Voikaan

Voikaan is a fictional semi-aquatic mammal featured in the fantasy setting known as the Voikaan Chronicles. In the lore, Voikaans inhabit the northern archipelago’s freshwater rivers and coastal marshes, most active at dawn and dusk. The name is drawn from the fictional Voik language, with the suffix -an used to denote a species.

They are medium-sized, with a robust body about 1.2 to 1.5 meters long, dense water-repellent fur ranging from slate blue to ash gray, and a bioluminescent crest along the spine in males used in courtship. They have broad tails and webbed hind feet to aid swimming.

In-universe taxonomy places Voikaans in the family Voikainidae, order Artiodactyla, class Mammalia, though this has no real-world equivalent. They are herbivorous, feeding on aquatic plants, reeds, and submerged grasses, with seasonal shifts toward reeds in spring.

Voikaans live in pods of 4–15, often led by an elder female. They are territorial along river mouths but migrate with floodplains during wet seasons. They communicate with whistles and grunts and mark territories with scent from footpads.

In stories and art, Voikaans symbolize endurance and kinship, depicted as gentle yet resilient, reflecting themes of environmental change in the setting.

The article notes that it describes a fictional organism and is not based on real-world science.