Hi, I am working on writing a book about snow leopards (yeah, really original, I know ).

They are cats (obviously), but they live and act like humans. These snow leopards occupy a country or called Ilaria (I think I need a better name). I am basing their culture and ways of life on Oriental and Far Eastern styles, like dwellings, the way they dress, things like that. These snow leopards are trained warriors, and have a strong government based on their Law (still working this out). They have a heirarchy based so that the cats best fit to lead their people are in power. If not, they can be removed from the throne by the Law. The main character of my story is the princess of these snow leopards, who had her throne usurped by a golden leopard, and who needs to claim it back to honor her dead father.

I know this sounds kind of confusing, but this is my first post, so stick with me ! I think I need ideas and opinions on my culture, and if anyone needs to clarify anything, just let me know! I actually don't have my whole story worked out, just working on the rough draft. I am welcome to any ideas!

Sounds really cool!

And welcome to the forum.

I have a few questions:
• Do the leopards walk on their hind legs or on all fours?
• Do the have a cat-like language or are they able to speak like humans? (Like the Talking Animals in Narnia.)
• How do the leopards dress? (OK, this was just out of curiousity.)

Oh, and I like the name Ilaria. It sounds... white and sparkly.

This sounds like a really good story. I look forward to reading more.

In Christ alone,
~ Elsa/Alaethea

Thanks for the welcome, Alaethea.

About the questions you asked; the snow leopards walk on 2 legs most of the time, but when their in a hurry or in danger, they can convert to 4 legs.
I think they have a cat language (it uses lots of R's and Z's, kind of like a feline growling or roaring). For the sake of my story, though, they will speak English, and other animals won't be able to understand their speaking style. You can tell that I am still working on this . As for clothes (I had a lot of fun with this), the general style of dress for females is a kimono-like robe (with less embroidery) or a simple long tunic. Males would wear a short tunic with pants to allow more movement.

If you have any more questions, just let me know! I am thinking of posting a quick overview of my story, just so people get the idea. I only need to find the right forum first .

Ciela Rose,
The leopards sound cool.

You might want to check this book out:
http://www.amazon.com/Lionboy-Trilogy-Z ... 0142402265

It's basically about this boy who can speak Cat. His parents disappear and he has to go find them and ends up as an apprentice to a lion trainer. He makes a lot of feline friends and ends up with about five lions following him around. It's very entertaining. I think that it was written by a teenage girl and her mom.



I think that you could post the overview in the "Story Excerps for Discussion".

They sound really cool!
Are there humans or other races in your world too? I was just wondering.
And I like the name llaria!

There are no humans in their world, but there are other races of creatures.

Tigers are solitary and seen as special or mystical.

Wolves roam in nomad packs, and don't get along with the felines.

Dragons are possible.

And I am working on a mystery ice tribe for my book sequel (I can't do just one book at a time.)

Working on other stuff too (whew). Thanks for the support on my country name! It was going to be Illallaria, but I decided that was too much .

I had my sequel planned before I even started the first one! (Okay, maybe not quite, but almost!)

Don't you love thinking ahead? As far as I'm concerned, I am starting a trilogy with this.

I thought of a sequel and a prequel before I was ten pages into my book! I've also just come up with another story that is related to the others, but not in the storyline of my others.

llaria sounds good to me!

I also have a question, if the leopards walk on two legs, do the other animals also walk on two legs?

Were the animals listed above the only ones in llaria. If they are, then none of the animals could be carnivores.

And you said a golden leopard took over. Aren't snow leopards white? I know that really doesn't matter since they live in a different world, but I was just curious.

Sorry it took so long to reply. In answer to your questions, Griffin;
All creatures in my world walk on two legs, with the exception of the non talking prey animals.

The golden leopard was a foreign creature, he was from a southern climate. Everyone takes him for granted in my story until a newcomer questions his presence, and that is where I will explain where he came from. Thanks for reminding me about that, I completely forgot to explain his living in a snowy climate in my story!

The animals listed above weren't the only animals. We have polar bears, wolves, foxes, deer, elk, badgers, anything else you would find in a normal winter climate. I think maybe some of the prey animals would be normal like the animals we have, like the Narnian non-talking animals. That way I won't feel guilty for letting my cats hunt.

Normally I am a canine person, cats aren't my favorite animals. I don't know how I got mixed in a story about Snow Leopards. Well, when you think about it, I can't see canines on their rear legs.

Ok, I haven't checked this post in a while.  Sorry about the delay, White Raven, to answering your questions.There is no dominant race in my world; the creatures have their own individual countries and cities which though primarily occupied by a specific animal type, does have other residents.  Example; Ilaria is ruled and mostly populated by snow leopards, but there is a mix of other felines in there (panthers, cougers, rare lions, etc).  Polaria is a country occupied soley by bears, they are some of my secondary antagonists.  The Great Forest has large wolf packs roaming in it their kind of nomadic.  Well, you get the idea.They mostly live at peace with each other, but the polar bears are uncontent with their lot, under Queen Tuska, they ally themselves with the golden leopard (Zanraz).  They are official enemies with Ilaria, and just about everyone else.I'm not sure whether my tribes have different beliefs, I haven't really gotten that far yet.  The main characters worship the Creator (God), but I am considering other names for Him.  Other then that, I haven't decided yet.Ok I hope I'm caught up now.  I'll try to respond sooner if there is a next time.

Very interesting!

Thank you

Hey Ciela. I like the name but maybe you should include more species all within different catagories. For instance, If you have cave bears they could be hired as prison guards because of their tremendous protective nature. Then your snow leapords could be like a jack of all trades race.
I love the storyline, good job.

The only thought I have, is that instead of purely Oriental culture, you might want to integrate elements from cultures accustomed to living in colder climates. Kimonos in the dead of winter don't sound very practical, unless of course their fur insulates them; in which case I find myself wondering why they wear clothing at all. Just thoughts to complicate your life .
Like the idea.

In Christ,
Jordan

Thank you, Iarboneseye, but my life is complicated already . Those are some pretty good points, so let me think of answers. Their fur insulates them for the most part, and I guess they wear clothes because it enhances their culture, and is more protective against the cold for the younger felines whose coats haven't grown in all of the way. Being clothingless isn't horrifying to them .

As for kimono-type wear, I've been working on that, and sleeveless tunics with longer shirts and some sort of pants beneath dominate the clothing factor. Females are the ones (and mostly royalty) who wear the longer robes, more like a sign of status. Does that make more sense?

I've been working on the Oriental theme since I last wrote and I've been mixing it and changing it, so that it isn't exactly identifiable with any of our world cultures. As of now, it's Ilarian.

Thanks for the thought provoking questions and the support, everyone . I need to work more on the culture side of things on the next draft of the story.

Hi Inesdar! When I say Oriental, I mean Far Eastern in general, without tying to a specific country. It's a little hard to explain, so I've been tweaking that. I'm pretty much ditching the common kimono idea, and reserving that type of wear for exclusively royal felines.
Lately when I say Oriental, I'm copying weapons and furniture, the more simple items to a culture. Currently, the rest of it is mine.

Possibly. I don't go into a whole lot of detail for clothing normally, but I need to start describing everyday wear. Personally, I haven't learned a lot about tibetian culture, but that is a big possibility. Thanks for the idea!

Actually, if you've followed the Character Introduction thread you would've met my dragon. It's obviously been a while since the above post when I was considering it.

So far, I have a female Ice dragon named Thysal, who's very independantly minded, and a insane rock dragon who's nothing but a scourge. I'm having fun with this!

Thank you!