Leonin

Leonin are a beast-race that resemble humanoid lions. In the Undergod's Realm setting, the Leonin originate from the continent of Kanvari, and have been living there since long before the first elven, dwarven or human civilizations ever existed, making their culture well over 10 000 years old.

Culture
Leonin tribes are mostly nomadic in nature. There are a total of seven major leonin tribes (although these are usually divided into smaller family units called prides), each tribe led by a matriarch. Their culture is relatively unique in the sense that they do not worship any particular gods. They have been around long enough to remember the destructive nature of the ancient Dragons and Prime Elementals, they despise infernals due to their ancient history, and the Divines are still viewed as young and alien by the lion men, with very few leonin ever converting to the "civilized" religion.

The closest thing they have to a figure of worship is the ancient hero Simbarr, often classified as a demi-god by scholars. However, he is usually seen more as an aspirational figure and an example of what all leonin should strive to be, rather than worshiped directly. They also believe they are descended from actual lions, and upon death join Simbarr in his battle against the demonic hordes.

Leonin often compete with gnolls, humans and elven tribes for territory.

History
The leonin have a very well-known creation myth that is fairly similar amongst each of the tribes, however, parts of it contradict mainstream understanding of the origin of beast-folk, and since leonin keep no written records and pass down their knowledge through oral tradition, the validity of these stories is hard to confirm.

Leonin believe that they were once regular lions. Leonin tribes know this as the "dream time", before they knew the difference between good and evil.

The dream-time ended when the demon lord Ginokh the Beast began to corrupt many of the wild animals on the Surface World into twisted humanoid forms, to act as his mortal servants. Thus, the leonin were born, and for a countless centuries or even millennia, they served the demon much like Gnolls and other beast-races still do to this day.

However, one day, the hero Simbarr grew tired of the cruelty of Ginokh, and manage to steal one of his weapons, the Beastman's Axe. Pursued by Ginokh's demonic servants, Simbarr found seven of the strongest leonin women, challenged each to a duel, and defeated each in combat, proving himself the strongest among leonin. The seven became his wives. Following this, the leonin united under Simbarr, and defeated Ginokh's army by holding them off at hill.

The leonin founded a city at the spot of the battle, which came to be known as Mane. During this time, the tribes were united under Simbarr's leadership, who served as something of a god-king to his people. However, a great calamity struck the land, weakening the walls of Mane enough to let Ginokh and his armies invade the great city.

Simbarr saved his people by travelling to the Abyss and personally holding off the Beast, allegedly still fighting off his hordes to this day. Before he left, he ordered each of his wives to take a portion of their people and scatter across the wilderness to divide the demonic forces still on the Surface World. Thus, the seven leonin tribes were born.