The Arakandi

The Arakandi are a fearsome and dangerous race inhabiting the Craglands of the South Eastern Continent. Very little is known about them, despite prolonged and violent contact.

Origins
The precise origins of the Arakandi are unknown. They are assumed to have come from the Crags themselves. Their Deities are unknown, and no Temple of the Conclave claims them as their God's creation.

They were first encountered by the people of Aeristan in 915 ICA. Settlers had begun to colonize what today is known as Iolanthe in 843 ICA. After peacefully building for more than 70 years, scouts began to report large numbers of non-humans massing near the rivers to the southwest. The Arakandi came in a flood, wiping away all of the colony settlement. A few people escaped by ship and some by the mountain passes into the desert to the North.

Physiology and Culture
The Arakandi are humanoid in appearance, and have mammalian reproductive organs. They stand 6 to 8 inches taller than men on average, with many Arakandi easily standing seven feet tall. They are not as heavily built as men though, and much of their height is in their powerful legs.

Arakandi have thick, almost chitinous skin, and their skin comes in dark colors of browns, grays, and reds. They do not often wear armor, as their skin provides better than average protection, and when they do wear armor it is almost always of hides. Both genders of Arakandi have long hair. Males wear their hair tied. Females wear it loose (though very very few Arakandi females have ever been seen by an Aeristani who has lived and been able to tell about it).

Little is known of their Culture beyond their military practice. The Arakandi prefer fighting with polearms, thrown weapons, and light shields with hand weapons. They fight in pairs or in quads on the battelfield; their lack of cohesive unit tactics means they can be exploited by a well disciplined force. The Arakandi rely on closing quickly with their enemy, as they are much faster than Human warriors, especially armored human warriors. They are also capable of jumping distances considered obscene by human standards.

During battle, the Arakandi commence a sort of rhythmic chanting each time they succesfully wound a foe. As more and more Arakandi succesfully attack their enemies, they chanting gets louder and more unified. As their chanting unifies, the Arakandi enter a form of collective bloodlust during which they become exceedingly fast and deadly.

Blood on the Sand
It was not long after the settlers were slaughtered that the Arakandi ventured further out. It is theorized that they followed the refugees North and than began planning the conquest of Illium. Regardless of what drove them to attack, 921 ICA saw the first large scale Arakandi invasion. Tens of thousands crossed the desert and assaulted the Empire's most southern lands. Most of the Lands around Illium was completely overrun, and Illium was only saved when the 2nd and 5th Imperial Legions arrived in time to relieve it.

For the next few centuries, Arakandi incursions would assault the Southlands, until the Empire grew tired with their impudence and decided to mount an offensive all their own.

Revenge for the Fallen
In 1287 ICA, Emperor Daelaedric II called for what is now known as the Arakandi Crusade. All nobility were required to provide troops to the cause, and a number of Imperial Legions were dispatched. The Home Fleet transported troops south of the Rivenspine, and amphibious landings hit the Arakandi fishing settlements first.

The first few years were engaged with fighting off Arakandi attacks at hastily built coastal forts, and as more success was had (and Aeristani troops got used to fighting 7 foot tall warriors who could jump 15 feet), offensive moves were initiated.

By 1295 ICA, the Arakandi had been driven back into the Craglands, and Iolanthe became the new defensive bulwark of the Empire of Aeristan.

A New Era of War
After the founding of Iolanthe, the fight against the Arakandi changed. No longer did they raid accross the desert. All of their attention was focused on Iolanthe and reclaiming what they had lost.

In 1367, a new plan was formed. Scout ships had seen human, non-Imperial habitation far in to the Southeast in the jungles beyond the Craglands. It was decided that a massive host would assemble in Iolanthe, push across the Craglands, and make for a part of the continent that the jungle had not claimed. There, they would subdue and convert the locals, thus opening two fronts against the Arakandi.

The expedition left in 1368, under the command of another Imperial Cadet family: House Arkanian. The journey across the Craglands was brutal; the Imperial Army was full of themselves when they thought they could bully the Arakandi so cleanly on their own territory. The expedition made it to the jungles in two months of harried and bloody fighting. No two days passed across the Crags without fighting. When they reached the jungle, the Arakandi stopped coming, and eventually crossed through Emeraldvale Pass and into modern-day Balcora.

1370 saw the defeat of the Thorbai who lived on the open plains and the establishement of the city of Tanis. The Imperial Forces under Arkanian lead had lost almost four fifths of their might against the Arakandi and the locals. Their orders were to build, convert, and mobilize. They set about with abandon, but unfortunately they did not have the strength to do so quickly. The Fall of the Empire came soon after.

Modern Conflict
As of the second century AFE, the Arakandi are known to be primarily interested in attacking Iolanthe and Balcora. Their goals, motivations, and culture remain a mystery, but no denizen of the border kingdoms rests easy knowning that they will come. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow; eventually the Arakandi always come.