Art by Lionrunner
Family: Cat
Type: Beastman
Habitat: Deserts, Arid Steppe, Savannahs, Grasslands, Open Woodland
Diet: Carnivorous, prefers large game
Disposition: Proud, Noble, Strong Willed, Bold, Protective
A fearsome and noble feline mamono, the Nemean is often counted as the most powerful member of the cat family, at least in terms of physical might. They bear the visage of a mighty lion, with golden fur and tanned skin, large claws, long mane like hair, and a powerfully built body. They stand tall and strong with air of pride, nobility, and ferocity to compete with even a dragon.
Nemean's are akin to warrior queens, staking out a territory in which they reign supreme. Often they noble and fair rulers and they frequently garner the complete loyalties of the mamono who live within their domain, however they enforce their right to rule through their own might. They welcome any who would challenge their right to rule, often ordering that anyone who would challenge her to battle be aloud to face her unimpeded. They often permit their challengers choose the conditions of the fight, allowing any advantage the challenger would wish to take, and even provide whatever armaments the challenger would wish to use, however despite this, Nemeans almost never lose a fight.
Their pride as warriors is well founded. A Nemeans own body is superior to any tool of war. No mortal weapon can harm a Nemean, swords and spears glance off of their body, arrows bounce off, war hammers and maces shatter, even magic and siege weapons do little against their golden fur. Their claws are sharper than any blade, able to tear through armor and pierce stone with ease. Often they will allow their foes to lash out at them until their foe is completely exhausted, only to reveal that they are completely unharmed, just so they can flaunt their invulnerability.
A Nemean's pride prevents her from marrying just any man, in order for her to consider a man worthy of being her mate he mist earn her respect, and given that Nemean's are akin to queens within their domain, this is no small task. A man can earn a Nemean's respect by many means, though he most show himself to have a strong character trait or be exceedingly proficient in something that Nemean considers to be worth while, which can vary from Nemean to Nemean. However the simplest way to do this, and the method that Nemean herself would recommend, is to defeat her in battle.
Though fighting a Nemean is seemingly an impossible task however they are not without weaknesses. The claws of another Nemean and the might or magic of a similarly powerful mamono can overcome their extreme durability, something a Nemean knows quite well as they are very careful with their claws, respecting what they know to be one of the few weapons that can harm them. However, the greatest weakness is actually an unarmed man. While their skin and fur is invulnerable to any weapon or magic, a man's spirit energy when making direct contact with a Nemean renders her vulnerable to that man and enflames her lusts. This is directly connected to how much a Nemean is attracted to the man, and how much skin the man is actually bearing. A man who the Nemean finds repulsive would be unable to do anything to her and be defeated with ease, however should a man the Nemean be attracted to choose to wrestle her into submission whilst in the newd, she would be helpless to resist and quickly submit to him.
This is a closely guarded secret amongst the Nemean, something that make certain does not become common knowledge. Not because they fear defeat, but because they desire this weakness be used only by the men clever enough to figure it out and brave enough to make the attempt. It is often theorized that this reaction is a sort of mating instinct, the Nemean opening herself up to a potential mate and her body preparing to be bred. This is why men that the Nemean dislikes are unable to trigger it and why it is more powerful when the man is showing more skin. It is also why that once a Nemean is married, the reaction will no longer occur for any man other than her husband.
Married Nemean's take great pride in their husband, and will often place him in a position beside her, effectively making him the "king" of her domain. They will often provide for him, using every opportunity to show off her prowess on the hunt to him. Most importantly however, all Nemean's become intensely protective of their husband's. They will put themselves between her husband and any threat, proclaiming that their hide shall be both his armor and his shield. It should be noted however, that Nemean's have no sense of jealousy and it is not uncommon for other Nemean's to become curious and come to investigate when they hear of one of their kind obtaining a husband. If the man is not careful, he can easily end up with a pride if Nemean's forming around him as more and more decide to join his family.
[Not part of the Reptile Kingdom, but Lionrunner has been doing a hell of a lot of art for my stuff. I feel that I should try to repay the favor but don't have much in the way of money, so I've decided to make a hardcore lion mamono for her. So I pulled out a bit of Greek Myth and took the target Heracles's First Labour, the Invincible Nemean Lion. A monster whose hide was immune to every weapon, but not invincible when faced with the bare hand. Anyways Lionrunner can be found here: so go give her some support. And if you're interested in my other works The Reptile Kingdom can be found here.