The World Of Okanu

Okanu is a world that is inhabited by a race of beings called, animalians. Animalians are anthropomorphic creatures that descended from the "first ones", the supernatural beings of legends that were created by the hands of the Great Spirit, the supreme deity worshipped by the people of the world. Animalians are made up of various mammalian carnivores of the various lands. From giants, like lions, bears, and wolves, to the smallest, the diminutive common house cats of Catriona, Okanu is home to them all. Only predatory mammalians became animalians. Other animals, like birds, deer, and lizards exist in their natural forms.

Animalians: the People of Okanu

Animalians are the people that inhabit the world of Okanu. They are anthropomorphic creatures that resemble carnivorous mammals with human characteristics. Yet, despite the similarities, animalians are neither human nor animal. They come in many species and sizes. The general size of an animalian varies according to the species. Animalians descended from large animals (like lions, wolves, beart, etc) are much bigger than animalians whose ancestors were much smaller (like cats, foxes, and raccoons). The difference in size is comparable to that of the natural animal counterpart of the respective animalians. 

Animalians are descendants of life forms that were created by the elemental spirits of Okanu in order to serve as sovereign mediators over the world and to maintain the natural order of life. To humans, they were at once revered as gods and reviled as demons. To the animalians of today, they are simply referred to as, the "first ones". To achieve the goal of safeguarding the world, the spirits bestowed the first ones with supernatural abilities, such as the power to control the volume of sound, to heal broken bodies and plants with a single touch, to mold the earth and rocks with a thought, or to hear the voice of the winds and to direct the flow of its breath. They used their gifts to maintain the balance of nature and to keep those that would jeopardize that order in check and in place.

In the present day, humans no longer exist and have been relegated to the tales of myth and legend. As for the magic power the ancestors of the animalians of today formerly possessed, it has largely been lost to their descendants. Some still possess a modicum of that ancient power, but for the most part, it slumbers dormant with their spirits. There are some special individuals that yield an innate ability to access their hidden abilities, but those people are very rare and generally speaking, they rarely can tap into their wells of magic purposefully. Some inadvertently summon their abilities in times of distress, while others reach into them purely accidentally and with no provocation. But, the rarest of all are the ones that are born with powerful abilities that were activated at birth. It's almost impossible to control the tremendous power within them and without guidance and training, it can consume them.

Beyond the magic, both the biology and the societal constructs of animalians contain traits of both animals and humans. They have complex systems of government, structured social customs, begaviors, and laws. They build homes, have families, tgo to work, and live in social comunities with  other animalians For the most part, their societies are reflective of those designed by man. There is one common language that is spoken across the world. No matter which continent you visit, the language spoken will always be the same, although the accents and dialect may vary. There are languages that are no longer commonly used in conversation, but are still remembered and often used as proper nouns such as the names of people and places. And just as they have a common language, they worship and pray to a single deity that they refer to as, the Great Spirit. It is believed that the Great Spirit instructed the spirits of Okanu to create the first animalians countless millennia ago and it was through its power that they were granted their incredible powers.

When it comes to the science behind animalians, their biology is more closely related their animal ancestry. Physically, they do have both human and animal characteristics, but animalians share genetic similarities to their respective animal species. Because of this, however, starting a family can sometimes be difficult. Although interspecies relationships are common, animalians that do not share the same taxonomic family cannot breed. For example, in the case of Night (a wolf) and Mhina (a lioness), they cannot create biological children together. Even so, they were perfectly content to adopt and now have a family that includes 4 beautiful boys. There are other ways of expanding a family beyond adoption that typically involves utilizing the assistance of a fertility clinic and joining a breeding program. Animalians that can breed usually give birth to multiple babies at once. Bears generally give birth to twins, while animalians like cats give birth to up to half a dozen at once. Though a species that typically gives birth to multiples happens to give birth to a single child is not rare, it is a little peculiar.

Like humans, animalians enjoy a long childhood. They are considered to be adults at the age of 20, but are acknowledged as being mature enough to engage in serious romantic relationships and can even marry. Children enter grade school (grade 1) at the age of 5 and graduate at the age of 20. From here, they either go to college, build their own business, seek employment from other establishments, or work within a family business. Many animalians have family businesses, the most common of which being ranching. It is not uncommon and is even customary for children to live with their parents until they find mates of their own. Once they are wed, the couple will either continue to live with the parents of the bride or the groom (especially if there is a family enterprise), or acquire a home of their own. As a side note, the concept of divorce does not exist in this world.

Like divorce, war does not exist in this world. Crime and violence are so low that many communities do not even have law enforcement divisions or detainment units. Likewise, homelessness and hunger are not concepts in this universe. Communities tend to care for each other. If someone is hungry, their community will feed them. If a person loses their home, their town or village will house them. Villagers will always look after their people and take care of their friends and neighbors whenever they can.

Global Customs in the World of Okanu