Saurian

A **Saurian** is a kind of mortal, being a member of either the majority race of Skolokoll Swamp (Swamp Saurians), or the ruling race of the Dragon Cities (Noble Saurians), or the servant race of the Dragon Cities (Stunted Saurians).

## In the Codex Primus

> "*There were the Saurians, with scales and claws, at home in desert, cave or swamp.*"
> ― Testament of Life and Death, S-II, A-17
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## Description

In their ancestral songs, Saurians tell of a time when they were one people, living in the Vesyryth Jungle.  Then came the dragons, who led them into the desert, where they conquered the cities founded by Uld.  Over time, their society stratified, and since the lower classes were malnourished, they grew less in size and became Stunted.  Some say that the upper class, the Noble Saurians, deliberately did this, and even manipulated their breeding pairs to accelerate their degradation, but this is dismissed as a conspiracy theory.  Centuries later, a prophet called Yof began to preach of a dragon that was not physical, but lived in the hearts of every Saurian, named Felwed.  The dragons could not tolerate this, and Yof and his followers were banished.  Some of them returned to the jungle, but the Palalak had long since multiplied there, so most followed Yof ornery all the way to the Skolokoll Swamp edgeward of what is now Yakkalee, where they live to this day.

To the Noble and Stunted Saurians of the desert, the dragon of their city is their guardian and their king, and much of their society is engineered around feeding the local dragon and providing them with riches to hoard upon.  The laying and hatching of dragon eggs will prompt citywide celebrations, and Saurians will travel leagues to watch two dragons mate during an hours-long aerial dance.  The Lithodes and Emberchar who share these cities have no interest in any of this, and will very prominently shut their doors and windows during such festivities; this has become such an expected part of these events that Saurian children will typically pantomime knocking on the shut doors of Uldkin during the parades that happen.

In the dragon cities, Noble Saurians typically wear the finest fabrics money can buy, most often silks from Duthryllaz.  They can afford such things, as the best trade routes between the Orcs and Lathar are still the caravans that ride giant locusts through the desert, as the mountains and mines of Imkhazh are completely unsuitable for such travel.  Saurian merchants travel all the way around the world, bringing exotic goods where they are lacking, and bringing riches back home.  Stunted Saurians, meanwhile, tend to wear whatever rags are left for them.  The desert Saurians mostly live in the buildings they took from Uld, and when they do build for themselves, they tend to mimic the ancient Uldite style, with sandstone minarets and colossal pyramids.

Swamp Saurians are devoted to Felwed, and will often tame crocodiles as guard animals.  It is unclear when it was revealed that Felwed was the son of Sorudra, but Orthodox missionaries have been using this fact to try to convert Swamp Saurians since at least the time of the founding of the Cathedrex, with mixed results.

Unlike their desert cousins, Swamp Saurians mostly spurn clothing, though they will often decorate themselves with the bones of animals (or people) they’ve hunted.  It is unclear whether the Saurians actually ate Queen Snutpykk, or if it’s simply a tall tale, but either way the Saurians seem quite proud of the reputation the story has given them.  The Swamp Saurians make their homes in the branches of mangrove trees, or in stone complexes they build half-sunk in the swamp.

 **Other Races**
Asphodean • Glass Elf • Gnome • Mason • Palalak • Satyr • **Saurian**Sylvestran: Kwhe • Poroja • TsehenebUldkin: Emberchar • Lithode • Sylph • Undine