Editing EternalEmpire:Races (section)

=== Vol Kor’y ===

	Vol Kor’y (pronounced vole-ko-REE; Arqi Vulcrini) is the general name given to a variety of human-animal races that, aside from their mix of bestial physique and human intellect, hold no close biological relationship with one another. ‘Beastmen’ of this sort come in myriad forms, most commonly as monstrous apes, goats, and wolves. Some of these creatures are bipedal with well-developed manipulators; most are not. Almost all of them have the ability to speak and they are apparently capable of abstract thought and reasoning far more complex than anything in the wild. While many laymen believe these creatures to be the offspring of a human and a wild animal, scholars of more advanced civilizations hold this notion to be utterly inconceivable, pointing to the impossibility of such procreation in natural law and the existence of self-sustaining populations as evidence to the contrary. Examination of such creatures reveals that these creatures are neither human nor lower animal, but completely different life forms altogether. Their origins are unknown, but it is surmised that they are the products of dark sorceries, the experiments of the ancients, or the more recent creations of the Gods. To some extent, all three are true.

	The name Vol Kor’y comes from a particularly truculent tribe of these creatures that plagued human settlers on the plains and foothills of what is today the province of Zacta Ponensus, to the west of the Ponostîria Mountains. The archives of the Kings of Lostram record violent encounters with these nomadic savages as far back as the 7th century AGA, although it was not until the Plains Wars of the 900s that their name became renown for their ferocity and cunning. The original Vol Kor’y slaughtered men, women, and children indiscriminately in their raids on frontier settlements, and were a serious threat to trade caravans and river barges in the area. In 970, an expeditionary force of 8,000 soldiers led by the Probite of Otolens was annihilated on the narrow banks of the Oster River by an enormous horde of beastmen (Disaster at the Ford of Stosa). Although their success was storied and later romanticized (as the Arqi are inclined to do with their staunchest enemies at the safe interpose of a few centuries), it was not to last. By 976, the remaining Vol Kor’y in Zacta Ponensus were suppressed by the campaigns of Subico Galbo Brewi. In addition to annihilating the Vol Kor’y, Galbo took great pains to studying and writing about their society, social structure, religion, industry, and so forth. To this day, most of what we know about the Vol Kor’y comes from his memoirs.
	
Galbo reported that the Vol Kor’y of the Zacta Ponensus comprised no less than seven distinct types of beastmen, each forming their own distinct family groups and tribes, but united into the Vol Kor’y tribal federation through ancient blood pacts. Galbo discovered that this unity and peace lasts only in the presence of foreign interlopers, and that the tribes are otherwise engaged in internecine wars with one another over territory for grazing and hunting, and this knowledge was instrumental in effecting their destruction. To the surprise of many, their religious customs were not wholly alien. While many did indeed worship unknown or debased conceptions of traditional deities, there were some striking similarities in ritual and theology among the Vol Kor’y, Keomese cults, and even some elements of mainstream Chingolun, although they were totally without knowledge of sorcery. They had virtually no knowledge or patience for agriculture and built only crude dwellings, but managed some sophisticated tools, particularly weapons and chariots. Their society was wholly nomadic, although they rotated back and forth between broad swaths of ancestral game land. In war, the Vol Kor’y were dominated by the Apemen and to a lesser extent, the Wolfbears, who being the most intelligent and most heavily thewed, were the natural leaders and heavy infantry. The rest of the races were used in specialty roles, such as fast scouts (Canids & Vulpids), skirmishers and bowmen (of which the goat-like Caprids were the most effective), and especially as fodder for close assaults (Minotauroids, Caprids, and Swinemen). As suggested, the Vol Kor’y also used cavalry, normally in the form of Drom and even Ox-drawn chariots to great effect. While the quadrupedal Vol Kor’y like the Canids and the Vulpids were natural cavalry, they had to rely on their own teeth and claws as weapons rather than a rider with a bola or bow, and had considerably less speed than Droms, so they were employed primarily as reconnaissance and harassment rather than the main thrust.

	There can be no doubt that similar populations of beastmen continue to exist in the modern day, though whether or not any portion of the original Vol Kor’y society still exists is a point of debate.  While encounters are rare, they are usually bloody, and those who live on the fringes of settled country must still concern themselves with combating their raids. Concentrations are greatest in the central and northern portions of Otovan, especially in the Quanaradi and Draven mountains, in the northernmost parts of the Stadden, and in the forested valleys of Loswath. In these regions, beastmen societies tend to be much less cosmopolitan than the Vol Kor’y of Ponensus, usually composed of single racial groupings. A handful of small populations have been discovered with more stable and advanced societies that have developed farming, sophisticated metallurgy, and written languages. Even so, beastmen have a much inferior technical capacity, so they must resort to trading and plunder for access to advanced devices. The most desired items are inevitably firearms, explosives, and strong blades, which they employ to kill humans as often as game.