The Leonin

It is said that in the wake of the Great Wyrm Ophyxia’s first dream, after the First Children were born, she let loose a great and terrible roar that echoed across the nascent plains of Wyrmdream. And from that thunderous call came the Leonin, a race of powerful, tawny-furred humanoids who bear the proud semblance of the lion. They stood taller than any mortal man, their bodies a testament to brute strength and fearsome constitution, their claws sharp as blades hidden in a velvet paw. The males of their kind were given great, thick manes, while the females were given a lean and perfect form, and to all Leonin, she gave the ability to unleash a fearsome, thunderous roar, a sound that strikes terror into the hearts of their foes.

Their society is one of profound pride, ruled not by the strength of the male, but by the ancient wisdom of the female. Each great pride is led by its oldest and most respected matrons, with the most aged and revered bearing the title of zibynth, or speaker. These matriarchs, guided by the collective will of a Council of Matriarchs, rule their prides with a quiet authority that knows no equal. For the Leonin are a proud people who hate to lose and will hone their skills relentlessly to ensure they come out on top. They are quick to anger and quick to forgive, their brash and impulsive natures finding release in both physical brawls and fierce verbal debates, a way of exercising both mind and body. The prides are a nomadic family, a community of shared responsibilities, and their names—such as Embereye and Sunguides—are a testament to the family they hold so dear.

For many ages, as the males of their prides reached adulthood, they would leave their birth families to seek a new home and a new pride to join. But with the coming of the colonizers, a change has swept across the shining plains. The male Leonin have begun to return to their ancestral prides to better protect their young, an act that has brought a great shift in their society. For the first time, a schism has opened in their matriarchal rule, with some male Leonin believing that their strength in battle should also entitle them to rule.

Most have failed in their ambition, but one stands as a dark omen of what is to come. A cold and callous male named Grexes, under the guise of offering protection, entered the Gragonde pride. In a calculated act of treachery, he challenged the matriarch and, in a deed of terrible cruelty, slew her and claimed her throne. Upon his ascension, he ordered the culling of all the cubs who were not his own and exiled all the older males, seeing them as a threat to his power. To this day, other prides give his lands a wide berth, unwilling to be caught in the snare of his cruelty.

And so, the Leonin remain a people of duality, with a culture that has largely put religion aside in favor of their pride, though a rare few may still seek out the whispers of the Dreaming Mother. In their nomadic travels, they have even begun to forge new alliances with other races, allowing the nimble Tabaxi and the carefree Kenders to join their ranks, providing them with skills in foraging and dexterity that the proud Leonin lack. Their very survival is now a testament to their strength and their ability to adapt, a proud and savage race fighting to preserve their way of life in a world that grows more perilous with each passing day.