Heart of the Resistance and Spirit of Ooloo
Name and Placement
The Auliaan Resistance is not a traditional kingdom but a united front of indigenous tribes, most notably the Fur race, alongside several Faerie Rings, and a handful of other displaced peoples. Located in the central valleys and forested hollows of Ooloo, this region is cradled between the continent’s towering ranges: the Ooloo Mountains to the north and the the Sheeree range to the south. This fertile, mist-veiled land is considered sacred by the Fur Race and is believed to be where the first of their kind was raised by the lion sage Hooloo.
The Auliaan-controlled territories are intentionally unmarked on most maps, making it difficult for outsiders to even locate, let alone navigate the area. The hidden capital, First Place, lies in the Valley of the Gentle Ones, surrounded by enchanted glades and thick woods patrolled by Blackur warriors and the whispering magic of the Faerie Rings.
2. Geography and Environment
The lands of the Auliaan Resistance are rich in untouched natural beauty. Deep forests of silverbark and bloodleaf trees form the region’s heartwood, while ancient glens and stone-circle clearings mark the spiritual territories of Faerie Rings. Swift rivers, including the sacred Thaloo Run, wind through moss-laden valleys and mist-draped ravines.
Unlike the north’s permafrost found in Bleakhand Union or the trade-scorched plains of Kanaha to the west, Auliaan lands are largely temperate, enjoying cool, fertile seasons and an abundance of fauna. Crystal-clear springs are said to bubble directly from sacred wells blessed by The Mothers themselves. It is this idyllic setting that fuels the Auliaan’s belief that nature, in its purest form, is a manifestation of divine will and worth protecting at any cost.
3. Inhabitants and Society
The Auliaan Movement is composed primarily of Solidfur Tribes and Patchfur Nomads, both descended from the original seven cubs birthed by Siberlee and raised by the lion sage Hooloo. These Fur tribes live communally in forest villages or nomadic groups, with a strict adherence to the Color-Caste Code, a hereditary system determining social and spiritual role based on the Fur’s pelt color. Goldenfurs serve as leaders and spiritual guides, Silverfurs as healers, Blackfurs as hunters and warriors, and so on.
- Goldenfurs – Clan and spiritual Leaders
- Silverfurs – Spell casters and healers
- Blackfurs – Hunters and protectors
- Brownfurs – Workers and gatherers
- Orangefurs – Nursemaids and sex providers
- Grayfurs – Traders and explorers
- Whitfurs – Prophets, very rare
Patchfurs who have coats of more than one color were once exiled and thought of as impure; they have been welcomed into the Auliaan Movement, at least partially. While some Solidfur tribes remain distrustful, many Patchfur leaders have proven invaluable in guerrilla warfare against invading forces, and their inclusion signals a turning point in Fur culture.
Faeries maintain small Faerie Rings deep within the woods and cliffs. Their society is organized in matriarchal circles and holds festivals and rites that strengthen the magical warding of Auliaan lands. Though not combatants by nature, they assist with powerful illusions, healing, and environmental enchantments.
4. Governance and Leadership
Unlike traditional kingdoms, the Auliaan Movement is structured around tribal consensus and spiritual guidance rather than a formal government. The unofficial leaders are the Goldenfur brothers Mootill and Boota, whose charisma, wisdom, and fierce devotion to Fur principles have united many otherwise fractured clans.
Decisions are made at the Stone Gatherings, sacred conclaves held under the open sky where leaders of each tribe and Faerie Ring meet under a vow of peace. These gatherings are often accompanied by ritual storytelling, offerings to The Mothers, and vision quests.
5. Beliefs and Religion
The spiritual heart of the Auliaan Movement lies in its devotion to Terees, the Mother of Wisdom and Harmony, and Siberlee, the Mother of Nature and All That Is Good. These two Mothers are worshipped together, often in twin-shrines carved into living trees or stone, tended by Silverfurs or Faerie seers.
While the teachings of Hooloo, the golden lion who raised the first Furs, are not divine canon, they are regarded with equal reverence. His code of Forgiveness, Self-Mastery, and Nature’s Balance guides daily life and political policy alike.
Faeries, by contrast, honor Kanola, the Mother of Music and Dance, and express their faith through intricate rituals, sacred choreography, and the whispering of windborne ballads. Together, the two cultures form a polytheistic harmony focused on reverence for life, nature, and inner truth.
Prayer is private, meditative, and often silent. No temples mar the landscape—nature itself is their cathedral.
8. Economy and Trade
The Auliaan Movement has no formal economy by traditional standards. Instead, communal sharing, bartering, and gifting form the backbone of their exchanges. All trade is conducted by and through traveling Grayfurs. Goods such as woven barkcloth, medicinal herbs, carved bone tools, spirit-painted drums, and naturally sourced pigments are traded during Stone Gatherings and seasonal Harmony Markets. The most prized commodity is cut fur, which is often woven into blankets and clothing of races outside of the Furs. Though this type of trade is forbidden by most Fur clans, it is often conducted in secret by some unscrupulous Grayfur traders and the orangefurs willing to sell citting of their fur.
