Relationship with People

People didn't quite care much for the existence of wild cats, often leaving them to their own devices so long as they stayed out of the way. Most wild cats had very little contact to people outside of the rare camping or hiking encounter.

Within Fort Pipero, street cats were typically ignored as long as they didn't cause trouble.  Some tell tales of people trapping cats for mysterious purposes, though these rumors tend to come without any proof.  Those who claim to have been trapped can hardly even explain what happened to them, their memories muddled into an incoherent, dreamlike mess.

Thanks to the proliferation of boars and rats among animal enthusiasts, cats were rarely taken in as pets.  They were something of an exotic option, like ferrets are in our own world.

Relationship with Other Species

Notable Factions: Line Runners, The Shatter Run, Blazacy, Street Gangs, Pets

Line Runners

Guardians and followers of the Rising Lines. This faction was based out of the southernmost tip of the continent, where two powerful ley lines rose up out of the ground.  Even Pre-Fracture, these ley lines were powerful enough that sensitive individuals could feel them.  The Line runners believed they were bound to these ley line through birth.  Their fates, great or small, were tied to the world's energies. 

At least once in their life, a line runner would feel the call of they ley lines and embark on a great journey of action and self discovery. This was a major step in a line runner's life, and marked their entry to adulthood. The deeds they accomplish and the journey they lead gives them the power to add to their name.  The stories they bring back south are used as lessons for the others.  Particularly lucky line runners would feel the pull to run multiple missions, each time adding another note to their name.  Those with more line runs were respected as the most experienced and beloved of their kind, the chosen favorites of the ley lines.

Those with the greatest journeys and the longest names could became part of the Runner's Circle, a council that meditated on the ley lines, and attempted to guide the rest of the group.  They were believed to have greater insight into the threads of fate, and would search for answers and prophecies in the shifting fields of the ley lines. 

This faction was one of the most welcoming to outsiders. Though it was primarily composed of cats, all species were welcome. Cats, with their natural sensitivity to ley magic, found themselves curiously drawn to the region if they weren't born there.  Boars and rats on the other hand, didn't tend to notice the lines, though they often enjoyed the challenge of the quests they were sent on. Coyotes were a bit more rare, given their small population, and rabbits were the rarest.  Few rabbits would dare to leave their warrens behind, and those who did choose to do so would find Line Runner life challenging to survive.  Rarest of all were the species that did not survive the Fracture.  Cattle, crows, and even a hamster for a while.  Truly, all were welcome in this faction.

In the months leading up to the Fracture, the line runners noticed increasing instabilities in the ley lines. They took this as a call to return home at once, so they could protect their ley lines from the trouble to come. Consequently, the majority of line runners were gathered in one place when their Rising Lines exploded and the unceasing ley storm began.

Shatter Runners

Shatter Runners were an aggressive splinter faction of the Line Runners. They were the youngest faction of the Pre-Fracture world by far, having formed only a few generations ago. Members of the Shatter Runners claimed to bear witness to the faults of mankind, and were driven to destroy their artifacts, to break their hold over the land.  

The founders of this faction were on a quest north, led by the ley lines to appearances of wretched, twisted beings: the first Pre-Fracture warped. These monsters were swiftly linked to magitech, and so spawned the first guerilla warfare waged by animals against mankind.  The movement grew swiftly, as animals of all kinds felt slighted by the intrusion of mankind into their natural spaces. The Shatter Runners failed to find the same support from back home, as the council agreed that this quest was their own.  The only way Line Runners would come to support them was if that happened to be their destiny.  This drove a wedge between the two groups, as the Shatter Runners felt the council was ignoring the most important fight of their lives.

Shatter runs were sent out in small, specialized strike teams.  These teams would scope out the targetted artifact, studying it and the men around it for weak points.  Then, once a plan was established, they would fly into the area and make their move, causing as much destruction as possible before fleeing.  It was deadly work.  Many lost their lives to malfunctioning magitech, while others were slain.  Some were captured by the enemy, never to be seen again.  

It didn't take long before most feral cats found an enemy in mankind, who seemed to recognize the source of their new technical woes.  Many cats found themselves increasingly targeted over the years thanks to the efforts of the Shatter Run.  Only the Blazals managed to maintain good relations with mankind, isolated on their island as they were.

