Saaran
A race of feathered, humanoid lizards, the Saaran are a proud and ancient race. Their culture balances upon five pillars known as the Aspects, which they delegate members of society into in search of crafting a harmonious civilization. They are masters of steel and stone, renowned as the brightest minds of engineering across all of Hindria. However, their desire for war has pitted them in an age-old conflict with humans. Born from the cracked earth of Volksaar, they defend their reclaimed homelands with tooth, claw, and spear.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The humanoid lizards of the Saaran race stand on the balls of their feet and long toes consisting of three talons and one large-sickle shaped appendage. This curved and extremely sharp talon is commonly used to gore prey and to grapple onto claystone across the saharas of Volksaar. Their heels that are raised from the ground then connect to the rest of the legs, that are often bent, similar to those of large birds. Saarans also have tails that extend from the bottom of their spine and measure between one and a half to three feet long. The appendage helps their balance and keep a straightened posture.
The skeletal structure of Saarans can vary across the three subspecies. Differences range from the length of their cervical spines, collarbones, and the narrowness and curvature of their snouts. Additionally, their bone density is one of the highest amongst the races of Hindria and are designed with a more honey-comb structure internally, allowing increased oxygen intake. Being a warm-blooded species, Saarans have feathers that grow around their joints and along the back of their skulls and down their spines. These feathers are able to be raised and shuddered to help cool themselves in the intense heat of the Volksaar deserts.
Biological Traits
Saaran biology consists of three subspecies. Although their height, weight, and life spans aren't affected by their differences, these diversities are easily defined by the facial features that vary between them. The most common "Komodo" Saaran have sharp, short snouts which are slightly longer than their "Iguana" brethren. "Monitors" have the longest necks, extending from eight to fourteen inches long. Their snouts are long and rounded, with a smaller cranium behind their larger orbital cavities. "Iguana" have short, wide necks and rotund snouts. They also often have additional flaps of skin that descend from the center of their chins, to the top of their collarbones.
The gender of a Saaran is determined by their vocal chords and the scale sizes and patterns around their hips and groin. Females commonly have higher pitches in their vocals, and possess smaller scales that arrange in more angled, diagonal patterns around their groins that bank towards their hips. Lower and deeper pitches are more frequent in males. The scales around their hips are much larger, being seen more as plates, their arrangement ascending more veritcally from their groins and beginning to angle heavier and shrink in size near their midsections.
Genetics and Reproduction
Reproduction is conducted through the fertilizing of a female, which will then lay eggs to gestate externally. A female Saaran can lay up to 50 eggs per clutch that incubates over the course of eight months. Newborns will then use their sickle talon to break from their eggshells, where after, nursery Saarans will then care for them during their infancy stages. Their are extremely rare occasions that some Saarans have been able to reproduce through parthenogenesis, creating a clutch of entirely male offspring. The success rate of these asexual reproductions are also just as uncommon as the gestation themselves.
Growth Rate & Stages
Saarans commonly live into their late 100's with adulthood lasting into their late 140's. At birth, their eyes are covered with a milky layer of mucus. This protective slime slowly decays over the first year out of the egg, forcing them to be assisted by caretakers for feeding and navigating the caverns of the nurseries. Saaran juvenile stages extend between fifteen and thirty years. Their softer talons and fangs will slowly harden, forcing them to consume soft fungi within the caves or eating thin pieces of meat until their fifth year. Scales will darken into their tenth year, where more defined colorings appear and feathers begin to sprout. Most of their growth in size occurs between their twelfth and twentieth years, which their height and length of their tails will reach their potentials. Upon reaching adulthood, Saarans will shed their skin once every five years by molting. This process is assisted by using coarse stones and tree bark that individuals will keep stored in their dwellings.
Ecology and Habitats
Saarans thrive in the heat of the Volksaar saharas and deserts. Though much of the continent is arid, they also have found to have no issue with adapting to more humid climates. Their preference of shelters is within natural cave systems within mountain ranges, or building sandstone or clay abodes upon the plains of the continent.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Saarans are a primarily carnivorous race, creating hunting parties and animal farms of domesticated species. They will also commonly scavenge the fungi of the caves of Volksaar's mountains, though this is commonly just for feeding infants or as emergency rations.
