Harbingers

An early Fínnan cave painting of Harbingers.

Harbingers are the general group of pre-sentient creatures that developed into conscious beast races. Notable examples of races with Harbinger ancestors include the Lyrians, Taryphos, and Kutai. Some cultures, such as the Fínnan, revered Harbingers as demi-god figures, and many early religions sprung from the worship of these creatures.

Generally believed to have been at least partially sentient, the Harbingers' individual "ascensions" to consciousness (and eventual extinction) almost exclusively resulted from divine intervention. Early human and elven cultures record Harbingers as skilled in magic, with many sources claiming their position above animals and eventual transformations are owed to their attachment to magic.

Significant Groups

The Harbingers were distributed across Kyros, in a variety of different species. Those that rose to consciousness are the most majorly recorded groups.

A Sunchaser drawing of the Apakasi

Apakasi

The Apakasi were the wolf-like ancestors of the modern Lyrians. They are described as being incredibly large, nearly twice the size of a regular wolf. According to the Sunchasers, the Apakasi communicated through melodic howls, changing pitch and stress to form phrases.

Like most other Harbingers, the Apakasi were plagued by the Apani in the early Kudes Era. This issue was worsened by the Apakasi's inability to migrate out of the Lyrian Peninsula by land, a strategy that worked decently well for the pre-Taryphos Doltai. Eventually, Lurhasil's witness of the Apakasi's suffering led to his execution of all Apani across Kyros.

A Lyrian illustration depicting the Doltai

Doltai

The Doltai were the tiger-like ancestors of the Taryphos. Only attaining consciousness in the Zenith Era, the Doltai were well-recorded by Lyrian sources. Most of the Ohkorra Desert was avoided by early Lyrian explorers, due to roaming packs of Doltai known for ambushing travelers among the dunes. They were described as long, massive tiger-like beasts, often seen crawling on their bellies at dune edges to stalk prey.

While Lyrians had dealt with hostile Harbingers and creatures in the past, confrontation with the Doltai was nearly always avoided due to their reputation for stealing souls with their mere gaze. Early Leoth expeditions to the Upper Alta also describe the Doltai as "soul-stealers". This bears incredible similarity to the Kam'ak'tuun of the Kira Jungle, and many theorize that the two may have been related.