World Building: Lionid Traditions, habits and technology

This is an expanded explanation of the different races. Each race has their own unique traits and aspects about them. In this section, the Lionids.

The Lionid race is a group of felinoid type beings that lives on the icy planet Canin, fifth planet in the Lupine Star System. For the most part, these being resemble large lions and cougars, and while they often appear intimidating, they are actually quite a tranquil race.

This may be in part due to the fact that they hold wisdom in high regard. The Lionids are best known for the monasteries of Canin, places that hold open invitation to all in the system if any need a time to commune with the spiritual nature of all things. Aside from running and organizing these monasteries, which they only ask for a nominal donation to help support the individual monastery should one stay there, the Lionids live in small communities that they call Prides.

Each Pride usually consists of ten or twelves families that work for the communal good of the Pride. One might think that on an ice planet, there is not much wild game to gather for food, or plant life that would grow. But these beings have managed to create vast gardens and have been able to domesticate livestock in order to meet demands for food. They sustain themselves on the meat of the wild bubka deer, a large, four legged creature that grazes in herds and can be found mostly near the equator of the planet. Many of these bubka have been domesticated, but many thousand more roam wild in great wild life preserves that the Lionids have formed.

In order to create these three aspects of their life; wild life preserve, massive gardens and domesticated livestock; the Lionids have created a technological system that helps to monitor the health and safety of the animals they care for, the ones in the wild (such as if any poachers attempt to bag a bubka), and for the temperatures of the gardens. These three aspects are very important. Larger Prides of several families, often from two or three smaller Prides, tend to the needs of the livestock and gardens, while a great school specifically for the study of conservation has been created to aid in care of the wild creatures of Canin.

The Lionids have been able to take pure ice and find a way to purify it naturally. This is their main source of drinking water, and there isn’t much need to worry about depletion, as the ice covers two thirds of the planet’s surface. This ice is very sought after off world as well, as it is a good source of drinking water for cargo cruisers. Ships throughout the system require water for engine cooling, but the ice fields of Canin are the most prized for drinking water. One of the larger monasteries on Canin manages the cultivation of ice, dictating how much ice will be harvested each year depending on the previous winters frost. Any ship that has Canin Ice has a valuable bargaining chip for trade, or, has painted a target on their backs for pirates.

Lionid families are often of two parents, and three to four cubs. Sometimes they may have two cubs. Lionids rarely take to the space lines, but when they do, it is with cargo cruisers. Often, a Lionid cargo cruiser is run by the family, as the ship is commanded by male and female of a family, and they bring their children along.

Lionid cubs are often home schooled until they are a few years old, when they are asked what interests they have. Pantherans see Lionid cubs as unruly and rambunctious, but it is Lionid philosophy that children need to explore the world around them in order to learn with few interuptions from the adults. Lionids believe adults serve only two purposes for cubs: providing food and shelter, and protecting them from dangers. As a result, many of the most wise sages are from Lionid Prides in the Lupine Star System. The Lionids, along with the Lupine, were the ones to draft the original Treaties that saw the end to hostilities between Vulpine and Pantheran fleets.

While Lionids may seem like a peaceful race, they are all too familiar with the art of war. As a part of their lives, they practice hand to hand marital arts, that helps with hand eye co-ordination, and keeps them physically fit. Lionids are also quite powerful, though they will rarely use their physical strength against an opponent for fear of seriously injuring them. The only creatures that the Lionids feel they can put aside holding back is against the Critainians when the two races will often meet during cargo runs. It has become a tradition over the years that a Lionid and a Critainian will wrestle in a friendly game. To any other races, they look upon the spectacle with worry, while with the Lionids and Critainians, it helps as a remind of a more primal nature within them both.

Lionids make an imposing figure, as they stand between seven and nine feet tall, and weigh approximately 400 to 700 pounds.