Lacertia

* Lacertia
* World

Lacertia is the common name used for the land of the Lizardfolk. It is predominantly swampland, ringed by mountains, and ruled by no single entity; rather, a number of lizardfolk tribes claim dominion over various pieces of Lacertia, and jealously guard their lands against rivals and outsiders. Lacertia is bordered by the Elven lands to the north, and the Holy Human Empire to the south.

### History

#### Kings in the Marshes

A King in the Marshes does not necessarily rule over all of Lacertia, but instead simply signifies a powerful autocrat who rules over a large number of tribes.

##### King Althanarr "The Fat" 1569 MA to 1574 MA

Althanarr did not begin his reign with his unusual sobriquet - he gained a massive amount of weight shortly after taking the throne. While lizards naturally develop a great deal of muscle, exercise or lack thereof rarely changes their proportion of body fat; their unique metabolisms ensure that their range of weight is much narrower than other races, with the vast majority of lizardmen falling within 15% of the average weight for their height (as opposed to humans, who have a variation closer to 40%). Weight gain above a certain point no longer results in natural muscle synthesis, but fat storage. King Althanarr is estimated to have reached 440 pounds at a height of 6'0, a variation of **+75%**.

He was eventually assassinated for his gluttonous behavior and lack of attention to tribal politics. It is said that the blade which killed him was driven into his belly up to the hilt, and still did not emerge on the other side (though swords of the period were shorter than in the modern day, greatswords developing only at the turn of 1700 MA). Despite his horrific reputation and unpopularity, King Althanarr established several practices which would become permanent fixtures amongst the most powerful and wealthy lizard warriors, including the taking of slaves and harems, the consumption of Scalepluck before battle, and the recruitment of personal retinues from amongst other warriors, independent from the tribal elders.

##### King Tarinax "The Human-Sword" 1640 to 1668

Rather than expressing hostility towards humanity, his moniker of "The Human-Sword" instead references his alliance with King Hagen, later Emperor Hagen I, and his well-known positive predisposition towards human civilization in general. While the Wars of Independence are of paramount importance to humans, King Tarinax's expeditionary assistance is little more than a side-note to most Lizardfolk, a kind of oddity of adventurousness and eclectic tastes rather than a contribution to a core part of history.

##### Queen Maevik "The Queen-Mother" 1675-1699

Known as a ruthless and tireless

Upon the turn of the century, she committed ritual suicide to ensure her daughter's smooth succession to the crown.

##### King Torranik "The Mistaken" 1717-1725

King Torranik was mistaken for a female when he first hatched.

##### King Vorranast "The Bloody" 1725-1733

Despite Vorranast's undeniable martial prowess, he suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of the Holy Human Empire, eventually leading the tribes to turn on him and sue for an independent peace with the Empire. Vorranast himself died in a last-ditch attempt to overwhelm the Imperial army in a surprise attack, taking a place in the Forlorn Hope personally. While inflicted wildly disproportionate losses, Vorranast was still ultimately surrounded and killed, and the remnants of his loyalists scattered. Thus ended the most recent, powerful, and longest-lasting dynasty in Lacertian history.