Additional Information
Social Structure
The structure of Saaran society is heavily influenced by the communal philosophy known as Aspects. Along with the machinations of the religious branches, priests and officials commonly exhort doctrines that help organize and drive individuals into benefitting the majority over the self. One such principle is the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Due to the esteemed status of these aspirations, seniority and experience have followed in value, becoming weighty influencers of a Saaran's status and privileges.
One's occupation is also determined by these teachings as they reach adulthood, through a series of trials that are massed into two Rites, the Rite of Passage and the Rite of Purpose. These customary challenges are observed by a board of senior Saarans, who measure the individual's aptitude and determine the Aspect of society one will best be able to implement their skills. There are five Aspects of Saaran society: Steel, Slaughter, Sanctity, Saar, and Strife.
Sanctity encompasses the religious facets of society. Priests, scholars, historians, and judges are all encompassed within this branch, as the gathering of knowledge and the application of it is valued as a righteous pursuit. Often they are seen as auxiliary for the other Aspects, being implemented to help support and officiate them.
The Aspect of Saar is that of health and of the people. This includes healers, hatchery caretakers, as well as the municipal delegations in organizing the cities and infrastructure of Saaran holds across Volksaar. Acting in tangent with the rest of the aspects, their methods are used to guarantee Saaran lives flourish.
Seen as the keystone of all other aspects, second only to Sanctity, the Aspect of Steel comprises of architects, engineers, weaponsmiths, and crafters. Their purpose is to forge the tools, weapons, and machines for other facets of Saaran society to apply to their practices.
Means to keep communities fed is the responsibility of those of the Aspect of Slaughter. Hunters and butchers work in tandem to ensure no belly is empty. As its training and desired attributes are shared much with that of Strife, its members are also seen reserves, acting as warriors in states of emergency.
Strife is the domain of military and war. Though the majority of its forces are soldiers, Strife also includes peacekeepers and security for the day to day going within Saaran society.
Amongst all the Aspects of Saaran society, each has a sole representative that has a seat at the center of their government. This council is known directly as the Aspects, with each delegate representing the different pieces of society, being appointed the title, Aspect Rex. Aspect Rex are often the most senior members amongst their peers, representing the entirety of their branch. The common continuation of the position is through direct nomination from the current Aspect Rex, though in circumstances where the seat is empty through an unexpected death or expulsion, the other Aspect Rex will vote on a Saaran to fill the absent position. No matter the reason, the next Saaran must be a member of the Aspect that it is replacing. Those who do become Aspect Rex forfeit their individual names, as it is seen as an embodiment of the task and responsibilities of the facet of society they represent. The individual adopts the title of position and also receives special privleges amongst their peers, aloing with the unique ability in directing those from other Aspects.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Saarans claim their lands of origin to be within the cracked soil and golden sands of Volksaar. Since their discovery, enslavement, and uprising, the majority of their race has not expanded from the continent. Their major cities and holds scatter across the southern mountains of the Ember range, stretching into the Blutrac Advance, as well as the Talon mountains in the North. Additionally, some Saaran settlements have begun to spread across the Temital Expanse and Khrita Landbridge.
Average Intelligence
Saarans are seen to be highly ingenious and innovative. Upon their initial encounters with humans, they had already developed spoken and written language. Additionally, the two races often competed in discovering advancements in engineering and metalworking. They are the founders of some of the most devastating weapons amongst Hindria's races and have constructed excavation engines to help carve new cave systems within their home mountains. Although the notoriety of their engineering feats are what they are most well known for, Saarans have a deep culture consisting of fine arts, religion, and government.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Saarans have a supreme sense of smell, contested only by some of the lupine species of Pamyrans. A specialized organ within their tongues amplifies their ability to detect scents as they flick it outside of their mouths, helping them hunt for prey across vast distances and depths within caves and below the surface of desert dunes. However, their visual perception is founded to be rather lacking. Two species (Komodo/Iguana) of Saaran are nearsighted, causing them to be more dependent on their other senses for moderate and long distances. This does not hinder their nocturnal vision, which they are able to observe features and objects in low light in shades of grey. Their capability for shardcasting is minimal to non-existent. Their ingenuity has allowed them to marry shardcasting with engineered machinery, to help access the powers of magic that other races can more naturally perform independently.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
A Saaran name consists of three pieces: the personal name, their occupation, and their Aspect. This is due to their society having no cultural similiarities to marriage or familial traditions, making the scheming around their naming include the Aspects of which an individual is conscripted into and the position they hold. This also makes where a Saaran's name will change multiple times throughout the course of their lifetime. In their adolescence and juvenile stages, their occupational and Aspect labels are replaced with 'in search of purpose', until they have passed the Trials of Passage and Purpose and are then granted a rank and station amongst the Aspects.
