High Lamia
The original, near-extinct ancestors of the Lamia
All female race
Base Racial Traits
The specifics of what the High Lamia were capable of as a species have been mostly lost to time, either accidentally or, more commonly, purposefully erased during the chaos of the Age of Cleansing.
Basic Information
Anatomy
They had two arms and no legs, instead having thick muscular tails that were often as thick as a normal sized human and allowed them normal locomotion. They also had several sets of redundant organs and even a second nervous system within their bodies, which made them even harder to kill than normal by allowing them to continue life when other creatures would have long ago died.
Their jaws were specially formed through evolution and were capable of unhinging and expanding to enormous sizes to allow them to swallow massive prey, where they would promptly be swallowed and sent down their throats into one of several awaiting stomachs that High Lamia were known to possess, which allowed them to devour countless prey before becoming truly 'full'. Those swallowed by them were condemned to a grisly fate in their stomachs, as High Lamia often kept their meals 'simmering' inside them for days on end to provide continuous nourishment and effective feeding...thus dooming those swallowed to being slowly and painfully digested over the course of days.
Once their prey is digested, High Lamia could, thanks to their unique stomachs and digestive system, channel the organic slurry leftover from their meals into their own bodies and use it for countless purposes from healing wounds and even filling out their own bodies to become even more beautiful or increasing the potency of their pheromones.
Biological Traits
High Lamia were exclusively female, and possessed bodies that were unilaterally incredibly beautiful by nearly all definitions of the word. Their bodies were muscular but supple, fair-toned and beautiful, and uniquely their bodies contained several unique glands that allowed them to produce pheromones that often exuded from their skin and pores during times of stress, high physical activity, intense situations or rarely at will by those learned to control such a power. These pheromones wrapped those near them in a sweet scent and lowered their guard to allow the Lamia to devour them more easily. It is these pheromones as well that allow the High Lamia to control other creatures with their words alone, the words they speak combining with their pheromones to create an irresistible urge to obey them. Similarly, it is these pheromones that seep into the pores of their foes when they go to strike them and force them to halt their blows as their senses and mind is overwhelmed with the sickly sweet smell and power of the pheromones.
Genetics and Reproduction
High Lamia, being an all-female species, required other species to reproduce through sexual reproduction, at which point they carry their young inside of their massive tails for safekeeping for a period of 5-7 months, at which point they gave birth to their children similar to Humans.
Growth Rate & Stages
High Lamia grow to adulthood in just a scant ten years. During the course of their lives High Lamia are constantly growing, and can grow nearly infinitely if they continue to consume prey and digest them...for around each one hundred creatures they consume(Or Less, depending on the strength of the prey) their bodies undergo a quantitative change and nearly double in height and length, and quadruple in weight. There was never any known limit to the growth of a High Lamia, and they could eventually become as large as mountains through continuous consumption.
Ecology and Habitats
High Lamia could reasonable survive in most climes, but as they were cold-blooded creatures they could not much stand the cold. When settling in an area, High Lamia often subjugated all other creatures in the area and herded them into large "food farms" where they were bred like cattle and used for High Lamia meals...in this way, they often conquered and enslaved nearly all regions they visited, turning those races they captured into food to be consumed at the whims of their beautiful High Lamia overlords. However, they took good care of the land they lived upon, and often did good to the environments they visited by thinning out predatory species and prey species alike and allowing the ecosystem to 'reset'.
Dietary Needs and Habits
High Lamia were carnivores through and through, and almost exclusively feasted on live prey. They often captured prey alive and swallowed then digested them whole so as to ensure not a single atom of their foe went to waste.
Biological Cycle
High Lamia age slower than normal, and each year a High Lamia would seek out a secluded spot(often the safety of their own home or tent), and shed their skin so that they could grow newer, stronger, and more beautiful skin and scales.
Additional Information
Social Structure
High Lamia society was one where beauty and strength equaled prestige. The largest, most beautiful, and strongest of their kind rapidly ascended to places of power to rule over their tribe-like society, where they hunted freely and consumed ravenously. Highly united compared to other similarly savage species, High Lamia had bonds so tight and close that they found it anathema to their very core to attack or eat another of their kind, seeing it as a waste when other more viable prey exist. They had a strong, strong sense of community and when a leader appeared, they often followed without hesitation despite their qualms...this trait is directly responsible for their monumentally fast rise to power, as it was nigh impossible for High Lamia to turn on one another so long as a figure of power existed, and even when one was absent they were incredibly quick to commune and adapt as a community, and virtually never in-fought or fell into civil war.
In High Lamia society, the act of eating and consumption was their most sacred act and one to be revered. Even after they achieved a high level of civilization, this trait manifested in a love of communal mealtimes and large feasts where large numbers of High Lamia banded together and enjoyed consuming dozens of live prey together as sisters and family. Likewise, the lives of non-lamia were virtually worthless to them and almost never were even considered anything more than cattle. Other life was simply food to be snacked on, relished, and enjoyed...and often, a High Lamia would ascend to power by showcasing a powerful foe she had beaten in public displays of her power, showing off the helplessness of her foe by squeezing, crushing, breaking, and even publicly consuming those they conquered to prove their might. In this way, High Lamia familial units made with the offspring sired from captured foes were incredibly tight knit and closely bonded.
