Life expectancy: Unknown, estimated to be 500 years

 

Physical Appearance: Grygurr (pronounced Grye-grr) are densely muscled creatures who vary in appearance depending on the region of Pantracia they are found in. They stand upright, in a bipedal position. Even with a hunched back, they stand a full head taller than humans. Their long, thick arms can support four-legged running to increase speed and endurance. Their hind legs are shaped like a cat’s, with large pawed feet. The cat-like features continue in their faces and skin colorings. Their faces are partially elongated with sharp and defined brows, upturned noses and teeth akin to a wolf. They’ve adapted to the terrains they inhabit, and hair covering depends on the region. Their skin tones are dark with dapples of discoloration like a wildcat’s spots, and run along their spines and at their sides. All grygurr have fur growth at their elbows and forearms, and along the back of their calves. Their ears are shaped like a lynx’s, with tufts of fur at the tips. Grygurr in the colder northern regions are known to have more fur of lighter colors to blend in with the snows of the mountains.

 

Grygurr are terrifying in appearance and are commonly the subject of many tales parents tell their children to scare them into staying in their beds at night.

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Culture: Much of the grygurr culture is still a mystery to humans, as they remain in their isolated pack-like units. Their existence is primarily focused on scavenging and self preservation. Their bouts of aggression towards human settlements and transport caravans depend on the region, and often times on the season. When natural resources are difficult to find, the grygurr resort to raiding and pillaging in order to continue to survive.

 

A single pack of grygurr can range in size from a single family unit to a collection of over fifty in an established and permanent settlement. These packs are often led by the ‘strongest’ of the pack, though the determining factor can vary (e.g. strength, intelligence, Art). Internal aggression between their own kind is rare, though not unheard of, but there is little known about how these relationships are maintained between different packs. Any attempt by humans to create similar pacts have failed with often violent outcomes. The grygurr are fast to react to threats to their existence, and brutal in the protection of the lands they claim. Any military attempts to move against them drastically increase the raids and attacks on civilians in the areas surrounding.

 

Grygurr are known for their connection to the Art through the use of revered practitioners within their pack units. There is commonly at least one shaman within every pack, and they serve as a spiritual leader as well as fellow warrior. Most raiding parties will have at least one in attendance to act as tactician and healer. All attempts to study the relationship of the grygurr to the Art has proven unsuccessful and is subject to great debate among academics. The only aspect that can be agreed upon is the relationship seems different than the common access to the Art the human and auer of Pantracia have.

 

The most unusual behavior of the grygurr is the have an aversion to auer. While auer are usually difficult to find on the mainland, many trade caravans will offer a great sum of money to any who join a route as a mercenary. Grygurr have been known to completely abandon a raid because of the presence of an auer. Powerful masters of the Art can also serve the same purpose. This apparent aversion to other users of the Art (particularly auer because of their inherit ability) has only further aggravated the discussions of the nature of the grygurr.