Kobolds of Tharx

The Kobolds of Tharx are found in the Mejranica Mountains on Kejafros, specifically in Western Ischanor and in the realm of the Kingdom of Lorenis predominantly. Relative to the vast populations of humans, kobold tribes are fairly rare. Kobolds are cold blooded reptillians, preferring the safety and warmth of deep caves or actively geothermal regions. Their rather small size is an appropriate fit to their subterranean environment; standing between 60-90 centimetres tall. Their appearance usually varies drastically from tribe to tribe, yet always draconic in some way or form, with their colouration usually reflecting the environment that they find themselves in, as utilising camouflage to hide is one of their main ways of avoiding danger, a particularly vital aspect of their societal customs.
The usual diet of a Kobold consists of a variety of scavenged goods; they are scavenging omnivores with a usual preference for meat. Interestingly, rare metals and gems have also been part of their delicacies for religious reasons, to which many would call this 'wasteful' behaviour, to the Kobolds this is a particularly important ritual custom.
== Culture ==
=== Society ===
Kobolds are known for their cunning, industrious nature, often living together in large tribes, lead by a handful of matriarchs. Kobolds are usually portrayed as cowardly and opportunistic, relying on traps, ambushes, and sheer numbers to overcome stronger foes. They are often depicted as having a hierarchical society, with a tendency to create tight-knit communal families. While individuality is valued by most kobolds, the survival and well-being of the tribe is the main priority above all.
Kobolds lay clutches of eggs numbering between 1 to 4 and are collected by the entire tribe in one single, massive hatchery, usually located within the deepest and most humid chamber of their colony. These eggs are tended to by a select few of the tribe and hatch after usually 2-3 months after being laid. The hatchlings are raised by the tribe in a communal setting, with the concept of individual parents being a foreign concept. Their average lifespan is fairly low at 30-40 years for the majority. Despite this, their theoretical lifespan extends past 120 years, yet due to their way of living it is rarely ever reached.
=== Mentality ===
Contrastingly to other races and societies, kobolds do not record their history, epics or deeds in any fashion. Instead, they focus on the here and now- the dangers for their society. They carve slates of danger and how to survive them, recording 'the enemy' instead of themselves. For example, how to survive certain plagues, an invasion, etc. This is mostly due to the multiple extinction-level events that has threatened their race as a whole, which has moulded their society into this manner of thinking and living.
File:TharxHalberd.png|Example of a Kobold Halberd.
File:TharxHalberdDescription.png|Description of a Kobold Halberd.
This is usually dubbed 'survivor thinking' or 'survivor tradition' by scholars studying Kobolds, a mentality where you care for neither the past nor the future- only the present, doing all you can to ensure the survival of yourself, your kin and the whole race. Despite what other races may think, this is their culture and it has indeed worked throughout many generations, ensuring the race's survival to this day, though in limited numbers.
Despite this central thought process of only caring for survival, Kobold society in the modern era is slowly changing, evolving in a more 'civilised' manner where Kobolds now think and do things for other purposes, rather than purely just for survival. Most notably, the Kobolds of Tharx have carved out a magnificent temple to Ruhric in the Loreni side of the Mejranica. Some have commented that this is the Kobolds taking a 'grip on their fate', as they are now revolutionising things such as their technology, all of this is a consequence of their exposure and support from the Kingdom of Lorenis, and Ischanor as a whole.
Yet their view upon Ischanor as a whole seems to remain fairly neutral once you observe them long enough. They are opportunistic in nature after all; being friendly to their neighbours for trade and protection, but not pro-actively helping them either. The kobolds experience time differently than their human neighbours. While the human-run cities mark the years and even have eras named after people or events, the kobolds simply do not count the overall time. At most, they count the growing cycles of their mushrooms and moss patches. Although some of those have cycles that last half a century. A common joke is making the rounds that a new human town could sprout from the ground, live through it's golden days and die of a plague without the kobolds even noticing, because they were too busy constructing another large mechanism.
