Nonekananono Tribe

Ummm. Well, this is only a bit of a rough idea I been playing with since my first Felarya story. The neko group who shows up in the story are a very lively bunch called the "Nonekananono Tribe".

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They call them self's a tribe but they are more like their own city. They make their homes in the giant tree's that surround a large area in Felarya. One could even argue that they were possibly one of the largest tribes of neko in Felarya. (Though I am not sure where in Felarya they live at as of this moment, but I do hope that I can get some help and guidance in that issue!)

When I say they make their homes in the trees, I mean that quite literally. They have built in rooms and living quarters through the whole trunk of the tree. One good sized tree can house up to 60 neko's. And their are(At the moment) 20 trees that the Nonekananono Tribe call home.

What's even more impressive then that, under the grounds, below the tree trunks, the neko's have set up many shops and stores of all kinds in the natural underground dome's that connect from one tree to another by neko made tunnels. You can even see the massive roots going up and down from the ground to the domes ceiling.

The Nonekananono Tribe are very skilled in the art of earth and plant magics. They take great pride in their abilities to keep their tree homes as healthy and happy as they possibly can using their great knowledge of earth and planet magic, they neko's protect the trees from danger's like fire's and anyone who wants to come and cut/smash/break them down and so on, and the tree's give the neko's a safe heaven from the many pred of Felarya. The Nonekananono Tribe are even on good terms with a local fairy tribe they live by, which also adds too the neko's protection as well.

_-ProCaw-_ wrote:

Ummm. Well, this is only a bit of a rough idea I been playing with since my first Felarya story. The neko group who shows up in the story are a very lively bunch called the "Nonekananono Tribe".

----
They call them self's a tribe but they are more like their own city. They make their homes in the giant tree's that surround a large area in Felarya. One could even argue that they were possibly one of the largest tribes of neko in Felarya. (Though I am not sure where in Felarya they live at as of this moment, but I do hope that I can get some help and guidance in that issue!)

When I say they make their homes in the trees, I mean that quite literally. They have built in rooms and living quarters through the whole trunk of the tree. One good sized tree can house up to 60 neko's. And their are(At the moment) 20 trees that the Nonekananono Tribe call home.

What's even more impressive then that, under the grounds, below the tree trunks, the neko's have set up many shops and stores of all kinds in the natural underground dome's that connect from one tree to another by neko made tunnels. You can even see the massive roots going up and down from the ground to the domes ceiling.

The Nonekananono Tribe are very skilled in the art of earth and plant magics. They take great pride in their abilities to keep their tree homes as healthy and happy as they possibly can using their great knowledge of earth and planet magic, they neko's protect the trees from danger's like fire's and anyone who wants to come and cut/smash/break them down and so on, and the tree's give the neko's a safe heaven from the many pred of Felarya. The Nonekananono Tribe are even on good terms with a local fairy tribe they live by, which also adds too the neko's protection as well.

The living inside of tree trunks I think could still use some backing, as carving out a single great tree fit for habitation wouldn't be a small undertaking. Since they apparantly specialize in two different studies of elemental magic, I assume that they do not have a high level of technology.

The subterranean civilization is a concept that has been exploited before, that can work also if they are prepared to face the challenges of that realm as well. I am really interested in knowing how their civilization is so large- there are very restricting forces at work on the size of civilizations, of course fierce predation being one of those. For this reason, some of the most successful tribes remain so because of their small numbers and secrecy. Other tribes have a particular theme to them, and get by in their zone by certain adaptations. Do they have defensive uses for their magic studies? Would you find them in an area that has difficult-to-navigate geography that makes them hard to reach for large predators? The location of the tribe can be important to the workability of the kind of homes they live in. Simply going by math, if sixty nekos can live in each tree trunk and there are currently twenty trees, that's about 1,200 discounting any living beneath the trees.

So far, as they seem to have a peaceful nature, it's reminding me somewhat of the Bowl, and could use some key things to make it stand out. So far I haven't seen much that makes it seem like a 'neko vibe' tribe, so their society and customs would need to be touched on.

The reasons behind their good terms with a nearby fairy tribe- which in most cases would spell the end of such a large group of potential prey creatures- needs to be elaborated on I feel. Did an event in the past lead to active trade between the two groups? Can the nekos produce something that the fairies value more than using them as a food source? Do they offer some kind of service, or is there something different going on?

