Yothats

     The Yothats     

Synopsis: The Yothats are to humans what humans are to cows. Both species (Yothats and humans) are unique among other creatures. They are the only ones who drink another species milk. The Yothats, though, are not all dairy farmers. There society includes the range that human's do: they have farmers, miners,, blacksmiths, merchants, criminals, jewelers, alchemists, magi, rulers, and many more. It is simply the dairy farmer profession that humans care about. But, in general, there have been, and will not be, any advances in Yothat-human relations, for the simple reason that Yothats do not understand any human languages, for one very simple reason. Imagine a cow moo-ing. Do you care whether or not the cow is in fact saying 'It is unjust and inhumane to do such cruel things to me and other females of my race' ? No! The same situation for the Yothats. They do not see humans as inferior, like a slavemaster would a slave. They do not see humans as inferior, as a racist/sexist/speciesist person would the inferior party. Humans are simply a resource to them. A prized resource, but still, a resource. 

Appearance: The Yothats are, usually, 17-18 feet tall. The range goes from 15-20 feet tall. There have been Yothats shorter than 15 feet, or taller than 20, but either case is rare. The also appear slightly humanoid. They are bipedal, two arms, all attached to a main body. And a head. The Yothats tend to be skinnier and slighter than a human (of the same height as a Yothat) would be, but not by much. The bodies of a Yothat are covered in hair. The usual hair color of a Yothat is an auburn, but blacks and blondes are also prevalent. Most Yothats cut their hair, and keep it short. Their heads resemble a cats.

Society: Yothats, usually, live in tribes of 40-50 of them. Ruling them will be a single male leader, called the Heat (pronounced He-at). The Heat is chosen by the females of the tribe. Though the Heat has absolute power, if the females decide to end his term in office, then he is gone. Usually, if the Heat at least tries to be fair and just, the females let him stay in power. Big decisions, such as wars, are decided on by the tribe as a whole by a vote.

Each tribe is self-sufficient, and usually lives alone, with barely any contact with outside tribes. But once every decade, the tribes gather for a Culmination, hosted by a tribe (which was chosen at the previous Culmination). The Culmination is something like the Olympics, in that there are many contests and sports played with the major prize being honor for your tribe (though there is other prizes of financial worth), but its is much more than that. Most of the decade's trade happens at a Culmination, and major political decisions, affecting the race as a whole (such as the orcish, goblin, and ogre pests raiding the dairy farms). The Culminations generally have a festive air, as Yothats compare their weaving, ornaments, humans, and other such resources.

Military: The Yothats, because of their size, generally don't use metal weapons. Instead, they use weapons with either a little metal or none at all. The common weapon is spears, with swords being a status symbol. The men of a tribe will generally form a militia-like group, and will train together for an hour a day. Tribal warfare happens occasionally, and it never happens inside a village- like the Roman Pomerian Line, Yothats will never fight a battle inside a village. If they did, then all the tribes would gang together against the perpetrating tribe. Sometimes, all the Yothat Tribes will come together to face a common foe. The decision for this would happen at a Culmination (see Society), and is a rare event, but it has happened. One time there was a dragon infestation eating the Yothat's humans, and the Yothat's came together to kill them. An army of Yothats is a fearsome sight indeed.

Diet: Yothats, because of their size, require much less food than the average human. The Yothats need to eat only once a week. The foods they do eat consist of hunted animals (large ones, like moose and deer), human milk, and Freats. Freats is a large, tall, bean-like vegetable. The edible part is about 3 feet long, a foot high, and weighs 40 pounds. It is full of protein, carbohydrates, and fiber. They also drink human milk. They do not require it, but they like the taste of it. It is more of a luxury than a necessity.

Agriculture: Yothat dairy farmers job entails two things: growing food for the humans, and keeping the humans in check. There land is therefore split into two parts: the larger farms, the smaller cage. The foods they grow for the humans are wheat and barley, corn, beans, and carrots. Some Yothats have the humans grow the food, others do it themselves. The cage for the humans consists mainly of a barn and 10 foot high walls. Some farmers make the walls out of wood, others dig a pit. But the best defense against escape is breeding. Yothat dairy farmers actively breed for stupider, more obedient humans, and better milk production. The first one is what makes escape impossible. When a Yothat brings in a new human, they generally keep an eye on them, until there sure it isn't going to escape.

Most Yothat dairy farmers don't keep human males on the farm. When they want more humans, they will use the tribe's male pen, or use a wild human.