Beneath snow-capped peaks, where white drifts bury the
chaos of rocks and streams, the formidable enkoh make
cities of ice and snow. Well-adapted to colder climes,
these thick-furred simian folk blend an innate skill for
survival with a piercing intelligence, making homes in
inhospitable environments.
Community and Craftsmanship
Enkoh have a transformative effect on their environment,
domesticating beasts, curtailing avalanches, and building
sprawling towns. With singular intent, enkoh collaborate to
form a unified community capable of raising a city from the
icy wastes in a matter of months. Their realms can be found
within vast glaciers and snowfields, boasting soul-soothing
hot springs and serving steaming winter cider fermented
inside the trunks of hibernating trees.
Few enkoh structures are ancient; the ephemeral nature
of ice and slow creeping of glaciers means only those structures in the coldest, flattest expanses are over a few hundred
years old. This transient nature leads enkoh to value their
kith and kin—their troop—over any single location, and
has made them masters of ice-crafting. With saw and skin,
enkoh cut and melt ice just enough so that it forms solid
bonds upon re-freezing. This method produces edifices
of fantastical shapes; indeed, enkoh architecture is widely
regarded as some of the most beautiful in the Yokai Realms
by the few foreign eyes to have seen it.
Troops of Solitude
Masters of ice-craft, enkoh guard their crafting secrets
fiercely and rarely trade anything more than the essentials
with other races. Though it is rare for an enkoh to leave
their troop, the lure of master crafters specialising in metal
and stone, as well as tales of verdant, sprawling landscapes
not cloaked in ice, can lead some into lives of adventure.
Fewer still return to their troop, but those that do are warmly welcomed and can expect a peaceful old age in return for
sharing the wisdom of their travels.