Old Guard

We have allowed the mortal races too much freedom. Kaane created us with a purpose, a divine birthright, to be teachers and leaders for the young men and elves and dwarves. One by one our brother tribes have fallen victim to infighting and greed, tempted by power just as much as the rest of the muck. But the Ramal stand strong, united by our undying orders!     Smoke rises from Kash. Weapons of destruction are built in Amal. The Empress hungers for our lands, growing ever closer to declaring war on us all. We have been threatened from all sides for centuries, my brothers, and yet we stand tall and proud! Ramal remains unconquered, Hisan's foundations run deep, and the Herd grows. Soon, we shall remind the mortal sheep of why we were sent to live among them. We will sweep across Ardina and inspire our brothers across the seas to remember their purpose. The Cervitaurs, the Centaurs, and the Bovitaurs are ready to rise, they simply need us to lead the charge! We are Ramal, and the world will know fear and humility once the Herd rides!   -Nabii, the Last Prophet of Kaane

Almost Demigods

According to the ancient tales, the Old Guard first arrived on Thelekar some time during Zero Year. Some stories treat them as heroes that saved the early kingdoms from wiping each other out, while others depict them as power hungry and genocidal, looking only to gain power and establish their own dynasty. It is agreed upon, however, that the origin of these half-beasts is indeed divine.   Of all the Old Guard herds, the Ramal have the longest recorded history. While much of it conflicts with other lorekeeper's research, it is the only look into early Old Guard culture available. Known as the Divine Commandment, the single oldest document outside of the Voletarian Archives, this scroll supposedly records the commands given to the Four Immortals by God-King Kaane himself. Rules for governing, ruling the lesser humanoid races, laws for combat, and so much more are etched into the parchment which only a select few are allowed to even view from afar. Only Nabii and the Empress Alessandra herself have seen the document as far as the Imperial Texts are aware of, and neither of them have indicated any doubt in its legitimacy.  

Master Stonemasons

Despite the quadrupedal nature of the Old Guard, these ancient beings are masters with the hammer and chisel. Their cities are testaments to time, almost unchanged since they were first built thanks to the incredible skill with which they were designed. They are naturally nomadic people, however, and there are dozens of abandoned towns and forts carved into mountain ranges all across Arith and Ardina; the largest of these have been taken over by local governments, warlords, bandit groups, and even the odd cult. Each is designed to withstand sieges for years, given enough food stores are built up within. Massive tunnel systems lead from under these fortresses deep into the earth, leading some scholars to hypothesize that the ancient Old Guard had some sort of connection to the Underdark.   The most famous of these cities is undoubtedly Jak, a city carved entirely from a single mountain in the Imperial countryside. It was once the capitol of the Girdellan Empire, and has since become one of the larger cities within the World Garden Empire, renamed Septin. The bovitaur herd combined their stonecutting skills with some sort of ancient magic to animate stone warriors who defend the city better than any mortal army could. Septen has never fallen thanks to them, and only became Imperial territory after being starved out during a siege that lasted 11 years.