Wruwara (Species)

The Wruwara (WROO-wuar-ah) are not just one species. They are a combination of six subspecies, all with their own unique traits and personal society. These subspecies are called Awroon, Brooaff, Fangeire, Grindal, Groomah, and Lodall.

Normally, when Wruwara speak to each other about another member of their species, they will refer to them as their subspecies name and form, such as ' Awroon Natrulus.' However, when a Wruwara speaks to a member of another species, such as the Naja, they will refer to them as both their species and subspecies as well as their form, such as ' Wruwara Awroon Natrulus.' Rarely does the word ' species ' or 'subspecies ' cross the lips of the Wruwara, because they are not common words to them. These are words races like the Naja, with their more advanced technology and noetic discipline, would use.

General Appearance
Wruwara are generally canine-like in shape and form, with anatomy similar to that of a wolf. Some subspecies lean more feline in appearance while others lean more bear-like in appearance. All subspecies have natural colored fur, but can dye their fur or pigment their skin to create unnatural colors or patterns. Some more primitive tribes will even grow molds and fungus in their fur to tint or pigment it.

For more detailed information on the appearances of the subspecies, see category Wruwara_Subspecies.

Physiology and Psychology
Each distinct subspecies of Wruwara has personality traits that differentiate them from the others, however, as a whole species, they have common superstitions and religious beliefs. For example, all Wruwara are incredibly technophobic. As beings who interact with magic on a daily basis, advanced technology is extremely strange. Granted, they will often go their whole lives without coming in contact with technology on a level of advancement that would be unsettling to them, but it is entirely possible that an adventuring part of Wruwara could come across Teacher technology or meet an Naja. It is often easiest for a Wruwara to rationalize technology as a form of magic, much in the opposite way that Naja try to rationalize magic with technology.

The Wruwara are the most diverse, and most abundant species of Lunalah, but they are by far the dominant. There are many terrible creatures that could prey on the Wruwara, and so they've developed their civilizations to combat those threats. However, due to their innate stubbornness, fondness for clinging to tradition, and primitive superstitions against advanced technology, they've barely advanced beyond a sort of medieval society, though some outskirt cities can be even more primitive in their own cultures.

All Wruwara subspecies have the ability to shape shift into three forms. The forms are, henceforth referred to as: Natrulus (na-TRU-lus), a plantigrade, strongly humanoid form, Myetis (MI-tis), a monstrous humanoid, digitigrade form, and Wruos (WROO-os), a large, feral wolf form.

Each individual posses a 'favored' form and a 'birth' form. Whatever form the mother gives birth in is the form the Wruwara will be born in, this form being more natural to them, allowing for a smoother, less-painful transformation. Their favored form can be their birth form, but is always the most comfortable form for the Wruwara. Favored forms are almost always influenced by their subspecies' society.

Female Wruwara posses two teats, or breasts, in all forms, they produce colostrum up to 3 months before their young are born, begin to produce milk a few days after the birth and continue to produce milk as long as the young suckle. Most mothers give birth to two young at a time but can produce anywhere from one to six. Nursing duty is usually shared between other mothers or lactating females. Lactation is sometimes stimulated in female mates of the mother or other pack mates who share emotional ties to the mother with little to no physical suckling to stimulate the lactation. This allows female hunting parties to cycle babysitting duty seamlessly. Female Wruwara are naturally fertile in the early fall with a pregnancy that lasts for seven months.

Young are born blind with soft milk teeth, very thin fur and have struggling movements for a week. At two weeks old they can crawl and at four months, have begun to replace their milk teeth, can eat solid foods, and have begun to stand. Afterward, their age progresses almost identically to humans. Young will continue to nurse, along with eating whole foods, from 1 to 3 years later depending on the diet of the subspecies, if the pack or tribe is nomadic, or the societal opinions of the tribe. Young usually wean themselves, mothers will sometimes nurse multiple age groups of their own young, and many mothers continue to nurse the young of other mothers after their own wean. Mothering is a responsibility and occupation only to some females, however, and other females feel their duties lie elsewhere in their society. Some never become mothers themselves out of inability, or sheer desire, but will serve as caretakers or even wet nurses, when needed.

Wruwara are sexually dimorphic, males being generally larger than females, but therein does the superiority end. Most subspecies of Wruwara live in societies based off of family groups, where an older matriarch serves as consultant, mediator and chieftain and is called Wramarah (Wrah-MAR-ah), meaning “All-Mother” or “mother to all.” This society is a very homely one, where most offspring treat each other like siblings even if they have no biological relation, offspring will refer to other females as Marah, meaning “mother,” and adults share many child care responsibilities. Packs can be small, consisting of a parent pair and their offspring or adopted children, as well as occasionally siblings of the parent pair or even grandparents, or large, of many parents and children, and even possess trade-society elements. Towns and settlements consist of many packs together, often referred to as a 'clan'. This can cause some confusion between Wruwara and other species, because the word 'clan' is also sometimes use to refer to the individual subspecies, as well as 'clans' referring to all the subspecies together.

Other subspecies live in a society ruled by one strong female overhead called a Growmora (Grō-MOR-ah), meaning “lead female” or “head female,” who has a male, harem-like breeding stock, an infantry of female warriors who are only allowed to breed to high-quality males (distinguished by their physical prowess), and a small gatherer/farmer lower class of females allowed to take mates who work with them, but only allowed certain breeding years. Males are treated as workers or pets, but have a very cushioned life, considering they are certainly not thought of as totally inferior. They are considered to be seeds for future numbers, and therefor are always ensured a place in this type of society, but never in decisions regarding the well being of the tribe, or in times of war.

This spawns from a time before Wruwara could shift, and possessed only a primordial wolf-like form; females were very intelligent and even bore an obvious sapience, but the males didn't possess these traits yet, it seemed and were still “like animals.” They were short-witted and brutish, but served an important roll in hunting, because their heavy frames and large, square heads were the key to help bringing down big prey. When they begin to shift and create weapons and tools, males began to loose their importance in hunting and defending territory, but became prime for manual labor. These facts, however, do not exclude the occasional packs who use male and female hunting parties, or even the very rare, all male hunting parties, but most packs only do this in times of territory war, when the warriors are training or fighting, or when food is very scarce and many hunting parties are deployed at once to span large areas.