Lizardfolk

To the untrained eye, lizardfolk and tilketa are near identical, and the two are oft mistaken. However, lizardfolk are quick to correct this misconception. Lizardfolk originated in the warm, damp southeastern wetlands many years ago, eventually giving rise to a mighty civilization across the once-fertile lands that eventually became the Rolling Sands desert. When the sands came, they were forced to live elsewhere - some migrated far northwest and settled in a valley, while many others went back southwards to the wetlands of their emergence. They never forgot their moment of glory, remembering their great fallen civilization in legend as Kokesuem - ‘powerful destiny’.   The lizardfolk’s greatest strength is their adaptability. After settling in any given area, within several generations the gradual adaptation to their surroundings begins to be seen, with fitting camouflage and other localized traits showing up in new chicks.   There are several main cultures of lizardfolk - Deshurasha agriculturalists, Iwenen wetlanders, and Rolling Sands scrappers.  

Deshurasha Agriculturalists

West of the Kingdom of Agasi, Deshurasha rests cradled between the mountains and the Bright Fin River. It boasts some of the most fertile farming land in the world, with every spring melt bringing fresh, renewed water and nutrients down from the mountains every year to replenish the fields. Deshurashan lizardfolk’s ancestors settled here long ago when their lands were being overtaken by sand and war, and as a result they are quite content with a peaceful lifestyle. They keep mostly to themselves, preferring to be left alone with their quiet and crops. However they do conduct some trade with the nearby human nations, partially for protection, and partially for cloth and textiles. While their scales provide a lot of protection from the elements, Deshurashans have a fascination and appreciation for woven goods and carved wood.   Short, stocky, with blunt claws and great colorful dewlaps which can expand to radiate heat away during long hours under the hot sun, the Deshurashans have fully embraced their agrarian lifestyle with blunted teeth and a heavily vegetarian diet. Most of their populace occupy themselves with farming crops, tending livestock, and upkeeping their simple livestyle. Their short, round dwellings are designed with a central fire to keep them warm in the chiller seasons. While some of their youth grow restless and leave their home for adventure and excitement, where most Deshurashans’ hearts lie is in peace, quiet, and good tilled earth.   Their society is highly matriarchal, with villages being headed by small councils overseen by a wise woman. Representatives from each village are sent to regional meetings as necessary, with the entirety of the country being technically headed by Mutqui (a title meaning mother/guide/mentor of all). However, Mutqui is more of a traditional title than an everyday working leadership system per say. Villages are left to themselves, with Mutqui only being summoned in times of great celebration or disaster. Mutqui is voted upon by the council representatives whenever the old Mutqui grows too venerable or wishes to step down. While Mutqui is considered the choice of the people, having partially developed from the leadership of that settler expedition all those hundreds of years ago, she is also thought to be their connection to the divine.    

Iwenen Wetlanders

After the fall of Kokesuem, most of the survivors headed south back to their ancestral homelands to regather and make a new home. Over the hundreds of years, they spread out across the entire peninsula in a network of tribes. For the most part, the tribes operate in tentative harmony, but competition for resources has driven them to conflict on some occasions.   Long legs and strong tails mark the Iwenen lizardfolk, oftentimes having powerful jaws, sharp teeth, and pointed claws. Used to a moist environment, Iwenenars are just as physiologically comfortable with short dips in the murky waters as they are crawling over land. Chicks are hatched with the innate ability to swim, and are taught from an early age how to hunt, hide, and survive. Their tribal civilization has in places blended with others to form towns of lizardfolk and settlers from elsewhere. In some cases the others were looking to explore, in other cases they were driven to settle out of desperation. However, a small network of coastal towns built up along the eastern parts of the peninsula, while the Iwenen tribal lands remained the sole domain of the lizardfolk.    

Rolling Sands Scrappers

After the lizardfolk abandoned Kokesuem for the west and the south, some felt that it was wrong to totally abandon the place they had called home for so long. Coming back after finding the wetlands not to their liking, the lizardfolk found a new culture had taken up residence - the tilketa. Scaled, bidedal, and clawed, the similarities between the two began and stopped there. Whipping tails, narrow snouts, and a heat-radiating frill are common features of desert dwelling lizardfolk, with dusty, sandy colors scrawled across their scales in patterns like rocks or dirt, while the tilketa could have any number of traits and features.   While tilketa are overcome with wanderlust and pondering the deep questions, lizardfolk by and large would rather focus on the here and now. Whenever and however the tilketa arrived in the sands, they had adapted to the arid conditions by living in canyons to avoid the worst of the heat and dehydration. Lizardfolk followed their example, carving out a space to survive in the new canyoneering cultures of the tilketa alongside other small reptilian hangers-on, the kobolds.   As time went on, the cultures began to mix freely. Realizing that they were stronger bound together, all the reptilian races embraced their lives in the canyons for what it was. Small towns and clans formed over time, few any more powerful than the others. This let them retain their independence, but as the canyon folk began to be beset upon by raiders and outsiders muscling in, their scattered interests also began to take its toll upon their towns. Life, uncertain in the desert, became even more tenuous.