Saavi (Sah-vee)

A species that tends to resemble a mix of serval, and lynx type feline humanoids. They are magical-enhanced mammals living mostly to the home planet of Kalfoan. They're known to be quite advanced with a simpler world mindset, and have great powers from a strange ability off projecting their spots into shapeless magic. The spots along their body can be warped at will, though somewhat exhausted in the process of use. While their markings do recover, it strains them over use, and their magic can only extend to the length and focus of their combined spots meaning that a cast cannot be greater than the total sum of their darker markings.
Their larger societies have become a bit tainted and soft over time from a common magic amplifier, in the form of a fruit called Jellyberries. Very sweet and sticky like a syrup, it was both a good flavor item, but also enhanced one's magical range. However consuming in frequent doses causes the person to to grow fat, until long enough indulgence changes them into an unrecognizable sludge of malleable magic force in chaotic form. While high on power, they have abilities that alter their very surroundings, like shifting matter across the air, or making a temporary split copy of themselves. Yet regardless of literal powers, the cost has come literally quite heavy for a lot of their common people, and alien exploitation and sludge monsters have overrun some parts, while more critical and sharp Saavi are forced to resent or even battle their kin to gain any significant governmental ground.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Tall feline creatures. Their natural build is lanky and lean, with long limbs and mid-short tails. Their heads are most distinct from some other feline races like tigiren & lionkin, possessing a small snout and much greater ears with a pointed shape. They're further marked with spots and occasional lines. Akin to cheetahs, they primarily feature more golden shades with black spots, but browns, reds, silver, and similar variances do exist in more rare instances. In the winter their fur grows out a bit more, most prominent as tufts running down the face. Their tails are often ringed, but in some patterns may just be tipped differently. Paws tend to be either black or white, with blacker paws often gifted with marginally better magic range.

Genetics and Reproduction

It takes about five months for a pregnancy to complete. Contrary to lionkin and tigiren, these felines only bear a single child in most instances. They age roughly between the two, only marginally quicker than humans. Part of their aging is told through how well their coats change between seasons, and its somewhat unstable in younger cubs. They tend to start off lacking much fur and needing shelter in the cold. Once it grows, it usually happens too thick and sheds a bit late, often called The Year Scarf. Once that is shed it tends to often find an equilibrium and balances better with the season, often fluctuating at a healthy rate when they are 6-8 years old. After their big fluffy year-long coat, they're no longer considered new cubs, but proper learning and adaptive children.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Saavi have grown custom to a magical planet with special harvests available in select cases. Though they still eat mostly 'normal' stuff a lot. They are omnivores in total, and have long ago had everything from hunters to bakers well ingrained in their history, though hunting can be a more dangerous job due to magical beasts in some instances. They have a common meat range, taking forms of meat that compare easily and adapt well to terms of beef, pork, fowl, and fish. Among the more infamous foods is the Jellyberry, but that's only one among a few "magicrops" (magical flora fit for harvesting or use), which can be eaten and used like tools as much as they are for snacks. Other food properties invoke things like magical breath, illuminating fur, aggression, stirs spiritual ties, etc. However most of these foods are forbidden from children/cubs that may still be learning more natural magic without such altering properties.
The most common form of odd food used with a broad effect is referred to as just Jellyberry. Its positive power is a feedback directly into Saavi's native magic influence, granting stronger powers and lengths of casting. Like an energy drink and an over-extension, just a couple of berries are potent. However it has a literally huge side-effect, with the juice acting as a very fattening super-nutrition to the body. Just a few berries too many (most see some effect between 4-7 ripe berries) begins to risk a quick plumping effect on the individual. Often the effect of both aspects is diminished in more casual baking use, but far heightened in juiced/smoothie forms. Yet even a gradual consumption adds effect, and the taste and magic vibe tingles is often addictive. Spread out in a day an individual can easily consume quite a few things with jellyberry as an ingredient, and feel subtle magical charges and see a creep in their weight across a week for as long as they're actively exposed to this substance in even small doses. Once this berry became quite mainstream, the entire species shifted from a very natural lean and lanky physique, to where about 3/5th of global saavi are some measure of overweight, but with common use of odd extensions to magic like casual matter-phasing abilities.

