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. Women instead grow long hair to weave into splendid braids. Even in small ways such as this, Longbeards hold themselves to a famously high standard in all areas of life. While the other Gaellen Pact races of the Orcs, Ogryn, and Lizardmen are all formidable foes, 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. That means that everyone, friend or foe, must fear attracting their ire. By means that few Telerians completely understand, a wound dealt by a Skinwalker can sometimes be a conduit for a spare lingering corrupted animal soul to enter the victim. And that makes Skinwalker regiments an absolute terror. Even if it never comes to pass, the mere possibility of one’s stricken comrades becoming mindless, rampaging, newborn Skinwalkers is enough to break the will of soldier and commander alike. And should it come to pass, havoc is guaranteed. This is a dangerous game, for such a newborn Skinwalker is a menace even to its own sire. 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 and forced to find new loyalties in their life. Prejudices against Skinwalkers are rife everywhere but the Sorrowlakes, so the fledgling Skinwalkers usually feel – or are made to feel – as though they have no home to return to anyway. To create a strong community structure, there is great honor and dignity accorded to the traditional ranks of authority in the Skinwalker armies, from the lowest ‘Hoofmate’ who commands five to eight comrades, to the ‘Five-Claws’ commanding several Hoofmates and ‘Many-Teeth’ who in turn manage Five-Claws. There are ‘Graymanes’ who are wise tacticians but no longer capable of direct fighting, and ‘Snarlers’ who act as military police and all-purpose disciplinarians. These terms drift over time and vary regionally, confusing outsiders. They are not literal and do not prescribe certain features to the Skinwalker who holds a given title, but rather they are symbolically descriptive of the appointee’s role in the great pack. The 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. Some who serve under them might surpass them in raw might, or in strategic or tactical acumen. But Longbeards are perfectly tutored, trained, and practiced in both, so that they may be the best leaders on and off the battlefield overall. They are given knowledge of potent battle-rites and totemic rituals reserved for those who have proven themselves wise enough to deploy them responsibly. One famous example is known as the Crack-Bone Song, Curse of Frail Prey, or ‘brittleness curse’, that saps strength and vitality. Their authority on any particular matter they care to weigh in on, within the ranks of their legion, is law. They are the ultimate deterrent for any troublemakers. Should any branch of the Skinwalker military seem to be growing out of control, or to be responsible for atrocities beyond the pale, the Longbeard at the top of its hierarchy will be held accountable by the combined might of all the other branches. One Longbeard called Jargrunn became renowned as the exemplar of the Longbeard way. He led a portion of the final, suicidal defense of the City of Dreams as the armies of the Telerian League closed in, buying time for refugees to escape. Jargrunn commanded such loyalty and respect that volunteers flocked to his banner to stay behind and fight to the last, even knowing their deaths were nigh-assured. By this stage, the desperate Gaellens had been deploying frantic and poorly-trained Skinwalker recruits, so the Telerians were impressed by Jargrunn’s unexpectedly high standards of leadership and discipline – so impressed that they spared him and his holdouts from the expected massacre when what was now called the City of Lost Dreams finally fell.