Kesh-Hound



Kesh-Hounds are an indigenous species of Des Prime native to the Badhurin and Anadonin Plateaus. While technically omnivores, they act primarily as carnivores, hunting ibex in packs. Similar to hyenas, they are a matriarchal species and the females tend to be larger than the males.

An adult can get up to one and a half meters in length, and nearly a meter tall at the shoulder, weighing in at up to sixty kilos. The most notable physical traits are the long ridge of striped hair that runs along their spine, and their almost elephantine nose which evolved to help warm and moisturize the cold dry air of the high altitude plateaus.

They are usually of dappled coloration, the colors ranging from light grey to orange to brown to black to even a brownish red. They have superb hearing and sense of small, but rather poor eyesight, although they do have comparatively decent night vision.

They are also adept sprinters, capable of reaching seventy kilometers an hour for a short stretch. In addition they have massively powerful bite strength and can, and will, bite through and consume just about anything.

Several centuries prior to the Cataclysm, kesh-hounds were first domesticated by the Dyari, though they have changed very little in the process.

Their domestication was fortunate as it virtually saved the species. The Cataclysm wiped out nearly all wild kesh-hound packs, save for a handful in the most protected sections of the plateaus, and so the vast majority of the kesh-hound population is now domesticated.

Among the domesticated kesh-hounds, there are three primary breeds. Anadonin Herders are smaller than most other breeds, being compact but quite stocky, and have a longer and thicker coat and a shorter ridge of hair. Badhurin Seekers resemble their wild counterparts a great deal, but are much more lean, streamlined, and built for speed. Barony Hounds are the largest and most popular in the cities, with very short hair but a very tall ridge of hair, and the most natural muscle tone.