Welcome to Maso Avanti, directly translated as “Twin Earth”. This term describes the universe in which our characters live, wild felines to be exact, and contains two different sub-worlds: Seifer and Viveca.

Seifer is a beautiful place – the four seasons change the landscape into different portraits throughout the year, and plants of every shade of the rainbow grow and thrive. There is plenty of food and crystal clear, flowing water whenever it is needed. When the sun sets and rises, it creates a plethora of violets and golds within the sky, a dazzling view to begin and end each day

And then there is Viveca, quite the contrary of the aforementioned Seifer. Viveca is a rather dead looking place, with no color flowing through the veins of the dried vegetation. When it is not storming in this awful place, there is a drought, and it is rather miserable for its inhabitants. It is quite dreary, with an ominous fog ever looming overhead, never allowing you to see the true colors of the sky above.

As two different worlds, these two places aren’t as odd as they may first seem. One is a piece of paradise, while the other is a snapshot of hell; surely their descriptions are not too unrealistic. But the mystery of Maso Avanti is not the aspects of each individual world, but the realization that these two worlds will never exist at the same time. Through some dimension, some magic, some unknown portal…some something…the inhabitants of Seifer are transported to the world of Viveca, and vice versa. But what is even stranger? These inhabitants – the felines who thrive in this universe – have no recollection of the two worlds as a whole. When in Viveca, one does not remember their live in Seifer, and in Seifer, no one knows of the existence of Viveca. Due to this division of memory, these felines live double lives – they form different friendships, fight with different enemies, love different families, and even look different from world to world.

At this point, you may be beginning to realize that this is no ordinary place, for there is much more than what meets the eye at first glance. Yes, sure, there are dozens of different species of felines, ranging from the small Sand Cats of Africa to the majestic Tigers of Asia, but is that all that they are? In the world of Seifer – these felines take on their typical colors and aspects. There is nothing strange about them; they simply exist as they are in the real world, just in a greater harmony than you would typically see.

But Viveca, on the other hand, causes several vibrant changes in the appearances of these felines. These changes can be categorized into three different “races”, taking on the names of Allete, Suoh, and Kyne. The “assignment”, per say, of each character to one of these races is rather random. Typically, it would transform them upon entry to Viveca based on personality, but that is not even a for sure guess as to what a particular feline would be.

We’ll start with the Allete group, a term that describes the main aspect of this race: the wings. Oftentimes, this group tends to be more laid back; we’ll even use the word ‘nicer’ for lack of better term, and they experience an extraordinary physical transformation. A pair of beautiful wings burst forth from the backs of these felines, with wingspans ranging from four or so feet to over ten feet. The wings amount to something much like a bird, or an angel. Individual feathers are laced together to form the structures which are covered with a soft, plush or cottony surface. It’s a truly amazing addition to the feline’s body, especially since they are actually able to fly with these wings, which range in color with every shade of the rainbow. Finally, the bodies of the Alletes tend to give off a faded hue of light, much like an aura. This aura normally coincides with colors on their body, of their eyes, or of their wings. It is typically not a random color that is not displayed anywhere else on the body, and it is always a solid, pastel color.

Pretty impressive, isn’t it? Well that is just the beginning…there are still two more races of these felines within Viveca. The second race is deemed “Suoh,” which can be translated as “dragon”. These felines tend to have a somewhat illusive attitude: they keep to themselves, and rather dislike the company of others. Like the Allete, the Suoh have beautiful wings, but they are much different in appearance. Instead of the feathery wings of a bird, these felines have wings much like that of a bat or a dragon. They are made of a thick, leathery skin, covered with a short, fine layer of hair – giving them a velvety touch. The wings tend to only be darker colors – blacks and browns, but there are few flukes every now and then. The felines in this group also grow a horn, somewhat like a unicorn, in the center of their forehead, which can be either smooth or spiraled. This horn grows in length based on experience, not age or gender…so a rather young, female serval could have a larger horn than an older, male lion.

Finally, we arrive at the Kyne, the third race within Viveca. The members of the Kyne typically possess a rather harsh and devilish personality. They despise others, except their own kind – and some even hate them too. They strive for power, and will not hesitate to kill those who get in their way. This group is the only out of the three that does not grow a pair of wings upon their back. Instead, large, bone-like spikes grow along their spine, much like that of a stegosaurus. These spikes are normally widened plates, when looked at from the side, yet very narrow when looked at head on, and are extremely sharp. Near the end of the tail on some of the Kyne, there are long, thin spikes, similar to large nails. Finally, the four canine teeth within their mouths grow substantially. These teeth look much like those of a saber-toothed tiger, long, thick and dangerous. Because of the rather prehistoric aspects of this race, it has grown to be the dominant group in Viveca, usually making up the majority of the Viveca Royalty.

While descriptions are given for each of the groups, there are various ways in which individuals may be different from the stereotype. Not every Allete will be on the tender side, and not every Kyne, that you might run into, will rip you to shreds. Also, each group has one attribute in common, which ties them all together as one. The pelts of each feline often exhibit various shades of color, from reds and blues to blacks and whites. Sometimes, the whole cat may be one of these unusual colors - such as an orange tiger, instead, being purple - while others just have masks or various patches that stand out from their otherwise-normal looking fur. The feline may exhibit anywhere from one, to a whole plethora of colors, with shading from the light pastels to bright neons.

So there you have it. Two worlds, two lives…two different-looking bodies, but the same feline characters all-in-all. It is unusual, it is different...but it is all within Maso Avanti.