Personal names, however, are unique and are given to a Saaran within the first week of their hatching by the lead Saaran priests that oversee their clutch. These names are often used to incite good fortune or positive traits that favor them in the predicted Aspect they may be chosen in to. For the rare occasions on which a Saaran is born from an asexual reproduction, naming traditions pivot towards inspiring freedom, independence, or tenacity.
Major Organizations
The council of leaders that govern over the Saaran race are known as the Aspects. These five members represent their given branch of society and are granted the name "'Aspect' Rex". On top of overseeing their own affairs within their facets, they also will hold councils together and make decisions that influence the whole of Saaran culture, industry, and geopolitics.
Beauty Ideals
Though sex appeal and romantic attraction are rare perspectives amongst Saaran culture, grooming one's feathers and keeping a clean hide and mouth are valued as desirable mannerisms in upholding the Aspects. However, as Saarans climb the ranks of their respected Aspects, they will adorn bronze or gold bands around their forearms. This creates a visual representation of their elevated status. Recently, the use of charcoal tattoos upon one's back to mimic the natural patterns some Saarans develop during their juvenile stages has been adopted. Being desirable amongst society simply for the sake of individuality.
Beauty is also seen as a pious pursuit, their religion preaching on the importance of self-maintenance and visual presentation. This lends to many Saarans of the Aspect of Sanctity to adorn jewelry of gems and precious metals through piercings. Members of the faith will additionally wear large robes made from flax, that are then dyed or have gems sewn into them. Make up is extremely rare, often used on the highest ranking members of Sanctity, limiting only to eyeliner using charcoal to create smokey and darkened areas around their eyes.
Gender Ideals
Gender is an unprejudiced piece of Saaran culture, much in turn to their preachings speaking of sex as a tool of survival for their society. Female and male Saarans are seen through an equal lense, having the same naming traditions, rights, and privileges to succeed within their Aspects.
Courtship Ideals
As the intent of sex is meant solely for reproduction, Saaran culture does not have any traditions or acts around courting. Their mating season consists of two, month long stages, beginning with the first month of males producing an aphrodisiacal scent. When smelled by females, their bodies will begin to process the necessary nutrients and structure for creating eggs. Once complete, they will move into empty hatcheries or shelters, secreting their own pheromones to signal males that they are ready for reproduction. These will lead to clusters of Saarans wrestling into mating piles, in which the males will attempt to mate with the female.
The second month consists of the females resting inside their shelters or hatcheries, waiting until the eggs have gestated. Once they have laid their clutch of eggs, the females will hand off the caretaking responsibilities to an Aspect of Saar nurse. On the extremely rare occasions that an Aspect of Saar is unavailable or the eggs are from the result of parthenogenesis, that female will take the mantle of caretaker.
Relationship Ideals
It is common for Saarans to find bonds with one another, creating intimate friendships that are have a primary intent of emotional support. These relationships are often created through shared experiences and extended durations of being in the general vicinity of one another. Though these friendships tend to be between Saarans of the same Aspect, it is not uncommon for individuals from different Aspects to create an emotional bond.
Once these friendships have been found, Saarans express their concern for another by assisting with grooming and sharing downtime from their responsibilities. Another way Saarans express close relations with one another is by gently bumping their heads against each other. Though it is rare, it is also possible for a male and female to form a romantic bond with each other. This can lead to favoritism during the mating process, which is shunned upon by their faith. If exposed, the punishment is a forced division of the partners during the mating process.