/Fish/ wrote:

or is there something different going on?

The real answer is "Because the Nekos have harnessed the power of bees." Glorious, glorious bee's.

...?

/Fish/ wrote:

The living inside of tree trunks I think could still use some backing, as carving out a single great tree fit for habitation wouldn't be a small undertaking. Since they apparantly specialize in two different studies of elemental magic, I assume that they do not have a high level of technology.

The subterranean civilization is a concept that has been exploited before, that can work also if they are prepared to face the challenges of that realm as well. I am really interested in knowing how their civilization is so large- there are very restricting forces at work on the size of civilizations, of course fierce predation being one of those. For this reason, some of the most successful tribes remain so because of their small numbers and secrecy. Other tribes have a particular theme to them, and get by in their zone by certain adaptations. Do they have defensive uses for their magic studies? Would you find them in an area that has difficult-to-navigate geography that makes them hard to reach for large predators? The location of the tribe can be important to the workability of the kind of homes they live in. Simply going by math, if sixty nekos can live in each tree trunk and there are currently twenty trees, that's about 1,200 discounting any living beneath the trees.

So far, as they seem to have a peaceful nature, it's reminding me somewhat of the Bowl, and could use some key things to make it stand out. So far I haven't seen much that makes it seem like a 'neko vibe' tribe, so their society and customs would need to be touched on.

The reasons behind their good terms with a nearby fairy tribe- which in most cases would spell the end of such a large group of potential prey creatures- needs to be elaborated on I feel. Did an event in the past lead to active trade between the two groups? Can the nekos produce something that the fairies value more than using them as a food source? Do they offer some kind of service, or is there something different going on?

Well, you are right on a few things. But there are key points I didn't say before as I didn't want to hit everyone with to much at once cause I was still working out some things about their pasts and what not. One thing I could have said before is that the tribe has been around for 1000 years, second there is actually only 800 something neko's in the tribe. Not all 20 tree's are large enough to house 60 neko's. The actual number I haven't figured out just yet.

But to your first point to them living in tree's, your right it would be no small task to carve a tree like that, but at the same time I never once said they carved anything out of the tree's. I said they have built in rooms and living quarters. The tree's them self are actually 200 years younger then the tribe is. The first group of the Nonekanano Tribe planted the tree's and used their great knowledge on plant magics to manipulate the growth of the tree's to grow in such a way that they could live in them. Even with their magic though the process takes about 40 years to grow a single tree, longer if the tree is to be specially large.

And as as their protection goes, the tribe has a great deal of that due to their long history. I do imagine them living in a very lush jungle setting, and around the tree's they live I see a lot of branches from top to bottom, and all stretching out to the other tree's making it very hard for anything bigger then a human, or neko in this case, to get any farther into the area they actually live.

Their second main sources of their protection is of course their neighbors, the fairies. They are on good terms with one another do to events long ago in the past when both the fairy tribe in question and the Nonekanano tribe were still very new. I some time plan on writing about that so I do not wish to give out any big details, but I will say that both tribes owe the other their lifes.

Their last main sources of protection come from their elder. The elder neko, though she is no where near a guardian's level, is every powerful and has lived for longer then 2000 years in Felarya. She is also one of the four neko's who formed the tribe some odd thousand years ago. So as long as it's no more then two, maybe three, large predators who some how manage to get into their living area, they would soon find they probably bit off more then they could chew as they'd have the wrath of the elder to face.

Their personalities are still being worked out.

And as for their food. Most of the tribe actually dosn't eat still living food and they have many hidden roads that lead out of the jungle their traders use to take and bring back goods of all kinds, one of them being food. Very, very few in the tribe still actually practice the art of hunting their prey like their ancestors before them. So the fairies and other preds in the area have little competition with the neko tribe as most of them get their food from other places. The roads they use have never been found either, thanks to some help from the fairy tribe who uses their own magic to make sure that no one, predator or other wise, finds the roads in and out of the jungle that the nekos use.

