Weasels
Bonuses : First bonus - Speed (Bonus to initiative). Second bonus - agility (Bonus to sneak and acrobatics)
Language - Musteline Capital - Blacktip
Weasels are small, thin, nimble, and flexible.
Generally, Weasels tend to be clever, persistent, flighty, mercurial, and capricious.
Weasels are fond of raiding, although organised raids rarely happen these days.
The Weasels' homeland lies over the sea and was destroyed in a war with the Horses.
Weasel lands are considered unsafe unless you're a Weasel. Foxes are welcome, particularly in the east. Horses should never try to set foot in Weasel territory. Badgers are welcome, but tend to stay away. For the rest, they're welcome, but can't ever let their guard down. Even considering this, some Weasels will gladly prey on other Weasels, Foxes, Badgers, and anyone they feel is a worthy target.
Dwellings are usually ramshackle, but some wealthy weasels have quite ostentatious homes. Weasels in general are not fussy about where they'll live; their houses are often underground, on the ground, in trees, in caves...
Weasels tend to be fairly solitary.
Orphans are rife as are street kids and other homeless. Shantytowns are the norm.
Weasels have a talent for learning others' languages. Some say this is because they love to talk so much that nothing can stop them running their mouths.
Weasels, especially those outside of Ashstone, despise Horses due to the destruction of their homeland.
Weasels prefer fishing, shellfish gathering, and hunting to agriculture. They are carnivores.
Weasels are often hired to work in Horse lands. The Horses pay well, but treat them terribly.
The Weasels have not had a full-out civil war, but armed skirmishes between Weasel groups are common. Weasels are their own worst enemy.
The Weasels live on the most southwestern corner of Mainland and the adjacent archipelago.
They are pretty unbiased but prefer their own kind due to others' bias. They are not at all fond of horses, however.
They can be aggressively expansionist. The Weasels forced Squirrels into the mountains on one island and conquered half that same island from the Rabbits. Due to this invasion the Rabbits and Squirrels unified against the Weasels and drove them off.
The territory controlled by the Weasels is rugged and although their capital is on the mainland, much of their lands are split into many islands. They have mountains to the north of their mainland holdings which delimit most of the border with the Badgers.
Weasel lands are generally split along a southwest-northeast axis on either side of a spine of mountains that runs from the mainland onto the larger Weasel islands. To the southeast of these mountains the climate is maquis and the opposite side is temperate oceanic forest. The lands they live on are volcanic.
The weasels lost one of their islands to the Horses relatively recently. The Weasels also sail, mainly to raid but also to settle, as they did with the islands on which the town of Saakasst sits.
The original homeland of the weasels lies across the East Sea in southwestern Sutherland. They were ejected from their homeland by the Horses with whom they have a long-standing animosity.
The weasels border the Foxes to the east, with whom they have an unguarded, open border. The Badgers border them to the north on Mainland, with a guarded border.
In general, the Weasels are good at accumulating wealth but are not so good at using it. They are prone to infighting unless a common enemy is available. Their government is organised as a confederacy. They have a mixed economy. They have tremendous energy but are appallingly bad at organisation and cooperation which prevents them from conquering and holding much territory, but their tenacity, speed, and cunning has allowed them to be exceptional coastal raiders utilising small ships or flotillas of small ships.
Weasels are often the first to find new lands but rarely stay, preferring instead to capture existing settlements. Some weasels have tried to start settlements pf their own on various islands, but these are seldom successful. Subsequent explorers sometimes find deserted Weasel ruins on uninhabited islands.
Weasel language has three varieties; the original, a creole version with Ashstone's language, and a dialect of the previous in Ashstone which is heavily based on the local language.
Weasel laws and cultural norms cause them to often conflict with their neighbours. Because of this, Weasels are generally mistrusted and due to this can be uncommon in some lands. In the past they were quite the scourge on the lands of this part of the world, conducting frequent raids by sea. Raids still happen on occasion, but they are now more organised and war-like with larger ships. Their success has diminished considerably with this change and with the improvements in sailing technology of their neighbours.
Because of their proclivity toward infighting, they get along well with individuals of other species, tending to judge them individually rather than ethnically which is a habit of many of the other nations.
Weasels prefer names that imply suppleness and stealth. Sometimes 'darker' names (Belladonna, Rend, Fastclaw, etc) are not uncommon.
Weasels excel at careers such as raiders, pirates, pickpockets, messengers, couriers, acrobats, explorers, privateers, bandits, thieves, actors, musicians, and artists.
Weasel territory is known for its seafood, gold, percussion instruments, and for making light, small, fast ships.
In the city, Weasels make good messengers, couriers, spies, scouts, entertainers, and underworld activities. Known to often be voluble, they have a knack for learning other languages for two reasons; language won't stop them from talking at you, and the other is so they can better eavesdrop.