The Khenra

In the First Age of Wyrmdream, when the Great Wyrm slept and her dreams began to form the living world, two divine beings, Lystris and Thauris, the Twin Lords of Combat, came forth. From the deep loam of the Dragon's Foothills and the scorched sands of the Cinder Wastes, they took clay and shaped the first of the Khenra, creating them in their own image. So close was their twin creation that the bond was eternal, and thus it was decreed that nearly every Khenra would be born as a twin, two souls sharing a single, unbreakable cord. This sacred bond, a profound and empathetic link unknown to most other races of Wyrmdream, is their greatest strength and their deepest vulnerability.

A People of Instinct and Form

The Khenra are a people forged of lean grace and predatory instinct. They are tall and lithe, with sleek bodies and heads that bear the noble resemblance of jackals. Their snouts are long and sharp, their angular ears rise straight above their heads, and their sharp teeth are a sign of their wild heritage—though they view biting as an uncouth and unworthy combat tactic. Their fur, which covers them from crown to toe, is a stark marker of their homes. The Khenra of the Dragon's Foothills tend to have darker fur that lightens to an almost white shade in the deep of winter, and they are a larger, more robust people, a gift of the foothills' abundant bounty. In contrast, the Desert Khenra of the Cinder Wastes are leaner, with lighter, sandy or dusty-colored fur that remains constant throughout the seasons. Where the foothills Khenra have integrated themselves with other races, the Desert Khenra are more insular and distrustful, keeping to their own or to those who share their arid homeland.

Their lives are an intense, short-lived journey. A Khenra reaches adulthood in their early teens and an initiate of the sacred trials may be no older than that. Even without a violent death, their vibrant lives rarely extend past sixty years.

The Sacred Trials and the Weight of Twinhood

The spiritual heart of the Khenra is the family shrine, where each pair of twins must undertake the rigorous trials of adulthood. It is during these rites that the twins are tested, and their profound bond is both honored and put to the ultimate test. They feel themselves to be the favored of Lystris and Thauris, a belief that grows stronger with each trial they complete. However, the death of one twin in training or a trial is a shattering, life-altering event. The surviving twin, burdened with the ghost of a shared soul, often grows more aggressive and foolhardy in battle, sometimes losing all sense of self-preservation. The rare Khenra born without a twin is believed to have consumed their sibling in the womb and are thus seen as natural-born initiates, destined for a glorified death in the Trial of Zeal, a final, unyielding combat. The twins whose bond is broken before the trials begin are tragically omitted from the rite and often choose to leave their communities in shame, their purpose lost to them.

Paths of Combat

All Khenra have a deep love for combat, and they devote themselves to their physical and martial training with an unwavering intensity. Many, seeing their divine creators as paragons of martial strength, are drawn to hand-to-hand fighting styles. For these warriors, the khopesh—a large, sickle-bladed sword—is their weapon of choice, which they wield with devastating power and accuracy. They disdain armor, comparing it to wearing a leash that limits their ability to charge, lunge, and roll away from danger. Their natural aggression makes them ideal shock troops, scouts, and skirmishers.

Others find their strength in distance, becoming masters of hurled weapons, particularly spears and javelins. They are known and feared for their deadly accuracy and feel a deep sense of shame if they finish a battle with an unthrown weapon. Some augment their attacks from chariots, a practice often combined with minor fire magic.

Magic, too, is seen as an extension of their martial spirit. Many desert Khenra mages favor fire spells, creating blades or hails of flame that sear their foes in an emulation of their scorching homeland. Other mages prefer spells that augment their natural speed and strength, bolster their endurance, or drain the life from their enemies, incorporating elements of hand-to-hand combat into their spellcasting.

The Heretic Path of Fulminax

Though the majority follow the divine Twins, a small, rebellious faction has chosen to turn away from the path of Lystris and Thauris to instead follow the teachings of Fulminax. These Khenra, inspired by the destructive and ruthless battle frenzy of the Wyrm, devote themselves to honing their physical strength, resilience, and adaptability. They have a great fondness for wrestling, or "tussling," and often seek out matches against much larger foes like minotaurs, trolls, and ogres. While their devotion to Fulminax denies them entry into the sacred halls of The Scaled Citadel, they are granted the privilege of guarding the citadel's outer perimeter, a grim duty they carry out with pride.

Khenra Racial Traits

Khenra have the following traits:

  • Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

  • Age: Khenra mature quickly, reaching adulthood in their early teens. Even without a violent death, they rarely live past 60.

  • Alignment: Most Khenra lean toward chaotic alignments. They have no particular inclination toward good or evil.

  • Size: Khenra have similar builds to humans. Your size is Medium.

  • Speed: Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

  • Khenra Weapon Training: You have proficiency with the khopesh, spear, and javelin.

  • Khenra Twins: If your twin is alive, whenever you roll a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. If your twin is dead (or if you were born without a twin), you can't be frightened.

  • Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Khenra.