_-ProCaw-_ wrote:

Their last main sources of protection come from their elder. The elder neko, though she is no where near a guardian's level, is every powerful and has lived for longer then 2000 years in Felarya. She is also one of the four neko's who formed the tribe some odd thousand years ago. So as long as it's no more then two, maybe three, large predators who some how manage to get into their living area, they would soon find they probably bit off more then they could chew as they'd have the wrath of the elder to face.

I'm just going to say my thoughts about a few things. Firstly, that elder and the super-powerful weapon she represents, would no doubt be something that her people come to rely on, not as a power, but as a crutch. I don't know what other defenses and preperations the tribe has, but logically it seems that they may be too dependent on her. She's more of a 'She-Hulk' in her role than leader in her current form. I can understand that you feel the need to give them something to help survive, but it seems that she would just bring unwanted attention to the tribe, or make others fear her power and see their tribe the wrong way. It would make more sense to me to downsize her powers and importance to the tribe, and focus on other aspects.

Really, if the focus is put on 'not being found' than 'Somehow preventing destruction if found' , then they'd be better off for it. They have magics to control nature, so if they can be careful enough to keep their dwellings camouflaged and being methodic in their secrecy, then the hypothetical 'three giant predators vs tribe elder' scenario no longer is such an issue worth preparing for. Make sense?

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And as for their food. Most of the tribe actually dosn't eat still living food and they have many hidden roads that lead out of the jungle their traders use to take and bring back goods of all kinds, one of them being food. Very, very few in the tribe still actually practice the art of hunting their prey like their ancestors before them. So the fairies and other preds in the area have little competition with the neko tribe as most of them get their food from other places. The roads they use have never been found either, thanks to some help from the fairy tribe who uses their own magic to make sure that no one, predator or other wise, finds the roads in and out of the jungle that the nekos use.

This sounds rather like they are deliberately not behaving naturally. Nekos are predatary, and like most predators around, usually don't have inclinations or any reason not to be. Whether it be tinies, or mice, or what other catchable prey species is readily available, that's what nekos do, and it's what they are very good at. If you want them to not hunt, then perhaps changing their race would be for the better. I can see them much more easily working as elves, which have a good synergy with nature. If they were lemurians, you wouldn't have to explain the non-predation as that race is one of the few that naturally subsists on plant life.

/Fish/ wrote:

I understand your view point, and I respect it. But one, I didn't say the elder was just for protection. You seemed to just assumed that on your own. She is the leader and well respected and outside her tribe and that of the fairies, not many people know of the elder's power. Very few preds have ever manage to make it that far to begin with so it is very rare for her to even have to fight. Most of the time she's running the village as it's leader, spending her day's dealing with a it's problems and issues you'd find in any civilization and so on.

And as for you thoughts on changing their race, I must respectfully say no. I like the idea, they will remain as neko's now and forever. And it's not like all nekos HAVE to follow the same rules as every other now is it? And that is only your view point, and many others I am sure, on how nekos should behave, but to expect me to base my version of nekos on what YOU think they should be is rather rude in my book. Other people have their own idea's on what should and shouldn't be, to say something like "that's what nekos do, and it's what they are very good at" is very small minded I have to say. It only is for some neko's, not all.

I don't have an issue with what you've described thus, far, under the assumption you have a story (or stories) planned to explain some of the features of this particular tribe.

One thing does stand out, however. If the tribe has existed in place for a millenium, what do they do to keep the population under control? The trees can only hold a certain number, and since they take so long to grow new ones, they would have to be careful when it comes to having children. If they allow members to freely breed, there would be a lot more than 800 nekos. It's something to consider.

It's interesting that you have the nekos using their magic to literally form the trees in order to create homes. That's what I've done with my Black Mountain tribe in Galya's stories. The trees themselves would offer a good deal of basic protection, and it would not take much in the way of magic to prevent access to them, should the need arise.

Just having the fairies present in any form would cut down tremendously on creatures finding their way to the tree village. Add in some illusion and misdirection magic, and the place could remain very well hidden indeed.

timing2 wrote:

I don't have an issue with what you've described thus, far, under the assumption you have a story (or stories) planned to explain some of the features of this particular tribe.

One thing does stand out, however. If the tribe has existed in place for a millenium, what do they do to keep the population under control? The trees can only hold a certain number, and since they take so long to grow new ones, they would have to be careful when it comes to having children. If they allow members to freely breed, there would be a lot more than 800 nekos. It's something to consider.

