| Professor Raine Silverlock's Guide to Animalia Sapiens O V E R V I E W
Breune Saheer of the Kingdom of East Breune.Quick Information
Family: Saheer / Animalia SapiensSubspecies: Panthera tigris sapiens, Canus lupus sapiens, Canus lupus arctos sapiens, Canus lupus familiaris sapiens, Vulpes vulpes sapiens, Panthera uncia sapiens, Breunes sapiens Located: Orientalis, Solitas, Araseos Population: ~19 million Plural Form: Saheer, Sapients, Nonites Demonym: Nonite, Saheerian Animalia Sapiens, known informally as Saheer, the Neuebremenese word for "animal," are a species of sapient non-humans native to the Diemelstadt region of Araseos, and more specifically to the land of the Templar Order of Neuebremen. They are most notable for being one of the few examples of a true non-human; their appearance mirrors that of a real animal more than a human, as is with Homo Felis. Animalia Sapiens is believed to have first appeared on Valsora around 100,000 years ago, having first arrived in the western portions of Diemelstadt. Saheer, being a nomadic species by nature, migrated to the east of the continent to the Gulf of Diemelstadt around 56,000 years ago, with others venturing as far as northern Orientalis and Solitas by boat. In the modern day, Saheer are violently oppressed in Neuebremen by the Templar Order, and are treated as second-rate citizens in their ethnic homelands.
History Prehistory Around 200,000 years ago, a species of non-human, which is believed to be an extreme deviation of Homo Felis and Homo Canis, evolved in the Diemelstadt region of Araseos. These creatures, officially classified as Homo Felis Diemeli and Homo Canis Diemeli, are believed to be the evolutionary predecessor of modern-day Saheer; fossils show these hominids had structures the more closely the structure of an animal, as some skulls retrieved had extremely protruded jaws and evidence of a muzzle beginning to form. Homo Felis Diemeli and Homo Canis Diemeli lived in the western portion of Diemelstadt for upwards of 87,000 years. Around 100,000 years ago, these offshoots of Homo Felis and Homo Canis had evolved so greatly that their appearance now closely mirrored the animal they took their non-human traits from. This period of time is considered to be the official start of Animalia Sapiens on Valsora. Around this time as well, Animalia Sapiens began to migrate throughout Araseos to the Gulf of Diemelstadt in the east, arriving in the region 56,000 years ago. Some Saheer stayed in the gulf, while others migrated further out and sailed by boat to places like Solitas and North Orientalis. In the modern day, these Saheer live in the nations of Ci Arovannea, Aversaria and Maneiras. Saheer also migrated to an island in the center of the gulf, know known as Breune. Subspecies of Saheer continued to evolve for upwards of 47,000 years after the official start of Animalia Sapiens, and began to take on traits from Panthera, Canus lupus and Vulpes, eventually creating the six known variants of Saheer in the modern day. One, a subspecies known as the Breune, has no traceable lineage, and it is generally unknown which animal, if it was one, provided the non-human traits for the subspecies. For a very long time, up until human contact was made, the individual subspecies of Saheer often went to war against one another as tribal states. Around 45BCE, humans arrived in the Gulf of Diemelstadt from elsewhere in the region, and made first contact with Animalia Sapiens around this time as well. Based on surviving evidence in the modern day, it is believed that for many years, humans and Saheer peacefully coexisted with one another and tolerated each others' existence. Republic of Diemelstadt Saheer, for much of the existence of the Republic of Diemelstadt, lived in peace and harmony with the humans of the nation. Many who lived in Diemelstadt were successful merchants, and some were part of the council that ruled the nation. Near the end of the Republic, the quality of life however began to take a turn for the worse as racist rhetoric ramped up between the two dominant races of Neuebremen, with this eventually culminating into a year-long war that directly resulted in the outright destruction of the nation. In the wake of the collapse of Diemelstadt, five nations, known as ethnostates, were established in and around the Gulf of Diemelstadt. These nations were Herzenia, Llwanfar, Magnusia, the Canid Tribes and Duha, and more often than not housed one subspecies of Saheer, except in the case of Magnusia, where it had two dominant species living within its borders. These nations would later collapse to the Kingdom of Bremen-Diemelstadt in the late 1500s, and would regain independence for a short period of three years after Bremen-Diemelstadt collapsed, only for them to be reabsorbed into the Templar Order in 1860. Many Saheer fled to the Kilkirean region of Siluria in the wake of the collapse of Diemelstadt, and others fled to Breune Island by boat. Kingdom of Bremen-Diemelstadt Saheer have had a shaky history within Bremen-Diemelstadt. Only joining the Kingdom later in the late 1500s, Saheer were oppressed for most of the reign of Queen Eden, often being hunted for sport or killed in their thousands as retribution for the disaster of the Republic of Diemelstadt. On Breune Island, much of it was annexed from the Kingdom of Breune by Queen Eden, with the western half of the island being claimed by her nation as their territory. It resulted in the Kingdom of Breune being turned into a rump state now known as the Kingdom of East Breune. After the reign of Queen Eden, attempts to make amends with the Saheer were made, starting with the rule of King Albert in 1640. In many of the former sovereign lands of the Saheer tribes that were annexed by Queen Eden, six autonomous states were established, complete with their own internal governance structures and policies to better accommodate each and every species that lived within Bremen-Diemelstadt. Many of them were organised in the structure of a modern-day republic, unheard of in King Albert's time, with democratic structures and a bicameral bipartisan government system implemented within their states to better provide for the Saheer. These same benefits were extended to the human portions of Bremen-Diemelstadt as well, and as a result effectively made the nation a union of commonwealths. During the Great Bremen-Diemelstadt Civil War, the rights and quality of life for Saheer in the nation declined severely as sentiment against their race peddled by the Templar Order became more and more influential on the nation. In 1901, the First Templar Order collapsed after a coup in Meuneria deposed the government, and during this period of time the six ethnostates were re-established as independent nations. Contemporary Era In late 1967, the Templar Order of Neuebremen was re-established when the Templar Order came out of hiding and mounted an aggressive campaign to reunite as much of the country as they could, taking back much of the country's former land from the various nations that had established themselves in the region. Many of these countries did not survive the Templar campaign, and surrendered their sovereignty to Neuebremen. After Neuebremen was refounded, the nation under Grand Templar Gunther changed a number of Templar-backed policies to be less aggressive and to prevent another uprising at the hands of dissatisfied citizens. For example, Diasporas were given autonomy comparable to that of the former autonomous nations of Bremen-Diemelstadt. In 2028, the autonomy of the six Diasporas of Neuebremen was revoked under orders from Grand Templar Trace. In 2032, Neuebremen mounted a military campaign against a Celtic nonite breakaway state of Kilkire named Siluria, after relations between the two nations deteriorated over Trace's mistreatment of Saheer within his nation. Siluria was destroyed outright during the three-week campaign which ultimately resulted in them becoming a constituent autonomous Republic of Neuebremen.
