Beastkin

Not to be confused with Lycanthropes, Beastkin are anthropomorphic sentient animals who first appeared in November 1673 in The Woods of Taeraway.
The Beastkin were initially little more than upright animals, but rapidly evolved into beings on par with the other Races of Alterra, forming a potent military force and threatening not only the Taeraway Region, but the whole of Alterra.
Revealed to be lead by an Actaeon (elk centaur) known as the The Herd Father, one bear Beastkin eventually rose to prominence and acted as though he sought to aid the Adventurers of Taeraway in their campaign against the Herd Father. In reality this bear had seen the Herd Father's willingness to consider peace and reassess his goals as weakness and aimed to usurp him as leader of the Beastkin to finish the war the Herd Father had started.
Throughout the course of the over a year long conflict, roughly 95% of the Beastkin would be slain, including the traitor bear himself, and a fledgling peace found between the newly allied Herd Father and Adventurers of Taeraway.