K'ell Hunter

K'ell Hunters are the warriors of the K'Chain Che'Malle, said to be the firstborn of every brood and the Matron's own children, answerable to her alone. They stand upright on their hind legs like wingless birds, twice the height of a man, their forearms ending in enormous curved blades a man's length that appear fused to the wrists. A long serrated tail tapers behind them for balance as they move on three-toed taloned feet, covering more than six feet at a silent stride and running at twice the pace of a horse's canter. From a dead stop they can leap twenty paces. Their faces are flat and wide, the long snouts bristling with two rows of fangs beneath ornate skull-cap helms whose cheekguards sweep together over the muzzle. Most wear harness or armour of leather and metal across shoulders, chest, and hips. Their senses outreach a human's, and they live roughly a thousand years.