HOME | DD

Description
Credit to discord user Hellbent for writing all of this amazing lore.

Species: Cleonemeans

Homeworld: Olympus

Abilities: Massively enhanced strength and stamina, near-invulnerable skin, metal manipulation (limited to his own body), personal augmentation (through metal manipulation), immense willpower (aka resistance to telepathy and mind control), Wrecking Roar

Lore: The Cleonemeans are another lion-based species from the mountains of the planet Olympus. Unlike the chimeric abominations that are the Ledracapridnae, the Cleonemeans are purely leonine in appearance, with hugely muscular bodies held up by powerful legs. Long flowing manes adorn their whiskered faces, and their thick covering of tawny fur is broken up by a rich pattern of spots, splodges, whorls, and curving lines reminiscent of tribal patterns.
Cleonemean legend states that the species originated as a small clan of slender cat-like people dwelling in the foothills of the Eurysthean Mountains. Highly social and adaptable, they flourished on the low fertile slopes of the mountain range, growing from a singular clan to numerous villages arrayed across the verdant belt encircling the stony cliffs above. Despite this peaceful life the species led, every generation a freak was birthed without fail. The first was allowed to grow to maturity, and its unnatural height and musculature, coupled with its seemingly unquenchable thirst for battle, gave the species reason to fear its continued survival. And so the tradition of sending the genetic oddity up the mountain to its death began.
Yet the mutation persisted, spreading from village to village, only ever producing one per village per generation. The number of young outcasts sent up into the mountains increased, but as none ever returned from the peaks, the villagers below cared not. They spread further from the base of the range, villages blossoming into towns, towns into cities, choking the wild woods with the scent of fire as they ravaged the land for their own wants.

Far above their heads however, was not the death they so fervently believed in. The first mutated individual, remembered as Thokk in the legends, had clawed his way to the top, fighting tooth and nail through all manner of strange creatures. Unbeknownst to the small-minded civilians, the heights of the mountain range were not inhospitable: hidden above the clouds, the mountains were plateau-topped. Flat, wide, and surprisingly fertile despite the altitude, the environment was perfect for a lone powerhouse to carve out a home. Rather than die, the first outcast thrived, and with his mutation granting a longevity that exceeded his brethren below by over five times, he was able to welcome, raise, and lead approximately twenty generations of mutated individuals. By the time of Thokk’s passing, the Cleonemean society encompassed four of the plateaus in the range, towns with buildings of stone and wood kept low to the ground, intricately carved with unique patterns that denoted the resident’s occupation, status, and feats of strength.
In the early years, as the Cleonemeans spread across the plateau, they encountered beasts with peculiar abilities. At first, they believed these animals had coated their natural weapons with some sort of amber, which had hardened in various shapes to give the animals unnaturally-shaped claws, fangs, and stingers. Yet with continued observation, it was discovered that these creatures were naturally producing the substance from within their bodies, and later on, that it was a naturally-occurring liquid metal on the plateau that maintained a malleable state at certain temperatures, much like how sand acts when wet. When ingested, the metal became fine enough to be secreted through the skin of the Cleonemeans, and could enhance their claws and teeth. However, their sapient minds saw the potential in this, and so experimented long and hard to encourage the metal to take on more complex shapes.

Success came eventually, towards the end of Thokk’s lifespan. Simple tools were first achieved, to help with expanding the settlement to cope with the ever-growing population. Weaponry came later, the Cleonemeans able to conjure swords, axes, and hammers befitting their great size. Armour came still later, as simple or ornate as the wearer wished it to be, far more durable than the normally-occurring metal due to a protein in the Cleonemean genome giving their skin a near-invulnerable quality. They were armoured, armed, and every single male and female of the species had too much bloodlust with no outlet. And so their sights turned down the mountain slopes, towards the cities of their cousins.
Their cousins, as it turned out, had grown stagnant in their expansion. Making the most of slavery and automation, these were a far cry from the original stock. Like housecats they lay around, slumbering for many hours, waking only to eat or to move to a more comfortable spot. Unfortunately for them, this made them easy pickings for the host of battle beasts that fell on their cities from the mountains. Though some tried to fight back with mechanical guards or trusted bodyguards, their metal proved far inferior to the biological version wielded against them, and they fell like wheat in the harvest.

Having taken the cities in the foothills by storm, while unintentionally destroying the constant stream of genetically different individuals produced by their cousins each generation, the Cleonemeans set about fixing the mistakes of their now mostly-extinct relatives (some of the newer arrivals to the settlement had fled early to warn childhood friends of the coming extermination and escort them someplace safe). They spread across the remaining Eurysthean Plateaus, expanding the foothill cities to all corners, with a chunk of the population becoming seafaring raiders on the coasts in the process. When their expansion came to the cities of the Ledracapridnae, wars were bitterly fought, and the two species still stand embroiled in constant battles and skirmishes on that front, neither able to make leeway against the other.
Culturally, the Cleonemeans look highly upon those with rare fur mutations, with albino and dark-furred individuals often placed into positions of power regardless of their ability to perform in those positions. Any Cleonemean who undertakes a task requiring great strength and ingenuity is awarded with a metal tooth in recognition; those Cleonemeans wishing to run for leadership must compete in the Twelve Struggles of Thokk, challenges derived from the legends of Thokk’s adventures on the plateau prior to the arrival of the second outcast. In the capital city of their empire, a conclave of the brightest minds work to further develop the transformative capabilities of the metal tied to their bodies, pushing the boundaries further than previously possible.

