Hutankai
Appearance:
Built:
From fit to muscular
Height:
Females: 160-205
Males: 165-210
Weight:
Females: 40-145
Males: 45-165
Lifespan:
Females; 120-145
Males: 145-155
Skin:
Blue, green, beige, or brown.
Hair:
None.
Eyes:
Any
Language:
Legend
“Their magic mastery, thick hides, and bursting charges of raw fury make them difficult to defeat.”
“It’s difficult to imagine them being the greatest minds.”
Description
Hutankai are a race of Komodo dragon, caimans, and skink humanoids. Their society is tribal but rigidly stratified, organised into tribes bound by scale markings and blood oaths. They are a faction of ancient reptile mysticism, with units emphasising mobility, terrain mastery, and magic buffing their own and nerfing foes. Although isolationist, they form uneasy alliances with other jungle dwellers, like avian humanoids or plant spirits, against common threats such as invaders or Arisen.
As magic adeptness and brute force are key, their leaders are for the most part large shamanistic individuals of the Komodo dragons. Caiman warriors act as heavy hitters, skink scouts for flanking, and druids for tactical buffing and nerfing; they all excel in gaining area control. Tattoos, piercings, and apparel denote achievements. They are an imposing and feared sight, as encountering them most likely means they are planning to fill their bellies.
Regardless of subtype, they carry themselves with pride until their united morale breaks and they scramble away.
“A strange merge of nature sparked life into their enigmatic race.”
Skjald Vinotis
History
The “Scale Wars”, inter-clan feuds over sacred watering holes, marred the Hutankai history and nearly led to their extinction over time.
Dark Ages
As the first streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes began to appear, some beings felt so at ease at these water sources that a bond began to build. Slowly up through the dark ages, Wickeryadi, Sarcian, Stoicheian, and Archaic began to nourish flora and fauna and shape the landscapes. These archaic came so aligned with the raw forces of the void and the energies of the divines that a bond between them and the primal life sources evolved.
Whether it was influenced by the new divines, the gods, or merely a raw, steady, energetic flow, they slowly changed. Adapting traits of the more primal fauna, some grew calloused hides, others scales. All grew clawed fingers and three or four toes; some even grew long teeth-filled snouts. They underwent all the minuscule alterations necessary to survive in the remote and energetic regions of the void.
As they, through countless generations, became a race of three separate subtypes. The race consisted of swift and agile individuals, strong and sturdy workers, and sly individuals who were encased in powerful bodies. Growing suspicious that it was the gods who orchestrated their changes, they aligned heavily with the magic of the void divinities. When they were hauled onto the world, they managed to keep their three-type tribes unsplit and not spread into enclaves solely of skink, caiman, and komodo.
“Never did they imagine the path they would walk.”
Skjald Valgrif
First Age
Eyes blinking in the new darkness, lit from energies within, ensured that campfires and magic glows radiated to fill the new homes. The Hutankai lived in a golden era before the sun and moon, feasting on an abundance of defenceless or helpless prey. Only the Anurai became a troublesome neighbour; with their mighty leaping and polearm wielding, they became a lethal foe.
Then came the new great gods; gold and silver glowed, and the splendour of the world made a stunning impression on many races. Many began travelling the new world, and some who came to the shores found the Hutankai grotesque and began hunting them or outright attacking their settlements. Not having the same emotions or habits as their enemies, the Hutankai welcomed these newcomers as fresh food supplies.
One of the newcomer groups, the vampires, came but stayed isolated and was one the Hutankai didn’t attack. Maybe it was their Sarcian ties or their inert cold blood, but there is not a single known occasion of a vampire feeding off or embracing a Hutankai. Despite being utterly indifferent to and neutral towards vampires, they did, as old friends of and with ancient legends and rites telling of ties to Drakk Alfar, side with the drakk alfar vampires during the vampire war.
A war of such cataclysmic proportions that when the conflict spun out of control, it not only was close to destroying all Hutankai but also almost destroyed the entire world. Their legend even tells of a disaster so dire that their greatest weavers stood shoulder to shoulder with Anurai mana manipulators in the attempt to still the cataclysmic storm.
“An unbelievable storm birthed an unbelievably broken alliance.”