Outside of the role of Queen or ruler, High Lamia lacked much, if any, coherent social structure. There was simply the Queen, and the rest...nothing less or more. They were often divided according to their specialty for ease of living, but thanks to their highly developed sense of unity they rarely found the need to divide themselves in any significant way, as each individual simply worked towards the betterment of the tribe or species. Even when they formed together and made a nation late in their development, they merely divided themselves into various spheres of control based on their skills or professions.
Now, the few remaining High Lamia on Zheng-Kitar abide by this tradition mostly, remaining loyal to their God-Queen and ruler and following her without complaint. However, most sadism and wanton disrespect for other races is all but gone from their society - now, they are much more peaceful and quiet, preferring to live their lives in pursuit of their simple passions and pleasures while welcoming others of all races and cultures to live alongside them. They are wholly determined to make sure their extreme power is not misused again, and they do not trouble the people of the continent who have already forgiven them so much.
Facial characteristics
High Lamia had a similar variability and variety to their facial structures as humans.
Average Intelligence
Highly Intelligence and highly predatory.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Thanks to their draconic heritage, High Lamia could see excellently in the dark, and their serpentine eyes allowed them to see almost perfectly in conditions of low light.
Civilization and Culture
Courtship Ideals
High Lamia had little notion of courtship in any traditional sense, and rarely understood or cared for romantic endeavors. Instead, they were more akin to ravenous beasts and preferred to take those they thought were attractive or likable by force, stealing them away and forcing all their desires and courtships onto them until their desires were expended and spent, at which point they discarded their broken toys like dolls. Often, those they abducted in this way died from the force of their bestial affections.
Relationship Ideals
High Lamias rarely considered their bestial romps and often lethal displays of affection to their captured prey "Relationships", instead seeing them as tools and outlets for their passions. For their relationship needs, they often turned to each other and found "mates" among their own kind that were often borne of mutual respect or sometimes even love, but due to a lack of male Lamia these relationships were more mental than physical.
Ironically, while they had and wielded sexuality like a weapon and callously forced their desires on their prey, High Lamia placed little cultural importance on reproduction or sexual themes, seeing them as things necessary but not particularly interesting, meaning their relationships with their kin were often genuine partnerships and courtships based in respect and admiration for the others' abilities.
Common Etiquette Rules
To others of the same species, High Lamia were amicable and pleasant...even going so far as to be polite and kind to them often. To other species, they rarely deigned to treat them with anything other than arrogant contempt, since they saw them as little more than slaves and cattle.
Common Dress Code
High Lamia placed no cultural significance on covering themselves, and thanks to their highly durable bodies they rarely saw the need for armor or protection, so they wore simple and moderately covering garments like Chitons, cloth straps, and other bits of clothing that didn't get in the way of their movement or day to day actions. Because of this, they come off as revealing and somewhat sexual to other races but rarely care or consider themselves as being such themselves.
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
350 Years
Conservation Status
High Lamia are incredibly rare and endangered on Zheng-Kitar, and extremely low in number - they are only found in the Kingdom of Raoulin beneath the banner of their God-Queen.
Average Height
11.81ft - 16.40ft (3.6m - 5.6m)
Average Weight
2000lbs - 4000lbs (1 ton - 2 tons)
Average Length
16.40ft - 22.96ft (5m - 7m)
Average Physique
Tall, Long, and serpentine. Lower half consists of a highly muscular and flexible snake's body, while the upper half consists of a human female. The human half is often well-built and muscular but carries a moderate amount of body fat. High Lamia were almost never excessively skinny or large, and were always well-proportioned thanks to high metabolisms.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
High Lamia had scales that glittered beautiful shades of color that often spanned the visible color spectrum, which accentuated their already immense beauty. They often enjoyed decorating their bodies with paint and ink as they consumed sapient creatures to remember the thrill of victory over a particularly enjoyable enemy. Otherwise, their skin was often fairer in tone and spanned the range from white to dark tan, and rarely even darker.
Related Ethnicities
Related Materials
Agents of Tyranny
Though not originally native to this continent, the High Lamia were welcomed happily into Zheng-Kitar at the end of the Age of Discovery, when the tyrant Cao Lu took control of the lands through machination and heresy, welcoming the beautiful serpentine killers into the fold from lands afar where their empire dominated half a world away to be his agents and personal elite caste of warrior-women. Sworn to the tyrant Cao Lu, the High Lamia spent most of the Age of Apostasy serving as his agents of sadism and destruction - they were so powerful and, led by the then-demigod and child of the fabled High Lamia Queen who ruled their far-distant empire Kyra Aenai, ensured that none could challenge and dethrone Cao Lu himself. Even after Cao Lu died and their far-distant empire collapsed and was overthrown, they merely decided to continue wreaking havoc and ruling the lands as their own - it was only when a particularly powerful band of heroes made it to the High Lamia's leader on the continent, Kyra Aenai, did they have a change of heart - though the heroes failed and were devoured by Kyra Aenai, their memories merged with hers and showed her the error of her ways - causing her to rethink her life and change allegiences to the spirit kings. In the ensuing High Lamia Civil War, Kyra's loyalist forces won the day and purged the traitors from existence, founding a peaceful nation in the continent's interior where they secluded themselves, and have remained to the present day. Though extremely powerful, they are mostly pacifists now, or at least, peaceful - they enjoy cooking, housechores, and the peaceful lives they have created for themselves alongside the citizens of Zheng-Kitar. Now, with all traces and records of their species eradicated from Zheng-Kitar outside of their peaceful homeland, and with them being extinct completely across the rest of the world, the High Lamia on Zheng-Kitar stand as the last relics of a people thought extinct everywhere else.
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