Garis

Garis

Player Strain

The Garis (🔊 GARE-is) are a collection of canine, lupine, and vulpine humanoid people who live on the southern shores of Otan.

Strain	Garis
Scientific name	Homo Cynoides
Plural	Garis
Possessive	Garisi
Substrains	Akimsilik, Beybitsilik, Ustemdik
Language	Common, Gith

The Garis (Homo Canis) are a resilient canine-humanoid strain inhabiting the southern shores of Otan, defined by a culture that balances primitive predatory instincts with a sophisticated, star-gazing philosophy. Their society is governed by a unique Triumvirate composed of three specialized substrains: the warlike Ustemdik, who embody the pack's strength and martial prowess; the security-minded Beybisilik, who serve as the watchful guardians of their territory; and the naturally administrative Akimsilik, who manage the intricate logistics of their coastal civilization.

Like all inhabitants of Otan, the Garis have a pre-Erasure history that is a void, yet they are uniquely driven by a collective ancestral memory. Through recurring dreams, magical divinations, and sharpened canine instincts, they have cultivated the firm belief that they were once a spacefaring race that ruled the cosmos, viewing their current life on Otan not as a home, but as a period of humble exile.

Physically, the Garis manifest various canine traits, including fur, muzzles, and digitigrade-leaning gaits that grant them exceptional agility across the rugged southern coastlines. Despite their formidable physical capabilities and the warmongering reputation of their warriors, the Garis maintain a surprisingly contemplative internal life, with many of their rituals focused on the heavens. They are a people of dualities, fierce protectors of their current borders who simultaneously treat their terrestrial existence as a temporary stay, keeping their eyes perpetually fixed abroad, anticipating the inevitability of global domination.

Society and Culture

In Otan, there are few governments nearly as effective as the Garis Triumvirate, making their society run like a well-oiled machine. There is a variety in their societal goals, which shifts slowly but dramatically over time. Their default way of life is to build, strengthen, and improve their daily lives.

The lupine and hawkish Ustemdik beat the drums of war continually. Except perhaps after a significant defeat on some battlefront, they urge the Garis to go to war without pause. Their hyena-like counterparts, the Beybitsilik, on the other hand, are security-minded and interested only in maintaining and strengthening the territory the Garis already hold. The vulpine Akimsilik hold the balance of power, and when they side with the Ustemdik, they set loose the dogs of war.

Physical Characteristics

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The Garis are comparatively tall humanoids, often topping 12 Kol in height. They vary from humans most notably in the shapes of their heads and jaws, which have taken on canine-like features. In addition to their canine heads, their other canine features include a coat of fur, padded feet, and long tails. Whether for fashion or war, some Garis have been known to have their tails bobbed or completely removed.

While their lower limbs resemble those of a large canine, their arms are decidedly more human, having the full range of motion enjoyed by ordinary humans. Their fingers are tipped by claws rather than fingernails, but they do not experience a loss of dexterity because of this variation.

Natural and Latent Abilities

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The three varieties of Garis have their obvious differences, but share many of the same characteristics between them. Firstly, they all possess a keen sense of smell and can tell individuals apart from a distance. With a familiar person, they can sense that person's mood from scent alone.

Despite a heightened sense of smell, they seem to have a terrible sense of taste, taking delight in food that most other occupants of Otan would find disgusting, even horrific. Their eyesight is a mixed blessing as they are often colorblind, though many can see well enough in low light.

History

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In the time since the first year, the Garis have had an isolationist history. Unlike those of other societies, the Garis had a difficult time to the loss of their memories during the Great Erasure. A shepherd awakening in the field did not instinctively know how to herd sheep as did every other substrain on Otan.

The early history of the Garis includes the re-formation of their Triumvirate government, another aspect of Garis society that they did not have an automatic feeling for. Some believe there was no such government before the Great Erasure, though it is impossible to determine this. The remainder of Garis history mostly involves attempting to re-learn what was lost in the Great Erasure and to decide how the Garis should fit in the world of Otan.

Garisi Substrains

Beybitsilik Substrain

Description:The Beybitsilik (🔊 BAY-bit-SIL-ik) are a Garis variant with hyena-like features, including spotted fur and a short muzzle. They live on and guard the border regions of the Garis Triumvirate.

