LoL fan design - Brackern headcanons #1
Ra-xul ("orphan born") are brackern born not to broodmothers, but to ordinary females who abandon them right after giving birth to them. In the cruel world of the Underwell, most ra-xul do not get to live to adolescence, let alone to adulthood. Those that do, are the toughest, most vicious brackern out there who often become the leader of one clan or another as a result. They know how to survive and how to find resources and they aren’t afraid to trample anyone standing in their way to those goals. While adult ra-xul are powerhouses on their own, they usually develop a close bond with whichever clan they become a member or a leader of, and will fight to the bitter end for said clan’s survival. Everything and everyone else outside of the clan is beneath their concern, so much so that leaders are hostile even towards other ra-xul younglings who would be seeking shelter among their ranks. Broodmothers try to adopt those bracklings in secret and integrate them into the clan before the leader could catch on and chase the intruder away.
Ra-tehn ("brood born") are the offsprings of broodmothers who grow up under the protection of their mother and of the clan. They are definitely not as tough and vicious as ra-xul, they are more accepting of outsider brackern, especially if one seeks to join their ranks. But they too are capable of fighting terribly for the survival of their clan and especially of their broodmother. While the ra-xul leader forges the path forward, the ra-tehn ensure all members (ideally) can follow said path.
Not all ra-tehn reach adulthood, of course. Armordillos and other predators, sicknesses, starvation and hostile clans are an ever-present threat in their lives. They also sometimes strike out into the Underwell on their own or in small groups after their second molt to seek a new home, especially if the clan as a whole has fallen on hard times. This almost instinctive migration ensures the creation of new clans, and the refreshing of gene pools. Wandering ra-tehn tend to seek out a new home as far away from the original as possible, to hopefully avoid future conflict with their former family… and Tremors forbid, to avoid harming their beloved mother.
Broodmothers are often strong and well-versed in the natural earth magic all brackern are born with. Despite their relatively lighter weight due to their hollowed-out shells, broodmothers rarely move much, opting to keep vigilance over their scuttling children. This slow life enables them to develop a kind of connection with the earth around them, using it to detect even small dangers such or sounds and movements hundreds of kilometers away. Unfortunately, armordillos have their own brand of earth magic which the more intelligent ones can use to mask their presence from the broodmother just long enough to snatch a brackling away.
And I'm off to the US, by the time this sketchdump goes up. This is going to be an interesting two weeks, for sure!
Either way, I have managed to squeeze in some more brackern headcanons, and I hope you guys enjoy them! Who knows, by the time I get back, I might have even more ideas!
... I might have to tackle the fearsome brackern clan wars eventually, once I get back and recover from the trip and the insane flight times.
(Also, not entirely sure about the non-broodmother female's head, I might change the design down the road.)
More League of Legends stuff (and brackern headcanons)