^ A young Saavess indulges & tries a variety of berry snacks per day, ballooning-up fast. Plump forms have become so normal, some see it as a rite to literally 'grow-up' once mature.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

• Their pelts are used sometimes by even themselves, with some advanced mages able to draw power from expired pelts but with diminishing effect and little-to-no regenerating energy. In more foreign cases, sometimes taken for keepsake or fashion.
  
• Tails are collected in alien trade for superstitions, and distinguished easily from most other feline races.
  
• They have in rare cases been meat harvested, but one of the more unique and nefarious ways they are consumed is from their obsession with jellyberries turning them into blobs, which crueler k'siiva may enjoy like an exotic geltoid delicacy. Tzusad have also used a few in testing to produce their own fattening formula.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Their basic senses are quite talented, with especially sharp hearing and quality scent. Their magic senses is however what makes them special. With training they're able to sense and project across their fur and spotted body, casting out elements from soul intent. This sense of concentration is also used to commune at times with a greater sense of magic from minerals and wood. Powers from their own body however are worth noting. Once their powers are exhausted, they feel physically tired, very mild sores, and the patterns on their coats are shriveled. In rare instances some magic may outright 'bleach' their furcoat, losing spots or even color until the act is undone or used in some way. Some abilities include...

• Projecting wings and flying a short distance (Advanced)
• Turning spots into projectile energy missiles (Moderate)
• Magic extended claws (Beginner)
• Stun grip / Ensnare (Beginner)
• levitation (Moderate)
• Skating/sliding (Moderate)
• Very short-term teleportation (Advanced)
• Mild bodily distortion

More extended forms from Jellyberries include improved teleportation, shapeshifting, liquid body mutation, more volatile projectiles, self-duplication & command, and invisibility

Civilization and Culture

Beauty Ideals

Historically saavi have always found big prominent ears and a lengthy build to be highlights of good health and genetics. Their design naturally owes itself to a lot of these qualities, and compliments are given for having these features. In early days strong thighs were also favorable for stealthy pounces or leaping between trees. Weight and body build is now more contentious in modern times. With the mainstream popularity of jellyberries, a lot of the population actually quickly accepted a chubbier body was okay for the perks they got, and developed a bond or affinity for, or simply found it to be the most relatable and common sense of mature appearance for an average saavi citizen. Others however still resent it, or have attachments to lifestyles or jobs that require a more nimble build, or simply hold the opinion that jellyberries are a risky and unnecessary drug. These people often admire or seek a partner or traits more like their own, while others might actually be entirely okay with berries but just find the leaner build better or more comforting like a symbol of pure youth.
Between their strength and physique, females generally like males associated with spears as both warriors, and loosely equated the spear as a test of phallic health assuming a good hunter or soldier was also good in fertility or genetics. However also being able to fight for claim to things, was associated with vigor, command, and accessorizing one's self, so fashion and more vibrant clothing fell more into a masculine favor. What one wears is important to certain females and even to present in front of other males, with early military uniform codes sometimes very strict. Females also tend to think the winter fur tuft makes most male more appealing, giving way to sometimes fake fur extensions in the summer. Females get the more broadly favored trait of their curves, with fondness for the bust and hips. Bows and soft laces have also become commonly used to draw attention to their ears at times, and silky texture akin to 'their soft grace', making it a more feminine trait to have silky bows or fabric.

