Animal Lords

Variants

    While humanoids have vast pantheons and divine figures of every stripe, the animals of the world have much simpler forms of faith. Among each species there is always one paragon that embodies the animal spirit in a humanoid form, the better to speak to others and represent the animals in celestial councils.

    The Queen of Serpents speaks to the gods of the desert, and the Queen of Birds holds a wide swath of territory with eyes drifting gently on updrafts throughout the world. Each animal lord sees and communicates with the members of its species in some mysterious and unknowable fashion. News from the granaries and the kitchens always finds its way to the Mouse King’s ears, and news from fields of battle or of wheat inevitably lands in the remote nest of the Lord of Vultures.

    What do the animal lords do with their legions and their vast array of information? Some sages believe they trade this to other figures, demon and angel alike, in exchange for favors understood best as celestial currency. Others say that they merely inform their followers of dangers to avoid, rich prey to hunt, or similar concerns. In many cases, the animal lords find they have both the time and inclination to meddle occasionally in the affairs of humanoids, especially those who are particularly kind or unusually cruel to their followers.

    As a group, the animal lords look after their own, and they defend their territory and their wellsprings of power against humanoid encroachment. The great argument among the animal lords themselves is whether to align themselves with the humanoid world (as the Queen of Cats and, to some degree, the Mouse King have done) or to remain outside of it (as the others have).

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