abstract | - The Jheleck were a race of Soletaken closely related to the Jheck. Some time in the distant past of Kurald Galain there had been a civil war among their common ancestors resulting in two different peoples and cultures. Jheleck in their wolf forms were nearly as large as warhorses. They looked like swollen dogs with black or mottled tan hides. They dressed in black leather harnesses with blades strapped to their forearms and serrated discs on their humped shoulders. Long snouts protruded from their boiled leather helmets. In their human forms, they were dirty with black beards, dressed in furs, and they shambled unsteadily on two feet. Jheleck lived in the Jhelarkan region, hunting and eating their meat raw. Males, in their wolf form, were known to slay the pups of their rivals. Jheleck often resorted to banditry, preying on their Jaghut and Azathanai neighbors. Individually, they were formidable and respected fighters. When they fought in small packs they were deadly, but massed as an army they were nearly useless. Their relationship with the Tiste was fraught with violence. The Tiste hunted them like animals before discovering they were intelligent. The Tiste also hunted on Jheleck lands, driving the Bhederin vital to their food supply nearly to extinction. Conflict between the Jheleck and the Tiste led to war and Vatha Urusander secured his reputation as a legend by leading his legion on punitive pursuit into Jheleck territory. The Jheleck were offered the choice of concession or annihilation by the Tiste and chose concession. Although they chafed under their new relationship, the Jheleck ultimately conceded to sending hostages to their powerful neighbors. Varandas, the Jaghut historian, had written extensively on the schism between the Jheleck and the Jheck and on the distinctions of their cultures before burning his manuscripts. Some scholars speculated the Jheleck were creations of the Jaghut.
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