Kyathis is a
Katta city located on the coasts of
Arakmat. It is the last remaining settlement of the ancient Katta Empire, which reached its peak in pre-
Aelyrian times before their defeat and enslavement by the
Dorin. While it joined the Aelyrian Empire with the rest of Arakmat, it has largely remained isolated from the Empire in recent patterns. While no official census data has been available in a long time and population numbers fluctuate, the city is estimated to house about 30,000 Katta.
History
Named after legendary
Lionoid hero Kyathis Arrra'l'ma, a ruler from before the Dorin occupation, Kyathis is an ancient settlement and port-city dating back to the earliest days of Katta migration from the West. It was here that the conflict with the Dorin first began, when a fleet commanded by Shah
Naresh was attacked by the city's elite
Clawknights. The Dorin's overpowering strength quickly defeated all Katta forces in and around the city, enslaving the Katta capital and seeking to spread into the mainland.
However, Naresh's attempt at establishing a Dorin principality ultimately failed as the collapsing Ancient Kattaria managed to throw a successful counter-attack from the South. It is said that, following an almost complete withdrawal of Dorin forces from Kyathis, the city was liberated by a group of Katta crusaders from
Zinn'Sunn, who soon left the city and disappeared within the deserts of Arakmat.
The city has seemingly lived quietly ever since, though a revolution has since overthrown the
Omnicat leadership, reinstating the traditional Lionoid supremacy and combining it with a pride system reflecting the prominent role of Wilderkatta. This puts a serious question mark on the potential diplomatic relations between Kyathis and the more recent Kattaria founded away from the Medonian continent by the Katta population exiled by Empress
Alyssa Chrysinaria.
Society
Kyathis society is a rich blend of strength by power and complex cultural respect. Within the city, the strongest pride reigns led by the most powerful male lionoid currently residing therein. All other prides fall into a pecking order thats determined by combat and favor from the reigning leadership. Immediate strong male relatives to the reigning pride that show a talent for business, economics, finance, and government hold all the public offices. Their female relatives also often hold prominent roles based on their pride allegiance and whom they either have mated with or have kitta from. Nepotism is a common and readily accepted practice.
The main decision making body for the city is called The Council of Pride Leaders. All pride leaders with established and prominent prides in the city hold one seat on this council. This council makes recommendations to the ruling pride leader and from that wisdom comes most of Kyathis' success as a prominent Arakmat city.
Kyathis is rife with polygamy as is common within most katta societies. Individuals have no chance for status outside of the pride hierarchy, and it is far easier for females to find places within prides than lone males can, especially if they are physically weak. Female pride leaders are rare, though not unheard of.
Mainly prides are lead by strong males that form prides one of two ways. They gain permission to do so from their current pride leader after a pride has grown sufficiently too large to be realistically contained within one unit. These splinter prides are always strongly allied with their founding prides unless the split was due to an argument or long standing dispute. Splinter prides are considered 'old blood'. Prides can also be formed by outcasts that band together and strengthen themselves by gaining members that are talented in a wide variety of crafts and artforms. These newer forms of prides are considered 'new blood' and are often refered to as a New Blood Pride. New Bloods often have less status within Kyathis than Old Blood Prides unless their leaders hold respected positions within Kyathis or the Empire, and the pride itself is strong.
The Pride leader determines most decisions concerning the pride. Often they dictate who will get training, education, and look to see who is best at what and often nudges that katta in a direction that will benefit their skills. Pride leaders oversee the finances of the pride, and often allow members in who will promote economic benefits within the pride. Pride leaders are also in charge of discipline and rewards, and determine who will breed with whom in terms of the pride members when females go into season. The best pride leaders give their female pride members some choice in this situation and take their feelings into consideration. Once Kitta are born, often prides will trade kitta for kitta so bloodlines do not become too closely knit. Such fosterings are often at the agreement of the parents involved, can be done at any age, and made for the good of the pride and to strengthen the ties that hold prides together with allied prides. Females directly related to the pride leader often fall into this category and are most often traded off for unrelated females during their late childhood and early adulthood prior to mating age. Related males often stay with the pride they were born to. Usually trades are only made with the consent of those being traded involved. It is considered a great honor to represent your pride and be wanted by another pride to improve bloodlines. This is one way the Katta people can often breed back to true forms after katta bloodlines have been muddied through cross racial matches.
Individuals not belonging to a pride rarely have any social status, and can fall easy victim to crime and injustice. These 'loners' are easy prey, and have been known to even get picked up by slavers or put into a work situation that demands a great deal of labor for very little pay.
Architecture
Due to the unique blend of organized culture and feline behavior, Kyathis architecture is a unusual co-mingling of both outdoor and indoor culture which allows for extremely versatile homes and businesses. Stone structures form the foundations of most of this cities' architecture, while silk and leather panels that often resemble the way tents are constructed make up the rest. These stone buildings themselves are often open-aired, but are augmented by panels which can be drawn back to let the outdoors inside, or allow perfectly good weather to be appreciated to its fullest. Cold or wet weather is kept out of these open-aired structures by complex and elaborately decorated panels of oiled leather, whale hide, and in the case of the affluent specially treated silk.
Most public buildings which contain official offices are formed of marble and either richly decorated silk or even in rarer cases dragonskin or wyvernskin panels. Poor single-room katta hovels often only enjoy the benefit of stone foundations, floor and perhaps a wall or two. The rest of their structure is comprised of leather.
Most residences are surrounded by stone fences, and almost all of the streets of Kyathis are cobbled neatly and well maintained by the prides that are in good enough favor with the reigning pride to hold positions of public offices.
Other
Kyathis is one of the only places in the world where it is possible to encounter a sizeable population of the mysterious
Great Panthers, enormous felines which are said to be the chosen mounts of the Clawknights. This population of Great Panthers is rumored to be well over one hundred individuals. Only the clawknights bond with these creatures and ride them into battle. It is considered a great dishonor to allow a Great Panther to fall into the hands of a non-katta, since their minds do not seem to mesh well in bonding to more human or elven personalities.
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