Zohuar

**Zohuars** are a savage race of reptilian-like humanoids native to Gaia, created by the Aurchon Transcendists from local reptile stock dwelling in the hot jungles of the Hadaar, designed to be servile to their creators, but have since risen up against their masters for control over their own fate.

## Culture and Society

### Society

The Zohuars' society is highly sophisticated. It was they who first became the one of the world's first true civilizations, erecting their cities on the ruins of their former masters. Zohuar society has remained largely unchanged since their creation, being focused around a highly structured and strictly enforced caste system. This caste system was built and formed by the orders of the Old Masters, whom themselves created each of the separate Zohuar species to fulfill a certain role in their society. Each and every core species is born into one of these castes. The Zohuars are taught and perhaps bred to be fanatically loyal and willing to die to fulfill their respective duties, offering little room for any sense of individuality or freedom of thought among their kind. Within the system, each caste is composed strictly of one or two of the core species meant to fulfill an extremely important part of their society, either as workers, warriors or rulers.

### Culture

The Zohuars revere the Great Ones as all-mighty deities, the ancient progenitors of this world. With no first hand knowledge of the Great Ones, and with their records scattered and incomplete since the fall of the Old Masters, they have but a mere fragmented and vague picture of their progenitors.

While superstitious acts have gained in popularity since the demise of the Old Masters, these were taken to horrific new levels with the coming of the new god Krosk. Inspired by Xltihtlu'al, the chosen prophet of Krosk, priests led the ritualistic mass-slaughter of untold thousands of captives. These prisoners were sacrificed in horrific fashion, sometimes thrown alive into the gaping jaws of hungry beasts, other times split open and choice organs offered to the heavens above. For the most part, the leader caste leave such barbaric practices alone, although they could no longer ignore the popular rise of Krosk, nor could they rein in the practice of offering up sacrifices to attract the blessings of the gods.

There is a subculture, an darker and more brutal kind of worship is prevalent among some circles of Zohuars, these individuals have rejected the Great Ones and instead cling to worship the Old Masters having come to regard them as a distant, long-lost pantheon of hungry tyrannical gods. These heretics, as they are known are considered traitors and degenerates by the rest of their race, and are ruthlessly hunted down.

### Major Gods

* **Krosk**:God of Blood. The upstart god and newcomer.
* **Solax**: God of the Sun.
* **Ixyel**: Warrior God.
* **Caxanhi**: God of the Hunt.
* **Axcaxen**: The Wise One.
* **Muxtictol**: The Nurturer Goddess.
* **Nehtlonel**: Arbiter of duty and giver of strength.
* **Itzalli**: God of Protection.
* **Kalmac**: Messenger of the Gods.

### Lesser Gods

* **Thallax**: Goddess of the Moon.
* **Xiccal**: Guardian of Waterways.
* **Qazdel**: Feathered serpent god of the air.
* **Huan**: The Unkempt Keeper.
* **Sumdar**: The Life Harvester.
* **Yeyar**: The Father of Perversions.
* **Akton**: The Crawling Maw.
* **Vislir**: The Pale Defiler.

## Biology

The Zohuars as a whole are not a single race but rather consist of a collection of vastly different and diverse species that are genetically related to to other reptiles that inhabit Hadaar. While the majority of the Zohuars are reptilian in nature, there exist also amphibian Zohaurs, and even some who exhibit feathers.

### Zul-Zohuar

The Zul-Zohuars are the mystical leaders of the Zohuars. They were originally created by the Old Masters to act as organizers and architects, being imbued with an almost alien intellect and great mental powers.

### Isa-Zohuar

The frog like Isa-Zohuars are the diminutive cousins of the Zul-Zohuars, created as scribes for the Old Masters. They are curious and hungry for more learning, while this boundless knowledge also makes them excellent advisors and strategists. Most if not all leading Zul-Zohuars have a host of Isa-Zohuars that provides the leading caste with the necessary knowledge on how to effectively rule.

### Sar-Zohuar

Sar-Zohuars are like large, bipedal crocodilian creatures created by the Old Masters to become the warriors and guardians of their society. Bred from the reptilian life that had already dwelt within the primeval jungles, they are rather simple creatures, and as such they lack greatly in the ability to comprehend and do complex duties other than their duties and have little concept of thought, individuality or personality.

### Ruz-Zohuar

The Ruz-Zohuars were created to serve as soldiers for the Old Masters' armies and were bred specifically for the purpose of warfare along aside their larger Sar-Zohuar relatives. Ferocious fighters that give their all in battle and just like the Sar-Zohuars lack any compression of anything besides fighting.

### Ala-Zohuar

The Ala-Zohuars were bred specifically to be the mass workforce of their society. They have the greatest variation in comparison to other Zohuar species, though all are universally small and skittish. Highly organized and sociable creatures that instinctively work well in large groups.

### Cha-Zohuar

The Cha-Zohuars though similar to their Ala-Zohuar brethren are distinguished with their chameleonic skin granting them the ability to blend naturally and almost perfectly with their environment.

### Mar-Zohuar

Mar Zohuars are aquatic in nature and were designed to fulfill their roles as deep-sea divers and custodians of the underwater depths.

### Psi-Zohuar

Psi-Zohuars are a rare subtype bred for the purpose of combating and hunting down psionic foes.

### Kru-Zohuar

The hulking Kru-Zohuars were created to as strong and obedient laborers for the Old Masters. Being extremely dull-minded, they are overseen by their more intelligent Ala-Zohuar cousins and work closely with them, using their immense strength to enact large construction projects.

## Reproduction

The Zohuars are not born from eggs, like their feral reptilian cousins, but are birth from special pools and ponds located within specific regions of the jungles that they inhabit.

Due to their amphibious origins, some days after the spawning begins, little tadpoles emerge out of the water, growing in numbers and size at an extremely accelerated rate, feeding on insect larva and the enormous swarms of tropical insects that hover both above the water. When the spawnlings are fully developed they emerge unto dry land in enormous numbers all at the same time.