Maiko's Note
Some call it a beast. The Awashalani call it kin. Watching one of these gentle giants walk the plains is like seeing the land itself take a breath. Their massive forms glide gracefully, as if they’re in tune with the very earth beneath them. If you’re quiet enough, you can feel the ground listen—reverent, patient, as the Krovil moves through its domain.
The Lord of the Land
Shindjal: Krovil
Faction:
Awashalani, Imperi kòu Hanjelani
“Only a fool stands before a moving rock.”
— Hanjelani military proverb
1. Overview
The Krovil is a massive, land-dwelling beast native to the plains and wetlands of central Shawadjàn. Known for its strength, endurance, and slow but unstoppable movement, the Krovil has long been domesticated by the Awashalani for agricultural labor and heavy transport. In the hands of the Imperial legions, however, it becomes a symbol of power - armored and revered as a living engine of war and construction.
2. Origins & Background
The Krovil has no place in myth - it is a creature of earth, weight, and work. Though wild herds still roam the wetlands, most Krovil today are born into domesticated lines. The Awashalani have raised them for generations, not as sacred beasts but as trusted companions in toil.
The Empire, always seeking tools of conquest, took notice and began acquiring them to support their expanding infrastructure and campaigns. Over time, the Krovil became synonymous with the logistical might of Hanjelani civilization - not feared, but respected for its tireless strength.
Krovil show clear sexual dimorphism. The males are larger and more heavily built, abearing prominent horns on their snouts as well as on the back of their heads. The females and calves appear less armoured, but often carry more moss on their backs, helping them blend into the landscape as rocks.
3. Cultural / Environmental Context
Krovil inhabit lowland grasslands, river valleys, and swampy plateaus where their wide, splayed feet can support their massive weight. Their stone-like hide is cracked and ridged, often mistaken from a distance for part of the landscape. Slow-moving and deliberate, they navigate by memory and scent, and communicate with deep, subsonic bellows that ripple through the ground.
While the Awashalani breed and raise them for farmwork and transport, their use is purely functional - the Krovil is too slow for cavalry and too heavy for speed. Nevertheless, it is deeply integrated into daily life, and young herders often form lifelong bonds with their beasts.
In contrast, the Imperial Corps of Engineers and the Hanjelani legions view the Krovil as a strategic asset. Teams of Krovil pull monumental stone blocks, siege platforms, and temple materials. In wartime, they are deployed to batter through barricades or serve as mobile cover for advancing troops. The beasts are sometimes fitted with partial armor or ceremonial plating.
4. Role in the World
While peaceful by nature, the Krovil is a creature of overwhelming physical presence, and both the Awashalani and Hanjelani have learned to harness its might when needed.
The Awashalani, though preferring the Krovil as a herder’s companion and fieldworker, know that when cornered or threatened, even a single Krovil can flatten enemies, crush barricades, or shatter carts. In desperate times, they have been led into battle to scatter enemy ranks and protect retreating kin.
The Empire, in contrast, has turned the Krovil into a platform of war. Armored and steered by handlers, the Battle Krovil marches alongside imperial legions, breaking enemy lines, trampling fortifications, and carrying archer platforms or siege weaponry on its reinforced back. It is too slow to chase - but impossible to stop. A single charge can turn a stalemate into a rout.
Across the continent, tales of Krovil charges are etched in both folk memory and military strategy. Whether feared or admired, no one questions the might of a beast that moves the earth beneath its feet.
5. Language & Terminology
Krovil (Drabàshabal): “stonemaker” from krolo (stone) + vijlan (to make)
Common Sayings:
“Even the Krovil marches for us.” (Imperial pride)
“The land moves when it must.” (Awashalani caution)
“Only a fool stands before a moving stone.” (Common proverb)
No alternate names exist across the tribes — the Krovil's presence is too practical, too massive, to be mistaken for anything else.
6. Notable Locations / Figures
Krovijon Paths: Ancient trade routes worn into the plains by Krovil caravans
Red Processions: Imperial Krovil-led construction parades, often tied to state rituals
Marshhold Ranches: Awashalani training grounds near river deltas
7. Lore Snippets or Anecdotes
An imperial fortress near the Kosudjan frontier was said to have been built in five days, not by magic, but by thirty Krovil hauling stone day and night without rest.
During the winter floods of a recent generation, a single Krovil carried a village’s food stores across the swamp after all other paths were lost.
Maiko's Note
Some call it a beast. The Awashalani call it kin. Watching one of these gentle giants walk the plains is like seeing the land itself take a breath. Their massive forms glide gracefully, as if they’re in tune with the very earth beneath them. If you’re quiet enough, you can feel the ground listen—reverent, patient, as the Krovil moves through its domain.
