Herd guardians are a dark-skinned people with the golden, white-less eyes and retractile claws of lions. Their inhuman feet and lower legs are like a hairless blending of human and hunting cat, and their feet are similarly clawed. Other than their legs, eyes and claws, they appear fully human. However, they can endure the exceptional heat of the Far South without discomfort and can run all day without tiring, regularly traveling as fast as 15 miles in one hour or 200 miles in an average day’s travel. Although they can forgo sleep for as long as desired, dreaming forms an important part of their spiritual life, so they normally sleep several hours a night for the sake of enjoyment. They are hunting carnivores who dine on the flesh of animals they cull from the herds they protect. They require large amounts of meat to survive.