Description
Credit to discord user Hellbent for writing all of this amazing lore.

Species: Cleonemeans

Homeworld: Olympus

Abilities: Massively enhanced strength and stamina, near-invulnerable skin, metal manipulation (limited to his own body), personal augmentation (through metal manipulation), immense willpower (aka resistance to telepathy and mind control), Wrecking Roar

Lore: The Cleonemeans are another lion-based species from the mountains of the planet Olympus. Unlike the chimeric abominations that are the Ledracapridnae, the Cleonemeans are purely leonine in appearance, with hugely muscular bodies held up by powerful legs. Long flowing manes adorn their whiskered faces, and their thick covering of tawny fur is broken up by a rich pattern of spots, splodges, whorls, and curving lines reminiscent of tribal patterns.
Cleonemean legend states that the species originated as a small clan of slender cat-like people dwelling in the foothills of the Eurysthean Mountains. Highly social and adaptable, they flourished on the low fertile slopes of the mountain range, growing from a singular clan to numerous villages arrayed across the verdant belt encircling the stony cliffs above. Despite this peaceful life the species led, every generation a freak was birthed without fail. The first was allowed to grow to maturity, and its unnatural height and musculature, coupled with its seemingly unquenchable thirst for battle, gave the species reason to fear its continued survival. And so the tradition of sending the genetic oddity up the mountain to its death began.
Yet the mutation persisted, spreading from village to village, only ever producing one per village per generation. The number of young outcasts sent up into the mountains increased, but as none ever returned from the peaks, the villagers below cared not. They spread further from the base of the range, villages blossoming into towns, towns into cities, choking the wild woods with the scent of fire as they ravaged the land for their own wants.

Far above their heads however, was not the death they so fervently believed in. The first mutated individual, remembered as Thokk in the legends, had clawed his way to the top, fighting tooth and nail through all manner of strange creatures. Unbeknownst to the small-minded civilians, the heights of the mountain range were not inhospitable: hidden above the clouds, the mountains were plateau-topped. Flat, wide, and surprisingly fertile despite the altitude, the environment was perfect for a lone powerhouse to carve out a home. Rather than die, the first outcast thrived, and with his mutation granting a longevity that exceeded his brethren below by over five times, he was able to welcome, raise, and lead approximately twenty generations of mutated individuals. By the time of Thokk’s passing, the Cleonemean society encompassed four of the plateaus in the range, towns with buildings of stone and wood kept low to the ground, intricately carved with unique patterns that denoted the resident’s occupation, status, and feats of strength.
In the early years, as the Cleonemeans spread across the plateau, they encountered beasts with peculiar abilities. At first, they believed these animals had coated their natural weapons with some sort of amber, which had hardened in various shapes to give the animals unnaturally-shaped claws, fangs, and stingers. Yet with continued observation, it was discovered that these creatures were naturally producing the substance from within their bodies, and later on, that it was a naturally-occurring liquid metal on the plateau that maintained a malleable state at certain temperatures, much like how sand acts when wet. When ingested, the metal became fine enough to be secreted through the skin of the Cleonemeans, and could enhance their claws and teeth. However, their sapient minds saw the potential in this, and so experimented long and hard to encourage the metal to take on more complex shapes.

Success came eventually, towards the end of Thokk’s lifespan. Simple tools were first achieved, to help with expanding the settlement to cope with the ever-growing population. Weaponry came later, the Cleonemeans able to conjure swords, axes, and hammers befitting their great size. Armour came still later, as simple or ornate as the wearer wished it to be, far more durable than the normally-occurring metal due to a protein in the Cleonemean genome giving their skin a near-invulnerable quality. They were armoured, armed, and every single male and female of the species had too much bloodlust with no outlet. And so their sights turned down the mountain slopes, towards the cities of their cousins.
Their cousins, as it turned out, had grown stagnant in their expansion. Making the most of slavery and automation, these were a far cry from the original stock. Like housecats they lay around, slumbering for many hours, waking only to eat or to move to a more comfortable spot. Unfortunately for them, this made them easy pickings for the host of battle beasts that fell on their cities from the mountains. Though some tried to fight back with mechanical guards or trusted bodyguards, their metal proved far inferior to the biological version wielded against them, and they fell like wheat in the harvest.

Having taken the cities in the foothills by storm, while unintentionally destroying the constant stream of genetically different individuals produced by their cousins each generation, the Cleonemeans set about fixing the mistakes of their now mostly-extinct relatives (some of the newer arrivals to the settlement had fled early to warn childhood friends of the coming extermination and escort them someplace safe). They spread across the remaining Eurysthean Plateaus, expanding the foothill cities to all corners, with a chunk of the population becoming seafaring raiders on the coasts in the process. When their expansion came to the cities of the Ledracapridnae, wars were bitterly fought, and the two species still stand embroiled in constant battles and skirmishes on that front, neither able to make leeway against the other.
Culturally, the Cleonemeans look highly upon those with rare fur mutations, with albino and dark-furred individuals often placed into positions of power regardless of their ability to perform in those positions. Any Cleonemean who undertakes a task requiring great strength and ingenuity is awarded with a metal tooth in recognition; those Cleonemeans wishing to run for leadership must compete in the Twelve Struggles of Thokk, challenges derived from the legends of Thokk’s adventures on the plateau prior to the arrival of the second outcast. In the capital city of their empire, a conclave of the brightest minds work to further develop the transformative capabilities of the metal tied to their bodies, pushing the boundaries further than previously possible.