Kateraks

You can't find a better craftsman and engineer than a Katerak. Shame is, they are all hiding underground ever since the Cataclysm. I have seen only one in my entire life, and it was only because she wanted me to see her. I sometimes get the creepy feeling that if they really wanted, they could just burrow themselves into our nests and kill us all in sleep.

— Huntmistress Eskree, Nocturnal gryphoness

Basic Information

Anatomy

Katerak's body is formed by a chitinous exoskeleton that protects their vital organs, four legs and two smaller forelimbs with opposable thumbs covered in small ridges that allow them to easily burrow and dig underground. Despite their bug-like exterior, they are warm-blooded with fully developed brain and nervous system.

Biological Traits

Based on drawings from the ages past, the Kateraks of the past were bigger than the ones living in Midrast Wain now.

Genetics and Reproduction

All Kateraks are hermaphroditic, the role of father and mother as well as preferred gender pronoun is assumed by each individual's preference, upbringing, and personality. The details about their reproduction habits remain unknown.

Ecology and Habitats

Kateraks remain in their underground tunnels and caverns for the majority of their lives, hunting the creatures dwelling within with the occasional venture on the surface to gather building materials. They build burrows and series of interconnected tunnels that connect to a central hub dubbed as a "hive" where they gather, trade and socialize.
Based on recorded information from the past, Kateraks used to live on the surface together with Gryphons whom they tamed and used for transportation of goods. That is no longer the case.

Dietary Needs and Habits

In order to feed their omnivorous population, great mushroom-cultivating areas, as well as some rudimentary animal husbandry, is performed in specifically designated areas underground. Kateraks pay great care to protect their food cultivating areas and only a few trained individuals can enter them.

Biological Cycle

Kateraks avoid going out to the surface during Freezan and all cold weather, remaining in the warmth and safety of their underground burrows and dens.

Additional Information

Social Structure

All Kateraks plead their allegiance to a Queen, a high-ranking individual within their society who commands great respect and leads their armies. It is uncommon for two Queens to be present in the same burrow as Kateraks see those devoted to someone other with great suspiciousness and hostility.

Facial characteristics

Their heads are relatively small compared to the rest of their body with slightly elongated snouts and dark glossy eyes.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Areas with rich underground mineral and ore deposits, as well as places with large underground caves tend to be inhabited by Kateraks who use the natural resources for their own benefit.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

With two large eyes, they have a great depth of perception and can see well in broad daylight as well as in the dark. Feelers on top of their heads also allow them to sense the surface area around them without needing to see, and their legs are sensitive to shifting and tremors of the ground, allowing them to sense if something is moving underground near them.
Despite their great potential for craftsmanship, they are the only race unable to Artifice and enhance a weapon with a Dream.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Kateraks are still known to make use of Gryphons and offer them mutually beneficial cooperation in exchange for materials they need. Gryphons not being the most gifted in their craftsmanships generally welcome such exchanges as it allows them to have houses built for them or get ahold of tools and weapons of very high quality made from ore and minerals unknown to most creatures.
Kateraks on the other hand generally require help of gryphons in providing natural resources such as wood, animal skins, red meat or even the services of a Purveyor to Artifice their weapons and armor. Cases where Kateraks plead for military assistance are rare.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Names of Kateraks always start with Prefix Kat-.
Males use the suffix -arak at the end of their names. Example: Katorolarak, Katiiarak.
Females use the suffix -ora at the end of their names. Example: Kataqora, Katuunlora.
While Kateraks don't use secondary names, they generally also refer to themselves by "son/daughter/child of the Queen XYZ" even if they are not the biological offspring of their Queen. For them, who is their Queen is more important than who their parents are.

Average Technological Level

The only species capable of smelting ore and creating high-grade items made of very solid minerals.

Common Etiquette Rules

When talking to Kateraks, it is generally advised to only let the gryphons speak with them. They do not trust dragons and it would take great convincing to make them willing to deal with them.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Many of the traditions gryphon practice today are similar or partially resemble the traditions of Kateraks. Culturally speaking, Nocturnal gryphons are probably the closest to them.

History

Arrival

Kateraks came into the world far before any dragon or gryphon has, even The Ancients arrived only after Kateraks have and who knows, maybe Kateraks were present during the creation of the world itself.
Their language evolved over the centuries and many other races took great inspiration from it, namely Gryphons with their Winder language that is loosely based on Katerak's own Earthen language.