It's interesting that you have the nekos using their magic to literally form the trees in order to create homes. That's what I've done with my Black Mountain tribe in Galya's stories. The trees themselves would offer a good deal of basic protection, and it would not take much in the way of magic to prevent access to them, should the need arise.

Just having the fairies present in any form would cut down tremendously on creatures finding their way to the tree village. Add in some illusion and misdirection magic, and the place could remain very well hidden indeed.

I do mean to tackle that question in some of my stories, you are right of course, they would be more then 800 in that case. But their are may things that keep their population down. One of the biggest ones is that any member can leave the tribe when ever they feel like it. Their mind would be wiped of any damaging information of course, but they'd be free to go and live their own way as they wish. So their are more of their tribes blood family all over Felarya, many of them end up eaten too. And a lot of younger nekos usually do try to leave and live their own way. 50% of them usually never make it out of the jungle though... It is supposed to be a very dangerous place filled with preds. And since they lose much of their memories they are not allowed to use the protective roads.

So leaving the tribe is effectively a one-way trip? That seems like a major hurdle to overcome - you'd *really* have to want to leave, knowing you would never be able to return. Youthful egos aside, what would cause them to want to leave? Is life there overly strict? Or too "easy" for those who have more adventuresome personalities? Or just plain boring?

The mind wipe deal sounds harsh. Is that something only the elder can perform? What happens when a neko or nekos run off without having this done? I'm sure it would've happened a few times over the centuries.

What kind of restrictions do the fairies have, since they would by default know the exact whereabouts of the neko village?

Its a fairly original idea, thats for sure, and its obvious you've put a lot of thought into it. I do see a couple inconsistancies that would need to be addressed before this race would feel believable though. I know some of this might be explained in your upcoming stories, but I just thought I would bring them up.

- ONE: The alliance with fairies. Nothing wrong with a pred/prey alliance, but there would need to be a very good reason for it to last so long. Human's cant hold alliances for more than a few decades, it would take a very good reason for an alliance to stay intact for 100s, if not 1000s of years when one race could very easily crush the other, either through direct action, or by taking away the illusions that are vital to these nekos' existance.

TWO: Food. I know they do very little hunting on their own, and most of their food is imported...but that brings up the issue of importing enough food. It would take a lot of food to feed that many nekos. You would also need money, or something to trade for the food. So they would need some kind of source of income, or something of value to be able to get it on a consistant basis. It just seems like they are over-reliant on those roads. No enchantment is perfect, and if even a few roads get compromised, there could be a food shortage. Maybe they also gather food from their area or something? Maybe they engineered their trees to grow lots of fruit too? that would allow them to at least get by if food becomes scarce, and it wouldn't be too difficult for their mages to do.

- THREE: I saw you mentioned that a major factor that prevents overpopulation is the fact that many leave the tribe to try to make it on their own. I just have to wonder why. Why would any sane person leave a nearly impregnable tree-fortress that is almost undetectible by any predator, to go try and make it in a jungle full of lots of things that will most likely pick them off within hours. It just seem like a stretch to believe anyone would choose to leave voluntarily

I have seen population culling done in movies and books before...but its usually a forced thing. People who draw the short straw are kicked out to preserve the colony's stable population. But I suspect this is a little harsher and darker than what you invision for your nekos.

Either way. You have some interesting ideas, and its easy to tell you've put a lot of thought into them. I think you're close, but it still seems, at least to me, that there is still some tweaking and refining that's still needed before they can really feel like a complete race.

timing2 wrote:

So leaving the tribe is effectively a one-way trip? That seems like a major hurdle to overcome - you'd *really* have to want to leave, knowing you would never be able to return. Youthful egos aside, what would cause them to want to leave? Is life there overly strict? Or too "easy" for those who have more adventuresome personalities? Or just plain boring?

The mind wipe deal sounds harsh. Is that something only the elder can perform? What happens when a neko or nekos run off without having this done? I'm sure it would've happened a few times over the centuries.

What kind of restrictions do the fairies have, since they would by default know the exact whereabouts of the neko village?

Good questions you pose, I like you!

