Viverren

The Viverren are small, cat-like creatures of limited intelligence. They share much in common with the Sauro-Taru, and were probably created around the same time, again as soldiers.

Description

Viverren are small, cat-like creatures. They are bipedal, and usually stand about one to two feet tall. They are covered in fur and have long tails. Their arms are about the same length as their legs, however they do not run on all fours. The possess opposable thumbs and are capable of highly detailed craftsmanship.

Intelligence

Viverren are quite intelligent compared to animals, almost on the order of very stupid humans. They are able to make tools and even fairly sophisticated traps. During the Mage Wars, they were seen using all sorts of weapons, including clubs, longbows, crossbows, spears, even swords and shields. Viverren can learn to speak other languages, though their communication is described as very crude.

Over all, Viverren are actually considered sentient. They are self aware, and easily comprehent past, present, and future. and it is believed that at one time their culture may have been quite sophisticated.

Language

The Viverren actual language is an aural/visual mix, a combination of spoken words and body movement. The spoken language is simple, with only a few dozen sounds, while the movement of the body in conjunction with the words has a great deal of bearing on the final meaning. Because of the sublte movements required, no human has ever been able to speak the Viverren language. Scholars have learned enough to interpret, however, and many Viverren have proved capable of learning Common.

Written Language

Viverren had, at one time, a written language, which the modern Viverren have lost. Scholars have been able to interpret the language and translate it, however they have no idea how the letters relate to the spoken tongue.

The Viverren alphabet consists of 8 photographic characters. Six of these can also be turned sideways to produce a different meaning. Viverren script has no capitolization or punctuation. Rather, letters are assembled into words, and words into statements read left-to-right. Another statement would then be placed bellow the first. Based on what viverren texts have been interpreted, size and spacing have no meaning, rather the characters themselves have absolute meaning, making the written tongue very different from the spoken.

Books were created by flattening out pieces of bark, cutting them into squares, and sewing the squares together with strips of animal hide. For ink, either animal blood or crude dyes made from plants or bugs was used.

During the Fifth Age, thousands of Viverren books were discovered in a cache in the Library of Arindell. When translated, these books were found to be on every subject imaginable: poetry, philosophy, art, history, even science. Viverren science was almost laughably cartoonish, but the idea that these creatures could even comprehend scientific thinking at all is quite extraordinary.

History

The Viverren were probably created sometime during the First Chaotic Period, however estimates as to when vary quite widely. Nothing at all is known about who created them or why, and they were likely created completely independently of the Sauro-Taru.

During the Dynastic Period, Viverren spread all over the known worlds, when they were exported as slaves by the Marcon Alliance. When the Alliance broke apart, the "freed" slaves became nuisance infestations, and were often eradicated a few generations later.

Many Viverren clowders survived, however, and lived on into the Ages of the Alliance. During the Second and Third ages, rapid urbanization and expnasion in many regions led to the localized extinction of Viverren in many regions and worlds.

By the Fourth Age, deliberate steps were taken to preserve some of these creatures, and today they can be found in many zoos around the Alliance. Entire populations are supported in enclosures. Many "wild" Viverren clowders sill exist, however they are never found far from human settlements.