Nekomura
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Danger: Very Low
Inhabitants: nekos
A Neko village, south of Tolmeshal forest. While a sizable population of Nekos live within Negav, a much larger community remains outside the safety of the city's walls in the Nekomura village. Nekomura has a somewhat rustic feel to it, with simple dwellings on the ground and various structures built into the sides of the great trees that surround them. Interestingly, instead of traditional rope bridges linking the tree dwellings together, there are merely straight ropes! Given the amazing balance and agility of nekos, sprinting across a half-inch rope is as easy as running across a wide stone bridge. The people here are mostly content and feel relatively safe even though they are outside the protective walls of Negav. This hasn't always been the case, however.
History
For nekos, living in Negav among humans has never been an easy affair. Under the reign of neko kings, tensions were already simmering between the two races. Then came the Great Destruction, when a good part of Negav was destroyed, and King Tonho and many nekos were devoured, especially members of the military. In the aftermath, nekos and humans survivors worked together to build and reinforce Negav. The humans were now clearly in charge though, having suffered less from the Great Destruction and being led by the powerful Ps'isols mages. Thus, when the dust of destruction and rebuilding settled, thing became more and more complicated for Nekos. After several years, racial tensions were again running high, in part because king Tonho was held by many negavians to be solely responsible for the catastrophe that destroyed so much of the city.
When the Ps'isol magiocrats took power, they "encouraged" nekos to leave. A large number of nekos followed their advice, feeling that proximity to humans wasn't doing them any good. They set out to construct a separate village a short distance to the north: Nekomura. Under the term of the Mancala agreement, Ps'isol magiocrats offered the nekos a crystal of the same kind as the Isolon Eye in Negav, as a sign of "eternal friendship". The neko's crystal, however, is just a mere shadow of the original, as it stands less then 5 feet tall. It does more or less the same things as the Isolon Eye: wards away large predators that might otherwise feast on the village. However, unlike the eye, this crystal must be regularly recharged by the mages of Negav, which they used to do for a fee. This low blow has kept tensions high between Nekomura and Negav for many years. However, as Negav grew into the huge and prosperous city it is today, the tax became more and more irrelevant and anecdotal and was eventually dropped altogether. Now Nekomura is bound to provide the Isolon Fist with the service of their best scouts during various missions.
That dependence is still largely perceived as vassalization and is resented by many nekos, especially by those who were around during the events of the great destruction and after. But even the staunchest critics of Negav among nekos know well the crystal is the only thing keeping ravenous predators at bay and their village safe. There have been a few recorded instances where the crystal weakened enough to allow a giant naga a large enough window to snatch some villagers before finally being driven back by the magic, and that stroke all Nekomurans as a sinister warning. Thus, nekos dutifully honor that agreement. The two populations don't interact very often though, save for trade, and sometimes knowledge sharing.
As said earlier, Nekomura is famous for its excellent scouts. They form a highly trained corp, swift, nimble, silent, with a profound knowledge of the wilderness and the fauna of Felarya. The most experienced of them can elude a giant predator if the terrain is favorable. A large number of nekos both within the village and within the city will frequently offer their services as scouts in the jungles of Felarya. In fact, the nekos scouts are so well known and respected that even the isolationist Delurans have turned to them on more than one occasion to assist in their scouting duties.
Organization
Nekomura prides itself on the freedom of its people, often mocking the oligarchic and authoritarian system of its big neighbor Negav. Nekomura is ruled by a Mayor, elected by district leaders, who themselves are elected by citizen in free elections. In practice however, the power tend to remain in the hands of a few clans and powerful families who sponsor their candidates and make arrangements among themselves. It's not a perfect system but it's certainly better then having leaders remaining in power for as long as they live. In general, life in Nekomura is serene and peaceful, save for some spectacular bar brawls
