Part one of a series on the different types of beasts existing in my fantasy setting, Beastworld.
Beastial name: Rinmansi
Average Height: 2.5-4 feet
Average Weight: 50-120 lbs
Lifespan: 50-60 years
Gestation Period: 5 months
Litter size: 2-4
Physiology
Mousebeasts are the smallest beasts. They have light, flexible skeletons and incisors that grow continuously. They have large appetites and eat frequently throughout the day. Because of their burrowing nature, they have excellent night vision. Mice, out of all beasts, most closely resemble their wild counterparts; tiny rodents which exist in nearly every corner of the world.
Culture
Mice were the first mammals to experience the awakening. Early Rinmansi lived in small communities called burrows among the roots of the Yaronwood’s great trees. While above ground, they faced predator attacks, so they continually extended their tunnels into networks connecting burrows and important places, such as foraging sites. Rinmansi learned to grow food relatively quickly, and most burrow towns were built beside clearings where they grew a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Burrows were typically governed by their eldest members. Younger members spent most of their time growing, foraging, preserving, and storing food for winter survival. They also had several seasonal festivals in which members of multiple burrows would gather to feast. These festivals were based around a specific kind of food that was abundant in the Yaronwood at that time of year, such as the Greens Festival in new spring, the fruit festival in high summer, and the Nut and Squash Festival in autumn.
Domestication
Rinmansi had important connections to the wildlife of the Yaronwood. Vulnerable to many threats, they saw the relationships between larger and smaller animals as inherently violent and had no qualms killing animals that stole from their food stores. They even went so far as to allow cats to live in their burrows, as long as the cats killed invading rodents. They also domesticated a crane-like bird to use as mounts. They have a culture of raising and collecting insects both as pets and for food or resources.
Spirituality
Early Rinmansi both feared and revered the Spirit Circle, believing it to be the home and palace of Yaru and that if her sleep was disturbed, the entire Yaronwood would be destroyed. They believed that as she slept, she saw everything in the forest through its trees and regularly left offerings of food, pretty stones, and shells in the branches of the white trees as tributes to Yaru.
Rinmansi were the first users of root magic, which they used to build their elaborate tunnels and to bolster abundant harvests from farms and forests.
Relationship to other beasts
The awakening of the catbeast shattered five hundred years of peace for mousekind as the earliest forms of cat culture were built upon catching, killing, and eating mice. They burrowed deeper underground, learning to fear their trips above the surface, and their lives became a constant struggle for survival.
Later, foxes would take advantage of this relationship by offering mice protection in exchange for labour. The Fox Kingdom coined the traditional uniform of a mousebeast servant, and the scurrying mouse labourer became a known aspect of early furbeast society.
Though in modern day, mice are considered legally equal to all other beasts, their physical size and short lifespans often disadvantage them. In high society, it is still considered classy to have traditional mousebeast servants, with kitchens and quarters specifically sized for them. So many are relegated to serving roles regardless of their freedom.
While unverified, there are claims that in some dark circles of beast society, mice are still eaten to this day.
