Dragonwilds:Garou (race)

Garou, also called Beastmen by the old settlers, are lion-like biped creatures native to Dragonwilds:Antumnos. According to Dragonwilds:Vannaka, his ancestors and the Garou have some sort of history with each other. They originally worshipped Dragonwilds:Lougrim, who was considered a goddess and their High Queen. The Garou are found throughout the Dragonwilds:Fractured Plains, Dragonwilds:Stormtouched Highlands, and Dragonwilds:Bloodblight Swamp. There are a few known types of Garou:

Culture

The Garou are divided into two castes: a highborn caste capable of wielding magic, and a commonborn caste that cannot. highborn Garou are physically larger than their common-born kin due to generations of selective breeding, producing bloodlines with greater strength, speed, and magical ability. Despite this divide, commonborn Garou are not treated poorly; there is no system of slavery or servitude among them. While commonborn may challenge for the throne, none have ever succeeded due to the physical and magical advantages held by the highborn. Most Commonborn Garou become hunters, where their exceptional skill with a bow earns them distinction.

Political structure

The Garou were once separated into different clans until Lougrim united them under her rule. Each nation was ruled by a king, a gender-neutral title used by monarchs of all genders throughout their history on Antumnos. Authority is earned through combat rather than bloodline; a leader must defeat all rivals to claim power. The right of challenge holds the highest place in Garou tradition, with strength and cunning valued above all else. No leader may refuse a challenge without forfeiting their right to rule. These duels are always fatal; the Garou do not show quarter, and combat ends only when blood is shed. Garou leaders are also bound by rigid codes of honour. Thanes, Garou who seek the throne, mark themselves with ritual warpaint and pay tribute to Lougrim before issuing their challenge. Kings carry ancient tokens created by Lougrim's high priests, passed between rulers as symbols of authority. Each token holds a pebble from Antumnos, the Garou homeworld. From childhood, Garou are steeped in this culture of strength and challenge; their children play at combat, searching the forests for sticks to use as the legendary weapon Skullsplitter while pretending to be King Raluh.

Hunting and identity

The hunt is central to Garou identity, stirring something deep and primal within them. During a hunt, all other concerns fade away, replaced by the excitement of pursuit and the satisfaction of the kill. Lougrim shaped the Garou into disciplined hunters, granting their first blacksmiths knowledge of weapon-making through visions. She forbade the use of poisoned arrows, viewing it as dishonourable; hunters were expected to kill quickly and humanely, though mages were permitted to use poison in their spells. During her reign, Garou druids followed strict traditions that directed them toward appropriate prey.

Cultural shifts

When Kuldra killed and consumed Lougrim, claiming the title of High Queen, Garou society changed. The authority of kings diminished over time; once rulers of nations, they became clan leaders subordinate to the god-eater. Though they now serve Kuldra, the Garou maintain their traditional challenge rituals; power is still determined by strength. Their priests acknowledge Kuldra as High Queen while continuing to mourn the goddess who shaped their people. Lougrim's merciful teachings were abandoned under Kuldra. Where the Garou once refused poison and hunted cleanly, their new High Queen encouraged them to use every available weapon. Under Kuldra, the druids became more vicious, embracing a brutal philosophy where only the strong deserve to survive. Kuldra despised humans, considering them inferior. Under her rule, humans became the primary target of Garou hunts. Despite these changes, some Garou speak of a legendary silver wolf, believing it to be Lougrim reborn and gathering strength to one day challenge Kuldra. During the conflicts in the Dragonwilds:Third Age, some Garou were captured by Zamorakian forces and subjected to vampyric experiments. These experiments created werewolves, leading Dragonwilds:Vannaka to search around Dragonwilds:Ashenfall for hints about his ancestors.

History

While it is unknown when the Garou arrived in Gielinor, having settled within Dragonwilds:Ghornfell of Ashenfall, it is known that sometime before their arrival, Lougrim had stumbled upon Antumnos, the homeworld of the Garou. She was treated as prey before taking the form of a powerful predator, forcing the hunters into submission. She soon arrived at the capital, the city of Magrawn. After learning of their culture and customs, she called out a challenge to all the reigning kings of the Garou clans. They answered the summons, and she defeated each of them together in a single, decisive battle. From then on, she held the mantle of High Queen of the Garou. Sometime during the Dragonwilds:Third Age, when the humans were traveling through Ghornfell, searching for iron from a region over, the Garou ambushed them. During the darkness of the night, they picked off the humans one by one. This ignited a fierce conflict between the humans and the Garou. Each incursion escalated the tension between the two sides, pushing them perilously close to the brink of war. What usually stopped the two sides from advancing was the Dragonwilds:Whispering Swamp, forming a buffer between the two factions, as both sides did not enjoy the idea of drowning in combat. The tide of battle shifted in the humans' favour when Dragonwilds:Bandos sent an emissary to Ashenfall to ally with the humans, as Bandos wanted revenge on Lougrim. With an alliance formed between the humans and goblins, the Garou were slowly pushed back, but Lougrim found an alliance with the Dragonkin, helping the Garou turn the tide of the war. As the Garou pushed the humans and goblins back, Bandos finally intervened, challenging Dragonwilds:Velgar. His arrogance cost him his victory; fighting without weapons, armour, or protective ward, Bandos was forced to retreat, abandoning his goblin followers and human allies. With Bandos' retreat, the war ended in Garou victory. Lougrim offered peace to the humans, so long as both sides did not cause conflict with one another. This peace remained until the end of the Third Age, when Kuldra led the Dragonwilds:Dragon Rebellion. She became the new High Queen of the Garou while her forces wiped out the human population in Ashenfall. During and after the rebellion, the Garou were left alone by the dragons, becoming one of the few inhabitants of Ashenfall, along with the goblins in Dragonwilds:Brynmoor and the undead in Dragonwilds:Fellhollow.

Notable Garou

• Dragonwilds:Garou Hunter
• Dragonwilds:Garou Thane
• Dragonwilds:Garou Berserker
• Dragonwilds:Garou Druid
• Dragonwilds:Garou King

• Dragonwilds:Ashien: A legendary Garou druid who was among the first to wield a Dragonwilds:Blightwood Battlestaff. According to legend, the goddess Lougrim sent her on a quest to defeat a demon in the swamps.

• Dragonwilds:Dahnu: A Garou who was raised with love by the druid Gahl after her village was destroyed. She became a skilled hunter and eventually claimed a king's throne through reason and wit rather than combat. She ruled her people well until Velgar ended her reign.
• Dragonwilds:Gahl: A Garou druid who lost everyone he knew in the wars. After finding a Garou village in ruins and goblins threatening a Garou pup, he killed the goblins and raised the child (Dahnu) with love, teaching her to hunt with a bow when she showed no talent for magic.
• Dragonwilds:King Raluh: A legendary Garou king who, according to stories, was granted a weapon called Dragonwilds:Skullsplitter by Lougrim that could destroy any foe.
• Dragonwilds:King Rolthar: A mighty Garou king who challenged Velgar to combat and was slain. Velgar respected his strength and returned his body to his people for a proper burial. His resting place is now on a mountain in the Dragonwilds:Stormtouched Highlands.

Trivia

• Garou is a French word, meaning "werewolf", while in Japan the word means "hungry wolf".