Greugh (gree-aug)

Cat-like Beastfold that are often found in tribes of similar fur patterns. Though there are many varieties, many of them share common traits and histories.

Basic Information

Anatomy

A bipedal, humanoid creature that has feline qualities to include fur, tails, short snouts, and sharp eyesight.

Biological Traits

The Greugh are bipedal beings with feline features to include thick, sometimes patterned fur, triangular ears, short snouts, and tails.
The average life expectancy of a male Greugh, is about 65 years with few reaching close to 90. The males stand around seven feet tall with a rather well built muscle tone making them close to 350 lbs on average.
For female Greugh they usually live closer to 80 years with the oldest living over a century. Standing between 6 1/2 to 7 feet tall they generally have slightly wider hips and narrower waists, though this is usually not very noticeable. Females that have new born cubs will have breasts that swell with milk.

Genetics and Reproduction

Greugh females will go into heat once every three months, though it is possible for them to become pregnant at any time. Their longest heat usually lasts for a month at the beginning of autumn.
Greugh are able to reproduce in the general fashion of a male and a female mating to create offspring. The females carry the child for about six months before giving birth. Giving birth to twins is a rather common occurrence among female Greugh.
The females, when they are expecting cubs, their breasts swell to feed their young.

Growth Rate & Stages

Greugh children are able to walk and run within three months. A Greugh is considered adult when they are 16 winters.

Ecology and Habitats

The Greugh are often found within the jungles and plains.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Greugh are omnivores hunting down game like elk, deer, and boar as well as farming their own vegetables.

Behaviour

The Greugh do not believe in being dishonest. Though they appreciate cunning, outright dishonesty is not appreciated. Predatory in nature, they are often aggressive against any enemies to themselves and their tribe.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Tribes are lead by a chief and a shaman. Every member of the tribe is taught how to defend it with warriors taking regular time to patrol and protect the tribe while hunters are often sent to gather game regularly. Raising cubs is often seen as the responsibility of the entire tribe and not just the parents.

Facial characteristics

Having feline features, they often have triangular noses and brightly colored eyes.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The hearing of a Greugh is strong enough to hear the heartbeat of a creature within ten paces. Their eyes have excellent night vision, but what is far more impressive is their ability to see illusions. Though they are not able to pierce through the illusion, they are able to see that something has an illusion on it.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

The Greugh do not have last names, they identify themselves by the name of their tribe.

Beauty Ideals

Greugh take pride in their fur, often decorating it with designs as well as sharp fangs when they bare their teeth.

Courtship Ideals

When a pair of Greugh are interested in one another, they will often hunt together and share meals.

Relationship Ideals

When two Greugh are bound, they will each decide which is best for themselves, usually sticking to the role within the tribe that they have always been. Though on occasion they will challenge one another to combat where the winner has the more dominant role between them until another challenge is made.
Both find it important to provide for the other with both food and emotional connection. Hunting together to strengthen their bond.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The Greugh language sounds more like animalistic growls and gruffs than an actual language, though it does cause some trouble with other species as there are certain words that do not exist within their language (Such as the word for money or currency)

Common Etiquette Rules

To turn your back onto another shows a great deal of trust in the one that they show their back to. It is also shown as a sign of respect that they believe you to be both trustworthy and an ally. If they do not like someone they will back away a safe distance before turning away.

Common Dress Code

Greugh wear very little. It is both because clothing carries smells that can alert prey and that hiding themselves beneath fabrics is seen as a form of dishonesty.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

When a young Greugh comes of age, they are sent to hunt alone in the wild. The first creature they come across, either by sight or tracks, becomes their prey. This can be anything from a small rabbit, to a deer, to something more dangerous like a wolf or a bear. This animal is to be hunted down and brought back to the tribe where the now adult Greugh is celebrated and resented with a totem made from the remains of the prey.
If there is a disagreement between two of the Greugh, there is a challenge issued between them. The two will fight rather viciously against one another but never with weapons. Usually afterwards, the two are on friendly terms with the issue having been resolved through combat.
When female Greugh are about to go into their first heat, they are taken to a sacred den where they are given the opportunity to experience the rush of emotion and physical desire in a safe location. Many older females will join them to teach them of what is happening and answer questions that may come up. A similar occurrence happens with young males about to have their first rut, where the other males of the tribe will take the young Greugh into the woods and teach him the best ways to control himself when they feel their rut starting.
The Grand Hunt is a mating ritual of the Greugh where they recreate the story of their ancestry of the Father of the Tribes and his mate, the Spirit of the Wild. After three days of feasting and interacting between unmated males and females, where tokens are given to the males, the females are sent into the woods just before sunset while the males follow a ceremony to drink a special tea. When the sun sets, the males hunt for the females, using the tokens that they were given to follow the correct scent. They have until sunrise to find and capture their future mate where they will consummate their union. The next day is a large celebration of the newly mated pairs.
When one of the Greugh finally passes away, there are two regular ways that it is handled. If the Greugh was a boon to the tribe, having supported and aided the tribes as was expected, they set their body onto a pyre and burn the body to release the spirit to the Great Hunting Lands. If the Greugh was seen to be without honor or redemption, they are buried far from the tribe to never join their ancestors.

