Shemtej

The Shemtej catfolk are an amurrun ethnicity found primarily within the Golden Road nations of Osirion, Rahadoum, and Thuvia.

Appearance

Male Shemtejes are known for growing distinctive, large, lion-like manes of fur around their head and neck.

Culture

Shemtejes travel the length and breadth of the Golden Road nations in caravans based around large extended families known as "trains". Unusually for such a family-based culture, the Shemtej people do not embrace monogamous traditions of family, instead believing in a more free-wheeling relationship structure that emphasises freedom in love and personal relationships; as such, they do not believe in or practice marriage. Shemtej caravan trains are quite fluid in their membership, with various lovers coming and going, children encouraged to set out and see the world for themselves, and elders frequently departing to pursue their own personal goals. Many people believe Shemtejes to be the blessed children of the cat-headed protector goddess Bastet, called to protect the world from dangerous spirits bound in the Golden Road deserts. Some Shemtejes possess a small amount of innate occult magic.