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Khodyachii, aka "shadow walkers"

These four-armed, bipedal creatures are not considered beast folk; though they share many similarities with the Sabaarii, they're classified as animals. They possess a similar skeletal structure, tail length and shape, and facial features, including a raptor-like snout with predominantly carnivorous teeth. Like the Sabaarii, they're mammalian, and give birth to live young, whom they breast feed until they're ready to ingest solid foods. Khodyachii females possess two humanoid breasts. It's not known if they can interbreed with Sabaarii, other types of beast folk or humans, thereby producing hybridized off-spring. Information is limited.

The khodyachii, or "shadow walkers," are nocturnal creatures. They show no sexual dimorphism: females and males share an average height, build and color palette. Khodyachii have a hide consisting of a combination of fine scales and plates, not unlike the Sabaarii of the sand-kin. Though they've been seen to possess brighter colors, such as blues, reds, greens, yellows and whites, these are often secondary colors and are rarely bright enough to be easily visible in the dark; their primary colors seem to be blacks, greys and browns, likely to better conceal them in shadow.

They stand approximately seven-feet-tall and have a slender build, walking on long legs and digitigrade feet. Each foot has three primary toes and a fourth vestigial toe, which some speculate might be gradually evolving into a thumb. Their arms are situated with two at the shoulders, like humans or beast folk, and another pair directly beneath them. These lower arms are of equal size and dexterity. Their shoulder blades are long and crescent shaped, to accommodate the extra joints. Each hand contains four fingers and a thumb. Including their toes, they have a total of twenty-eight digits, and each one is capped with a large, razor-sharp claw.

Spikes line their backs and tail, which are highly mobile; they often swing their tails like whips and can curl them around prey to constrict them. They also possess boney protrusions on each elbow and the backs of their ankles, which can be used for slashing or bludgeoning. A pair of horns grow atop their head, which often curve down and then upward, like a reversed and angled 'S'. Both genders possess these horns. Spikes often adorn their faces at the jawline and are nearly identical to the spikes occasionally seen on the Sabaarii of the sand-kin.

They seem to have a form of martial arts that utilizes all their natural abilities. It's often been described as a whirlwind, which many colloquially call the "shadow dance." The khodyachii are known to climb rocks and trees, using their long, slender tails to balance themselves, while their four arms and two legs are used to suspend themselves by branches or crevasses. When prey approaches, they leap from the shadows or drop from the trees, pinning their victims with their legs and upper set of arms while their lower arms and tail eviscerate their victim.

Like many primitive beasts, such as the quill-bear, drakozhai (desert raptors) and dire wolves, they're known to eat their prey raw. It's not known if they live longer or shorter lives than humans or beast folk, as their horns and spikes do not appear to grow with age; they reach a predetermined size in early adulthood and remain the same throughout their lives. It's not known what climates they can tolerate. Information is limited. However, most sightings are in arid deserts, mesas, and the primary forests around such areas, leading one to believe that they cannot handle the colder temperatures of sub-arctic and arctic regions, remaining close to warm-temperate and desert regions.

Many of these physiological traits have, from a distance, led them to be confused for Sabaarii. Many posit that these creatures are somehow related to the Sabaarii, who come in two forms: (A) the land-dwelling sand-kin, who possess fine scales and plates and many more primitive features, such as spikes and feathers, (B) or the water-kin, the amphibious breed with smooth, dolphin-like skin, elven ears and human-like hair. Unlike any of the Sabaarii, the khodyachii have very primitive minds. None have been known to speak a comprehensive language, and social cohesion appears to be maintained through brute force and hierarchical dominance, as seen in common animals such as wolves and lions.

Their social hierarchy isn't fully understood. The khodyachii are often territorial and aggressive, and studying them is very difficult. Should one encounter a female with young, they can expect to be attacked on sight. Should one encounter a lone male, one can expect to be attacked on sight. Should one encounter a tribe and be detected, one can expect to be attacked on sight. Conventional weapons are all extremely effective, as their hides are not thicker than a conventional Sabaarii, despite their increased size, but their nocturnal nature and propensity for ambushes makes close quarters combat highly dangerous, even for the well-trained and armored soldier.

In areas with documented sightings of khodyachii, firearms should be loaded and kept nearby. Travel should be restricted to daylight, as the khodyachii are often a greater threat than bandits or packs of desert raptors. Studies are ongoing, and any pertinent information gleaned from encounters with the khodyachii should be forwarded to the Morveria Bestiary & Botany Society, in the city of Skender, the region of Zhanai.