I've been googling it until I am blue in the ... fingertips, but I can find no reference to which deity made the panda folk. I also can find nothing about the cat folks, although I think they were not created by anyone other than their ancestors. Is there really no mainstream deity who is responsible for these people?
I wouldn't be too surprised to find they're Brellian. I have no support for this supposition, though!
The Vah Shir in Reign of Shadows reveals that nearly all of the various races who are native to Odus were created by the natural spirit Ehayae. They are not a proper deity and do not rule over any domain, but the Kerrans, Kejek, and Vah Shir were all created by it. Whatever created the Hua Mein is straight-up not disclosed, but because they're not a particularly pious culture, I wouldnt' put it past them that Ehayae created them as well.
From the "History of the Kerra" * "Through my own experiences, I have gained knowledge and insight into the kerra. Each part of this history tome can only be completed in its own time. Story 1 In the long-ago, the tall rocks stood proud on the hills of Odus. "Come and play," whispered the winds, but the rocks said, "We are rocks; we cannot move." And the winds caressed the rocks, shaping them and softening their edges. And so formed the first kerra. Being of the rocks and wind, the kerra are strong and proud, yet graceful and lean. The kerra were scattered by the wind across Odus. Not knowing each other, they fought, sometimes to the death. Until Kejaan came. Kejaan was wiser than all other kerra. Where he traveled, the rocks rolled gently away and the winds carried news to him. The fighting of his kind saddened Kejaan, and he walked from tribe to tribe, joining them together as one. This was the kerra's Golden Time, when all tribes learned one tongue and fought with one another no more. Many things did the wind tell Kejaan and he passed along the knowledge to all others. The kerra prospered. Until that day that an ill-wind blew, bringing with it the ship of Erud and his ilk. They stepped on the rocks that were the kerra ancestors and built walls to block the wind. They pushed the kerra from the lands of their forefathers. They brought death. With them, whether they meant it or not, the Erudites brought diseases for which the kerra had no name and no cure. Even Kejaan succumbed, though he left his son Vah Kerrath as leader. The winds howled and the rocks wept. It was a bitter time. Vah Kerrath blamed the Heretics, whose studies brought darkness and shadow to Odus. They studied the darkest arts of necromancy. They had killed his father; they would need to die. Even some of the Erudites fought with the Heretics. We kerra were caught in the midst of their battle. And then the winds yet again came and said to the rocks, "We will bear you elsewhere," and they blew hard, fast and strong. Story 2 With a gust of immense power and strength, the winds carried the village of Vah Kerrath away, to Luclin. Vah Kerrath embraced his new home and named the tribe that came with him the Vah Shir. Many of those who had not flown with the wind left Odus, the land of their birth. In the west, they settled upon Kerra Isle. Another tribe went east to an island in Erud's Crossing. Yet another tribe moved into the StonebruntMountains. The winds could carry news from tribe to tribe, though sometimes the kerra did not heed its words. When they listen to the winds, however, the kerra learn many things. This is how they learned to fish, after all, by listening to the wind. The kerra have a saying, that one who achieves greatness has "earned her stripes." This is because the great Kejaan was striped, although nowadays kerra fur has many colors and patterns. A kerra knows by the looking which tribe another kerra is from by the color and pattern - although this is only for us to know. Now, the Vah Shir on Luclin were different than the kerra on Norrath. Their ways were different, for they grew up so far away. Until a day came when the veils between the worlds were lifted and many Vah Shir came home. They had earned their stripes in the rough lands they lived, and yet they longed to be one with us again. We welcomed them home, taught them what they had forgotten, and they heard with their own ears the wisdom of the wind. Story 3 Ages of the world passed and the kerra listened and learned. Through our brothers of Luclin, we grew stronger. Through our sisters of Norrath, we grew in wisdom. We returned to the old ways, as much as we could. One day, the winds changed. No longer our mother, it shrieked and cried. It was a voice of pain and yearning. What it sought, we do not know. It tore apart the mountains and the woods. It stirred the depths of the seas. The rocks, too, were changing. No longer fixed, they pushed and pulled, crying out in their agony. We were unable to comfort them. No offerings brought it peace. The lands reformed in unnatural ways. In the sky, Luclin heard the torment and in sympathy it burst asunder, sending its children to join with Norrath. But Luclin was (and is) a poweful place, and its children were great. They destroyed what they meant to join. Now all the worlds are different. Those of the Vah Shir look to Luclin and cannot but wonder if any who remained still live. Then the wind brought to Evora the Word, and we understood. In the cities of men, our mother winds cannot find us and beneath our feet, the rocks do not know our names. But if you stand beyond the walls and listen, you can hear them yet calling us. And one day, we will answer." * anyone can own this book by picking up the quest from a local Sage in a major city. ((info found here: https://eq2.fandom.com/wiki/The_History_of_Kerra_(House_Item) ))