=== Embroidery and engravings ===
Kobolds are well known for their curious artform. While kobolds can, in fact, paint or make more 'traditional' art, Kobolds are most well-known for the art that they present through their tools and weapons. Most would simply see their engravings on their various tools and swords as random designs, yet those who pay closer attention realise that these are actually beautiful cultural works of art. Each rune and crevice is art within itself, representing a clear detail, idea or motif that is important to the kobold possessing the item, or to kobold culture in general. Special gear is often engraved with runes, art and blessed words.
The source of their magical prowess does not come from the sun, moon or any number of colourful crystals; no, it comes from their cactus plantations. It appears they use a fertilizer made out of corpses to make the cacti grow with such latent mystical power. Corpses of their own deceased people, people who fell into their many hidden traps and any other corpse they can get without a fight. These corpses are then treated with some kind of special embalming fluid, ground up and mixed into the water flooding the cacti farms. Upon harvesting the cacti are burned in large combustion apparati, the gases collected, filtered and the magical essence extracted and bottled.
=== Metamorphosis ===
Kobolds believe that the more 'value' an individual has, the longer they will live and the more stronger they will become, and once they eventually overcome a certain threshold, they will begin to morph into a 'higher form'. The higher form that the kobolds speak of is commonly known as being a dragon. In theory, this process may be repeated. If a dragon were to obtain enough value, which is not limited to material things such as gold, they may rise to an even greater form, although gold is the typical standard for this. Kobolds throughout their lives seek to gather as much value as they can with their skills.
=== Mushrooms ===
Mushrooms and other fungi, located in the vast cave networks beneath the Mejranica Mountains and within the Temple of Tharx, maintain a vital role in kobold society. They have been continually used in the past by Kobolds for various uses, and most likely will be continue to be used. Examples of their uses are such as being a food source, acting as a light source, providing medicinal properties, being used as a building materials, used in weapon forgery, various uses in art and many more uses, mushrooms and fungi simply fill a remarkable role within Kobold society which cannot be replaced by anything else.
=== Rudimentary machinery ===
Utilising geysers from underground magma deposits, the Kobold hatcheries were kept warm. After noticing the effect that steam had on their scaffolding, and its mechanical uses, it was further experimented on with its used in pipes to heat up further way chambers, as well as the upper floors of the temple, which is also the reason why snow does not settle on the temple's surface and also why kobolds may walk in the freezing outside for a limited period of time. It did not take long for the kobolds to figure out that through gears and engines, the steam could provide mechanical work. 
Thus, new traps, great gates and other marvels have been invented and integrated into nearly each and every chamber.
== History ==
As a race, Kobold history is very unique as they find themselves in a position where they face constant pressure from outside forces, bringing them close to extinction yet despite that they persist, and they carry on. Unfortunately, due to their mentality of not caring much for details of historic events and accounts, not much of their history is known from their own perspective, minus for the obvious slates detailing how to survive certain pressures on their society.
=== Protective Slates ===
The only self-recorded 'history' from the Kobolds are their well-preserved slates, or tablets, of knowledge which entail details on how to protect themselves from certain dangers which they may face throughout their lives, or from generation to generation, the most notable of which are tablets which details how to survive and avoid areas underground with sculk. These tablets range from being hundreds to thousands of years old presumably, many of which are actively being cared for within the Temple of Tharx. These range from speaking of how to quarantine during plague, most viable techniques of killing dwarves and gnomes, digging and construction etiquette to reduce cave-ins and maximise efficiency to schematics of various traps to be used, sketches of various dragons, and what is assumed to be hoards of wealth and camouflaging methods and paste recipes used to imitate natural surroundings.
There lays evidence and indications that the Kobold tribe once stretched across the entire subterranean area of the Mejranica Mountains, yet were almost brought to extinction by one or multiple events to which counter-measures have been recorded within those slates, unless the events occurred too quickly to be dealt with and recorded.
==== Intrusion in the depths ====
For an unknown reason, it is known and inferenced from the stone slates and tablets that the kobolds were forced and pushed to venture further down, beneath the mountains. This is mostly known from the tablets regarding the wardens, as they nearly brought the kobolds to extinction, and were not always a threat to the kobolds prior. Scholars are left only to ponder what may have brought the kobolds to venture deeper down, some hypothesise that it may have been surface-dwellers invading or a plague, yet it is currently impossible to fully know as it remains a mystery to time.
