Artist: https://www.weasyl.com/~aggrobadger

Featured: Unnamed cheetah woman.

Cheetah
Lifespan: 80-90 years
Maturity: 16 years
Gestation: 0.5 years (200 days)
Deity: Cheetah
Homeland: Menes Continent, Coalition Territories, K'tso
Population: ~8,000

Of the many Coalition castes, the Cheetah have the sparcest historical records. While the various other groups all have a certain draw to a collective history, the various Cheetah clans and villages only really care about their own - except in cases of negotiation, trade, inter-clan marriages and the like, of course. The actual number of clans tends to vary, changing on an almost daily basis as one group absorbs another, or splits up when their numbers get too large. At an estimate, there are at least a two hundred clans of sizes spanning from a half dozen to almost a hundred members. In addition, there are also lone individuals or families, as well as those who are a part of the other Coalition societies.

The Cheetahs' homeland is known as K'tso, and spans most of the northen edge of the Coalition territories, bordered on the south-western side by Ash Meheel (Angel's Desert). It's a mix of open savannah and sparce jungle, obviously tempering down into desert as you proceed westward. There are several carefully-maintained throughfares that connect to the territories on the borders (particularly those of the Doma and Panathaes), but otherwise there is nothing akin to counties or sub-territories - the Cheetah clans are nomadic, constantly on the move, and don't stay in any one place long enough to give it a title or purpose. Their paths are also irregular, not leaving any sort of permanent roads or cut paths (with the exception of the aforementioned throughfares).

Family matters are exactly that: family matters. Beyond the grandparent-to-grandchild relationship, a true family bond doesn't really apply to any individuals displaced by more than one place - parents, children and siblings are exceptionally close, while one of those same people wouldn't think or see much of their uncle or cousin. It's not that they don't care, but rather that they can't afford to: the fluidity of their society makes keeping many long-distance relationships all but impossible, and so close bonds must be kept between a select few important people. When a Cheetah says he thinks of you as family, there is no higher honour.

The Cheetah, like the rest of their race, worship the Ralth'sier pantheon of gods - the greater gods Ralthos and Xiovi, and their children (the name-sakes of their respective patron races) Cheetah, Lion, Lynx and Panathaes. Their worship of the seventh Ralth'sier god, the Lady, is lip service at best.

They follow no organized churches or cults, though every clan and village will tend to have some sort of spiritual leader; a patriarch, shaman, matron, or whatever is the tradition of that particular group. This person leads their clan in appeasement of the gods, and particularly their patron, Cheetah. The exact methods vary, though most seem to have their own variation on some sort of contest: athletic events like racing, shows of strength through wrestling or the carrying of heavy weights, or even performances of acrobatic or artistic skill. Though primarily to please their god, who favours such things, these events also promote cooperation within the clan, a pleasant aside from their daily chores, and a way to assess members of the opposite sex (though the later is more... unspoken, but mutually understood).

Few Cheetah throw themselves into a religious lifestyle - even the clan's spiritual leader is simply a person who chooses to direct and organize related things for the others - though the occasional few have been known to join the mainstream church founded by the Doma. A handful of people from all the castes, particularly those from the Hespero-Coalition War, also chose to follow the Hespero's pantheon, finding more appeal there than in their own native faith. Of the Coalition castes, the Cheetah are the second most numerous among the Fire Cult, after the Lions.

Cheetah are rather set-apart as a race, even from other members of the Coalition. Their relations with the Doma, Panathaes, Lynx and Ralthos are fleeting, at best, and with the Doma especially often just avoided all together. The few that do tend to serve as couriers, messengers, scouts and, surprisingly enough, doctors, though their natural talents are much sought after by men and women interested in competitive sport. If not as a trainer, or simply a training partner, then as an opponent to compete against. This is especially true amongth the Lions, with whom the Cheetah sometimes trade, ally with, and sometimes even inter-marry.

Of the other races, their contact is non-existant. Almost no Cheetah acted in the Hespero-Coalition War, and the few that did actually saw very little of front-line combat, though their own nation's mixed fear of the Hespero leaves them very unwilling to change this. As for the Ye'en of the far west and the Lutras and Pryconian Empire in the north, the races have yet to actually meet.

Owing to the fluid nature of their society, Cheetah carry no family names, instead choosing to honour their parents by taking both the father's and mother's names. The pattern is [given name] [father's name]-[mother's name]. For example, Mirev Kota-Asiel; Mirev, the son of Kota and Asiel.

Questions are welcome.