The Coonsks

The Coonsks are similar to what we in our world would refer to as raccoons. Not raccoon people, raccoons. Granted, they are very large raccoons. But they are only as bipedal as raccoons in our world. When I say large, I mean massive. Human sized. Slightly larger than a pubescent girl. Physically, they are weaker than one would expect. If someone from our world saw a Coonsk, they might think it was some sort of panda, then notice its claws, and then flee before realizing that it looked nothing like a panda. One who managed to stay longer than that would notice that the Coonsk’s claws were not nearly as sharp as they seemed at first glace, nor was its size as crushingly terrifying as it seemed. Actually, their size does turn out to be as crushingly terrifying as it seemed, though the fact that they’re constantly cowering and shifting their eyes makes them seem much more weird than scary.
They are even less scary and more weird once they are more than just large raccoons once their personalities shine through. As with all of the species in The Third World, it is wise to remember that not all of the members of the species are identical in any way, just as with all species in all worlds. Except for the strange worlds where... Well, that’s completely and utterly irrelevant. Just recall that all of the character traits described are not solid rules, but rather general guidelines for the personalities of the majority.
The Coonsks are very opposed to violence by nature. Direct violence, that is. It’s not a thing that is particularly of ethics, but rather of self-preservation. They cannot stand the thought of their lives being threatened, mostly because that is the only thought that they ever have anyway. The Coonsks are also extremely paranoid. They trust no one who is not, in fact, themselves. They do not trust other races, they do not trust other nations, they do not trust other cities, they do not trust their neighbors, they do not trust their friends, they do not trust their parents, they do not trust their children, they do not trust their chosen lovers. A small percentage of them do not trust their selves. But they’re a very small percentage of the population, and are trusted even less by the others than the others are.
The Coonsks have a societal history that stretches back into the ages. Or, at least, they would, if they weren’t all conspiring with each other to make sure that each other couldn’t conspire with everyone else to prevent conspiracies against themselves with everyone who isn’t them. Which leads to a general misrepresentation of their history. All of their purported history books have a minimum of ninety-eight percent disinformation. Whether this is a legal limit or societal limit is also uncertain. Every household has at least three different sets of law books. Three different sets per their division. That is, three different versions of their city’s laws, three different versions of their nation’s laws, and three different versions of their society’s laws. And, as far as anyone who has managed to get their hands on law books from more than one household can tell, none of these law books match with any other law books. That’s one of the things that none of them trust about themselves. Each other.
The Coonsks have only one traditional religion. Though it may not seem like one religion. Or a religion at all. They don’t exactly have gods, and that includes the gods that all denizens of The Third World have. The Coonsks think that so called “Gods” such as Merlin and Eris and L’Presie are all just conspiring like all the normal people, in order to keep themselves looking like gods. And that forms the basis of their sort-of religion. They believe that the universe is one giant conspiracy, by a mysterious group of beings that they call only “T.H.E.M.” They aren’t quite sure what the acronym stands for, but they do know that the acronym functions in the majority of languages; the word that means “them” in most languages also spells an acronym whose words are synonymous with the words in “T.H.E.M.” The Coonsks also believe that just about everyone in the universe is either part of “T.H.E.M.” or a minion, knowing or unknowing, of “T.H.E.M.” Most of them are sure that they themselves are not working for “T.H.E.M.”, but a few doubt their innocence from time to time. Were they aware of the multiverse, they would suspect everyone in the multiverse of being one of “T.H.E.M.”
Besides their extreme paranoia, one of the most defining traits of the Coonsks is that Merlin has caused a significant amount of damage less to them than to any other species in The Third World. Merlin has never mentioned this aloud, and anyone who has ever asked him about it has never again been heard from in one fashion or another. Merlin does not always kill his enemies to stop them or keep them silent. He has a number of methods that he occasionally finds much more amusing. The Coonsks themselves almost never say anything about this fact, though they’re certainly aware of it. Despite the grand silence about this fact, everyone who knows of the existence of the Coonsks knows of the mysterious lack of action on Merlin’s part concerning them.
Their primary territories envelope the majority of the southern portion of the Marfki region, just south of a land claimed by the far distant Nagas of North Haber.