Mithra

The Mithra are a female-dominant race of cat-like humanoids available to play in Final Fantasy XI.

A predominantly female race of hunters who live alongside the Tarutaru in Windurst, the Mithra are easily identified by their characteristic ears, which give them spectacular hearing ability, and their long tails, which result in an unparalleled sense of balance. Players can only choose to play as a female Mithra, as the Mithra men are fairly rare and are seen as something of a commodity. Only the females, who are more numerous, go out to adventure.

History
Contrary to the myth, the Mithra actually evolved from the magic blast thought to have wiped out the Zilart race. During the Age of Beasts, the Mithra kept to their island homes to the south. Fending off beastmen attacks only when encountered, they never sought to expand their territory.

During the Age of Magic, a group of Mithra, discontent with their life of solitude and hearing tales of strange magical beings from the elder Mithra scouts, decided to venture out across the ocean to see these beings for themselves. The Chieftainess, angered by the disregard for tradition, condemned these actions and those Mithra who left in search of this knowledge were not permitted to return. This did not stop the adventure seeking youth, though, who set off their journey. Eventually arriving at Windurst, the Mithra, in awe of the Tarutaru, were welcomed with open arms. Their strength and tactical skill would prove useful to the physically weaker Tarutaru, which made it a dually beneficial arrangement. The Mithra would be allowed to live in Windurst with Tarutaru protection and magics, and in return they would serve as the foot soldiers of the Taru military. Together, the races carved and built the town of Mhaura into the cliffs overlooking the sea. It was a reminder to the Mithra that their home was not so far away after all. Mhaura, though always a small town in stature, would become a special place in the hearts of Mithra in Windurst. However, as more races gained powerful magic, the Tarutaru isolated themselves from the world, closing their nation's borders from all but the Mithra.

During the Age of Power it was assumed the Windurst-based Mithra fought alongside the Tarutaru against the Elvaan empire. Come the fall of the empire and the Moon's Eclipse, the Mithra had developed their own population and chieftaness within the capital of Windurst, and seemed to have maintained relations with the Mithran homeland. When the Multinational Expedition began, the Mithran homeland sent their representative, Yow Rabntah, who would obtain a piece of the dark magicite and bring it back with her at the expedition's end. The magicite was used in the formation of the legendary Mithra weapon, the Bow of Light; although powerful, the magicite within the weapon would overcome the wielder with fear, hatred, and jealousy, causing them to attack their sisters indiscriminantly. This brought about a civil war within the nation and, in retribution for its creation, the execution of Yow Rabntah. The bow, which could only be an asset in the hands of a pure-hearted wielder, was eventually snuck away from the nation and given to Lehko Habhoka, Yow's implied son, to use in the Crystal War. With the Crystal War's onset, the Windurst-based Mithra culture was as threatened as the Tarutaru; resulting in the two races merging their armies against the Beastmen. Many Mithra from the islands of Olzhirya, seeking fame or fortune, also volunteered to help and were dispatched to the Federation of Windurst as mercenaries. Despite the combined efforts of the Allied Forces, Windurst was razed during the war. At the war's end, the Mithra played a key role in rebuilding the city and many have since taken up permanent residence there.

Culture
Cunning and quick witted, the Mithra have been amazonian warriors and hunters since the Age of Beasts and their culture reflects this. The Mithra form tribal communities, with each tribe overseen by a Chieftainess. Furthermore, these tribes are answerable to a single Tribal Chieftainess who acts as the society's ruler, governing the entire Mithra community. Currently, there are two Tribal Chieftainesses, one in Gha Naboh and one in Windurst. Due to the rarity of male Mithra, the men stay at home to raise the children while the women formed the political and warrior classes. The Mithra homeland nation is the Gha Naboh Matriarchate (also known as "Gha Naboh"), with its capital City of Yhoh. It is located on the continent of Olzhirya. The Mithra built and maintained a society on the nation's island chains. The nation is known by the Mithra as "the motherland," and was a peaceful nation ruled by a wise and beautiful queen during the times before the Crystal War. The town of Mhaura is considered the Mithra capital for those living in Windurst and in the small town of Kazham in the Outland islands is also considered a Mithra settlement. Thanks to the friendly relationship with the Tarutaru (whom many Mithra view as little brothers and sisters), Windurst enjoys a peace and prosperity that is only threatened by the Yagudo, with whom Windurst shares an uneasy truce.

