In episode 234 of the TTV Podcast, a lot of discussion went down as to the nature of the Rahkshi in their hypothetical G3. Some concept art on the topic was discussed and an invitation for more extended; I decided to have a go at re-designing the iconic '03 villains myself. Just a quick, crudely colored set of sketches and little descriptions.
Descriptions:
Lerahk (Air/Jungle, Poison)
An agile, monkey-like creature, this rahkshi is unmatched in running and leaping through treetops. Its speed and ability to somewhat alter the color of its armor to match its environment make it extremely difficult to pin down. This rapid movement requires a lot of energy, and as such the Lerahk has a sail stretched between its spines that can absorb heat from sunlight to save it energy in regulating its body temperature. It can also function like a radiator in the shade to allow the Lerahk to cool down if required. Equipped with a stinger loaded with terribly potent venom at the end of its prehensile tail, the Lerahk’s strikes are fast and almost universally deadly, though not on immediate impact. Rather than fighting prolonged battles, the Lerahk will leap down, strike with the stinger, and then get away from its victim to let the poison take effect. The victim will quickly become disoriented, then be overcome with such terrible pain that it can hardly move. Seizures follow, terrible convulsions that eventually lead to death, not directly from the poison, but from exhaustion from the seizures. The process can take up to two agonizing hours, hours that the cruel and sadistic Lerahk will spend watching the process from the treetops. If its face could grin during this time, it would.
Panrahk (Stone, Fragmentation)
Light of build and equipped with wings anchored to its arms, a greatly extended finger, and the sides of its body, the Panrahk is a very powerful flyer that soars high over deserts to find targets it can take down or bodies of creatures that succumbed to the heat to scavenge on. Though smaller than any other Rahkshi, its strength, armor and tough wing membrane allow it to fly even in a sandstorm. Its claws and talons alone, combined with its speed, could make it a formidable fighter, but it is in its tail that its greatest weapon lies: tipped with what to the uninitiated looks like a sharpened tuning fork, it is able to fire small bolts or beams of energy that explode violently on impact. These explosions can shatter rocks, create large craters in sand, and cause severe concussions to even heavily armored creatures. Though their almost graceful, gliding way of flying when not in combat can make the Panrahk look quite serene, it is very trigger-happy with this weapon and will sometimes fire blasts at the ground, rock formations, or anything else that stands out as a target just to watch something blow up. In combat, the Panrahk relies heavily on its explosive weaponry along with flyby attacks with its talons. If capable, it will sometimes pick up foes stunned by its concussive blasts, then fly up and drop them from great height.
Kurahk (Ice, Anger)
The largest and heaviest Rahkshi in stature, the Kurahk wanders the frozen wastes in any weather and seems entirely unaffected by it. Well… unaffected physically, for while its bulk and the heavy fur coat around its torso would seem to do a fine job of keeping it physically insulated, its demeanor is that of a creature in a state of perpetual rage. It aggressively pursues anything that moves, and while it is not particularly fast its brute strength ensures that anything caught by it is not going to live through the experience. Though it is sometimes seen carrying a staff, its main weapons are gigantic, clawed hands whose fingers are studded on the inside, providing it with maximum grip when climbing icy slopes and inflicting maximum pain on creatures being held, crushed and swung about by it. In combat, the Kurahk’s rage means that it does not hold anything back; unlike the Lerahk or Panrahk, who dispatch of foes efficiently if cruelly, the Kurahk charges and aims to pummel its foes into submission and then pummel their corpses into pulp afterwards. The few who have managed to get close to it have observed that the creature appears to radiate an aura of hate, stirring up agitation, anger, and eventually blind aggression in creatures around it to match those displayed by the Kurahk itself.
