“The Feaeles Ur have Selenian Silver running in their veins, but there’s no price high enough to make a sane man seek it.”
Also Known as: Faeles. Selenian Cats, Oro
Habitat: Mountains, plains, forests, and desert.
Hazard Level: Apex
Summary
Also known as the Faeles Ur, these felines are distinct from Faeles Princeps or the common cat. These particularly sacred ‘Selenian cats’ come in several varieties; Faeles Fatalis, Faeles Lynx, and Faeles Ventis. Fatalis are the rarest but most deadly type growing up to 2 meters in height and 5 meters in length, and weighing up to 500 kg. The more common Lynx can grow up to 1 m tall, 2m in length, and 100 kg in weight. Ventis are the smallest subtype, only growing to 35 cm in height 50 cm in length and 15 kg in weight and are nearly as rare as the Fatalis. While all sub-types display uncanny intelligence the Ventis are believed to be super-humanly intelligent and gifted with incredible senses. Considerable research suggests that the Faeles were bred by the Sige of the Urul Empire
Description
Faeles are a class of feline distinguished from Faeles Princeps by several features including reduced fecundity and reproductive features, larger brains, and the capacity for understanding and communicating via symbols and scripts. There are distinct subspecies of Faeles Ur:
- Faeles Fatalis: Also known as grand Faeles. So named for their prodigious strength and deadly bite. Faeles Fatalis are the least common Faeles Ur.
- Faeles Lynx: Also known as common Faeles. As their name suggests these are the most common of Faeles. These intelligent creatures are found everywhere in Selene and are a part of everyday life for most Selenians.
- Faeles Ventis: Also known as lesser Faeles. Nearly as rare as the Fatalis, Ventis would be at a significant disadvantage against most hostile Aeldan species due to their size were it not for their unique sensory and intellectual abilities.
- Faeles Thule: A reclusive and highly dangerous type of northern Faeles that demonstrates lower intelligence and empathy than other species. Some studies suggest the Faeles Thule as antecedents to the Faeles Fatalis due to several atavistic traits.
Faeles coloration and fur patterns at birth are diverse with spots, stripes, and single coloration most common. Fur coloration and patterning can change considerably with age, taking on intricate and often symbolic patterns, by some unknown method. Whether this is a natural process engineered into the species or one guided by some unknown Faeles ability is unclear.
While the majority of Faeles survive on a diet composed of meals prepared by conclave priests using artificial meats, occasionally prides will hunt the remaining ungulates found in plains and forests proximate to the city.
The Faeles have several habitats in Selene, some set aside, some simply hard to reach; caves, elder towers, and fallen estates, crypts, and the Great Colony. The Colony is the core of Selenian religion, an enormous palatial structure adorned with feline statues and carvings isolated by a near impossible path requiring exceptional agility to reach (or knowledge of the secret path). It is in the colony that the eldest and largest Faeles dwell, and through tunnels into the mountain that they access their hunting grounds; the great caverns and the paths to the fields outside.
The Faeles do not confine themselves to Selene proper; many roam the lands of the Southern Scythe and Daerwood. Some even venture further north, into the Illspires and Ossandrian heartlands, though typically at great risk to their own safety.
The Faeles cannot speak but they do seem to display an intelligence higher than that of felines from other parts of Aeldos. One of the roles of the Conclave is to interpret the written language of the Faeles, a system of scratched symbols. This is a surprisingly complex language, and few outsiders have managed to learn it.
The Faeles of Selene police their own. While it is rare, occasionally a Faeles will fall into primitive ways and lash out at humans. Faeles that develops the blood-hunger are considered first to be ill and subdued and ministered to by one of the elder hunting-priests. These matrons nurse and care for the blood-hungry Faeles in the high conclave, where they are isolated from all others save the matrons and the priests. If the hunger does not pass then depending on the offense the Faeles in question is either exiled or put down by one of the Faeles Fatalis hunters/huntresses.