Gnolls

Appearance
Gnolls are a tall hyena-like race that stands on two legs; they are roughly six feet tall on average, with a long canine muzzle, large ears, and blackened claws. Their fur is patchy and multicolored, though layered more thinly than their four-legged cousins.

History
Gnolls are an aggressive, tribal species native to the plains of northern Marcuria, and served as a constant threat to early human civilization. While gnolls were driven to relative extinction in Marcuria many centuries ago, some tribes migrated east, through modern Cattan and into Duranin long before the modern era. Early Durai gnolls skirmished often with Huren tribesmen, though were usually bested by the nomads and retreated further south along the coast.

The rise of human colonies in Duranin which founded the modern state bode ill for the gnolls of the land, who once again found themselves bested by the ingenuity of humans, despite a gnoll's physical superiority. In 891AF, a young chieftess called Yarim made the unheard-of decision to surrender, rather than fight to the death against an approaching Durai company. Her actions would actually prove to be the savior of the gnoll race in a twisted fashion; Many gnolls today are used for their physical strength as hard labor in Duranin, but they are essentially a slave-race given few rights or freedoms.

Culture
Gnoll culture is bloodthirsty and violent, focusing on the thrill of the hunt and the lust of the kill, though it is somewhat deeper upon examination than most scholars choose to admit. There is a strong female-centrism to gnoll societies, with an elderly female usually taking the title of chieftess, and most gnoll shaman being female. They have a healthy respect for the cycle of life and death, though they revel in their predatory nature.

Gnoll religion is primitive, focusing less on elaborate dogma and more on the core philosophies of their society as a whole; they worship an earth deity simply called the Old Mother, who gave birth to the gnoll race, then took her own mortal life so the first gnolls could consume her flesh and be made strong. Cannibalism is not a taboo in gnoll society, and to be consumed after death by one's friends and family is considered a sign of respect.

Homelands
While gnolls are capable of compassion and kindness, their chaotic and bloodthirsty nature has ensured most races regard them as little more than barely-sentient feral beasts that must be controlled or exterminated. Most gnolls dwell in the slums of Lowtown, on the southern outskirts of Haven. "Wild" gnolls still exist in small pockets, but are rare.