Culture Cultural Roots In a broad sense, Saheer culture was heavily influenced by the Celtic culture of Kilkire in the north of Diemelstadt, with many of them, especially those who live within the Silurian Republic, observing and adhering to similar cultural customs and beliefs to the Kilkirean people. In the modern age, their culture is now heavily influenced by Neuebremen's, albeit a few remnants of their Celtic roots persist, such as in their religion and in their social customs. Religion Many Saheer in Neuebremen adhere to a version of Sanguis Catholicism that is mixed heavily with themes and practices from Celtic and pagan folk religions. As with Sanguis Catholicism, they believe there is only one God, unlike the multiple that often came with traditional religions associated with their culture, but unlike Sanguis Catholicism, many believe that God must be appeased through sacrifice as to prevent His wrath. Their idea of Heaven is also extremely different from the normally accepted version preached by Sanguis Catholicism - it is often compared to the idea of Valhalla, a fighting man's paradise, espoused in some far-north Nonscian cultures. Strangely enough, Eripir Christus does not exist as the Son of God in this version of Sanguis Catholicism. He is more seen as a worldly prophet, as is with his disciples. Priests and members of the clergy are also called Druids. Sex and Relationships With the exception of Breune Saheer, many of them do not view relationships the same way as humans do and often pursue romantic relationships as a recreational pursuit, or use intimate activities as a means of creating stronger relations with one or more of their kind. The relationships Saheer also create often do not conform to the idea of an acceptable relationship in the country - for example, a large number of relationships in Diasporas such as Llwanfar and The Canid Tribes are homosexual by conventional standards, but because Saheer do not perceive relationships the same way as humans do, many are either unfamiliar with the idea of homosexuality or do not see their relationship as homosexual. These attitudes towards relationships have ultimately resulted in many humans in Neuebremen perceiving Saheer as promiscuous and homosexual, both being traits which are despised by the general public in the nation. In the case of the Breune Saheer, more specifically those in the east, relationships are seen as purely functional and intimate activity outside of activities aimed at creating children are never pursued at all. Their idea of an acceptable relationship is also directly in line with the idea of an acceptable relationship in Neuebremen, albeit for different reasons - out of a pragmatic desire to have functional relationships in the regard of being able to create children efficiently, heterosexual relationships are acceptable, while homosexual ones are not. Societal Customs Many Saheer in Neuebremen greet each other and say goodbye to one another by making a sound, be it chuffing or growling, depending on which subspecies they are. If they are greeting another of their own kind, they will hug or bump shoulders, but if they are greeting another subspecies, they will only make a sound and look at each other in the eyes. Saheer use the baring of their teeth at the far edges of their mouth as a way to express anger or excitement. This is commonplace across all subspecies. Relationships and the maintenance of them through signs of affection and love are regarded highly in their cultures. If it is an adult-adult relationship, intimate activities may be used regardless of gender, and if it is a parent-child relationship, child-child or sibling-sibling relationship, simple gestures such as licking the fur on the backs of their necks or stroking the hair on their heads may be used by both parties involved as a way to show affection. In the case of the Breune, the exact opposite applies, where a lack of any physical signs of affection are a sign of care. It is commonly seen in poor taste to associate with humans or to conform to human customs and ideals, and often or not those who do associate with humans are denounced as a traitor and are labelled as such. Traitors are often handed over to slave traders or are sacrificed to God as a means to have the Father cleanse the traitor of their sins against their people. Artwork forms up a large amount of Saheerian culture, as for a long time it was the only way they could express and communicate their beliefs with others who were otherwise unable to understand them. Elaborate tapestries glorifying historical events and religious figures are commonplace in many cultural artefacts in Neuebremen.
Subspecies There are seven known subspecies of Animalia Sapiens in the world that can be sorted into two subgroups: Canid and Felid.
Neuebremen is inspired heavily by TwoKinds. Check it out sometime, it's a good read. | |