Average Technological Level
As the engineering masterminds of Hindria, Saarans are the most technologically advanced civilization. They have means of smithing steel weapons, and creating shard-powered machines known as "Carvers" that are used to dig into stone to create tunnels and caves within the mountains of Volksaar. However, Saarans still prefer to create their living spaces within cave systems and large sandstone complexes that house up to twenty Saarans in a single abode. Other claims to their ingenuity are Shardspears and Sunsparks, common pieces of equipment for their military.
Common Etiquette Rules
Greetings between Saarans range from a simple nod of the head, to a dispaly of clutching one's right hand to their chest, then bowing their torso and head. The intensity of greeting depends on the difference in rank between the individuals. Those of lower rank will bow or nod lower, the addition of the hand to chest only being when recieving an Aspect Rex in one's presence. Higher ranking Saarans will address lower ranks using the simple nod. For those who are more familiar with each other, commonly through a friendly bond, greetings will consist of the individuals placing their hands on the other's shoulders, then gently bumping their heads together.
Seniority is highly valued within Saaran society. Primarily, this respect is shown by following the orders given by higher ranking Saarans of the same Aspect. Orders given to those of differing Aspects require a Writ of Rex, a wax stamped document commonly written on papyrus. A Writ of Rex is seen as a direct order from the Aspects, overriding any current directives or granting special privileges to the holder. Additionally, the higher the rank of an individual, the more private living space they are granted within their communal dwellings. As rank is often tied with age, many of these interactions are translated when addressing the elderly, even if they share the same rank as their peers.
Eating in Saaran culture is a communal activity. Saarans only eat one large meal a day, often around noon, which after they will retreat outside or into sunrooms to bask and nap. Aspects of Slaughter will prepare a variety of small animals encircling a cattle carcass atop an elevated stone slab within designated rooms that are purposed solely for dining. Though their claws and fangs are used as their tools to help with consumption, some will request the Aspects of Slaughter to cut their meals into smaller pieces. It is seen as disgraceful for one to overeat or be aggressive with other Saarans during the feast. As the approach to a meal is often "first come, first served", some Saarans will use ceramic dishes to gather their portions, before retreating and feasting on their spoils. After a meal, Aspects of Saar will toss out any remaining food and tidy the room, while others will clean themselves in a large basin before leaving the room to relax.
Common Dress Code
Much of a Saaran's attire and clothing is dependant on the Aspect on which they are assigned after their Rites of Passage and Purpose. Saarans wear no clothes during their juvenile stages and before completion of their trials. Additionally, they are barred from any modifications such as piercings, tattoos, and dyes.
Aspects of Saar are granted kilts that wrap around their waists and have an opening for their tails to fit into. Often made of wool or linen and tied with a mammal hair rope belt, these skirts often reach down to just below their knees and are paired with a longer cloth that drapes in their front. Higher ranking Saarans are granted a wool shoulder cape that wraps around and halfway down their biceps. Aspects of Slaughter share similar wardrobes, though the materials they use are of animal hides and furs.
Saarans of the Aspect of Sanctity wear headdresses of cloth known as a "Styv". It consists of five lappets, representative of the Aspects, that are sewn together around a circlet of bronze which is adorn on the crown of their head. These flaps are commonly arranged to have two of the flaps hang down over the chest and three down the back. The quality of metal used for the circlet and the length of cloth increases with higher ranking members, making the wardrobe look similar to a cloak.