Ancient rivals

Kateraks ignored the Ancients who seemed to be living primitive lives at that time, yet eventually, as their power and dominion grew, Kateraks began to worry. It was too late to try and subjugate the Ancients by force, yet their exploits in the Dreamscape and Artificed weaponry were watched closely.
Ancients commanded powers that were far beyond what Kateraks thought possible, it seemed like magic to them, and despite trying to imitate them, they could not achieve even the simplest of Artificing themselves. But everything changed when Gryphons arrived into the world.

New allies

Heralded by prophecies no one understood at their time, the first Twilight Gryphons, relatively peaceful if a bit savage race appeared in Midrast Wain. Kateraks held long debates about them. The new species bore the same marks of Ancients, yet they weren't controlled by them. When confronted with the decision to eliminate them or try to control them, Kateraks decided to do the latter and started to domesticate these first Twilight Gryphons. As time passed, these Gryphons learned many of their skills from Kateraks and acquired a few traditions of their own. Surprising to most, they eventually even learned how to Artifice completely on their own.
By the time dragons arrived into the world, Kateraks once again fell into a false sense of security. There were many clashes between them and the Ancients, resulting in many victories but only thanks to their gryphon allies and their Artificed weaponry. What they didn't account for was that the first Sun and Moon dragons would zealously start followíng their ancestral enemies, once again bringing the tides of war into equilibrium.

Cataclysm

Nobody knows what happened during the Disappearance of Ancients that is marked as the year 0. Some call it the great Cataclysm, but there is seemingly no proof that a great calamity ever happened. No tablets speak of this era, there are no scorched lands, no obvious destruction in the lands formerly inhabited by Kateraks. Their complete disappearance from the surface and Ancients going extinct happened mysteriously all within one single year.
And without their guardians to lead them, Dragons and Gryphons inherited this world and started governing themselves.

Common Myths and Legends

According to legends, Kateraks were able to create powerful weapons that would kill their enemies at great distances or substances that could shake the earth itself.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Very old depictions of gryphon taming also showed that some Kateraks grew particularly close to their gryphons. While it is currently debatable whether they truly formed an interracial relationships with gryphons in the past, a series of porn-like illustrations suggest that perhaps some sort of mingling may have occurred. Then again, maybe this was an exception and not the rule.
Currently, Kateraks view gryphons only as useful as long as they can establish a mutually beneficial trade but they are extremely suspicious of all dragons. After all, they were the ancient enemies that partially caused their own downfall and old wounds like that never truly heal.

Scientific Name

Midrast Kather'aak

Lifespan

Over 100 years

Conservation Status

Nobody knows how many Kateraks remain but they are considered extremely rare.

Average Height

1.2 m

Average Weight

80 kg

Average Length

1.5 m

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Coloration varies between those of tigers or wasps with yellow or green as their primary color and prominent black stripe-like markings adorn their exterior except for their heads. Some Kateraks have a slightly different tint to their colors but generally, the easiest way to tell one from another is to study the shapes of their markings as each individual has them arranged slightly differently.

Alternate names

• Kather'aak
• how Katerak's call themselves in their own language and in Winder.
  • Kats
• Bugs - considered rude
• Makers

Eyes

Kateraks have large light-sensitive eyes that allow them to see well in the dark but they are naturally attracted to all things bright, so their lairs are adorned with lanterns and other light sources

Tattoos

The tradition of tattooing is believed to have come from Kateraks who adorn their Queens and other notable professions with tattoos of their station on their left shoulders. While the tattooing is done for purely professional purposes, they might be willing to tattoo an individual who would pay them or earn their favor.
No tattoo could be of higher quality than those of Katheraks and individuals with them generally become famous just by having it.

Combat

Kateraks possess no natural weapons of their own, their legs and hands are not clawed and their bodies are lithe and fragile. Kateraks rely entirely on their crafted weaponry and armor, both of which are generally made from metals that make them far harder to defeat than any dragon or gryphon with their natural size and strength.
Despite that, many Kateraks rely on stealth and so they might forego heavy armor to sneak up on their adversaries to kill them in their sleep or when they are preoccupied. This is also their primary way of hunting.