Common Taboos

Lying or being knowingly deceptive to a Greugh is seen as a personal insult and is often met with a challenge in response.
To place a Greugh in a shallow grave face down is seen as a great insult.
Pulling the fangs from a Greugh is often seen as a lose of their strength and connection.

Historical Figures

Jagter, The Father of the Tribes
Wildegees, Lady of the Wilds

Common Myths and Legends

When the world was young and the spirits roamed the land there was Wildegees, Lady of the Wilds. She ran through the forest throughout the night hunting and bringing balance to the wilderness. After many years, Wildegees found herself feeling lonely and wanting a companion to join her. She sent out a challenge throughout the lands for challengers from all around to prove themselves worthy of being her husband.
Many suitors arrived to try and claim the privilege of being her husband. For three days, they feasted and told grand stories of their exploits. Only one actually caught Wildegees' eye. A young hunter named Jagter spent time with Wildegees, asking her questions and offering her gifts that he made. On the day before the challenge was announced, Wildegees gave Jagter a token as thanks for him remembering that this challenge was to have her hand, not impress the other suitors.
As the evening sun began to set, Wildegees announced that the challenge would be a hunt. But not for any usual prey. The suitors would hunt for her. No hunter before had ever come close to tracking down the wild spirit, so any suitor that managed to do so would be worthy of being her mate. The hunt would begin when the sun had fully set, giving her a head start.
While the other suitors began gathering up their gear, Jagter only had a his bow to aid him. He spent the time looking for geur root and spent the remaining time brewing it into a tea. The geur root strengthening his sense of smell using the token to track her scent into the forest. While many others ran randomly into the forest trying to be the fastest. 
At the earliest point of the journey, a spirit named Kwaad was jealous of Jagter having been given a token and attacked him. Before Kwaad could take the token from Jagter, a tiger leapt from the brush and protected the young hunter. Having driven off the spirit, the tiger was ready to eat Jagter before he offered him a portion of the feast that he had brought with him.
Jagter continued chasing after Wildegees and was stopped by a pack of wolves by the river that split the forest. Jagter stopped as they surrounded him, growling and snarling. Jagter asked them if they had seen Wildegees. They said they had and asked if Jagter would ask them to slow down the other suitors as those before him had asked. Jagter told them no. He would be honorable and without trickery to find Wildegees. The wolves parted, congratulating him as he was the first to reject the offer. Had he accepted, the pack would have eaten him. The wolves guiding Jagter to where he could continue to follow Wildegees' trail.
The moon was high when he came across a cow feeding her calf in the fields. Having given away his food, Jagter found himself hungry and asked if he might have some of her milk. She gave her consent, and he drank his fill from her udder.
Having filled his belly, he found himself as the one of the last of the suitors still searching for Wildegees. The effects of the tea wearing off, he rushed to find the wild spirit. As the dawn was warming the horizon, he finally found Wildegees and slowly snuck up on her. Placing his hand on her shoulder he turned her to face him. She accepted that he had captured her and the two were united before the sun rose beyond the horizon.
Jagter became the father of the tribes as he and Wildegees gave a blessing to the animals that helped him in his hunt. They were each gifted with a stronger form to match with those that hunt them as well as lands that would belong to them. The cat being given the jungles and plains, the wolves being given the forests and the rivers, and the bovine were given the prairies.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

While many of the other races have attempted to move the Greugh from their ancestral lands, none have succeeded. They do not hold grudges against the other races, though they have become suspicious of the humans over the centuries.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Beastfolk

Lifespan

75 years

Conservation Status

Many of the humans have attempted to removed the Greugh from their lands, but due to their connection to their ancestors and the knowledge of the their lands have allowed them to survive for generations.

Average Height

6 1/2 to 7 1/2 feet tall.

Average Weight

300 lbs

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Depending on the tribe the patterns of fur can be monotone, striped, or spotted depending on the tribe that is being interacted with.