Because of the cold and the harsh winters, the Ankhai condition themselves from a young age to deal with extreme cold, rather than rely on the warmth of their gers too much. Their proof of strength is challenging themselves in the cold, which includes swimming in the cold waters towards the North and traversing in blizzards. They may even handicap themselves based on what they wear and conditions they go out in to prove their resilience. But are rarely so foolish to just 'jump in the deep end' because they know conditioning is gradual and takes times. They have cautionary tales of young fools who tried to prove themselves too soon and met frosty demise. The pay-off is that they are able to survive even the harshest of blizzards away from shelter.

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Though there is a shared history with the Azim Steppe, there are differences that have come with their generations of separation. One such difference is their language, they have established their own in seeking to form their own identity, many of their words cannot be found in Xaelan. If Xaelan can be compared to Mongolian, the Ankhai language is comparable to Siberian Turkic languages, like Tuvan. The Tuvan comparison is also apt because of shared culture, history and religion, a separate identity and some borrowed language whilst belonging to a different language family.

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Many of their peoples are adventurous in nature, particularly in trying to find things to aid their tribe and their survival.

The Ankhai have long held distrust in the Xaela of the steppe and in their travels heading West, ancestors also came across Ilsabardan people, who managed to gain some of their trust and a common ground for trade, which greatly benefitted the tribe. However, when the Garlean Empire spread many Ankhai in the area were either killed or conscripted.  Realising they could not trust former brothers & sisters of the steppe and that Ilsabard was no longer safe they sought to persevere in solitude.

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But now, among them, the daughter of former Khatun Aldynay Ankhai, Khatun Xayana, has other ideas, as do others who support her. She reasons that those who have betrayed them had died generations ago and that connections on the steppe must be worth pursuing for the tribe's future. She believes new connections would be good for trade and opportunities for growth again, though she remains careful of whom she makes such connections with.