Longbeard

Longbeards are among the most exalted commanders of Skinwalker forces, and the Gaellen Pact relied on these forces extensively during the Gaellen War. To be named a Longbeard is to be given a position of great military authority and some minor political influence as well. The title symbolically represents both the length of their service and their impeccable grooming for the position. A Longbeard often cultivates the long beard called for by the title, even though, as with the other ranks inspired by Skinwalker physiology, it is not a requirement. Skinwalkers have a unique combination of physical and psychological power on the battlefield. Not only are most Skinwalkers larger and stronger than an average Human, they bear a dreadful but inevitable side effect of their transformation: they can spread the Skinwalker curse. The Skinwalker armies must maintain ironclad discipline to stop the very nature of their curse from creating too much chaos to manage. New Skinwalkers, former foes taken from the battlefield, typically must be press-ganged into service. Longbeards are one constant across all Skinwalker forces, however. They are the high council of the Skinwalker military and each is the pinnacle and the pride of their particular division of troops.