Kumiho

Basics

Kumiho are an all female foxkin humanoid species existing in Helvetia. They are a warrior culture that’s extremely hostile and are hated by everyone in their world.

Physical looks

Visually, they are very similiar to megitsune, another foxkin species of Helvetia, but with several key differences. They are humanoid, with a height of about 180 to 230 centimeters. Their body is generally the same as human females, albeit it covered in thick soft fur. The fur can be of several different shades such as black, grey, white, red, orange, and blue.

Kumiho eyes are about the same size as human eyes, but with the ends pointed upwards and their pupils being more feral. They can come in several colours ranging from red, orange, yellow, white, blue, purple, and small variations of those. Sight is the second most important sense to kumiho, after hearing.

Following up to that, their ears. They have one pair of ears on the top of their head, which are canine ears pointed upwards, with fluffy outgrowings at the very tip similiar to lynxes. Hear is the kumiho’s most important sense and they will often adorn their ears with piercings.

Unlike megitsune, which have human-like jaws, kumiho have snouts like actual foxes. They are somewhat short, ending with a black canine nose, and with whiskers on the sides. Y’know, like foxes. Kumiho are entirely carnivorous and will rarely ever eat flora.

Other differences between kumiho and humans are their limbs. Specifically, the ends of them. The hands and the feet. Whereas the arms and legs are about the same, kumiho hands are more coarse, with fingers twice as thick as a human adult male’s, and with sharp strong claws instead of nails. Their feet are more like canine paws than human feet. Sturdy and strong, made to run fast and stand their ground.

Lastly, they have long fluffy tails. So fluffy. However, those are not just for looks. For kumiho society, tails are the most important aspect of a person’s worth. The more tails they have, the stronger they are, and are therefore far more likely to be higher up in kumiho society. They have one to nine tails, with nine tails being reserved only for the Shogun of the kumiho, their autocratic leader.

As they are an all female species, they have reproductive organs of both males and females. One pregnancy will usually give about three to four children. There doesn’t appear to be any difference between who is considered the dominant parent in a relationship.

Kumiho society

Kumiho society is based on power and a small hint of corruption and manipulation. Nepotism is fairly rare as whoever gets chosen into any position must show ability to run that job properly and show physical prowess.

Kumiho are united under a single leader, the so called Shogun. All throughout history, there has only been one known Shogun to humanity, Shogun Tantvits. She was the shogun of the kumiho as early as the 920’s and was believed to still be alive and in charge before the Firmamental Break at the end of the 13th century. As there has been very little communication between the two worlds after the Break, it’s unknown where the kumiho are now in terms of society. It’s also worth to note that all kumiho have a surname based on the most important person they killed, but Tantvits does not. That and the lack of knowledge of other shoguns has led to the general consensus that Tantvits is the very first to unite all of kumiho under a single rule.

Kumiho are very polygamous and will oftentimes move from partner to partner even when pregnant. Being taught since birth to fight for the good of the whole of their species, they have very little family attachments and will have no remorse in killing relatives to advance their standing in society.

That is not to say they are a lawless society. For most trivial cases, they believe in “eye for an eye” punishment. If a kumiho cuts off another’s ear off, she will have her ear cut off as well. If a kumiho kills another for no reason, she will be killed as well. This is equal for all kumiho, regardless of status and power. Thievery is usually punishable by death or exile, the latter not being much better due to the hatred other species feel towards kumiho. Cannibalism is especially taboo in kumiho culture and will result in the person being eaten slowly by starved lesser beasts. Crimes against non kumiho and against exiled kumiho, however, are not judged whatsoever, and anything goes for those. One of the most gruesome punishments is reserved for those who personally anger the shogun and earn her ire. The said kumiho will be shown in public, where she will first have her tails cut off, then her tongue, then her ear drums pierced, then her eyes cut out, and then each limb one by one will be chopped off. If she survives this ordeal, she will be dragged off to a public building to be used as a sexual relief and punching bag for the locals and soldiers, but not before having her womb pierced to ensure she does not spread her genes on. She will eventually be killed off once the local establishment gets bored of her, if she is still alive by then. The kumiho’s remains will then be dumped into a mass grave reserved for those who receive this punishment.

Kumiho are very hostile towards other species of Helvetia and Ximizhlum, as well as towards exiled or independent kumiho. They are in a constant state of war with all others with no interest in prisoners or servants. They only desire land and treasures. All inhabitants are to be killed or eaten. Despite their warrior culture, kumiho have no concept of “perfect death”. Instead, they are judged based on their life, whom they killed, how high they got in their society, and how favoured they were by the shogun. To die peacefully of old age, having spent their entire life in high position doing the best for their shogun and people, is as good as dying taking down the greatest of enemies. As the latter is far easier, kumiho often don’t live too long, preferring to fight their way through life until they are killed. Due to their constant life of strife, it’s hard to tell what a kumiho’s natural lifespan might be. It’s believed they can live up to around 150-170 years, depending a lot on their number of tails and therefore their mental and physical power. Shogun Tantvits is believed to be a third evolutionary stage being, whereas kumiho are second stage and human are first stage, and therefore follows different laws. In comparison, the Divines are also third stage beings, though far stronger than Tantvits. Tantvits is like a baby compared to them, who are adults in the third stage. Still, Tantvits is over 300 years old and, if still alive, will likely stay strong for several more centuries.

There were those who sought to better lives for all kumiho and reform their beliefs, but the vast majority of those received the Shogun’s punishment or went into exile. It’s clear that, as long as Tantvits remains in charge, the kumiho will be a broken hostile people.