Both the day to day outfits for Aspects of Steel and Strife are leather belts and harnesses. Their clothing is dressed with multiple brass rings, allowing the wearer to equip tools, ropes, weapons, and armor. Aspects of Strife will also have a leather plackart and greaves, to cover the vitals of the lower torso and shins. Higher ranks recieve cloth capes, linked together with bronze or iron clasps. Aspects of Steel instead have strips of leather that hang around their belts. As they climb the ranks of the Aspect, the addition of a cloth shawl that is draped over one shoulder is granted to individuals.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Saaran culture is heavily focused around the progress of their society through Aspects. This concept structure is preserved from their collaboration with their ancestors and the now extinct Nostlak race. However, as the environment and history of their species evolved, so did the specific pillars of society that the Aspects would promote. The council of Aspect Rex will discuss what facets of society to favor, in pursuit of the betterment, or survival of their race. In turn, juveniles are promoted to pursue paths within those Aspects to help strengthen those perspectives. Aspect Rex will promote supportive roles amongst the other Aspects, such as providing special priority or privilege for members of the heightened Aspects, preaching of heroic deeds and tales, and elevated production of tools or equipment for those Aspects. Recently, their focus has become that of Strife and Steel, making their society a war-mongering and conquering culture.
Most Saarans live within large cave systems or households made of mud or sandstone. These living spaces are referred to as "Kliks" and would consist of five to twenty members living within. At least one member from each Aspect will live within a Klik, ensuring each facet of society is accounted for in maintaining balance for daily life. Each Klik would have a private room for each inhabitant, as well as a meal room and sun room. Private rooms consist of a raised platform covered in mats of animal furs or plant fibers and a personal clay water basin for washing. Saarans would also build or carve shelves into their rooms, allowing them to place items or clothing for storage, or carved scultpures and trophies for presentation. Meal rooms contain an elevated stone table and a large water basin, often made as an extension of the structure from the same materials or cave wall. A sun room would be an open roof space that would be addressed with a variety of decor and furniture for relaxation. For Saarans living within caves, they will settle with building patios outside of their caves with half-walled boundaries, designating the area as a space of relaxation.
The most popular method of art within Saaran culture is sculptures. Members of the Aspects of Saar and Steel, are conscripted to create vast monuments for historical recordings, festivals, and rites. Most of these structures often have a secondary function as well, such as navigational way posts or distinction of buildings such as temples or hatcheries. Though these utilitarian constructions are limited to those Aspects, all Saarans are allowed to participate in carving. Commonly, personal idols are sculpted from bone or wood, with some Kliks also having communal reliefs along the internal walls, where individuals can share stories or express themselves creatively.
Music is used as parts of ceremony within Saaran culture as a way to connect and bond the Aspects in a spiritual act. Drums made from animal hide stretched over a wooden base are used as tools to keep tempo, while others will harmonize through a method of throat-singing known as "Volklooei". These guttural choruses are notorious amongst their enemies as they are heard in the hours before battle.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
The Rite of Passage and Purpose are two trials that juvenile Saarans will partake in before they are assigned into an Aspect. The Rite of Passage consists of challenges that span across all Aspects. They are designed to be introductory with some difficulty, to show that an individual is ready to be a part of contributing society. The Rite of Purpose is a team challenge, where five Saarans are thrown into the wilderness of Volksaar on their own, forcing them to survive for five days. During the duration, they will be thrown challenges that demand each member to adopt an Aspect to cooperate in completing the challenge.
Though the Rite of Purpose can be completed with many favoring one Aspect, or an equal delegation, it is not mandatory for the overseeing Aspect of Sanctity to delegate one Saaran to each Aspect. Often, the Aspects a Saaran is chosen into is that which they favored the most during the Rite or an Aspect which has been valued highly by the Aspect Rex. Though the Rite of Passage is forgiving, the Rite of Purpose is at some times deadly. Those who do not survive the Rite of Purpose are still desired for honorable burials, and teams who do lose members are reprimanded for having a death occur. This perspective is that success is the utmost importance, where society will crumble if any Aspect is not given support by the others.
Common Taboos
It is forbidden for a Saaran of one Aspect to order another. This is punished by a variety of consequences, the most common being direct demotion, or lashings if demotion is impossible. This taboo is only overruled by an Aspect Rex or a Saaran in possession of a Writ of Rex.
History
Although many of historical texts and monuments have been lost to the sands of time, Saarans are the oldest race to still walk the lands of Hindria today. The birthplace of their species is rumored to be within the dry saharas of ancient Southern Volksaar, now known today as the Blutrac Advance. They would often trade with a mountain people called the Nostlak, with whom they collaborated with discovering the secrets of Shards and the magics born from the material. With the Nostlak's help, Saarans would discover the art of Shardcasting.