Skjald El Mary
Second Age
Energies had roared within Komodo shamans as strong and chaotic as those that cracked open the world’s equatorial belt and raised the Rim. Some later said that some Anurai turned energies against Hutankai as soon as it was obvious the 1st cataclysm had been bested. Almost all Hutankai died or lost their minds due to the energetic maelstroms or became utterly mad. Yet, a few managed to not only keep their wits but also grow in capabilities. Maybe due to their minds being rooted in void energies, they became able to perceive the entire magic wheel’s complexity.
They spent the entire second age refining this new understanding, fighting the Anurai, and safeguarding their growing wisdom. Thus did the Hutankai komodos become the most adept magic users of all mortal races. Unmatched by none, it was most likely one of the factors that led to a new god one day appearing— heralding a new age.
“Or maybe I carry the vision it actually sought.”
Skjald Yell'a'Beard
Third Age
At first the Hutankai were impressed by this equal in wisdom and power, but little did they know that this god had already fled one realm, entered another and, leaving it in chaos, fled once more. Soon the Hutankai perceived its flaws and saw through its lies. Aiding their ancient vampire allies, they forced the bullheaded god to leave. And then, trailing the god now gone, came a large armada of Vular. Later they concluded it was the gods’ revenge.
The Vular armada harassed both Hutankai and Anurai, destroying coastal settlements. They created forts serving as bases for inland hunts of valuables and lore. Several centuries passed during which Hutankai suffered under Vularian banners, as the Vularians were skilled at pitting indigenous tribes against one another.
Almost at the first-ever brink of collapse, in the late Third Age, they united under the legendary Scale Lord Raka the Unbroken. Finally, using guerrilla tactics to turn the jungle into graveyards for the invaders, they then destroyed forts one by one and repelled the imperial Vular fleet. It’s said some Vular sailed south, while others returned to the Isles. The Hutankai once more retracted into isolation and sealed their realm.
“Scattered scales are no protection, but an orderly setup is a great defence.”
Skjald Sejrik
Fourth Age
They felt the quake, noticed the distant coloured skies, and sensed the disturbances in the world’s magic flow. The Deep Blue Tsunami still bothered them, even though it was just a single, not-so-large wave, and even though thinned, it brought the tainted water. The tainted water contaminated a few of Hutankais’ sacred ponds and caused some komodos to stop ageing.
When they realised the effect and cause, they were horrified, and they began consulting ancient lore and meditating in dream states. As a result, they emerged once more, due to a prophecy of a “Flood King” telling them to conquer beyond the archipelago in search of artefacts called Buaya’s Eye, gems that reveal illusions.
They became exceedingly aggressive, not only on the archipelago but also down into Armelien, and even sent a few expeditions to the Isles, as they believed it was the Vulars’ homeland. The southern races of Pigryn, Gigan Probomoth, and Romasai delivered fatal blows to their expeditions. Of those sent towards the Isles, there are no records at all. Thus, some komodos came to the conclusion that these two remote realms were the very ‘pair of illusionary eyes’, and they instead launched a campaign to conquer their realm.
Some of our Scholars think, based on Anurai prisoner information, that it was due to this incursion that the Anurai joined the great invasion of the isles. The Anurai tried to destroy the realm to establish a foothold and find a new home. However, we do not know if this made the Hutankai campaign successful. Having faced Anurai warriors, I highly doubt that the Hutankai campaign was a success. But I think we were lucky the Hutankai didn’t invade us as well.
“Have you ever noticed the dual-ruby amulet Yell’a’beard wears?”
Skjald Sigurd
Fifth Age
They could feel the energetic disturbances of the descending god in the final days of the distant cleansing crusade. Unable to figure out what it was, they united all the powerful tribe shamans and druids in a grand ritual. This action seemingly awakened the Great Buaya, which shifted its position, demanding tribute into opened volcanic vents.
“It seemed that it took only a blink of an eye for the contender gods to start scheming again.”
Skjald Kazumix
Cartography
The Hutankai race once claimed dominion over much of the deep jungles and rivers of The Misty Isles, which are located in the northern part of the Outlands. Has according to interrogated Anurai either lost control of, or migrated from it’s mixture of damp shores, rivers, lakes, swamps, jungles, forests, and rough lands. Wether its due to losing to Anurai, or due their profecy, they has left the mist covered green carpet due to humidity rolling down from the north.
Thus but a few large tribes lives in lands with the impression of isolated isles of treetops floating in the skies. Towering kapok trees form natural citadels, their roots weaving into labyrinthine networks that serve as hidden pathways. Rivers teem with predatory fish, and the air hums with the calls of exotic birds—echoes of the Hutankai’s reptilian heritage.