Guurahk (Water, Disintegration)
The Guurahk is a fierce foe in two worlds. Underwater, its large, webbed feet, sail fin, and great strength allow it to match the fastest swimmers in pace, while on land its thick, leathery armoring provides it with a tremendous resilience and keeps it from drying out. Moving like a lumbering hulk on land, the Guurahk resembles a nightmarish combination of all manner of sea creatures, its form barely concealed by the layers of seaweed often draped over its shoulders and limbs. Its hands, rather than fingers, feature four long tentacles that can be partially retraced into the arm for protection. It has similar though smaller tentacles lining its head as well. Underwater, nodules sensitive to changes in electric fields placed on its head and limbs allow it to locate moving creatures nearby even in total darkness. In combat, it fights like a wrestler, but one with tremendously strong grasping tentacles to work with. Besides outright constriction, these tentacles have one additional, frightening power; when gripped tight around living or non-living material, they drain it of all moisture and can rapidly reduce it to dust. The Guurahk seems to delight in nothing more than to restrain its victim with these tentacles and then proceed to dismantle them limb from limb, making them watch helplessly and in horror as parts of their body disintegrate in front of them.
Turahk (Fire, Fear)
The rahkshi are all fearsome creatures, but none project their power to terrify their foes as much as the Turahk does. Equipped with a heavy armored shell and typically walking hunched over or even on all fours, its physique has been likened to that of a massive cockroach. That alone would make the Turahk terrifying enough, but the display doesn’t stop there. Dark, jagged crystals whose cores emit an orange glow line its back and thick black smoke constantly pours out of slots in its armor on its shoulders and arms. Much as the Kurahk emits an aura of anger, this display provides the Turahk with an aura of fear; creatures caught nearby freeze or run in panic, and the mere hint of the presence of Turahk is enough to clear an area. The Turahk does not mind this; it is a calculating monster, going after only targets it perceives of importance while using its display to frighten off the rest. When it does spot a target of interest, though, it dials the display up to eleven: Its eyes and the crystals on its back glow bright and crackle with embers while flames and thick smoke blast out of every opening in its armor under tremendous pressure, producing a deafening wail and making the Turahk appear as a roaring monster of fire and ash straight from the pits of Karzahni itself. In this state, the Turahk charges at its terrified target at tremendous speed, running them through with its staff and tearing into them with its jaws. Those lucky enough not to be the target and who survive the encounter are never the same again; the Turahk will haunt them in nightmares until the end of their days.
Vorahk (Earth, Hunger)
The Rahkshi of hunger is a creature trapped in a state between the tangible and the incorporeal. It is a phantom, able to move through walls at will as though they do not exist. Other rahkshi may roar, screech, or make any number of unpleasant noises, but the Vorahk goes about its work in eerie silence; even its footsteps make no sound. It leaves no footprints, no sign of its presence except the cold, lifeless bodies of those whose life force it drained. Yet for a creature so fearsome, its appearance projects no power at all. Though parts of it seem to fade in and out of existence, the Vorahk as a whole looks emaciated, gaunt, and always moves as though it is on its last legs. It doesn’t so much walk as shamble, barely able to hold itself upright and burdened by the weight of the staff it carries. It is a creature tortured by its own power, the power of hunger, compelled by it to continuously wander and search out creatures with life for it to drain. When its hollow eyes lock on a target, it proceeds to move towards it in a straight line, neither speeding up nor slowing down and simply passing through obstacles in its way. As it makes no sound, most never see it coming; those who happen to look in its direction as it approaches soon find that, in the short term, the Vohrak is easy to outrun as it cannot manage a speed faster than walking pace. However, it will continue to follow regardless of what is put in its way, unfazed by anything thrown at it. Walls don’t seem to exist to it, and weapons pass through it without it doing any apparent harm. In the long term, the Vorahk inevitably catches up with its now exhausted target. Unlike other Rahkshi, it seems to take no pleasure in killing; having reached its target, it just sullenly raises its staff and plunges it into its victim. The staff proceeds to absorb the life force of the victim and feed it to the Vorahk, whose body begins to glow. Though the process, the Vohrak gradually rises, apparently reinvigorated by what it drains from its target. After a few minutes, the target is left a lifeless husk while the glowing Vorahk stands tall. Yet within seconds of the process’ completion, the glow abates and the Vorahk returns to its slumped-over stance. For a few moments it will just stand there, looking almost dismayed… but then it turns and heads off in another direction. It must find another target.