The hyena jester
Hyena-folks are a rare sight in the Axam continent. They are part of one of the many Untamed Tribes, groups of beast people that deliberately never joined the “civilized” preferring the wild ways of their late demi-gods. They live on the coast of the Uxali continent, doing their hunter-gatherer life, occasionally clashing with Dwarves of the Federation and Constructs of the True Order.
The few that, for some chance, end up on the shore of the Holy Infernal Empire or other northern nations are treated like freaks, sideshow attractions, frightening marvels. Some will be even hunted as monsters. If they arrive in captivity they will be sold to a circus, showing them off for copper coins, and if they come free they will soon start to do the same, just without a master ad with the risk of becoming a target of hatred and fear. In the Beasts’ nations, lands inhabited by other animal-people, things are slightly better, but they are still “other”, savage mirrors no one wants to interact with, at least on an equal footing.
Entertainment is the safest choice for hyena-folks and other “untamed” animals-people, and if they play along, they can even make a career out of their “exoticness”.
The jester of the Imperial Court is Isiqhulo, a Hyena-woman. The court jester is a role falling out of fashion, but the Emperor is an old-fashioned man. He always enjoyed buffoonery, the only spark of levity in his otherwise stony and cold personality.
Isiqhulo is easy to make fun of, with such a bizarre demeanor, but she’s also easy to have fun with: her merciless digs and gruesome jokes always make the Emperor crack a smile. She’s beloved by all the Infernal Aristocracy: they enjoy her cruel and grotesque sense of humor. And they say her laugh is contagious.
