Mice

The Mice (Mouse-Bear: 幼鼠) are one of the Twelve Species and are native to the Auspicious Mouse Kingdom. They are one of the largest populations that inhabit the Eastern Hemisphere. The Mice have historically lived alongside the Bears and have inhabited villages and towns that follow the Red River. The Mice are primarily divided into seven different ethnic groups of Mice: Huang, Yi, Gong, Li, Qiangshu, Hejiao, and Yunguan.

Historically the Mice during the Era of the Tribe, the Mice were unified with the Bears in a tribal confederation named Xiongshu, or literally Bear Mouse. Historically much of the culture that the Mice share is intertwined with Bear culture. Most notably their language is shared and intertwined between the Bears and Mice. However, it is noted that Heishan Mice tend to speak Tigran. During the Era of the Celestial War, Xiongshu was invaded an over ten different ethnic mice tribes were rendered extinct during the war and subsequent Dragon Law.

After the Era of the Celestial War, the Mice began its own cultural independence from the Bears. The Mouse are considered to be one of the four Heralders of the Yellow, meaning the Mice are one of the four species that channel Yellow Spiritual Energy. The Mouse hold true to their beliefs of the Heavenly Mandate, a tradition that was espoused and propagated during the Era of the Celestial Empire that the Auspicious Mouse Revolution. Alongside this, Mice cuisine has since branched out from the more meat-heavy Xiongshu cuisine to a more plant & grain based cuisine. The colonization of Molihua Island and Yinghua Island paved the way for diversification of different cultures on those islands, including the foundation of Molihua & Yinghua Cuisine.

In the modern era, the Mice are primarily centered around the Auspicious Mouse Kingdom, one of the largest countries to date . The Mouse-Bear language has propagated as the primary language when concerning texts revolving around the Zodiac and Baizhu & Heizhu. During the Era of the Arctic Conquest, the Mice population began to shrink coinciding with the invasion of the kingdom by the Arctic Bear Kingdom.

Culture & Society

Mouse society and culture dates back to the Era of the Beginning that is rooted in the behavior of their ancestor, the Old Mouse before his merger with the Twelve Species to create The Zodiac. Mouse society and culture is rooted in its beginning during the Era of the Tribes during the existance of the Xiongshu. During the Era of the Celestial Empire, Mice society changed significantly by being suppressed or viewed as savagry. Much of modern Mouse society went through major upheavel during the Auspicious Mouse Revolution and later the Yellow Mouse-Bear Rebellion with influences from the Twelve Taiping Scholars. It is considered that the First Auspicious King, Huang Shao was the father of modern Mouse culture including its influences from Taiping and his governing and military philosophy that drew from the use of Taiping.

During the Era of the Beginning and the Era of the Tribes, the Mice shared a common culture with the Bears that dated back to the relationship between the Great Bear and the Old Mouse. During the Era of the Tribes, all Mice and Bear tribes elected to form a unified confederation of tribes known as Xiongshu, where both Mouse and Bear culture take their roots from. Since the end of the Era of the Celestial Empire, the Mice and Bears have separate cultures but retain specific traditions that date from the Xiongshu.

Identity

There are seven different primary Mice tribal identity, that are also considered to be different ethnic groups. The majority of these different identities differ on the basis of physical appearance and attributes, but share a lot of aspects of culture and societal values.

The primary tribal identities are as follows:

• Huang
• Yi
• Gong
• Li
• Qiangshu
• Hejiao
• Yunguan

Huang

Huang Mice (黃; Huang Mice) are a tribe of Mice that are descendants of the historical figure Huang Shao, one of the notable mouse rebels during the Era of the Celestial Empire. The Huang are also known as the Beihe, referring to their position in the north of the Red River. The Huang are the most populous tribe of mice within the Auspicious Mouse Empire.

Physical Appearance

Huang Mice are considered to be the most average mouse identity compared to other mice.

Yi

Yi Mice (儀; Yi Mice) are a tribe of Mice that are descendants of the historical figure He Yi, the founder of the Nanchuan Tribe that lived and created the city of Tianjing, the capital of the Auspicious Mouse Kingdom.

Gong

Gong Mice (龔; Gong Mice) are a tribe of Mice that are descendants of the historical figure Gong Du, the first monk that established the Temple of the White and the Temple of the Dark.

Li

Li Mice (漓; Li River Mice) are a tribe of Mice that are descendants of the Li Tribe, a tribe of mice that existed since the Era of the Tribe under the Xiongshu.

Qiangshu

Qiangshu Mice (强鼠; Strong Mouse Mice) are a tribe of Mice that are descendants of the Qiang Tribe, a tribe of Yellow Heralds.

Hejiao

Hejiao Mice (黑腳; Blackfoot Mice) are a tribe of Mice that are descendants of the extinct Hei Mice, a tribe of ancient mice whose entire fur body was black that existed during the Era of the Tribe before being rendered extinct by the Dragons.

Yunguan

Yunguan Mice (雲冠; Cloud Crown Mice) are a tribe of Mice that claim their origin from the Cloud Kingdom, an ancient mythical kingdom that existed in the Era of the Tribe and built the Temple of the Spirits.