Olowuaru

Who?
like the vyadhan, the olowuara are octopodal mammalian hypercarnivores representing a cross between a centaur and a large feline; in this case, a lion. the olowuara are in fact a sister race of the vyadhan, having diverged evolutionary at some point in the last few hundred millennia (interestingly, both species understand the vyadhan to have been the first and the olowuara to be, variously, the younger cousins, a younger sibling, or an “offshoot”, although the latter term is used most often by outside scholars, and not within earshot of an olowuaru) around the time they left vana to adopt a more nomadic lifestyle on the great plains.

Physiology
physically, the two species differ in a few ways. the olowuaru are significantly better-adapted for pursuit predation, with a more upright posture, a taller “human” torso, longer limbs, somewhat thinner bones, wider and flatter paws, and a narrower trunk. the olowuaru also have shorter fur, with the exception of the mane sported by mature males – a thick raft of hair extending from the skull down the “human” back and around the torso. they also have a unique sonic adaptation to plains hunting: a second set of rudimentary vocal cords in the feline trunk which resonate at a much lower frequency than those in their larynx, allowing them to generate subsonic pseudo-vocalisations. (while the sounds generated are too rudimentary to constitute any form of speech, it has been theorised that this was an adaptation to the plains-hunting lifestyle, allowing them to co-ordinate hunts over vast distances while disorienting their prey – the omnidirectional nature of the vibration makes it extremely difficult, even when directly facing the olowuaru responsible, to accurately pinpoint the origin. the olowuaru often capitalise on this during hunts by alternating higher-pitched vocalisations with subsonic chants made directly into the ground, in effect sonically corralling their quarry.)

Psychology
the most significant difference between the olowuaru and the vyadhan, however, is in the nature of their socialisation. vyadhan are for the most part solitary; olowuaru are the opposite. the pack hunting lifestyle to which the species initially adapted has developed beyond that to a complex and powerfully resilient (if sometimes rigid) society, with inter-olowuaru bonds that are extremely difficult for most individuals to defy. outside of specific (and semi-ritualised) cultural contexts, solitude – whether through exile, accident, or trauma – is among the worst fates, and worst punishments, known to the olowuaru. (the term solitude may require some gloss here, however. physically being separate from one’s pride, even for extended periods of time, may cause some distress to an individual olowuaru, but it’s also a reasonably common phenomenon – scouting, espionage, trading, and various rites of passage all inevitably require individuals to spend time away from some or all the members of their pride.

what truly terrifies an olowuaru is the idea of exclusion with no possibility of return – a complete revocation of social bonds, pronounced by one or more figures of authority within the pride or – in some instances – representatives of olowuaru society as a whole. the fact that this punishment is exceedingly rare doesn’t remotely diminish the visceral fear it evokes in olowuaru, even those who have broadly adapted to the social structures of Uruk or its various outposts. the idea of a home and a place to which they can one day return and be accepted – even if they never do – is, in most cases, a deeply important emotional and psychological anchor.) olowuaru who are exiled in this way often become sick or starve to death. the destabilisation associated with exile is also known to trigger a set of severely antisocial behaviours, and has been known to result in violent insanity. a lone olowuaru is – somewhat paradoxically, given their vastly reduced efficacy as hunters when operating alone – widely regarded as among the most dangerous creatures to encounter on the plains, largely due to their unpredictability and tendency to lapse into out-and-out suicidal rage.

Society
another difference between the vyadhan and the olowuaru is the relatively heterogeneous nature of olowuaru society. while not without their share of internal distinctions (often of a religious nature), the vyadhan are remarkably homogeneous, and on current evidence have been for most of their history; possible reasons for this include their solitary nature, small number, and hostile environment, although these come largely in the form of external supposition. in contrast, while the olowuaru as a species demonstrate significantly less diversity than most humanoids, there are much greater divisions among their society than among their forest-dwelling cousins.

“mainstream” olowuaru society consists of small tribal groups centred around a small number (generally three to eight) of adult females and one or two adult males, normally one significantly older than the other, and the juvenile-to-adolescent offspring of any combination of breeding pairs of the adults. the tribes tend toward a matriarchal structure, which may be due to the fact that females are the most active hunters – males play more of a role in ambushes, or in carefully-planned hunts for the largest prey. (the olowuaru, unlike the vyadhan, display significant sexual dimorphism; males can be up to half a metre longer and taller than females, and tend to weigh anything up to fifty percent more.) this structure generally takes the form of a council, with the adult females conferring to make decisions for the pride as a whole; males may provide advice, and in the case of stalemates for contested decisions may be asked to cast a deciding vote, but this comes largely at the discretion of the females.

