Creature:Silvan

The Silvan are a race of humanoid marsupial creatures native to the world of New Aratacia. Relatively short in stature, the Silvan exist divided amongst hundreds of pre-industrial countries, all of which fight amongst themselves- and more recently the Drodo settlers- For supremacy.

History
It is unknown when the modern Silvan species emerged, though a rough estimate by Drodo experts puts it at around 150 000 years ago. Due to the generally frosty/hostile relations between Drodo and Silvan, it is also unknown when Silvan civilization first emerged, though it is theorized that the Silvan first began using agriculture about 4000 years ago, and the first organized, literate states emerged soon after that 3000 years ago. The history of the Silvan has faced a major disruption in the form of Drodo settlement of the world. Within a few years huge, walled cities appeared on fields and in the hills and a huge orbital ring began to make itself clear aaginst the blue sky, causing panic and tensions. Many neighbouring kingdoms to the Drodo have responded with hostility, launching raids and (unsuccessful) full-scale wars against the colonists. However, many private Silvan merchants have used the new settlers as an economic opportunity, engaging in small-scale, unregulated and often unseen trade with Drodo settlers, police, and even cavalrymen on patrol outside of city limits. This has meant there has been a steady flow of manufactured and technologically advanced goods such as firearms, telephones, computers, and radios diffusing among the Silvan population, causing cultural shift and in many cases anxiety amongst the ruling classes. The future of the Silvan remains uncertain.

Society and Technology
Silvan society is generally similar to that of other ancient societies; Highly stratified, with a wide wealth gap. Most Silvan nations are lead from the top by some sort of absolute ruler, below him being a wealthy aristocracy, and a tiny middle-class of artisans and merchants. The bulk of the population would be the peasantry and slaves. Silvan societies do have a certain level of social mobility to them, however, as class appears to often be defined *entirely* by wealth and skill, with the concept of family or lineage being unimportant. This means that a skilled-enough peasant *could* become an aristocrat if they proved themselves in battle, or were to accumilate enough money. This makes Silvan society very hierarchical but also meritocratic. A defining element of Silvan society is warfare. Silvan reproduce extremely rapidly, require little food, and are politically organized. Add this to a world with exceptionally fertile soil but only so much of it and the inevitable result is dozens of nations, all with the population and wealth to wage war endlessly. Traditional Silvan warfare makes use of enormous armies made up mostly of conscripts and levies, led by aristocratic officers. The majority of Silvan troops are lightly armed and armoured, with better-off members of the lower classes making use of spears, short-swords, and shields with little or no armour and the poorest being used as javelin-armed skirmishers, screening and harassing. Wealthier Silvan make up the heavy infantry and cavalry, often wearing a brigandine coat and steel helmet, and armed with a bow, lance, and sword. Drodo settlement, however, has changed Silvan warfare. The introduction of firearms and motor vehicles have proven to shift the paradigm of Silvan warfare. While Silvan still make use of large armies, and most troops are often armed only with traditional weapons (firearms are still in very short supply and go for a high price), those with wealth or luck often purchase or steal firearms, and while individual Silvan tend to have poor accuracy with their weapons, crafty Silvan generals compensate for this deficiency by planning ambushes, where they have the greatest opportunity to deal damage to their enemies.

Biology
Silvan are marsupial humanoids, standing about five feet tall. Silvan have short, dense covering of body fur that is white, brown, or black and their face is dominated by two massive, beady, black eyes. They possess small ears up and to the sides of their heads and possess short whiskers along their cheeks. Silvan are well-known for wearing a piece of cloth or a handkerchief around their mouth and nose, especially in battle. It is not known as to exactly why this is done. Silvan require little food and reproduce quickly. Silvan can have litters of up to ten children, which start only partially developed and must then spend several weeks in an artificially-created warm pouch (modern Silvan have lost their naturally-occuring pouches) to fully develop. Once fully-developed a Silvan comes into adulthood after about five years as an adolescent. The average lifespan for a Silvan is around fifty years, but most live far shorter lives due to disease, dangerous occupations, or warfare.