Overview:The Beybitsilik (Homo Canis Custos) serve as the essential mediators of Garis society, distinguished physically by their hyena-like features. They possess shorter snouts than their kin and are often crowned with a prominent mane that sweeps from the forehead down past the nape of the neck. While these lupine traits are striking, they are purely cosmetic; the Beybitsilik remain genetically compatible with all other Garis and even other human strains.

The Beybitsilik are defined by an over-arching concern for harmony and the peaceful integration of all things. In times of peace, they act as the connective tissue between the Garis factions, tirelessly monitoring the delicate relations between the administrative Akimsilik and the warlike Ustemdik to ensure the "exiled" pack remains unified in its purpose.

Due to their innate ability to de-escalate high-tension situations and facilitate compromise, the Beybitsilik naturally gravitate toward roles of protection and civil service. They frequently form the majority of the rank-and-file within police departments across the southern shores, even within the specialized cities of the other two Garis variants.

The presence of the Beybitsilik is widely praised throughout the triumvirate, as they possess a psychological toolkit specifically tuned for conflict resolution. Whether patrolling a bustling coastal market or mediating a dispute between rival pack leaders, the Beybitsilik provide the stability required for Garis civilization to flourish while they collectively anticipate their eventual global dominance.

Ustemdik Substrain

Description:The Ustemdik (🔊 OO-stem-dik) are the lupine variant of Garis with strong wolfen features and an intimidating gaze. They inhabit The Garis Triumvirate's southern regions.

Overview:The Ustemdik (Homo Canis Bellum) represent the martial heart and numerical majority of the Garis people, primarily populating the dense urban and rugged wilderness centers of the Ustemdik Region. Physically, they possess the most prominent lupine features of the triumvirate, characterized by an intimidating gaze and coarse fur that typically ranges from obsidian black to snow white, with various gradients of grey in between.

While brownish or reddish tinges occasionally appear due to ancestral overlap with other variants, the Ustemdik are easily identified by their thick, brushy tails and a powerful, predatory carriage that reflects their role as the pack's primary warriors. Their proud nature undoubtedly fuels the intimidating posture that gives them a larger-than-life presence in any setting away from their home.

Politically and socially, the Ustemdik exist in a constant state of hawkish readiness, viewing the world through the lens of inevitable conflict. They are the architects and primary operators of the Garis Border Patrol, an elite force dedicated to the absolute security of their southern shores. Their doctrine is one of extreme isolationism; they actively prevent "undesirables", often defined as any non-Garis, from entering their territory, viewing the outside world with deep-seated suspicion.

The sole significant exception to the Ustemdik xenophobic rule is made for the Dweorges, whose vital trade in high-grade metals is deemed essential for the Ustemdik's continuous military war machine. Every aspect of Ustemdik life is a preparation for the day they move beyond their "exile," fueled by a cultural conviction that global domination is not just a goal, but their destiny. They strongly believe that a world war will trigger Ragnarok and redeem all Garis forever.

Akimsilik Substrain

Description:The Akimsilik (🔊 AHH-kim-SIL-ik) are a Garis variant with vulpine features such as a narrow snout and fluffy tail. They live mostly in the Akimsilik Region of the Garis Triumvirate.

Overview:The Akimsilik (Homo Canis Administrator) function as the intellectual and logistical backbone of Gari society, driven by a biological imperative toward structure and categorization. This substrain possesses an innate, almost obsessive-compulsive instinct for order; they find profound unease in the unaccounted-for or the displaced, making them the premier record-keepers and bureaucrats of the southern coast.

In Garis culture, this manifests as a natural talent for "bookish" professions, where they tirelessly enumerate the resources and movements of the pack. Those among them gifted with the knack for magic frequently rise to become powerful spellcasters, utilizing their disciplined minds to master the complexities of arcane theory, while those without magical aptitude serve as the vital administrators that keep Gari civilization functioning with clockwork precision.

While their temperament typically steers them toward the halls of governance, individual Akimsilik occasionally venture into the more physically demanding roles held by their kin. Even when serving in military or law enforcement capacities, both within and outside the Akimsilik Region, they are rarely found on the chaotic front lines. Instead, their analytical nature draws them toward detective work, military intelligence, or strategic planning. In these roles, they apply their sharp canine senses and deductive minds to solve puzzles that would baffle others, ensuring that every threat is identified and every asset is perfectly positioned.

Whether managing the archives of a coastal city or coordinating a complex intelligence operation, the Akimsilik remain ever-watchful, ensuring that the Garis people remain organized and prepared for their eventual dominance.

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