Well, for starters, life can a bit strict in the village and it can be a bit boring for the adventurous youth that come from the village. There is also one other big fact that keeps their numbers down, but that a very big secret and would spoil one of my story ideas if I were to give it away now. >o>

As for the mind wipe, a few powerful neko's in the village know how to do it. The elder too of course, she showed them. And it is done so that the village is not put in danger if someone where to read the neko who went off on their own's mind and steal the information on how to get into the village as easy and safe as possible, or to keep them from telling it them self's.

If one were to go off without the mind wipe first, then they would send out scouters to track them down as a traitor to the village, and they would even inlist the help of their fairy brothers and sisters, giving them full permission to EAT the run away. Never in 1000 years has a neko ever made it that way.

And to youre question on the fairies restrictions, they don't have any. There are even some fairies living with the neko tribe and some of the neko tribe with them as some have married off to one the other from time to time. The Fairy tribe are all honorary brothers and sisters to the neko tribe and well trusted. But not all the fairies know where the village is. That is something that the fairies themself made as a rule in their own tribe, only the most trusted are alowed to go to the neko village.

rcs619 wrote:

Its a fairly original idea, thats for sure, and its obvious you've put a lot of thought into it. I do see a couple inconsistancies that would need to be addressed before this race would feel believable though. I know some of this might be explained in your upcoming stories, but I just thought I would bring them up.

- ONE: The alliance with fairies. Nothing wrong with a pred/prey alliance, but there would need to be a very good reason for it to last so long. Human's cant hold alliances for more than a few decades, it would take a very good reason for an alliance to stay intact for 100s, if not 1000s of years when one race could very easily crush the other, either through direct action, or by taking away the illusions that are vital to these nekos' existance.

TWO: Food. I know they do very little hunting on their own, and most of their food is imported...but that brings up the issue of importing enough food. It would take a lot of food to feed that many nekos. You would also need money, or something to trade for the food. So they would need some kind of source of income, or something of value to be able to get it on a consistant basis. It just seems like they are over-reliant on those roads. No enchantment is perfect, and if even a few roads get compromised, there could be a food shortage. Maybe they also gather food from their area or something? Maybe they engineered their trees to grow lots of fruit too? that would allow them to at least get by if food becomes scarce, and it wouldn't be too difficult for their mages to do.

- THREE: I saw you mentioned that a major factor that prevents overpopulation is the fact that many leave the tribe to try to make it on their own. I just have to wonder why. Why would any sane person leave a nearly impregnable tree-fortress that is almost undetectible by any predator, to go try and make it in a jungle full of lots of things that will most likely pick them off within hours. It just seem like a stretch to believe anyone would choose to leave voluntarily

I have seen population culling done in movies and books before...but its usually a forced thing. People who draw the short straw are kicked out to preserve the colony's stable population. But I suspect this is a little harsher and darker than what you invision for your nekos.

Either way. You have some interesting ideas, and its easy to tell you've put a lot of thought into them. I think you're close, but it still seems, at least to me, that there is still some tweaking and refining that's still needed before they can really feel like a complete race.

Oh trust me I know that. I said I was still working out the bugs after all. You are right I do need work on them to be sure. And in my stories you will see a lot of questions answered you and many other's would probably be thinking about. As for their food, there have been some times in their history where they were not able to bring enough food back through the roads. And you hit the nail on the head with the fruit tree idea, that was exactly something I was going over myself! But they also do have emergency food stores set in place for such an event as well that can last up to a year or so if it should come to that.

And why their bond with the fairies is so strong...... Well, that would be telling. ;P I do want to keep SOME secrets tell I actually right this stuff! ^^

And how would this tribe of nekos treat outsiders who were not predators or at least not hostile? I'm guessing in a thousand years, at least a few adventurers have managed to find their way to the place.

timing2 wrote:

And how would this tribe of nekos treat outsiders who were not predators or at least not hostile? I'm guessing in a thousand years, at least a few adventurers have managed to find their way to the place.

If you read my story you'd find that to be true. The man who brought the main character, Pro, took her right to the village. They not a hostile people. If they felt the need for it, they would just blank the persons mind and send them on their way else where.

Ah, I see that now. You might want to put a link to your stories in the future: Awaken