Chume'taly Clan Structure

There are eight different cat types
which are broken down into two separate clans per type: a high clan and a low
clan. The high clan is considered to be the ‘noble’ class. They have a tendency
to look down on their low clan counterparts. There is really no difference in
population numbers between the two groups. Despite them being the ‘nobility’
they still have poor among them. This isn’t widely known to non-Chume’taly and
they would prefer to keep it that way.

The low clans have a nobility of
their own. Members of the low clans are most often encountered in the outside
world. They are more given to exploration as they tend to not have all that
much in the way of material wealth or possessions. There is a slight numerical
difference in population. There isn’t all that many more of the low clan
members, but the difference is still one of the more popular subjects of low
clan jokes.

The eight types are formed of five
base types and three sub types. The base or ‘pure’ types tend to look down on
the subtypes as being inferior. The only real difference is in their
coloration. The five base types are panther, lion, leopard, tiger, and cheetah.
The lion and cheetah types see themselves as superior to the other three as
they don’t have a sub type. Snow leopard, white panther, and white tiger are
the three subtypes.

## Clans

**Panther**

High
clan: M’peln

Low
clan: S’rethran

**White panther**

High
clan: M’peln

Low
clan: L’trusha

The
panther clans are from the mid part of the forest and largely dwell around the
city Cha’ha’set’el, relatively close to the Snow Demon mountains where their
subtype makes their home. In point of fact, the white panthers are the least
reviled of the subtypes as they perform a very important function in Chume’taly
society. They guard the edges of the mountains that fall within their territory
with a single minded obsession. This is the function of the town of 'hal. They believe
that dangerous monsters, creatures worse than even the wyvern, slumber in
hidden caverns beneath the mountains. They don't want to risk an intruder
waking there creatures and so maintain a constant vigil. The mountains are
accessible from the territory formerly held by the white wyvern, yet there is
no record of any Darkriders entering the mountains at any point in time. It
would appear that the wyvern have decided that the place is either dangerous or
not worth bothering with.

The regular panthers far outnumber
the white. They have larger litters and are far more likely to throw female
kits and male. There are also fewer dangers in the city and the females have a
higher number of years where they are capable of having children.

The whites have much more dangerous
lives. Their litters are quite small, up to three kits only. A Matriarchy of
sorts was developed as a result in order to prevent the trade and theft of
female kits. It is unknown to anyone outside of the panther types as to why the
High clans of the blacks and the whites have the same name, while the lower
ones have different names.

**Lion**

High
clan: H’let

Low
clan: Z’patchn

The
lion clans are very strange, preferring to range in the grasslands to the
northeast of the forest. They range more between Andunas’chet’kavren and
Duna’chet’lok. It’s not common to see a lion type living inside the forest. The
type prefers a more nomadic kind of existence. H’let is the one high clan that
is noticeably smaller than the low clan and rules absolutely. Lion society
seems to be a patriarchy to outsiders as the male is the one that holds the
title but he acquires his title trhough his mate and it passes to the eldest
female child. From there it passes to her mate and so on and so fourth in a
matrilineal succession.

**Leopard**

High
clan: T’kern

Low
clan: D’nyer

**Snow Leopard**

High
clan: A’melren

Low
clan: T’ketchn

Leopards
tend to be very antisocial in and out of the clans as well as with the other
types. They’re very isolationist and don’t talk to outsiders. Within the clans,
the defining line between high and low clan is very vague and it’s often extremely
difficult to tell simply by observation. If an introduction is made, then it’s
simple enough, as all Chume’taly give their clan name as well as their given
name. It’s rude to do otherwise. There are rare circumstances in which it’s
best if one’s Clan name isn’t known.

The
pure leopards are very rude to their white counterparts and insult, snub, or
ignore them at any given opportunity. It is therefore more likely that a snow
leopard will be more friendly to an outsider than a normal one.

Most
looked down on of any Chume’taly clan is T’ketchn. They are atypical of their
type as well as of Chume’taly in general, acting in improper ways.

**Cheetah**

High
clan: B’nyern

Low
clan: Q’xer

Cheetahs
are the far ranging cats and thus have a substantially larger portion of the
territory that they call their own. They range around Kata’chume’eial,
Sho’va’kapei, and Auhara.

**Tiger**

High
clan: Y’naraln

Low
clan: O’makel

**White tiger**

High
clan: Z’char

Low
clan: M’trawn

The
tigers of both types live in the central regions of the forest. The white
tigers are still looked down on by their counterparts but they are more
tolerated by the pure type than any other white cat.

Tigers,
as a general rule, are very peaceful. Disputes are settled by forms of
traditional one on one competition, such as duels, races, swimming, or logic
puzzles. Both types are equally numerous.

They
are ruled by an elected set of three clan elders per cat type. These elders are
frequently elderly members of the community and Masters of a particular craft. Their
duties are evenly shared between types.