Kumiho entertainment and actual culture

Despite their cruelty and primitive outside looks, on the inside, the kumiho are species with love for arts and nature. Natural beauty is held in such high regards that the kumiho who create art, music, poetry, etc will actually compete with their works to advance their rankings rather than with the usual “kill whoever is above you”. Not always, of course.

Theaters are one of the most popular ways for kumiho to enjoy their day outside of work. It is believed that kumiho have created more theatrical plays than any other known species, including humans. What the plays are about is unknown to the outside world, but a few kumiho who leave their society to entertain other species shows that a lot of the plays are about daily struggles as well as the non so talked about struggles of their species, such as lack of family and love, the brutal nature of kumiho, kumiho seeking enlightenment through art, revenge against those who died for selfish reasons of others, the cycle of life, and others. Theaters are so popular among kumiho culture that specialized entertainment arenas can be found in every city.

What little kumiho art has been seized is very tame. The vast majority of the paintings are about nature, trees, flowers, simple beasts, or about important people, including important people from foreign species, such as Bjorn Varkamblood, even though it was believed they hold no respect for foreign leaders. Almost none depict cities, villages, or groups of kumiho, almost as if though they wish to escape civilization and live simple lives.

When it comes to music, the kumiho are quite fond of instrumentals over vocals. The majority of their music is instrumental, followed by instrumental with vocals. Very little of their music is centered purely on vocals. Unlike other species, kumiho do not shy away from using non musical objects to add to their songs, such as simple rocks, small portable water mills, water droplets, and even trained animals to make noises. As such, kumiho music as much natural as it is manmade.

Kumiho writing focuses heavily on poetry and fantastic exaggerations. It’s quite common for kumiho to recite poetry before, during, and after combat. This can greatly slow their onslaught. Kumiho do not appear to follow conventional bureaucratic methods, such as writing down land deeds, writs, or even birth-death records or at least none have ever been recovered. Their writing system and script is the same as the one megitsune use, but their languages are very different.

On the topic of language, it’s an accepted fact that kumiho use at least three different languages despite being one unified people-nation.

Kumiho religion

The religion of the kumiho is not well known. For the most part, they are very nihilistic, living for the sake of life itself without any real concern for the afterlife, very different from other species. There is a lesser more cultural belief that those who do great in life will be reincarnated as a maxon tree, a very important and beautiful species of tree that are present in many kumiho works.

There is, however, a very evil entity that the kumiho fear. This evil entity appears to be more of an abstract concept rather than something truly tangible. In the main kumiho tongue, this thing is known as “Fnuhyon ef hri Hrvatu”, roughly meaning “Blossoming of the Gone”, although what it is supposed to mean is debatable.

The belief goes that if you do not your best to advance your position and serve your shogun, a dark annual entity will put you into permanent sleep and will eat your soul, completely destroying you. Blossoming of the Gone seems to happen once every year, during winter, where many kumiho will normally go to sleep but never wake up. They remain alive for some time, but there is no way to wake them up. Eventually, they will go into a fit while asleep, and die.

Based on the description, it’s fairly certain to assume that it is the same phenomenon that appears on Ximizhlum, the so called “Winter’s Dream”, an annual event that puts people into a permanent coma until they have a fit and die. Alas, due to the lack of interaction between kumiho and anyone else, it’s hard to share knowledge about the event. Whereas humans will lose around 5 people each year to the Winter’s Dream, the kumiho appear to lose far more, around 12 to 20 annually.

Kumiho do not worship the human pantheon and likely do not even know of their existence. It can be argued that their god is their shogun.

Other stuff

As most kumiho that can be seen by foreigners are either combat ready or summoned via spells, their usual attire is battle ready armour. They usually wear medium to heavy armour. Outside of combat, they will usually wear light clothing with many natural ornaments.

Their combat style is very chaotic but effective. Kumiho do not really follow any tactics, preferring to overwhelm the enemy with sheer strength, persistence, and terror. They are trained in using one handed weapons, mainly swords, and their other hand is free, which they use to fight with as well due to their strength and sharp claws. There are no records of any kumiho ever using shields nor two handed weaponry, only one weapon, and if that fails, they will fight with their fists.

However, that is not the worst part. Their jaws are very strong and so are their claws. Kumiho will tear at the enemy’s armour until they reach the softer parts, at which point they will target weak areas, such as the neck, and organs, such as the liver. Once they’ve ripped out an organ, they will proceed to savagely eat it infront of the still living person, bringing terror upon them and any of its allies. Terror is their main way of achieving victory and they are notoriously furious in combat.

For reasons such as their danger and strong will, it’s not recommended for anyone to summon kumiho unless they are are a very powerful mage. Many people have died thinking they can control a kumiho.

Bjorn Varkamblood Indral developed a fierce fighting unit called the “Kumihans”. Kumihans were female warriors wearing medium armour, canine heads and tails, and fought with one weapon. They would wait in bushes, feed themselves hallucinogenic mushrooms, and then ambush enemies, going into a frenzy from the drug use and killing enemies left and right without any thought for their own safety and the safety of their allies. Once Bjorn summoned an actual kumiho army to help him fight, the kumiho were actually surprised by the ferocity of the kumihans and held respect for them, the only recorded time when kumiho showed respect for anyone but themselves.

Shogun Tantvits and a large kumiho army were summoned by Bjorn Varkamblood during Bjorn’s Campaign to help with the final push against the Takedan forces. It is unknown which bargain the two leaders struck, but it’s known that Bjorn never fulfilled his side of the commitment. Feeling extremely pissed off and betrayed, shogun Tantvits took her army and rampaged throughout the human lands, murdering thousands of civilians and burning down several villages, until their energy expired and they were sent back to Helvetia. Tantvits promised to never trust a human again.