Dire WolfCanis dirus

Even the solitary Stone Drakes of the region pale in sheer hunting poweress of these ancient and well adpated creatures. Massive in size nearly reaching the height of a human at the shoulder they vaguely resemble modern wolves, with thick coats, pointed ears and a short bushy tail. Unlike modern wolves, these creatures have broad thick jaws and much shorter dense necks to give them incrediable bite force. While not fast or nimble runners, they make up for that in endless stanima, allowing a pack to run down even the largest prey over long drawn out periods without getting tired.  Once a pack picks a target it's rare for that mark to escape their takedown.  Different Dire wolf packs across the Kotakaii region align with different elements magically, but Earth and Wind tends to be the most noticable groups.

Coat colors are very disverse, from all manner of layered browns and greys, to pure white and pure black. Even some shades of rusty orange and steel blue show up from time to time.

Fearsome and powerful, Dire wolves are actaully fairly shy and will avoid contact with human settlements, and will pick disappearing into the woods if a lone induvidual is  approched. Human  and even Kirunhound conflicts can happen when a Dire wolf territory is entered in seasons where food is limited, or when young are at their weakest state. During the harshest winter months, many smaller human towns will burn woodpiles at the edge of forests to help deter the wolves.