Knuckles Clan

The Knuckles Clan (ナックルズ族, Nakkuruzu-zoku lit. "Knuckles group") is a group that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. 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 when 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. Females wear normal gloves like Sonic, and have visible fingers.

The Knuckles Clan had a distinct form of writing, which was ultimately used to create the Light Texts.

During Chief 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 the tribe great honor. They were also very patriarchal, with the men seemingly dominating all aspects of life, both domestic and public, and especially politically.

Religion
The Knuckles Clan echidnas appear to worship the serpent, and incorporated it into their architecture of the Shrine and pillars, but not their 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 the Emerald. The Knuckles Clan also held the Chaos Emeralds in reverence, such as in their 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 chief, 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.

A great philosopher in the tribe wrote the Light Texts, which predicted the rise of a great hero that would protect the world from impending doom. This document would later be contradicted by the Nocturnus Clan's Shadow Texts, which predicted the fall of the world as a result of the actions of a shadow-wielding villain.

Rise and fall of the Knuckles Clan
4,000 years ago, Pachacamac inherited the leadership of the clan from Grandma. 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 dreamt 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 peace-loving 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 befriended 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 a violent attack on the altar with his warriors, where Tikal and the local Chao tried to stop their theft. Pachacamac, however, ignored Tikal's pleas for a peaceful resolution and had his men trample over them. This profound act of indiscrimination enraged Chaos, corrupting it with anger. In retaliation, it transformed into Perfect Chaos with the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds. Killing Pachacamac and his men, Chaos laid waste to the Knuckles Clan civilization and wiped out nearly the whole clan overnight. Before 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. The Knuckles Clan's Light Texts and the Nocturnus Clan's Shadow Texts were eventually found by Malik the Hedgehog in the present day, who would eventually inherit the powers left behind by the clan.

Trivia

 * According to the Japanese manual of Knuckles' Chaotix, they created the Chaos Ring, which has some odd connection with Newtronic High Zone.