The Blazals

The Blazals were the members of a devout group known as the Blazacy. These cats lived on a large island filled with abandoned human structures. Ancient ruins lined the ground with subtle ridges, a few standing structures, half buried under pre-modern buildings and a temple, and more recent structures were left to decay over the past century. The humans who once lived alongside the cats here were a warring group and left intricate murals and stained glass to commemorate their relationship with the cats. After their disappearance the Blazacy was formed and the cats took the duty of war upon their own shoulders.

Liked by few and feared by many, the Blazacy wiped out their neighboring factions generations ago. They worshipped the warrior gods of the Enblazen Sun, carefully following their flights through the sky in the forms of comets and stars.  Each movement of the heavens represented the movements of holy wars.  From this, they sought divine strategy to wield against their foes. 

Blazals were the only feline faction that had a good relation with mankind. The history between the two species goes back centuries, from ancient cats fighting alongside humans, to modern kittens playing with human cubs.  A deep respect runs between the two, with Blazals and men spending many hours observing each other on the ruined isle.  Mankind brought them many gifts.  Food, light, water.  Friendship was the least they could give in return for this kindness.

This was in stark contrast to the Blazal's relationship with other species of the world.  Anything these cats came across, they felt was theirs for the taking.  The Commune in particular knew these cats as a terrible hazard.  The isle of the Blazals was just off the coast of the warren's lush farmlands, and members of the Blazacy swam over every day to hunt them down.  Other visitors to the coast would find this faction more than happy to chase them out of the area.  One had to be very careful not to attract too much attention when visiting the Blazal's coast, lest they bring a Blazal crusade home with them.

Blazals were one of the few Pre-Fracture groups which consistently had access to fire through an ancient human artifact: the ever burning forge.  The beginnings and ends of life were closely bound to these flames.  The kittens were encourage to singe themselves on the flames, eager to see how close they could get without really burning themselves.  Adults would gather by the forge to declare long lasting bonds of friendship, love, rivalry, and hatred.  And the most complex ritual of all, for death, belonged to the elderly.  When a Blazal's time was up, their body would be fed to the flames.  This freed the soul from the body, allowing it to rise into the sky as smoke, where it could become part of the Enblazen.  

Blazals strictly refuse to eat cooked meat.  In bringing fire to the meat, one acknowledges that it housed a soul.  To eat cooked meat is to eat a person.  It is to eat your own family.  It is to eat the servants of the gods.  It is blasphemy. 

Rarely, a Blazal was born with some mastery over magic.  This was almost unheard of in the Pre-Fracture world, and more often than not would spawn endless tales and legends.  It took a lifetime of labor to unlock a tier 1 power.  Back then, that was enough to go down in history.  

The Blazacy entered a period of rapid decline in the years just before the Fracture.  A second moon appeared in the sky, terrifying their leaders with the threat of an opposing army of gods.  The Blazacy retreated from many of the inland pursuits as they prepared for the great war to come. 

Pets

Though uncommon, it wasn't unheard of for a cat to move in with mankind.  They were something of an exotic breed to keep, with most being shown off to all their people their owners could get ahold of.  To tame a cat was a rare thing after all.  They were hard enough to feed, with all of that carnivory, and everyone in Fort Pipero knows of the endless spirit that leads cats to cause problems.  

Those cats who did choose to live alongside man were frequently mocked by their own kind, believed to be too weak or stupid to fight back.  Fortunately, those lovely glass panes that kept them separated also tended to block out the jeering.

Feral Cats & Street Gangs

Before the Fracture, languages were simpler. The creatures of the world couldn't make as many sounds as they can now. As a result, Pre-Fracture names tend to be made of common words and titles. Some chose to change to adapt these names to match their Post-Fracture abilities and personalities. Names containing words and titles come with a nostalgic, traditional connotation. Names containing unique sounds come across as more modern and exotic. More information about general naming conventions is available here.

Line Runner Names

When they were very young, Line Runners lived without names. They were referred to as kitten, kit, by color, or by their current actions until they were old enough to choose a name that reflects them. This was called their Known Name, and was typically a noun. After returning from their first line run, they would tell the story of what they encountered. A key descriptor of this tale was then appended to the start of their name. This was called their Found Name, and was typically an adjective. The found name could change if the character completed another line run, either by replacing the previous found name or by adding to it.