Despite this, the so-called 'Warden Wars' were a constant for decades, stopping only in recent times as signified by the re-surfacing of the kobolds, which in turn led to the creation of the Temple of Tharx and the actual enslavement of the wardens, which are now used for defence of the temple.
=== First encounters ===
From the period of which the Kobolds had encountered what would be the ancestors to the modern Loreni people, the tribe local to the mountains had been much diminished, a shadow of its former self many generations ago. In a desperate attempt at ensuring survival, the kobolds made contact with the new humans living in the area, later engaging in trade. Thus, began the first encounters with humans that the kobolds would have. During these early days, the kobolds would be as skittish as critters in a forest.
=== Further advancements ===
Now engaging in full contact with the local humans, the Kobolds would now reach an Iron Age equivalent to their history, with newfound confidence and inspiration. The slow technological advancements soon increased in speed as a few Kobold engineers utilised the deep geysers of the mountains for much more than simple hatcheries.
=== Incorporation of the Ischanic Church ===
In more recent times, the influence of the Ischanic Church has made its way within Kobold society as well. The Kobolds gladly incorporated aspects of the Ischanic Church into their own primal, spiritualistic beliefs together in a unique blend to form a syncretic faith, partially to fit-in more with the locals. The supposed 'gamble' for better relations has payed off.
Despite this, they have not abandoned their old faith, unlike what some may think. Instead, this was a move to 'modernise' their faith, again, to fit-in more. Wisely knowing that foreign faiths may be treated with hostility in different realms, they have instead adopted the guise of following the popular Ischanic Church, while still celebrating many of their local traditions and customs that fit-in with the new faith's 'way'. This was simply seen as another great opportunity for the Kobolds, who are opportunistic at heart. Survival is of the highest priority, so of course their culture must be flexible in order accomplish that goal.
==== Remnants of the old faith ====
Innate in their nature, Kobolds cannot rid themselves of their desire for obtaining more illustrious jewels, metals and more. A key aspect of the old native faith, yet one like may others which has carried over to the modern iteration of the faith. There is still a large focus on traps within their works, which locals may simply excuse for protecting the chambers of their temple, yet some more versed in Kobold culture will know that this is also an important carry-over from the old faith. Most recognisably, the ingestion of gold is the most apparent remnant of the old faith in Kobold culture, this is viewed as wasteful by many cultures so they take particular notice to this aspect, yet to Kobolds this is an important ritual.
===== Superstitions and prejudice =====
As in all societies, many people do not fully trust Kobolds. Of course, Kobolds look nothing alike to the common Human, so it obvious that they would not easily integrate to society, especially with their very foreign cultural beliefs and societal customs. Yet, there exist some rumours regarding them as a whole which some scholar suggest may bear some truth to them.
For example, within the Ischanic Church, the symbol of Ruhric, God of the Arts, Joy and Trickey, has been recently established to be a bear trap, as suggested by Kobolds revering the god. Some people believe that the old Kobold faith persists in its original state to this day, only under a guise of Ischanic worship of Ruhric.
While most may see the luring of dragons to the temple as simple reverence to the dragons, a natural action by kobolds, it is in fact all research- prayer will not make you ascend, instead you must study those who already have ascended to a higher form- the dragons. In a way, the temple is a large centre of research for the kobolds. Technology, fungal agriculture, cultivation of fungi to serve specific needs- all products of innovations from the temple. It is the reason why the chambers and rooms are constructed the way that they are. In truth, despite it being labelled a temple, you will not find many altars there, neither will you find any lecture halls for holy readings or holy study. Instead, it is all purely for practical reasons, security or research. Yet, it is all spiritually-motivated research still. The engraved stone tablets of the past are the main inspiration for the kobolds to look for a proper way of ascending to dragonhood. This is all kept hidden, as the 'temple' of Tharx, kobolds apparently praying to Ruhric and building peculiar traps to protect their rooms. Innocent looking, making people not desiring to investigate much further, because why should they disturb a holy temple of the faith after all?
