they are also skilled jewelers.

Dedication
They believe that dedication means being true to yourself. They believe the bear race was angry with them because they tried to be what they were not. This is why the Hog race does their best to find themselves in life and be true to who they are.

Eating
In Hog culture, it is customary to eat in temples. People eat at home, but mostly just snacks, or cookies with the tea, the true meal is eaten at the end of the day, in the local temple. The monks prepare this food for the whole town or village. Bigger cities will have multiple of these temples, in order to make this easier. Before anyone starts eating, the priests bless the food.