Knuckles Clan

The Knuckles Clan, also known as the Knuckles tribe, is a group that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was a race of echidnas that lived over 4,000 years ago in what would become the Mystic Ruins, and the ancestors of Knuckles the Echidna. After an era of bloody war efforts, the clan was virtually wiped out after they incurred the wrath of Chaos. Though remnants of the clan remained, most of them would die out in the centuries that followed.

Characteristics and culture
The males of the Knuckles Clan sport white, intricate tattoos across their heads and arms and have gloves similar to those of Knuckles. The males are also the only members of the tribe to possess the spiky protrusions/knuckles from their gloves. The females primarily work on agricultural/domestic projects, staying at home to clean and care for the children. Only males wear boxing gloves. Females wear normal gloves like Sonic, and have visible fingers.

During Cheif Pachacamac's rule, the Knuckles Clan were very warlike and hungry for conquest, and took delight in pillaging and razing villages to the ground. War would bring one great honor. they were also very patriarchal, with the men seemingly dominating all aspects of life, both domestic and public, especially political.

Religion
The Knuckles Clan echidnas appear to worship the serpent, and incorporated it into their architecture of the Shrine and pillars, but not everyday folks' homes. Also, many of the doors inside and out of the Shrine is the shape of a fanged snake's mouth. All of the designs were very detailed, and were used to decorate many buildings and pillars, as well as the eyes of the snake-doors and entrance to the Altar of Emerald. The Knuckles Clan also held the Chaos Emeralds in reverence, such as in the ancient recitation.

Political and social organization
The Knuckles Clan were a chiefdom in political organization, being ruled by a chieftain. There was no democracy, and the ruler was absolute in the chief's authority. Interestingly, the Knuckles Clan appeared to be both peaceful and matriarchal before the rise of Pachacamac. The former chef, Tikal's grandmother, was very wise and loving and unwavering in her devotion in peace. Pachacamac, however, turned the Clan into a band of murderous warriors and bandits, subjugating neighboring tribes to their barbaric rule. In a short time, Pachacamac quickly turned his nation into a force to be reckoned with.

Early existence
In the centuries leading up to 4,000 years ago, the Knuckles Clan had been living in peace, albeit strained. During their time, they established a city close to the Altar of the Emeralds, where the Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald and a Chao colony resided.

Rise and fall of the Knuckles Clan
4,000 years ago, Pachacamac inherited the leadership of the clan from Tikal's grandmother. Unlike the peaceful chief before him, Pachacamac yearned to expand the Knuckles Clan's small kingdom, and so made his move after his predecessor's death. Evolving the Knuckles Clan into a body of war, Pachacamac led a series of swift conquests of the neighboring countries, plundering and killing everyone. As a result, the Knuckles Clan's empire grew significantly in size and wealth. Growing steadily more greedier and arrogant as time went on, the Knuckles Clan gained the ambitions of having their empire encompass the world. However, they were unable to take control of the nearby altar and its Emeralds, as a mysterious force kept them at bay. While the majority of the Knuckles Clan supported Pachacamac for the wealth and power he had given them, Pachacamac's daughter Tikal severely opposed her father's warmongering.

Eventually, the Knuckles Clan empire's expanding borders began pushing against those of the Nocturnus Clan empire, a rival echidna clan led by Imperator Ix. In a war of expansion, the Knuckles Clan fought the Nocturnus Clan in a constant bloody conflict for supremacy, where neither side refused to yield. The Knuckles Clan was ultimately pushed to its doom when the Nocturnus Clan began prosecuting the conflict by attacking with their prototype Gizoid. In a supposed act of desperation in the face of his clan's destruction, Pachacamac sought to steal the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald from the Altar of the Emeralds by force, believing they were the keys to the Knuckles Clan's survival and continued victories. However, Tikal, who had befriend the Chao and their guardian Chaos at the altar, pleaded him not to go through with his plan.

Despite her daughter's pleads, Pachacamac orchestrated an attack on the altar with his warriors, which lead to the destruction of the altar. There, Tikal and the lcoal Chao tried to stop the clan from taking the Emeralds. Pachacamac, however, ignored Tikal's pleas for a peaceful resolution and had his men trample over them. This profound act of indiscrimination fiercely enraged Chaos, corrupting it with anger. In retaliation, it transformed into Perfect Chaos with the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds. Killing not only kill Pachacamac and his men, Chaos laid waste to the Knuckles Clan civilization and wiped out nearly the whole clan overnight. Before Perfect Chaos could destroy the rest of the world, Tikal sealed Chaos in the Master Emerald with herself.

Decline
In the aftermath of the Knuckles Clan's actions, much of the world was left changed forever; the clan's city lay in ruins, becoming the Mystic Ruins, and the aftereffects from sealing Chaos created Angel Island. When the Nocturnus Clan soon after disappeared into the Twilight Cage, the remnants of the Knuckles Clan were left to revive echidna society. Its surviving members devoted themselves to protecting the Master Emerald to ensure a tragedy like the one brought by Chaos would never occur again. Over the centuries though, the Knuckles Clan went into terminal decline. In the present day, Knuckles the Echidna is its sole remaining member.

Archie Comics
In the Archie Comics, the Knuckles Clan was the warrior caste of an group of echidna colonists from Albion. Hundreds of years ago, these colonists settled down in Soumerca, but ended up in a territorial war against the local Felidae. While some chose to leave, the warrior caste which became the Knuckles Clan, chose to remain and fight, alongside the science caste, the Nocturnus Clan. Soon, however, the Knuckles Clan and the Nocturnus Clan became enemies as well, and the conflict turned into a three-way war. Overwhelmed, the Knuckles Clan tried to take Chaos Emeralds to gain the power needed to win the war, but ended up incurred the wrath of Chaos and was destroyed.

Sonic X
The Knuckles Clan made a small appearance in the Sonic X animated series. In this media, much like in the games, the Knuckles Clan was a clan of warriors under the leadership of Pachacamac that conquered other countries. When Pachacamac and his men then tried to take the Chaos Emeralds, they incurred the wrath of Chaos, who then wiped out the Knuckles Clan in his fury.

Trivia

 * The Knuckles Clan is very similar to many Mesoamerican cultures such as the Aztecs, the Mayas & the Toltecs. Their city has a step pyramid temple surrounded by mountains lost in the jungle & their attire is similar to the Aztecs & the Mayas. The Knuckles Clan appear to worship a serpent deity just like the Aztecs who worships Quetzalcoatl & the Mayas who worships Kukulcan.
 * According to the Japanese manual of Knuckles Chaotix, they created the Chaos Ring, which have some odd connection with Newtronic High Zone.