After the extinction of their neighbors, they would then encounter the human race, which had traversed across the desert and mountains from the North. They would go to share their knowledge of Shards with them, in which humans took a swift mastery of withdrawing magic from them, without the aid of tools as Saarans required. Peace would not last long after, as the new found power that humans had found would be used to oppress their new neighbors and expand their villages into massive cities and empires. As Saarans began to dwindle, the Aspect Rex would turn to slowly building a new philosophy of society, one of Strife and Steel. A resistance grew within the mountains of Volksaar of escaped Saarans, raiding and pillaging human settlements to free more and more of their brethern. The Saaran uprising would come to a climax which would be known as "The Shattering", a cataclym of terraforming consequences. This event would go on to separate pieces of the continent into a grouping of islands known today as "The Severed Isles". These isles would be disconnected from Hindria, protected by a violent sea called "The Open Wound".
On the mainland, the Saaran Uprising would evolve into a series of battles that would be grouped under a chapter of history called "The Talon Wars". Saarans and humans would continue to clash, with the Saarans being successful in driving humans off of the continent and across the landbridges into Nakrazhul and Pamyria. This would then lead to Saarans renaming the lands under their own tongue, Volksaar, which it is known today. Ever since, Humans and Saarans have been locked within a stalemate on the borders, with small skirmishes and raids battering at one another's defenses. However, this conflict has begun to subside as both races look inward to the politics of their own.
Historical Figures
Halock is a legendary hero of Saaran history with recollections of his acts having been witnessed and written down throughout time. It is said that Halock is the embodiment of the Aspects, his manifestation on Hindria meaning only that one or more of the Aspects are under direct threat of being dismantled. So far, there have been only two noted moments in history that his presence has been necessary: during the Extinction of the Nostlak and the Saaran Uprising.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Much of Hindria's inhabitants today see Saarans as a force of insatiable war and hunger. Though this perspective is mostly due to the propaganda spread by the refugee humans fleeing from Volksaar, their relations with interacting with others as they pursue fleeing humans however, has not helped their outward perception. Contrary to their bloodthirsty disposition with humans, they will often take other races captive, sending messengers to bribe for resources in trade of the safe return of their prisoners. Even with their villainous demeanor, their advancement of technology and the sciences are still highly valued by elves and humans alike.
Lifespan
75 - 200 years
Average Height
5'10" - 7'
Average Weight
185 - 330 lbs.
Average Physique
"Monitor" Saarans often have leaner frames than their "Iguana" and "Komodo" counterparts, which tend to be more broad shouldered and muscular. Amongst all subspecies, their abdomens are rectangular, standing upright with a straight posture and slightly craned forward neck. Saaran thighs are often considerably larger than the lower halves of their legs, which are bent forward due to the anatomy of their feet and ankles.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Saarans have a variety of natural colorings to their scales, which have descended from their ancestors and blended through the ages. "Komodos" often have scales of browns and reds, "Iguana" tend to consist mostly of yellows, greens, and light browns. "Monitors" have the most diverse of complexions, entailing greens, yellows, reds, browns, and blues. These shades are often faint, changing to a dull tone around their abdomens and growing outward in intensity. The most vibrant parts of a Saaran's hide are along the backs and tails, which is also where patterns may sometimes occur.
These patterns can differ from stripes, spots, and bands, commonly being in hues of browns or black. These natural variations develop early in a Saaran's juvenile stages and are seen as a natural mutation that does not affect an individual's standing or impression in society. However, Saaran culture has taken a liking to these alterations, where those less fortunate will get patterns tattooed using volcanic ash pigments to replicate and style their own impressions.
Along with their scales, Saaran feathers have a range of colors. Their plumage sprouts in patches which can appear along their jawlines, the crown and ridge of their heads to help cover their ear cavities, backs of necks and down the spine. They can also appear on their joints such as elbows and knees, and along the forearms and wrists. Feathers are often brown or a dark gray, though it is common for Saarans to dye their feather as expression of beauty or recognition amongst their peers.
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