===== Borrowings from the Ischanic Church =====
In the old spiritual faith of the kobolds, there was not exactly a specific god that they would directly pray to. They viewed prayer as something useless, believing it to be of little help when you are stuck dying in a cave or being ambushed by invaders. They would regard prayer as wasted time, and instead the main aspect of the faith is a deeply-rooted sense of hope- a promised 'solution' to their issue of survival. It is unsure what this is though, some suggest that this may be ascension, evolution or immortality, but it is all just a promised dream, as Xavija, the Cleric of Ruhric commented.
In recent times, prayer is now an incorporated aspect of their faith, thanks to influences from the Ischanic Church. In truth, it was never meant to be this way as having to rely on a higher power to survive is almost ironic to kobolds.
Furthermore, the construction of the Temple of Tharx began. Being experts in stonemasonry, mining as well as caring for underground fauna and flora made the Kobold dream of a grand temple a feasible task. This was done partially for greater recognition as diligent workers from their neighbours, as well as for increase each individual Kobold's 'value', a key concept in their native belief system.
==== Strategies of War ====
As their cowardly nature suggests, kobolds are most proficient in defensive fighting or hiding. They rarely go into the offensive, especially by themselves. Over the ages, amongst all the struggle for survival, the Tharxian Tribe has developed many ways to defend themselves from danger far and near. The simplest method and most commonly used is by building traps. False floors, dropping ceilings, dispenser shooters, gaping pits, hostile vermin… Many traps litter the hallways of their home.
Another fairly recent addition to their defensive weaponry is the enslaved warden population from deep below, the last survivors of their old war. Both war trophies and trained guard dogs, the broken Wardens are ready to defend the temple of their once prey.
Regarding offensive strategies; the lizardfolk is not well-versed in melee combat. Being fairly small, light-sensitive, and easily spooked, they use machines, schemes, and other beings for fighting. Yet they do have one ace up their scaled sleeves:
Dragons. Fierce, well-trained and grown, territorial and potentially related in spirit, these flying lizards serve the kobolds well, and vice versa. Although of course; dragons are not unique to the Tharxian Tribe. The application of bio-engineered fungi makes the use of dragons for these kobolds special. Specific breeding of useful mushrooms has been a useful tradition of Kobolds for centuries; from simple bioluminescent shrooms, to food sources and building materials. 
A previous breakthrough in shroom grafting led to the creation of the ‚Beacon-fungi‘, a small cap-like shroom that emits a low light. Yet the extract from the shroom is incredibly potent for dragon- and kobold-kind alike, potent enough that any sea-faring tribe member must only follow the scent back home. 
After hearing tales of western warriors going into a mad, bloody frenzy by consuming specific berserker shrooms, a handful of kobold scouts have been sent out to capture a few of those fabled mushroom colonies. This fungus was then grafted with a multitude of different native shrooms, creating a pointy red shroom with the simple name of ‚Pyre‘. 
The resulting fungi concentrate will still induce a state of numb rage, unnatural strength, and stamina, but only against a very specific location. The Tharxian Tribe can now introduce a Dragon Guardian of Tharx, like Xylene the red wyvern, to a cocktail of different body-enhancing shrooms and the ‚pyre‘-concentrate. Then, have a team of infiltrating kobolds spray a small amount of a slightly modified ‚Beacon-fungi‘-tincture onto a dangerous town, creature, or even just a forest. The next thing the target would find is a ‚very‘ angry and fast dragon approaching on the horizon, potentially mounted by a few kobold engineers and their weaponry.
File:2024-08-23 18.35.11 - Kopie.png|Xylene, one of the guardian dragons of the Tharxian Tribe, patrolling Lorenin.
File:2024-08-23 18.32.02 - Kopie.png
It is pretty much impossible to stop the onslaught at that being; neither kobold nor enemy can stop the might of a berserker-state dragon enhanced with kobold-engineered gadgets and divine Ruhric-blessed runes… Yet since the Tharxian Tribe does not have many enemies, this tactic is rarely ever used. Especially as it does give the dragon in question a mighty hangover and turns them unfit for any work for a good few weeks.
