Ázelans
East-Ázelic: Ázel /auːzɛːl/
The Ázelans1 are arachnid peoples who inhabit northern Lássordikía, a region in the eastern Múlíat Mountains on the southern Dragonían continent. They are native to the region, appearing at the end of last ice age around 35.000 years ago and have generally kept to themselves for much of their history, save for sporadic encounters with the neighbouring rodentoid Þeþarans to the west and, more recently, the reptilian Exíans to the south, the latter which the Ázelans have shared Lássordikía with over the last 18.000 years.
They have a stocky, chitin-covered torso, eight two-toed limbs, six of which function as legs while the foremost are used to manipulate the environment via long, powerful pincers, a relatively small head with a second, smaller pair of pincers on their pedipalps. The latter are used primarily for courtship and to show affection to one another. A long, whip-like tail allows ázelans use to spray or inject a powerful neurotoxin to incapacitate their prey with great accuracy.
Ázelans are most active at night or during twilight, and as such have excellent night-vision and can see ultraviolet light. Their immune system is unparalleled among the sapient species of Dragonía, though in the rare cases an Ázelan gets sick, the chances of surviving are extremely unlikely.
They give live birth, the children stay close to their mother, often clinging to her back and rarely going outside until they go through their first molt, after which they are expected to help others within their tribe. The children's responsibilities increase with each subsequent molting until they are considered adults after undergoing the seventh one.
Ázelans only need to eat about once a week and can survive for months without food, so each meal is seen as a special occasion that calls for dances and storytelling only performed during these events.
The Ázelans1 are arachnid peoples who inhabit northern Lássordikía, a region in the eastern Múlíat Mountains on the southern Dragonían continent. They are native to the region, appearing at the end of last ice age around 35.000 years ago and have generally kept to themselves for much of their history, save for sporadic encounters with the neighbouring rodentoid Þeþarans to the west and, more recently, the reptilian Exíans to the south, the latter which the Ázelans have shared Lássordikía with over the last 18.000 years.
Appearance and abilities
Ázelans are distant relatives of the giant scorpion that wander the desert north of the Múlíat Mountains, and even more distantly related to the extinct Zkorbs that once inhabited the Island of the Sacred Stone in the Derkniss Sea, though they bear closer resemblance to the latter.They have a stocky, chitin-covered torso, eight two-toed limbs, six of which function as legs while the foremost are used to manipulate the environment via long, powerful pincers, a relatively small head with a second, smaller pair of pincers on their pedipalps. The latter are used primarily for courtship and to show affection to one another. A long, whip-like tail allows ázelans use to spray or inject a powerful neurotoxin to incapacitate their prey with great accuracy.
Ázelans are most active at night or during twilight, and as such have excellent night-vision and can see ultraviolet light. Their immune system is unparalleled among the sapient species of Dragonía, though in the rare cases an Ázelan gets sick, the chances of surviving are extremely unlikely.
They give live birth, the children stay close to their mother, often clinging to her back and rarely going outside until they go through their first molt, after which they are expected to help others within their tribe. The children's responsibilities increase with each subsequent molting until they are considered adults after undergoing the seventh one.
Culture and society
Ázelans are divided into tribes, each centered around one of the many caves that dot Lássordikía. Since they require far less sustenance than most people in Dragonía and hunting is relatively easy to them, only requiring a good aim and timing, most of their time is spent on making tools, storytelling, dancing and -particularly to the west- playing music. Visual arts such as painting and sculpture are entirely absent in Ázelan culture.Cuisine
Ázelans are hypercarnivores, subsisting mostly on large ungulates such as Sjerg Antelopes and wild sheep along with smaller prey, including occasional Þeþarans among the westernmost tribes. Meals are eaten raw by the entire tribe within the cave, usually each members picks small pieces with pincers and digests them externally before consuming the resulting liquid. The bones are later discarded some distance away from the cave, and any blood and viscera are cleaned off the floor.Ázelans only need to eat about once a week and can survive for months without food, so each meal is seen as a special occasion that calls for dances and storytelling only performed during these events.
Language
Currently, Ázelan languages are made up of two language families to the east and west as well as three isolates at the edge of the desert to the north.1Original icelandic: Ázelar, singular: Ázeli.
Origin/Ancestry
Southern Dragonía
Geographic Distribution
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