Theocracy of Ak'mash
Shalzak culture
Racial hierarchy
Structure
The Shalzak society, like that of the elves, is organised in caste. Among the Shalzaks, it is structured around races predestined for roles, and whose crossbreeding, in addition to being morally and legally punished, gives rise either to abortions or to infertile hybrids, with significant physical and mental handicaps and high infant mortality.
At the bottom of the scale, the Batrak. Kind of frogs, cultivating the lands of the upper castes. They have no money and live crammed into shacks near their workplaces. Sometimes they also have merchants, reclusive in swamps.
The serpris are the caste just above, with more important roles, military, capable of spitting venom, and allowed to wield weapons. They have no right to approach the capital island.
The warrior breed is represented by the crocodilian lords, the repsis, both physically strong with their jaws and spears. They live on the capital island, a sacred and divine place, which they rarely leave. Some of them are executed for treason or evil thoughts; sometimes they manage to escape and end up as captain on a pirate ship.
The religious breed is represented by the Skasis lords, are also lizard-like reptiles, wielding tongue and manipulation.Even their poison has become less lethal, to be used to manipulate the mind. They control cities and live in large stone temples.
The aspics, cursed and venerated beings, having developed feathers and a thorny tail; the highest caste, having the powers of dragons, are a kind of priest, slaves of the draconid cult. They directly serve the emperor-god on the capital island.
The great anaconda, is a kind of emperor-god, a religious and state leader. He is remarkable, in addition to his clothes, for his very large size, which can reach that of the brown dragons, his rainbow scales, and feathers on his head and arms, as well as his legs and his smooth, almost human skin.
Privateers are outcasts, rejected shalzaks, and condemned to sail to save their honour. It is rare, but not impossible, to see several castes mixing on the ship, and rubbing shoulders more or less cordially.
Culture
They are aggressive beings, very communitarian, on the edge of xenophobia, but rarely hostile to the point of invading others. They prefer to retreat to their own cities and repel foreigners. Since the arrival of Shaar and the exactions of the witch Kenariah, however, they have become more virulent, sending bloodthirsty pirates to colonise the Akeidre region; this has forced the island's humans to return to the coast and then leave underwater. In terms of architecture, the Shalzaks are minimalist, and live in restricted areas, in small houses made of branches and leaves, around a large pyramid with a landing that serves as a temple, a storage area and a community centre. In terms of weaponry, the Shalzaks are as simple as that, relying first of all on their natural attributes, three clawed fingers on each hand, and venom in their jaws. They also make spears, and pet basilik, large lizards whose saliva is a powerful hallucinogenic paralytic, and powerful jaws.
Type
Geopolitical, Theocracy
Capital
Alternative Names
the shalzaks
Demonym
shalzak
Government System
Monarchy, Theocratic
Power Structure
Client state / puppet state
Economic System
Palace economy
Location
Related Ethnicities
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
