Novar

Piece of cheese The front of the heavy ship (icebreaker)

A race created by anxiousboar. It is correct to pronounce the stress on the first syllable: nOvar. Like nOvgorod.

So, generally speaking, Novars are conceptually a hybrid of a German (Belgian or Eastern European) Shepherd dog, a Maine Coon and, oddly enough, an icebreaker nose. They have rough body features. Males of novars have an average height of about 2 meters, females - 1.8 m. They are inhabitants of mainly northern regions, have a tough coat (however, they can be very fluffy if someone takes care of their appearance)). Nature endowed them with the strength that allowed them to survive difficult epochs. Finally, after existing for quite a long time and moving from the tribal system to feudalism, the Novars organized principalities.

Note that the "Novars" (there will be more spicies) universe refers to the XIV-XV centuries of the universal history of mankind. Novars, initially, appeared according to the prototype of the Slavs: Muscovites and Novgorodians.

The Eastern Novara principalities survived the Horde campaign (Mongol invasion) and rallied under the banners of the Novara Republic with its capital in Nevagrad (Saint Petersburg). Instead of centralizing government, the People's Assembly (Veche) decreed the creation of Muscovite autonomies and trading enterprises, rather than the complete subordination of these lands. Virtually impregnable forts and outposts were erected along the entire southern and eastern borders with the money received by the Novars from trade with the Hansa.
It is worth noting that the southern Novars are more rude and belligerent than their economically savvy northern counterparts, however, historically, friendly relations between both subspecies turned out to be much more important than money or strength. Each Novar, before acting, evaluates the consequences of any decision regarding his brother, so if any conflict arises, the Novars resolve it diplomatically - by simple conversation or a small national assembly. Immoral individuals are punished (for example, with sex, muahahahahaha!), and if they do not learn the lesson, they are banished to the far northeastern lands - abroad.
Generally speaking, Novars are quite lazy (and in a sense stubborn) creatures. As long as you don't kick, they're unlikely to do anything. Despite this, they can stand up for themselves, both in one-on-one combat and on the battlefield shoulder to shoulder. They don't like to fight - Northerners have instilled pacifism in southerners, however, again, this does not mean that they do not train. On the contrary, the confederation has a united regular army of small numbers + if necessary, the boyars raise a trained militia.
The republic has a law similar to serfdom, which binds peasants to the land and workers to factories. Merchants are the most honorable class. There is no noble class as such, social inequality is noticeable, but even peasants have a reliable roof over their heads, they are well fed, shod and clothed. Strangely enough, at the legislative level, penalties are provided for all novars, without exception, who are tyrannical and act dishonestly with their fellows.

Fun facts:
They really like physical intimacy with friends. (Doesn't mean cupcake). They love to cuddle and take care of each other's fur. They can purr in a bass voice. The average height is about 2 meters. They can prick up their ears instead of keeping them always flattened. They are adamantly loyal to their partners/bosses/landlords/commanders. They cannot stand cruelty and the injustice associated with it. They believe in the sanctity of nature. They believe that even the stupidest jerk can be reformed. If Novar deceives you, then you are guaranteed to like it.