War Jackal

The War Jackals of the Jackal Tribe are sacred creatures representing The Smiling One - Ta’an. They serve many practical purposes within the Tribe.
The War Jackals are a transplant to the cold wastes north of the Dorsang Danar, where the Jackal Tribe lands lie. Their ancestors, like the ancestors of the Jackal Tribe, roamed the Red Rock Deserts in modern-day Kandor.
The Krai Jan invasion drove the Jackal and Vulture Tribes from their ancestral lands and north with the other tribes.
When the Jackal Tribe was pushed north, they took as many of their sacred animals, the Jackals, as they could. Of course, neither Jackal Tribe nor the jackal was accustomed to the frigid weather and harsh conditions of the northern plains, and many of them died from exposure and hunger before they adjusted to the harsh climes.
The jackals that survived, however, have evolved over the last two millennia to become the shaggy War Jackals that the Tribe raises.
Jackals serve many purposes for the Tribe. First, as a living embodiment of Ta’an - the Jackal - they represent all the traits and attributes that are taught to the young people of the Tribe. They are a life lesson for how the Tribe behaves, makes war, and survives.
During the Shukal, a Clan’s Mystic will choose one of the War Jackals to venture forth with the young people. Between the spiritual guidance of the Mystic and the War Jackal, the young people are considered in good hands for their coming of change challenge.
The War Jackal is also used as a spirit animal guide for Mystic Candidates that undergo the Thuv Ayadlish. The High Mystic for the Clan chooses a War Jackal to act as a spirit guide for the candidate. Both the jackal and human go into a trance where they must bond and travel deep within the spirit realm to Ta’an. The Mystic will then tie themselves to Ta’an and come out of the trance an Initiate Mystic. The jackal leads her back out, and the two are bonded spiritually and physically for life.
The Soul Scribers, special Jackal Tribe Mystics that bind the spirits of the dead upon their passing, inscribe powerful magic runes on canine teeth that the War Jackals have shed.
These teeth become talismans. If the fallen are members of the Clan, their family will keep the tooth as good luck and guidance until the Clan goes to war. If the fallen is an enemy, and the Jackal Tribe captures those spirits and imprisons them, then the Soul Scriber will wear the tooth on a necklace or other piece of jewelry.
Either way, when war comes, the Soul Scriber collects the jackal teeth and carries them to war. The Mystic can temporarily release the spirit from its binding to fight alongside the Clan by reciting a powerful spell.
In fact, Jackal Teeth have become so tied to the dead that when one of the War Jackals loses a tooth, which they often do, it is taken by the Mystics as a sure sign that death is coming. Mass shedding of teeth is a sign that it is time to go to war.
War Jackals also accompany the Tribe to War. In the Jackal Tribe, everyone fights, and the War Jackals are no exception. They are fast, agile, and like to attack in packs, ferociously tearing apart their overwhelmed enemies.