During my travels in Karen’der, especially in the southern regions, I found myself in the presence of a strange race whose people vaguely resemble humans. Their skin is of ochre tin, they have brown or black hair that feels more like wire than regular hair.

They’re a nomadic kind and move when the environment is no longer able to feed the clan. Each family lives in a large tent made from the skin of the animals they killed. These mobile houses are on average twice as tall as a man.

My first encounter was with a male at least a full head taller than the tallest human men I know of, and twice as wide! The specimens I met all had a strong jaw and big teeth. Of course, those were in proportion to the rest of the body. During a hunting expedition to which I had been invited, I saw many of the hunters easily chew pieces of meat directly from the carcass when I needed to cut mine out and cook it long enough. They teased me for weeks about this anecdote.

The males and females dress with big fur skins that they tie with a leather cord or a strong chain and wear heavy boots. The warriors sometimes trade their regular clothes for Shelnox, which is a robust, tanned leather processed with Borima oil to increase its sturdiness. Some will use solid metallic (usually corac) protections.

The females that I was allowed to see appeared as huge as the males. They seem to have little to no right, although they’re a sign of power for the male who mates with them. The male who has many wives will be able to father a lot of children. He contributes, in this manner, to the strength of the clan by giving it the next generation’s warriors.

I noticed that the pregnancy lasts about three hundred and twenty days, or thirty-five more than the human. I have been told that the newborn or even the mother die during childbirth, which leads me to think that they have limited medical knowledge. However, when it survives, the baby Ikuan is as big as a one-and-a-half-year-old human child, has thick hair and all his teeth. The female usually feeds her baby for ten or twenty days. I have seen one of the newborns crawl and who was already able to catch small rodents and eat them alive.

The Ikuans hunt for their survival but they live to fight. They’re fierce warriors. It’s possible for a clan to enter a conflict with another one. This usually happens when they want to increase their hunting territory. Sometimes it’s to grow their ranks.

Their weapons of choice include the mace, the war hammer and the battle axe. They wield heavy weapons, which makes it almost impossible to an opponent from another race to pick one up to fight against them. Consider an unarmed Ikuan as dangerous as if he carried one. Maybe you won’t believe what you’re reading, but I have seen one of them run to his enemy empty handed only to tear off one of his legs and use it to hit the others!

Excerpt from the Guide of Great Knowledge.

Taradussa

Name: Ikuan

Visual description:
Humanoid, usually wider, taller and stronger than a human. The skin is ochre, less apparent than an orc. His appearance is closer to the humans. Their skin is thick and hard like a thick leather with a lot of imperfections.
One head taller than an adult human, twice as wide.
A powerful jaw with teeth. They look like those of a human, but bigger and more solid.
Their hair is thick, very rough to the touch, close to a metallic wire, although not as rigid. They have to cut it regularly or at least tie it as it’s almost impossible to stylize. (They wouldn’t care about style anyway!)
Uses heavy fur skins for clothing.

Height:
Six to seven feet.

Maximum age:
70 years.

Time of gestation:
320 days.

Litter:
One baby.

Sight:
They see better during the daytime, like the humans.

Hearing:
Finer than a human ear.

Habitat:
They usually live in Karen’der’s southern regions. They have a distinct civilization.

Social behaviour:
Very similar to the human. They’re warriors. They live in villages or cities made of large tents that they move around if the hunting ground where they have become poor. Their commercial installations stay in one place. The Ikuans are nomads, like the Mongolian people, and their society is organized in a clan system.

Nature:
They’re carnivorous and expert hunters. They love meat and try to avoid any other kinds of food as they believe that eating anything else wouldn’t make them as strong.

Race’s particularities:
Stronger than humans generally.
Impatient.
Proud people.

Combat specialties (attack and defence):
Brute physical strength.
They use heavy weapons.
Natural warrior race.
They can take violent blows to the body and head and can continue fighting.

Weapons/favourite armour:
Huge two-handed swords.
Battle axe.
War hammer.
Full-plated armour.
Chain mail.

Loot:
Coins.
Equipment.