Bears

The Bears (Mouse-Bear Language: 熊) are beings that are descended from the Great Bear, or Daxiong. The Great Bear was one of the Twelve Ancestors that made up The Zodiac during the Era of the Beginning. Many of the bears in modern day are ancestrally related from the Arctic Bear Tribe, one of the bear tribes that made up Xiongshu. Historically, the Bears have inhabited the area above Lijiang and east of Hongjiang, but their ancestral roots derive from the Arctic Bears that lived in Beiji.

The Bears are considered to be one of the Four Blue Heralders, and were gifted the role by The Zodiac and blessed by Baizhu and Heizhu. As a race of the Blue Heralders, the Bears are able to demonstrate exceptional control and manipulation over Water, Ice and Weather. Like all other beings, the Bears have a symbiotic relationship where they must maintain their Tao. Failure to maintain the Bears Tao as a whole can cause an imbalance in the control of the Spiritual Energies.

The Bears trace their cultural ancestry to the Xiongshu, a confederation that was created by several Bear and Mouse tribes that lived along Lijiang. The Great Bear and the Old Mouse were said to have been lovers before the formation of The Zodiac, and it continues as tradition. During the War of the Celestial Empire and the incursion of the Dragons into Xiongshu territory, many of the different tribes were wiped out or enslaved as a result. Only three bear tribes were left after the end of the war and later subjugated by the Dragons: The Arctic Bear Tribe, the Panda Bear Tribe, and the Grizzly Bear Tribe. These tribes are considered to have been the modern ancestors before intermingling with the Arctic Bear Tribes and rendering their own tribes extinct. It is still possible for non-Arctic Bears to be born, but the overwhelming majority are ancestrally related to the Arctic Bear Tribe.