Races of Avendar, Chapter X: The Kankoran

An excerpt from the Races of Avendar, an in-game text found in the school of heroes, this chapter covers the kankoran.

Kankoran: Section 1

The kankoran are a fierce and primal people, descended from the ancient
wolves that flourished before the Sundering.  Near the average human height,
kankoran appear as heavily furred wolf-men, complete with savage jaws and
lupine demeanor.  Strong and hearty, they are relentless hunters and skilled
in many creeds.  Notably, they do not have tails, giving them an extra
degree of separation from their ancestors.  

Kankoran appear in the annals of the early aelin explorers.  At that time,
they served as little more than a curiosity, living out their timeless lives
in the frozen northland they call the Ryarl.  The kankoran do not figure
prominently into any history until the rise of the human Republic of
Earendam, when human expansion brought them to the Ryarl's doorstep.  

Fearing for the loss of their ancestral homeland, the kankoran rallied to a
shaman by the name of Girikha.  She possessed some affinity for the wind,
and led a guerilla resistance against what they saw as human invasion.  With
time, they drove the humans back into the Brintors and claimed the Ryarl for
themselves.  Girikha led them until she grew old; legends say that she
ascended Mount Khorak and vanished from its peak.  

Kankoran: Section 2

The kankoran race, however, spread south over time, crossing the Brintors
themselves.  They spread through the wilds, but were driven out by the
humans and their growing empire.  Some of them were pushed east, into the
Rirro Jagka, where they came into contact with the monastic caladaran of
Jalassa.  Their warlike nature allowed them to establish themselves, and the
caladaran had little choice but to leave.  

Others were pushed to the far south, toward the great desert known as the
Crimson Sands.  Here, the kankoran adapted to the tremendous heat, and did
most of their hunting in the chill of night.  They established a new pack,
venerating a god they called Arikanja, who could survive the unforgiving
heat of the burning sun.  

The kankoran of the Ryarl would again distinguish themselves with the coming
of the War of Night.  The great hero of their pack, Rakinal, caught wind of
the Trap of Valandas, and he led his warriors to the Valandian Gap.  Their
sudden appearance saved the Army of the Golden Hand from utter annihilation,
and affirmed the might of kankoran war-tribes.  

Kankoran: Section 3

However, peace between the Republic and the kankoran was not to last.  In
the Rirro Jagka, a powerful clan of red-furred kankoran rose to prominence,
led by a mighty warlord who called himself Khanval.  He led them in a series
of long and protracted raids along the Republic's borderlands, slaughtering,
looting, and pillaging each time.  

As victory mounted upon victory, the crumbling Republic saw less and less
faith in its senate.  Khanval's once-small band was now a rampaging horde,
gaining momentum with every kill on its death march to the city walls.  In
one of Earendam's darkest moments, the senators fled for their lives rather
than face what they thought was imminent death.  

Corvandil Novis, a templar and nobleman, stepped forward to lead the city's
resistance.  Since his leadership was seen as having saved the city, a new
government was ushered in, and such saw the instatement of the office of the
Patrician.  The defeated kankoran bands scattered, some traveling to the
Ryarl, while others returned to their lands in the Rirro Jagka.  

kankoran: Section 4

kankoran society is chiefly structured around packs of nomadic tribes,
usually headed by the most powerful member.  This is most often a male, but
as in the case of Girikha, has also included females.  In times of crisis,
smaller packs tend to band together under a particularly powerful or
charismatic leader.  Their veneration of ancient heroes is known to border
on ancestor worship.  

Generally, kankoran do not adhere to any rule or law that is not one of
their own.  Their behaviors tend to typify what one would expect of a feral
pack, and their rule is often one of strength or violence than peace.  In
more recent times, kankoran have integrated, to a limited degree, into the
greater racial tapestry.  However, those are the exception, not the rule.  

In modern times, kankoran have sought new territory outside of their more
typical racial homes.  They are an oddity among Avendar's seafaring races,
treating their ships as a small pack in and of itself.  They are given to
banditry, and have established small dens or harbors in small niches outside
of the mainstream.