The Mithra are a race of hunters, and their names are designed to accommodate for this. Examples include "An Shanaa," "Hanaa Punaa," and "Fo Mocorho," Mithra names include a first name and a family name. While hunting, they call each other by their first names ("An," "Hanaa," and "Fo") whenever they are closing in on prey or in a tense situation. Their short, easy to pronounce names allow them to speak fast and easily during such times. One might surmise that, if their names were as long and elegant as those of the Elvaan, they might bite their tongues while trying to call each other, and whatever they were chasing would slip away.

Physiology
Resembling humanoid cats, the tails of the Mithra give them an excellent sense of balance that no other race seems to be able to compare with. This gives them the highest dexterity and agility among the races of Vana'diel. Their bodies covered from head to toe in a coat of short fur of varying tones, a Mithra's facial fur patterns are a genetic trait and can be passed down within bloodlines, revealing what family or ancestry a Mithra may be from. Their feline ears allow the Mithra to possess an acute sense of hearing, and their ears also possesss the ability to react in accordance to the Mithra's emotional state, much like cats. Other than these traits and a feline nose, their physical stature is comparable to that of a Hume, although in terms of average adult height they measure shorter than the average Hume adult.

In terms of dietry habits the Mithra possess the same habits as the Hume, capable of eating both greens and meats, although the Mithra are the only race able to eat raw fish.

Demeanor
Like all cats, the Mithra have great energy and curiosity and have being stereotyped as energetic mischief makers, whereby their inherent curiosity often gets them into trouble. Mithra are not particularly strong, brilliant, or charismatic, but due to their outstanding dexterity and agility, they are ideal for classes such as Ranger, Ninja, and particularly Thief. These traits have caused them to be stereotyped as a race of thieves and cheats and are sometimes treated with disdain and suspicion by the other races. Unfortunately, due to their tribal hunter culture, their lack of social grace also results in a penalty in their Charisma. Aside from their Dexterity, Agility, and Charisma, Mithra have fairly average statistics and can play almost any of the Jobs without great difficulty, with possible exception given to Beastmaster and Bard due to their low Charisma scores.

Military
Due to their free-willed nature, the Mithra prefer the life of a mercenary to the disciplined lifestyle of regimented forces. As such, most of their military organizations are mercenary forces. The 'homeland' Mithra also have a navy.


 * Mithra Navy
 * Sibyl Guards
 * Mithra Mercenaries
 * Sin Hunters

Development
Concepted to be humanoid, feline jungle warriors, the Mithra were initially designed to look a lot more feral and primative, with a stronger emphasis on looking like jungle cats. During the game's conception their feral appearance was refined back a little and their clothing became more in conjunction with that of the other humanoid races. However, their nature as jungle warriors is still shown through their skimpy clothes and behaviour.

Character Models

 * Face Types:


 * Hair Types:

Starting Statistics
The following table shows the level 1 statistics for each class a Mithra can take:

Etymology
"Mithra" (Avestan Miθra, modern Persian مهر Mihr, Mehr, Meher) is an important deity or divine concept in and later  history and culture. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also the all-seeing protector of Truth, the guardian of cattle, the harvest and of the water.

Trivia

 * Mithra characters begin play with the Mithran Separates Set.
 * Male Mithra were not seen until the release of the expansion Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess and the introduction of Lehko Habhoka.
 * In Dissidia Final Fantasy, Shantotto's battle greeting to Zidane remarks about his similarity to a male Mithra.
 * The Mithra homeland, Gha Naboh, and the continent of Olzhirya, is not currently accessible for players. Players can, however, go to Kazham, a "Tropical Paradise" located on the Island of Elshimo, which is considered the Mithra's second home.
 * Due to Square Enix's wish to keep a note of similarity between the two games for old and new players alike; the Miqo'te race in Final Fantasy XIV is based on the appearance of Final Fantasy XI's Mithra.
 * In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, there is a trade material called "Mithra Tooth," possibly based on the item "Mithra Fang Sack" in Final Fantasy XI. In the original game, it was used to trigger a Garrison battle at the Outpost in Buburimu Peninsula.
 * When speaking, Mithra have a tendency to roll the "r"s in certain words, resulting in what sounds like a cat purr or growl depending on the inflection.