Average Technological Level

Their tech is a heavy mix across magic and basic 'tinker' production. They have a lower level sense of industrial machinery, and have managed to bring a sense of power and electricity to big settlements. However they are not too much further along. Their aircrafts are more borrowed in rare instances, or propelled with unreliable magic standards. Lots of common items are infused with nature or very simpler elements. They'll still use melee as their dominant form of confrontation, even while a few possess firearms. Among some of their more prized possessions includes technology with pottery and wood forging.
Pictured Below: Saavi have dabbled in a wide array of tech. While often mostly down to earthly and mystical materials with some industry, its not unheard of for some to sample or venture out with more alien peers and quickly adjust to odd tech

History

The bulk of the race developed on a massive continent now called Lifecast, though for some of their history it was what the planet is now called, Kalfoan. It was a world well known to be full of magic and odd happenings, with a lot of strange myths from their early days spreading off all their own odd powers and discoveries. However they were very productive social creatures, bonding well, and working at a good speed to turn nomadic tribes into villages and towns. Contentions were mostly based on magical elements, and confusions surrounding them. For example jellyberries used to be outlawed, because a large outcry of voices had seen animals or rare instances of saavi becoming poisoned and turning into a blob from consuming one. In one of the older united acts, a great call was made to cull and burn a lot of the berries found across Lifecast. However some curious doctors still quietly played with samples, and relayed information that it had performance enhancements despite the risks.
War came to them from the stars. Initially a small wave of tikerin space pirates, they were strong and held off a while, even invoking other forces from disjointed chains of tigiren, and asuan. With guerrilla warfare, and a tactic to slowly train a few specialists with the magical berries, the saavi fought back enough invaders to feel at peace with a large thanks to the magic enhancements. People started planting berry bushes again, as the ban was lifted in a festival of celebration in the larger country. This was known as The Founding Age, whereas the time afterwards was considered The Enlightenment. This age saw the increased use of experimentation, magic, and testing scraps of dead or surrendering aliens.
However as the berry got reintegrated with full training use and plans, the learning mages were treated like celebrities while boasting state attitudes downplayed the odd weight they put on. Being such a skinny natural race, they didn't have the experience to fully fear or apply health risks to being overweight, and fears of the jelly-blob effect had become somewhat forgotten or thought a myth because the berry had been culled down to a scarce few for so long. The fattening side-effect wasn't scary so much as associated with an 'exotic' look closely connected to magical wisdom the person unlocked when eating the berry. The berry ended up becoming more widespread until it was simply a common ingredient to try using in any baked good in the kitchen, and magic use more playfully casual. Any region that suddenly had a surplus of berries to cook & trade, soon saw people casually levitating objects around, and familiar faces everywhere suddenly ballooning up. This all emerged until it was normal to but a select few contrarians concerned with the strange culture shift, and doctors that had their minds scarred from deeper studies that witnessed the jellifying sludge over-indulgent types turned into.
A schism formed whereas the war once united most Saavi, now the leftover new fads and tricks were dividing them into protests and jellyberry bush burnings. Some aliens came down to reason and investigate more between leftover war issues, and the strange new magic being shown off, further driving those worried with the new direction and odd allies the bigger towns were siding with. These people became rebels to the mainstream, though often because their opponents used magical berries, their group never had the momentum to fight for more powerful control of law or land. Some local laws have played with special regulations, and its largely common akin with most magicrops that the young are forbidden from it, but most places have accepted or spread the berries beyond turning back. A great dual however solidified one rebel hero that died as a martyr. As political warrior Narvos fell to challenging berry-powered magi, his name and ambitions stayed with the rebels calling their small separatist country Narvan.
To the day, there is still some debate and contention on using or banning berries, welcoming aliens, and innovating technology and magical application. The saavi have gained grounds to be recognized by a few bold alien races outside of their world, and a small few have connections and made moves to actually pilot ships off their homeworld, while those still on it are advancing in broad tech and becoming a more industrial world while still full of lush green, big oceans, and magic at their paws.

Lifespan

80 Years

Average Height

1.6-2.2m

Average Physique

Naturally lanky build. Recent habits have rapidly fattened them up. Most are now chubby.