The Urkans are three giant, powerful, indestructible units introduced in Symbiosis that appear on the world map over the course of the game. When an Urkan appears, it will be rooted into that region, effectively claiming it so that no-one may found a city in that region so long as the Urkan is there. All Empires are able to see where the Urkan is, and as such will be able to go to it and try to tame it. If a number of turns pass and the Urkan is still not tamed, it will move to another random neutral region, and again remain there until it is either tamed or it moves again. Urkans have an upkeep that is ten times greater than that of a standard unit.
Urkans are also able to garrison up to 4 Urkan Lice units on themselves, and while Urkans are neutral, they will produce roaming armies of Urkan Lice that patrol the region the Urkan is in, and will remain in the region after the Urkan leaves, making it potentially quite hazardous to armies that aren't well-equipped. The Urkans themselves are as follows:
Kazar
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The largest of the three great beasts, Kazar moves with an unhurried gait that belies its great strength and arrogance. Often crusted with precious ores when emerging from the depths, Kazar is sometimes the target of brave, or foolhardy, adventures who attempt to liberate the valuable stones. |
Chaka
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Legends have it that Chaka is the shyest of the Urkans, reputedly roaming Auriga's emptier regions, and enjoying solitude more than conflict. Equally, however, Chaka is said to be the most ferocious of the three beasts, and there are many tales of its rage and destruction. |
Fakir
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Of the three Urkans who are the eternal adversaries of the Mykara, Fakir is the one who strikes the greatest fear into the fungal collective. Blessed with a extremely keen olfactory senses, legend has it that Fakir can track subterranean rhizome paths for leagues upon leagues. |
Taming Urkans[]
Urkans can be tamed by two means: defeating them in battle, or offering them a tribute of Luxury Resources. Which method you use is largely based on what you have available to you; if the Urkan is demanding a large amount of a Luxury Resource you don't have access to, it will probably be better to try and defeat it in combat, but note that doing so will result in the Urkan having only a small portion of their max HP an no Lice garrisoned until they regenerate, and another empire may wrest control of the Urkan in that time.
Once you have tamed an Urkan, you may also release it from your control at any time.
Using Urkans[]
Once you control an Urkan, there are effectively two modes of operation under which you can use it: Rooted and Uprooted.
Rooted[]
While the Urkan is rooted in a region, you effectively have control of that region in the same way that the Urkan would have if it were still neutral. As such, the region you root an Urkan in must be neutral as well, and you won't be able to colonize it while the Urkan is rooted there. While rooted, you may move the Urkan to a new region with the Migrate Urkan action, but doing so costs 1 Action Point, and it has a cooldown period of 4 turns.
In addition to granting you control of the region, Urkans will also extract resources from the region for your empire, and may provide additional benefits or penalties for adjacent cities if you have completed the appropriate Urkan training.
Uprooted[]
While uprooted, Urkans effectively behave like any other army. They can move around the map, attack, pillage, and so on, and will retain any garrisoned units in this form. If the appropriate training has been unlocked, they may also provide beneficial effects to other friendly armies in the same region while uproot, and gain access to the powerful Tremor Siege army action, which deals massive Fortification Damage 
to a region's city from anywhere in the region. You may also resettle an Urkan in a neutral region so long as it has 1 Action Point.
Urkan Training[]
Urkan Training is a way to make the already-powerful Urkans even more powerful by unlocking special traits and bonuses for the Urkans. While each Urkan has some training that they can do by themselves, there are a few that are only available if you have two Urkans, and one that is only available if you have all three. All Urkan training costs some Luxury Resources to do, with the amount and tier of the resource depending on how many Urkans are needed for the training; 15 Tier 1 for 1 Urkan, 25 Tier 2 for 2 Urkans, and 35 Tier 3 for 3 Urkans. The resource that is specifically needed for each training is determined randomly at the start of the game.
Urkan Agriculture
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With mycelial networks riddling the land, when a great beast is rooted to a region it can help to process tough nutrients, channeling sustenance from rivals to allies. | ||||||
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Effects:
While Urkan is rooted to a Region:
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Reinforced Carapace
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Applying a salve concocted from a rare mushroom onto the Urkan carapace gives the great beast and their minions a harder shell and better constitution. | ||||||
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Effects:
+50% Life | ||||||||
Healing Secretion
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Urkans secrete a complex pheromone, which when correctly treated can aide nearby armies defenses and regeneration. The effect is thought to be connected to symbiotic relationships between normally-warring bacteria. | ||||||
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Effects:
While Urkan is in Army Form:
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Chymical Warfare
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Possessed with the unique ability to 'read' and transform chymical markers, while rooted Chaka can disrupt nearby enemies' scientific investigations and pass on genuine research to allies. | ||||||
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Effects:
While Urkan is rooted to a Region:
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Monstrous Watchtower
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With their towering height, Urkans naturally enjoy a peerless view of the surrounding terrain, but conveying what they see into useful intel can be difficult. Through beast-master training of Chaka, however, such information can be gleaned from all Urkans. | ||||||
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Effects:
Urkans under your control have +5 Vision Range | ||||||||
Twitch Aura
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Chaka emanates a natural pheromone that can allow sufficiently prepared allies' nervous systems to be sped-up, boosting response time and movement. | ||||||
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Effects:
While Urkan is in Army Form:
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Dust Leecher
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While rooted to the earth, Fakir can sense and exploit veins of Dust by piggybacking on existing mycelial webs. By directing the flows, this knowledge can be extremely profitable - and damaging. | ||||||
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Effects:
While Urkan is rooted to a Region:
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Urkan Conditioning
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With Fakir under control, beast-masters are able to teach the entire Urkan entourage they command to act more independently, raising their dynamism. | ||||||
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Effects:
Urkans and Lice under your control have +20% Initiative | ||||||||
Berserker Blood
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Urkan blood - or the equivalent - is potent stuff, and Fakir's ichor is no exception. When mixed with a rare mineral it becomes a fabulous draft of war, turning armies into beasts upon consumption. As it breaks down swiftly, it doesn't travel far. | ||||||
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Effects:
While Urkan is in Army Form:
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Fecund Brood
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Via a careful chymical procedure, Urkans can be seeded with exotic concoctions that accelerate lice production under the exoskeletal plates. | ||||||
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Effects:
Urkans under your control spawn Lice 50% faster | ||||||||
Urkan Power
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Together, Chaka and Fakir can be instructed to perform a display of such intimidating power that nearby friendly populations feel a deep sense of relief, while nearby enemy populations tremble in fear - and lose confidence in their leaders. | ||||||
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Effects:
While Urkan is rooted to a Region:
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Endurance Training
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Experiments on the lice strains living on Kazar and Fakir have led to a stunning discovery: Their mutual interaction produces natural defenses making Urkans resilient to winter's effects. | ||||||
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Effects:
Removes penalties on Urkan due to Winter | ||||||||
Coordinated Tremors
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Careful training by skilled beast-masters allows the Urkans to coordinate earth-shattering 'blows' that superpose over each other, producing long-distance attacks on fortifications. | ||||||
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Effects:
Urkans gain the "Tremors" Army Action, producing long distance Siege Damage | ||||||||