Prince Noss Jua-mata

Consort to Princess Arjana and father of her sacred cubs, Prince of the Four Winds and of the Jua-mata; Noss holds many titles, including the dubious honour of ‘Chakaa’. Uniquely he is both an ‘infallible’ hyena prince and a ‘mad’ Chakaa – an impossible conundrum.

However, as both a Chakaa and Prince of the most prominent hyena tribe, the Jua-mata, Noss made an ideal candidate for the ‘hyena integration programme’, whereby noble hyenas of consequence would be exposed to Lupan society, educated in their ways, and returned to the tribes to spread the word of Lupan munificence, hopefully diffusing tensions. Chakaa are the equivalent of wolfen Howlers, able to wield the power of imperium, and thus Noss was enrolled in a Howler Academy under the careful tutelage of Rufus Valerio. For many years Noss fought as a Howler, specifically under the much rarer Watcher branch, his knowledge of the wilds proving invaluable for policing the walls of Lupa and surrounding hinterlands. He spent his days battling giant centipedes and arresting imperium traffickers; his nights about town with Rufus, Ivan and other famous Howlers. These good friends and others he endowed with Lupan versions of honourary hyena-names, Red-mist, Blade-dancer and such, names that meant something to a hyena.

As the years passed Noss grew disillusioned with Lupa; disgusted by its ways, the crime, the filth, the dishonesty and corruption. Worse, his people still lived in bondage. The integration programme had done little to bring wolf and hyena together and thus the tribes suffered still, and there was nothing Noss nor even Rufus could do about it. So one morning the prince simply abandoned his post and melted back into the tribes, losing himself in the arms of a beautiful noble hyeness and starting a family. He had given up on politics, on trying to set an example. As a mad Chakaa he would live for himself and his first love now, whilst he still had mind and body enough to take such a lucid decision.

For his family’s future Noss has concocted a wild plan. But… is it his plan, or someone else’s? Is it even a good one? Will he remain a pawn in the games of others, or will he at last recognise himself as a prince amongst beasts and take control?

Name: Noss Jua-mata

Race: Spotted hyena

Age: 25

Occupation: Prince of the Jua-mata (they have no kings, only queens)

Hobbies: He is versed in all the disciplines an educated prince should be, and more

Relations: Arjana (wife); Zuma and Anjali (cubs); Rufus (teacher and friend); Nurka, Themba and Madou (pupils)