(adulthood among "mainstream" olowuaru society is linked with a number of rites of passage, which themselves are associated with the onset of puberty. among these, the most significant is, appropriately enough, the hunt: the individual in question must perform a lone hunt and bring back evidence of their success to the pride. the quarry, however, isn’t necessarily the most important aspect of the hunt: each [hunt] is unique, being determined by the individual, the females of the council, and any member of the pride with a particularly strong affinity for divination, through astrology and haruspicy. the individual will determine key aspects of the hunt, which may relate to a prey animal, but as important may be a time (of day, or year), a location (again, less likely to be a specific site than somewhere possessed of specific attributes – a high place, a point where two ridges meet, somewhere the light dims, etc), or an attitude – a moment of strife; a moment in which strength is found; a moment indicating the division between future and past. on occasion, such hunts have actually led olowuaru back into vana; there are no confirmed records of whether the quarry on such occasions has been vyadhan or some other forest denizen, but given that the quarry selected are invariably challenging in some way – other predators, especially large herbivores, or particularly rare creatures (especially birds) – it may not be impossible.)

other social structures, however, are known to exist among the olowuaru, including those with a more patriarchal structure and some that are more radically egalitarian. the most significant fringe group is likely also the earliest: the ɛ-naitúrùk. the olowuaru possess more written records than the vyadhan, but they are significantly more comprehensive on recent periods, and their earliest histories of leaving vana are almost exclusively oral, other than a few tablets (which, to date, no external scholars have seen). as such, it’s difficult to be clear on concrete facts, but one common theme among the majority of olowuaru is that it was at most two generations after leaving vana that they first encountered a lamassu. (the vyadhan had previously been aware of the lamassu, but prior to the olowuaru’s divergence had had almost no contact with them, and regarded them broadly as a sort of cross between a mountain range and a constellation: significant but very, very far away.)

the then-nascent olowuaru, according to the histories, were deeply split on how to react to the approach of the monolith, and the fact that their nomadic nature coupled with its pace of movement meant they had functionally as much time as they wanted to decide did not, seemingly, help matters. from this point, accounts differ. one history suggests that a split occurred here, escalating to violence, between those who wanted to approach the lamassu and those who were adamant that it was an omen of strife that should be avoided at all costs. (curiously, very few accounts suggest that the latter group entertained any notion of returning to the forest, suggesting that however terrifying the presence of the lamassu may have been, their original impetus for leaving vana remained more powerful still.)

Interactions with the Lamassu
while the olowuaru who argued against contact with the lamassu were a significant minority – most tales indicate a single pride, or at most three, although scholars suspect there is some licence at work here – there were enough individuals, even after the aforementioned violence, to constitute a viable population, which continues to this day, in the form of the ɛ-naitúrùk (that is, both the ɛ-naitúrùk and the “mainstream” olowuaru believe the former to be the descendants of the original dissidents, and the latter to be the descendants of the original majority group.)

whatever the specifics of the original conflict, the ɛ-naitúrùk today nurture a specific set of grievances and – separately, if relatedly – possess a remarkably singular cultural vision, even in contrast with the uncommonly homogeneous olowuaru (and vyadhan). to wit: like the vyadhan and mainstream olowuaru society, they see themselves as apex predators, not just in the context of their plains environment but in a more metaphysical or religious sense, but where they differ is the meaning that holds. for the ɛ-naitúrùk, being apex means dominance and superiority; all other life exist, eventually, to feed their needs, or more often their wants. they tend toward a patriarchal societal structure with a single individual in a position of absolute authority; the patriarchal tendencies come less from a cultural bias than the fact that the leader is chosen through a combination of single combat and hunting prowess, and the sexual dimorphism of the olowuaru means that all else being equal, males often have an edge in fights (although not exclusively, and there is markedly little residual sexism regarding female-led prides; the most likely stigma are to do with perceived emulation of mainstream olowuaru society rather than the pride being led by a female per se).

mainstream olowuaru consider this viewpoint to be anathema, and to date there are no records of diplomatic outreach or attempts at cultural reconciliation between the two groups, even on an individual level; when they meet, they do their best to kill one another. the olowuaru, while despite having arguably slightly less cultural focus on violence, do retain significant numerical superiority, which has forced the ɛ-naitúrùk into an even more nomadic lifestyle, ironically making them more likely to come into contact with, if not the lamassu themselves, their various citizens. while not automatically hostile to outsiders, they are well-known for their callousness toward other species, and there are few sentient lifeforms on whom they have not, at some point or another, attempted to prey. this as much as anything has likely contributed to the somewhat mixed reputation olowuaru and vyadhan have among other species and cultures.

some scholars have suggested that the standard narratives of the olowuaru schism misrepresent the sequence of events, and point to evidence that a cultural division was already underway even prior to their exit from vana. the role played by the lamassu in exacerbating the schism, as these scholars see it, is still a matter of outright speculation, but one theory is that the lamassu, rather than quelling the movement toward ɛ-naitúrùk, ended up exacerbating the trends in both groups: for what would become mainstream olowuaru society, the lamassu was proof that their worldview, derived from the vyadhan, which saw them as apex predators in an ecosystem which required predators only as one player amongst many, was correct; for the ɛ-naitúrùk, it was proof that ethos of hunting and predation as dominance, superiority, and the only final good were not just correct but urgent: here, on the horizon, was the ultimate quarry, a prey toward the hunting of which their society could dedicate itself on a macro level, with a singularly effective psychological mechanism for quieting dissent or discontent: look to the horizon; remember the body in which our jungle cousins built their petty temple; imagine how it will look when we prowl over the bones of the giants.