Others has migrated to Armelien, living in what yas become The Lizard Lands, were volcanic vents spew sulphurous mists, creating perpetual twilight where bioluminescent fungi illuminate sacred groves.
Their settlements, known as “Kampungs of the Scale”, are built on stilts above flood-prone deltas or carved into cliffside caves. These are not mere villages but living fortresses, camouflaged by vines and illusions woven by shamans and druids.
The Hutankai thrive in this hostile paradise, where monsoons bring renewal and predators hone their instincts. Outsiders or hunters who venture too deep into unknown areas often vanish, claimed by quicksand traps or the silent strikes of Hutankai scouts. A reminder of their isolated societies, more at each other’s scales than united against common enemies.
“In Darim’s misty mountains, some say lives a tribe of Hutankai.”
Skjald El Mary
Organisation
Their tribes are matriarchal in spiritual matters, with elder females—known as “Egg Mothers”—overseeing hatcheries and passing down oral histories through rhythmic chants. Loyalty is absolute; betrayal is punished by exile in the “Devouring Depths”, a myth-shrouded abyss where the unworthy are said to regress into feral beasts.
At the apex stand the komodo (Huta-kom) Scale Lords, elder warriors who have survived the Rite of the Maw—a brutal trial where aspirants must wrestle a wild caiman bare-handed and claim its teeth as trophies. These lords command the tribe’s military might, leading raids on rival factions or defending against invasive empires seeking the jungle’s rare spices and gems. Beneath them are the core castes, each embodying aspects of their hybrid nature.
Komodos also include Shamans, ranked alongside the scale lords; these millennia-old, rare individuals are recognised for their insight. Adorned in feathered headdresses and bone talismans, gaining their mystical energy from geothermal springs, they commune with ancestor spirits and the jungle’s elemental forces. They are so bonded with nature that they can perform a ritual invoking the “Veil of Vapours”, a battlefield-covering mist, to conceal their armies.
As well as utilising the veil of vapours, they can manipulate the weather and the world’s earth nodes to create ‘Burps of Great Buaya’, as the Anurai call the lava vent manipulations, or they can call forth swarms to harass invaders.
Ranked below the mothers, generals, and shamans, but above the warrior and scout classes, are the druids of all three types, often bearing prophetic scars from vision quests, where they ingest hallucinogenic herbs to glimpse future battles. Often, their magic manifests as illusions of spectral crocodiles scaring enemies or bursts of corrosive mist that dissolve armour. These druids are rare, born under rare eclipses, and trained in secluded academies hidden within volcano calderas, where they learn to bind spells to totems for battlefield use.
Caimen (Huta-cai) are hulking figures with caiman-like jaws and thick, plated scales. They wield obsidian-tipped spears and shields fashioned from petrified wood, excelling in ambush warfare. In battle, they enter the “River Rage,” channelling primal fury to shrug off wounds and crush foes with tail sweeps.
Skinks (Huta-ski) are slender, skink-like operatives with chameleon skin that shifts to match the foliage. Masters of stealth, they navigate the canopy with claw-gloves and blowpipes loaded with paralytic darts derived from jungle frogs, or captured Anurai. Their role extends to espionage, mapping enemy territories or retrieving lost artefacts from sunken ruins.
“Those of the egg that hatch as a magic one are destined for glory.”
Skjald Sigurd
The Hutankai revere the cycle of predation and rebirth, viewing life as an eternal hunt where the weak feed the strong. Their religion is centred on the Pantheon of the Depths: the Great Buaya for strength, the Swift Skink for cunning, and the Human Echo for wisdom. Festivals involve elaborate dances mimicking crocodile death rolls, accompanied by gamelan-like instruments made from hollowed logs and resonant scales.
Artistry flourishes in scale engravings and woven tapestries depicting epic hunts. The cuisine features spiced meats roasted over lava pits, with fermented fruits granting temporary visions.
Magic is intertwined with daily life; shamans bless weapons with river spirits, while druids craft amulets that allow brief water-breathing or other buffs.
A few Hutankai tribes keep slaves, but they generally don’t last long, as they are considered a food supply.
“To think that they internally seem civilised is hard to imagine.”
Skjald Valgrif
Special
Regardless of the situation, they will redirect their attention to any Anurai that comes into view.
“Millennia of warfare creates a deep animosity.”
Skjald Sejrik
Last Updated on 2026-02-11 by IoM-Christian