My ancient fingers were taking too long to transcribe directly from the in-game book "History of the Hua Mein: Part 1" to provide a more direct perspective of Panda lore. The following transcript is found on Word Press (( https://loreofnorrath.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/the-history-of-the-hua-mein-part-1/ )) and reads as follows: "The History of the Hua Mein Part One By: Cuan Dao For hundreds of years we lived a simple existence in the Stoneburnt Mountains. Peacefully coexisting alongside beast, kejek, and man, we were content to spend our lives roaming and feeding in the bamboo forests of Odus. Unfortunately, that peace was shattered over two hundred years ago when the men who live in the stone villages changed our homelands forever. It began with the creation of a new village, built squarely in the middle of where we roamed. There they meddled in magic an d burrowed deep into the earth. We observed from afar, daring not to venture closer while the men toiled away at their new establishment. The kejek, however, were not as passive as us. They warred with the men and tried to burn down the new village. The men fought back with lighting, fire, and blade. Nothing would deter them from whatever they were working on in their village. The fighting between the two sides continued for many months until one day the kejek disappeared and were seen no more. Soon after, the men seemed to have completed their project. A great celebration was held and the men laughed and looked joyous. The very next day, however a great explosion erupted from the village. The sky had changed and the sun disappeared. A great storm of lightning swept across the forests and mountains covering everything in an impossibly bright light. Some time later, we awoke, confused, scared and changed. The great storm had changed our minds, though at the time this change was beyond our comprehension. It has been said that our kind would have gone mad were it not for the vailiant efforts of our savior, Hua Mei. Like the rest of our kind, Hua Mei’s mind had been awoken by the great storm. Upon finding her mind a flurry of new thoughts and emotions, sh great fearful and retreated to a cliff face in the crags above where the kejek called home. Bewildered, she had gone there following a voice she heard on the wind. As she approached, the voice became louder, soothing her raging thoughts and filling her with a sense of peace. She sat back and allowed the voice to calm her, listening to the words of peace and enlightenment. After three days, the spirit of a great tiger appeared to her in the moonlight, granting her the First Teachings. The tiger spirit also told her to gather the others of her kind and share with them the teaching Hua Mei had learned. First she learned that nothing in the world is lost. All things return. She observed how a fruit drops to the ground and rots, only to rise again in the form of a new plant. She understood that she was born of her parents and her children would be born of her. Next she observed the everything changes and nothing shall remain constant. Just as she and her kin had once been beast, now they had become awakened. This truth was further strengthened by her observance of the rending forces which stretched her homeland toward the darkening swirl of the void. Finally, Hua Mei learned the truth of the cause and effect. In the north, she observed the forces of the void, dark and assimilating her once serene homeland. Where ever their once presence was found, the skies seemed darker, the flora became twisted and creatures fell to insanity. In the south however, she came to the cliff face alongside the kerran island. There she saw a society of beings who did not corrupt their land, but instead learned to coexist with it. She learned that our thoughts and actions determined the kind of life we can have. If we do good things, in the future good things will happen to us. If we do bad things, in the future bad things will happen to us."
Curious, where was that village? If there was anything left of it after the explosion I'd kinda like to see it. Not really sure why.
There is a place in "The Stonebrunt Highlands" called "The Abandoned Kejak Village" that might be worth investigating.
I was really hoping to get more lore into the Kejek village on the eastern side of Stonebrundt. I remember traveling there in Stonebrundt in EQ1, and was sad to see that the whole tribe just got glossed over with only some minor quests in EQ2. They have nothing to do with the Hua Mein, though, but it's still tragic to see what happened to them.
I love Lore, I just dont have time to sit down and study it. And its hard to remember everything the NPCs tell you when running their quest lines. Once events take a brake I'll have to get up to SBH and look around more. I haven't spent much time there outside of Herofest. Edit:12/13/23 I had a few minuets to spare on monday so I did a quick run up there to look around. Now I'm confused. There is indeed a big dark hole there (at least I think its a hole), but if Humans built the village why is it called The Abandoned Kejak Village? *is tempted to jump into the shadowy hole just to see what would happen*
