“Where the Horder kills and keeps, the Timo kills and obeys.”

— Dumatra field saying


The Timo are a degenerate offshoot of the ancient Horder line, a feral and malformed breed whose evolution was marked not by advancement, but by survival through submission. In the harsh, predatory ecosystem of Dumatra, only the adaptable endure, and the Timo embody that truth. Once thought extinct after the rise of the Montaro, they persisted in the shadowed undergrowth and bone caves of the southern marshlands, their bodies reshaped by generations of scarcity, disease, and exposure to Dumatra’s mutagenic flora.


Over time, these creatures became something new: smaller, leaner, and utterly obedient to strength. Whether by instinct or inherited conditioning, the Timo learned to recognise hierarchy, to defer to larger predators, to serve the dominant. It was this instinct that allowed them to be domesticated, first by the Montaro and later by the Dumatrans, who saw in them the perfect guardians: relentless, loyal, and terrifying.


The Timo are immediately recognisable as kin to the Horders, yet visibly broken by time and mutation. Their frames are compact and hunched, averaging six to eight feet in length, though rarely more than four feet high at the shoulder. Their skin is grey-brown, stretched taut over wiry muscle and bone. Many possess asymmetrical features such as skewed jaws, mismatched eyes, and elongated limbs, yet these deformities give them a grotesque efficiency in movement.


Their heads are large and angular, with gaping maws of needle-like teeth suited for shredding rather than crushing. The eyes are small, set deep, and glow faintly in dim light, a remnant of their nocturnal hunting past. Their tongues are long and black, used for scent and taste combined, allowing them to track prey or recognise the scent of their masters from miles away.


Though capable of bipedal movement in bursts, the Timo primarily run on all fours, fast, agile, and disturbingly silent. When standing upright, their silhouettes resemble twisted versions of the Montaro, an echo of their greater cousins’ power warped into something feral and submissive.


A Timo’s defining trait is servility to dominance. They possess a rudimentary intelligence, akin to that of a trained wolf or primitive humanoid, but it is shaped entirely by instinctual hierarchy. They respect only power and once that power is recognised, their loyalty is absolute.


Montaro communes often keep small packs of Timo as guard-beasts, training them through physical dominance and scent-binding rituals. Once bonded, a Timo will defend its master until death, attacking anything perceived as a threat with terrifying persistence. To the Montaro, this bond is sacred, the beast’s loyalty is not enforced, but earned through ritualised displays of command and restraint.


The Dumatrans, however, take a more practical approach. In Dumatra’s fortified settlements and military outposts, Timo are used as living perimeter defences, fitted with bone or metal harnesses and trained to respond to horn signals. They are kept in deep pits or darkened chambers until needed, released in swarms that overwhelm intruders with sheer feral aggression. Dumatrans often view them as both tool and weapon: expendable, but revered as embodiments of Dumatra’s savage spirit.


Despite their obedience, Timo are not tame. They are known to turn on weak handlers or tear apart those who show fear. Their minds, though loyal, remain wild — guided by instinct and scent more than thought.