Lycaneans

Story by Hyde Princeton on SoFurry

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(pronounced LAI-SIN-IANS) A race of anthros I made up. Hey Furries have cabbits. Why the hell


A race that has been around since before anyone knew of them, Lycaneans are characteristically an anthropomorphic race of creatures that appear to be a combination of wolves, lions, and man. Long pointed ears and their swift speed and agility could be the lupine traits while their catlike feet and long tails, with their physical strength, are more feline. They can come in a variety of coats and patterns, mostly based on their environment and lifestyle, and the tails may even differ based on the lineage.

The race is much like Native peoples from human worlds. They exist in a life of tribal societies and ritualistic prayers to pagan gods, fighting to keep their land and live off it while still maintaining its natural splendor. They don't trust outsiders, but treat other Lycaneans as family unless given a reason to otherwise do so. Every tribe is run by an Queen and a Chieftain, whom are actually married to each other. The Queen is the wife of the Chieftain, and she rules over all decisions in the tribe and/or village, while the Chief does the same, but on a lower scale and can be seen as more of a Secretary of Defense while the Queen is the Commander in Chief. There are the Braves and Shaman of the villages as well, only there was never just one. Some Shaman would collaborate together because one would have different skills than the other.

As far as the Braves, there would be the Rooks, the Archers, the Trackers, the Swifts, and even the Brutes. Archers are, as the name suggests, patient experts in long range hunting and fighting. They specialize in the use of bows and arrows and are good, but not great, at tracking prey. Swifts are the fastest and stealthiest hunters of the tribes, using shadows and silence to gain on their prey and kill them cleanly without a fight, which means they can be known for greater patience than archers. They specialize in smaller close-range weaponry, such as knives, daggers, and hatchets. Trackers, as also suggested, are the best at scouting and searching for prey, using Swift-like stealth, they accompany Archers and Swifts, usually, and can detect the slightest difference in the sounds or scenery around them. The most perceptive, they tend to specialize in daggers for close-range and spears for long-range. Brutes are a real piece of work; they're the biggest, strongest, and meanest Braves around, but they're also the slowest, the least intelligent, and the most impatient. The tend to use Great Swords, battle axes, clubs and hammers, but are sometimes used more for security and heavy lifting purposes. The Rooks are literally the trainees of the Braves, still learning the basics and still searching for their area of expertise. They are armed with swords and shields, spears, or archery in order to learn. It's customary standard for all the Braves to carry knives and daggers, but Brutes fight it unsuitable to their demeanor to even touch one unless it's to be used as a toothpick to impress the ladies.

It's hard to believe that Lycaneans even have a deep connection to their gods to even be blessed with supernatural abilities, but it is in fact true and the Lycaneans hide it to keep from being used. No matter the abilities, a Lycanean is never shunned because they have a different ability than another. If anything, the young bloods use it as an excuse to start rivalries or practice on each other to learn about it. These abilities are based on the world's elements: fire, water, air, earth, energy, light, and shadow. The abilities can be used almost in a fashion similar to what some might call Sorcery. Lycaneans pray to their gods day and night and always pray on behalf of their elemental base, ending the prayers in "I thank you in the name of [element]."_ _ They never use their abilities when hunting or gathering, but only to battle one another or an intruding outsider. Fire abilities are like pyrokinesis and Air abilities are quite similar to them. Water relies more on motion and balance, taking in the push and pull of everything you do. Energy is essentially thunder and lightning and depend more on focus and agility. Earth is steady, mostly depending on power, but balance and control tend to play their parts a lot so one does not overdo it. Light and Shadow depends more on their level of enlightened closeness to the gods. Light are more based on the well-being of others and used by Shaman and some Trackers or Archers to heal and even defend others. Shadow is more used by Trackers and Swifts, allowing them to 'teleport' form shadow to shadow along with what look like psychokinetic abilities. You will never find two abilities in one Lycanean since it would be too much for the Lycanean to endure. If one was ever born with two abilities, it would shortly die after birth because it's small form wouldn't be able to take the immense power.

As the times changed, so did the Lycaneans, evolving and adapting to the world as it changes. However, some Lycaneans still stick to their old ways while some drift from them and become more modernized. As times have changed and more and more Lycaneans drift into modernization, they start to need a mode of income in order to achieve durability with some minor advances like certain tools and modes of transportation. Those who have modernized have turned to the simple life of opening and running night clubs as income. Some do this selfishly, but others do it as a source of income for their traditional brethren to continue thriving without the need to modernize. Still, some have stuck to the more basic traditions without the modern advances, and may even sometimes attempt to sabotage the modern world as it attempts to continue thriving.

Lycaneans, however, are a very neutral race and never join in the conflicts of others. Still, if conflict ever finds them, they have logic and whit, along with the family or the whole tribe, to back them up. In the coming days, however, some Lycaneans have been shunned by their own society and seen as misfits and natural defects because, even though they appear Lycanean, they're not of pure Lycanean blood. Some Lycaneans of the past have cross-bred with other races and the hybrids are then born. Though they still appear and respect their Lycanean heritage, most are shunned and even suffer prejudice because of their other half. It doesn't stop their achievements in the modern world, but some unfortunately are classified as Lycaneans and then ridiculed by the true race as liars and frauds.