Doric Bears

Deep in The Sun Valley is a species of Bear that is not like the others. They appear like normal Bears of Cassel, weighing as much as a grown human and being three times stronger. They are covered in coarse black or brown fur. These bears are omnivores, eating mainly berries but also catch fish in the valley's rivers, and also hunt the Bronze Sheep and Yurrian Rabbits that live there.

Doric Bears are very inteligent animals with a primitive society, with concepts of bartering and government. Their low growls at each other are said to be like that of a primitive language. They are organized into several, what could be called villages, of multiple dens dug under large tree stumps. Inside these burrows are grass and leaf beds and various small items taken from the occasional human prey. Each village has around 10 to 15 bears and they number around 200 bears total across the entire Sun Valley.

As part of their society, they use chalk to cover each other in patterns of white lines and spots. Some of these lines resemble basic letters of the alphabet. These letters are arranged in two to four letter words such as Ur, Os, Sula, Ola, Bor, and others. It isn't entirely known why they do this, but each bear wears their letters with pride and cling to these words as if it were all they had.

These bears are the immortal guardians of the Sun Valley, put there by Xana herself roughly 1500 years ago, during an event known as the Bear slaying. The Bears warn Xana of intruders and on her command will tear apart anyone who is in her lands without her permission.

Well, all of the bears follow Xana's command except for one, Old King Òs, the leader of the Bears. He lives in a cave near the center of the valley, and wears a crown of thorns, with many Aethercite crystals set in it, even though he can't use them himself to cast magic.