Only a select few Grayfur merchants are permitted to leave Auliaan territory to trade with outsiders. These travelers often carry stone rings, etched with glimmering Fur runes and Faerie symbols, to show their allegiance and guarantee safety within allied lands such as Elber or Feywick.
Manta sap, though valuable, is never harvested in Auliaan lands. To do so would be considered a desecration. Instead, the Auliaans guard ancient groves where the Manta trees are protected, and any effort to tap them is met with swift and terrifying resistance. It is this Manta Sap that attracts their invaders.
Their true wealth lies in spiritual wisdom, lore, and an unbreakable bond with the land—something outsiders often fail to understand until too late.
6. Military and Conflict
While the Auliaan Movement strives for peace, war has made such hopes fragile. Their ancestral lands are constantly encroached upon from both east and west: the opportunistic resource-grabbers of Kanaha press from one side, and the relentless raids from the Bleakhand Union push from the other. Hemmed in by enemies on both flanks, the resistance finds itself in a perpetual state of alert and exhaustion. The once-soft forests and river valleys have become battlegrounds in a war that many of the older Solidfurs had hoped would never come.
The defense of Auliaan territory is led primarily by the Patchfurs, the nomadic outcasts long thought impure by the Solidfur caste. These Furs—whose coats display multiple colors—were traditionally abandoned or exiled at birth due to beliefs of impurity and imbalance. Their resilience and bitterness from centuries of rejection have hardened them into agile warriors and cunning scouts, and they now form the backbone of Auliaan’s defensive efforts.
It is the Patchfurs who ambush patrols, disable supply lines, and counter-raid with brutal precision. Ironically, these very Furs were once vilified by their Solidfur kin for centuries of cub kidnappings, a practice born from vengeance and a way they can reproduce. This tension simmers beneath the surface of the movement, even as both factions fight for the same cause. Solidfur leaders like Mootill maintain a fragile peace with the Patchfur warbands, often navigating delicate tribal councils to prevent civil schisms.
Meanwhile, the Bleakhand Union’s recent escalations have brought even more pressure to the Auliaan forces. Bleakhand troops, driven by ideology and conquest, are increasingly clashing with Auliaan patrols on the eastern fringes of the forest. The rugged terrain makes it difficult for any single side to fully dominate, but the toll on the Fur population, especially on younglings and elders, is growing. Entire villages have gone silent, and only the lone, mournful cries of bonded creatures remain in areas once full of communal song.
Though they suffer, the Auliaans endure. Their rituals of memory, unity, and mourning help them survive loss without succumbing to despair. The resistance has become more than a fight for territory—it is a fight for identity.
7. Social Hierarchy and Race Relations
The Solidfur society remains rooted in the traditions passed down by Hooloo and the Matron Mothers, Terees, and Siberlee. At the top of each village or tribal unit is a Goldenfur male, advised by a female Silverfur healer and defended by Blackfur protectors. Brownfurs, Orangefurs, and Grayfurs serve their respective traditional roles, creating a closed but balanced structure. Their communities function much like extended families, and despite war, they still pause for solstice rituals, seasonal feasts, and coming-of-age ceremonies.
Patchfurs, however, live outside these castes. Their lifestyle is nomadic and raw, shaped by abandonment and hardened by centuries of survivalism. Patchfur chieftains lead with brute reputation rather than inherited rank. Though some of these bands have turned toward cooperation with the main Auliaan leadership, many still act independently, and even violently toward Solidfur caravans when supplies are scarce or tensions flare.
The Faerie rings remain enigmatic but vital. These circles of magical forest dwellers rarely leave their glades, but their healing magic, environmental wards, and subtle enchantments have saved countless lives. Though they contribute few direct combatants, their influence on morale and territory protection is profound.
Tensions between Furs and Faeries are few compared to the ever-uneasy alliance between Patchfur and Solidfur. Most village elders still harbor suspicion, if not outright hostility, toward the motley-coated warriors that now defend their borders. The Faeries’ isolatist tendencies also cause much suspicion on their part toward the Furs of any race not their own. Mootill and Boota walk a fine line as they work to unify their people, arguing that in times of darkness, even the discarded can shine.
8. Relevance
The Auliaan Resistance may not hold official titles, boundaries, or embassies, but its influence reverberates across Ooloo. It is both a memory of the continent’s untouched past and a vision of what it could be again, a land of harmony where all Races respect the balance of the natural world. Though under constant siege, its cultural and spiritual resilience serves as a beacon to pacifists, idealists, and nature-bound souls across Mernac.
As Kanaha expands westward and Bleakhand raids become more frequent from the east, the Auliaans stand trapped in the narrowing heart of their homeland. Their future is uncertain, but one truth remains: so long as First Place still stands, and Hooloo’s teachings are spoken beneath the canopy, Ooloo has not been lost.
9. Quotable Lore
“There is no enemy as dangerous as a brother you have wronged. And no ally as precious as one you finally forgive.”
— Mootill, Goldenfur Chieftain of First Place
“The trees remember. The cubs remember. The land remembers. We will not forget what was stolen.”
— Boota, Patchfur Commander of the Blackfur Stadlers