Frozen Arrow
Like an arrow, they would head directly to their goals. Their first line run had them trek through a severe winter storm in the north.

Hidden Clamorous Appeal
Appeal sought to gain the favor of everyone they crossed, perhaps earning their assistance in their line runs. They had since completed two line runs. The first, with a great deal of noise as the men they encountered drove them away from their goal. Having successfully avoiding mankind's wrath on their second run, they replaced Clamorous with Hidden.

Darkened Stormy Edge
When Edge headed for their first line run, a solar eclipse bathed the world around them in darkness, making for a popular tale among young and old alike. Their second noteworthy run was seemingly cursed by endless storms, yet Edge endured and completed their run. They like to say that the name Edge was meant to give them the edge they needed to complete all of their runs and so far it has yet to let them down.

Shatter Run Names

Shatter Runners followed the same basic naming conventions as Line Runners with an added twist. For their first piece of magitech destroyed, they added a number to their name. This number increased every time they damaged another piece of magitech. Shatter Runners tended to end up with very long full names if they survived long enough, and would frequently shorten it to their Known Name and their score.

The Second Wicked Bolting Stone
Also known as The Second Stone. Stone, for the strength and determination they believed they would need. Wicked, from their first line run when they turned against the advice of their peers. Bolting for the beautiful arcs that fell from their first damaged artifact.

Scorched Marrow the First
Also known as Marrow the First. Marrow, for the flavorful, healthy food that was his favorite. Scorched, for the wildfire that blossomed after he cracked open an artifact.

Sheer Upwards Bound Dim Buried Rotten "Sixteen" Starlight
Simply known as Six or Starlight Six. Her known name Starlight was meant to symbolize her being the light in the darkness, shining forwards to a better future. She was one of the founding members of the movement and one of the few that managed to outlive a majority of its other founders. Her first found name became Rotten for the rotten nature of the mankind's magitech. Sheer, for the raid she lead on a laboratory at a steep cliffside of the northern mountains. Upwards, for the crazy ascending winds emitted by one of the artifacts she destroyed. Bound, for the time she was trapped by mankind during a shatter run but managed to escape. Dim, for a destroyed magitech device that could veil a whole room in darkness. Buried, for a hidden underground factory for magitech construction.

Blazal Names

Blazals have mixed origins for their names. It is not uncommon to see Blazals naming their kittens after words that they feel have a special meaning. Having lived in close contact with humans for a significant portion of their history, however, Blazals began to draw names from their fellows. There is a finite pool of these unique names which get reused, meaning most Blazals share their name with at least a couple others on the island, with the names of the most revered humans seeing frequent use.

Cinder, Ember, Light - Fire was very important to Blazals, and thus, an inspiration for many names

Rise, Valor, Truth - Blazal parents might choose a name they felt would instill a desired attribute on their child

The Ironfang - A Blazal blessed by the gods with a fangs capable of felling foes twice her size, children been named "Ironfang" in her honor for generations. 

Aelis the Untouchable - Originally a human name, a Blazal named Aelis was known for surviving severe injury on three separate occasion. Now, he is the one remembered when the name Aelis is passed down.

Kamiah - A human long passed, the tales of her are too numerous and bloated to tell what is true or not anymore. The Blazals of the distant passed truly loved her though, and up until the fracture oral tradition sung her praises. Kamiah is one of the most common names on the Island. 

Other common human-inspired names include:

Lian, Elilah, Antti, Esk, Rolly, Kaija, Hugo, Sealen, Thea, Atacia, Ilna

Pet Names

Cats kept as pets could get... strange ideas about what qualified as a name. Often keeping things simple, pet cats would stick to one or two word names. Almost anything was possible. When they left behind their past to live with people, they left behind all the cultural meaning that usually came with names as well. They were also prone to picking up gibberish name. Absolute nonsense names even. Most claimed these names came from their people, but... they were so ridiculous. Why would mankind choose a name like that? 

Ishish

Roller Boy

Chief

Aioe

Chulu

Me

City Cat Names