And kobolds prefer to use their shroom resources for more recreational purposes than war anyhow; war only brings value if you aren’t the one participating in it after all. This is method is only a last resort when everything else fails and hiding will not cut it again.
== Temple of Tharx ==
For a detailed description of the layout and lore, visit Temple of Tharx here!
A most wonderous temple, one whose likeness has not been seen in many places of the world, let alone Kejafros. It is a work of art and a great accomplishment for the entire Kobold race, as well as Ischanor which prides itself as being the nation where this magnificent temple is located. It is dedicated to the worship of Ruhric, the patron Ischanic god of the Kobolds, however is must be noted that many of the archaic Kobold beliefs and traditions still persist within their society and culture, and many motifs and design features link to them. For example, the temple is littered with many traps which deters would-be raiders or attackers who do not know the layout as well as the local population of the temple.
In recent times, the temple has been accepting non-Kobolds among their ranks, people who require protection or may provide a unique service to the temple. They are treated equally, as long as they contribute as well to the temple the same way anyone else would. It now serves as a refuge and sanctuary for those who require it, acting almost as a neutral space.
File:TharxTemple1.png|Early construction stag
File:TharxTemple2.png|Advanced construction stag
File:TharxTemple3.png|Final construction stag
File:TharxTemplePond.png|The pond outside of the temple
File:TharxPoolOfStew.png
Having emerged from the murky depths of the mountains, the kobolds secured the grounds surrounding what would become the Temple of Tharx. In a grand speech, Xavija the Cleric of Ruhric proclaimed the great project to build the temple for the kobolds, announcing the permanent friendship with the Kingdom of Lorenis and the Empire of Ischanor and has even stated "Let it be known; the Kobolds of Tharx have chosen to show our might not by force or blood- but by the skill of our masonry, our art as well as our grand hoard of food and shiny valuables!". In her speech, Xavija continued by stating that the temple is a token to not just Ruhric, but also the long-forgotten dragons of the past as well as Ischanor, the ones who have supported and protected the kobolds.
With the invention of copper tubing, gears, valves and pumps, the kobolds were able to manage to transport some of the geyser steam and hot water from deep within the Mejranica Mountains all around their hold. This meant that chambers closer to the surface would now be much more habitable for their kind and suitable for their complex cave flora. With this, they constructed a new wing inside the temple for housing more kobolds. Further work had also been done on the second and third terrace as well; four ceremonial towers had been constructed to watch over the surroundings and act as guiding lights for supposed dragons who would come to the temple, also, an outdoor fishing pond had been also created, it is always warm and inviting. Additionally, 'in honour of Ruhric', several traps had been constructed such as pitfalls and hidden wardens.
Further on, more work on the temple's exterior was accomplished with several additions. Spectacularly, the temple had also been visited by two flying beasts: a giant bird and a green wyvern, which they came to call Esqala and Thar'em, respectively. It may be noted that the original intentions of the temple were to only attract dragons, however the enormous relative of the common swallow was happily welcomed as well. In addition to this, the white monolith at the very top of the mountain which scrapes the sky itself acted as a strange barrier, erected by some unknown force which prevented the kobold workers from reaching any higher. This, they were forced to stop any construction at that limit. They had also made an iridescent pool of concentrated shroom essence on the peak to serve as a grand beacon for all winged creatures within Abexilas, expecting many more guests similar to the two previously mentioned ones.
With more construction work being done, the construction of the great bridge over the bottomless pit had been progressing more smoothly, with artisans and workers labouring diligently to span the chasm, beneath which lay rumours of an ancient kobold ritual site. The kobolds aim to uncover and restore the forgotten spiritual place to add to the grandeur of the temple. The bridge, once-completed would be a testament to the Kobolds' ingenuity and perseverance, acting as a pathway to new discoveries and a reclamation of their heritage and forgotten history.
In addition to their construction efforts, the kobolds at this point would have finished enslaving and training wardens from the deep to defend the temple, ironically as the wardens nearly caused the extinction of the race many generations ago. Furthermore, the newly-fitted beacon had also attracted two new visitors- a male blue-scaled dragon and another giant male swallow, who have been named Azuralid and Ciriath, respectively.
Category:Races
Category:Abexilas
Category:Ischanor