[center][h2]The Le'shi Confederacy[/h2][/center] [hider=Race] The Le'shi. The Le'shi resemble nothing so much as vaguely humanoid Gila Monsters. They are distinctly bestial, retaining their full tails, venomous bite, and keeping a notable slouch to their posture. Their skin has a beaded texture and is normally a mottled combination of black/green and yellow. They are a large race, even with their slouch they tend to stand at least a head higher than most races and are heavily muscled. They are capable of incredible bursts of strength and speed but are in general slower in the long run and more ponderous than most races. Le'shi are hardly sexually dimorphic and most other races have difficulty telling the two sexes apart. They are cold blooded and are therefore very sensitive to temperature shifts which has been a major contributor for the race remaining in its arid homeland. While not a particularly dumb race, the Le'shi are not exactly a race of geniuses either. There seems to be some correlation between magical aptitude and intelligence among the Le'shi which may explain how the hierarchy of their species came to be. The most notable thing about the Le'shi beyond their impressive bulk is their powerful magic users. Magic users are an order of magnitude rarer in Le'shi society than in most other places, but for the fast breeding reptiles this is somewhat offset. Le'shi magic users form the secular and religious rulers of their society from the lowliest Le'shi medicine man all the way up to the mighty priest-kings, if they are in a place of holy authority they wield the powerful magics of the Le'shi. [/hider] [hider=Claim] The region south of those damnable orcs, will make properly soon[/hider] [hider=Customs Culture , economy and other stuff like it] [b]Government[/b] The Le'shi is not technically a singular nation but instead a confederacy of many kingdoms all united by their common race, customs, and religion. All Kingdoms are theocratic and ruled by a Priest-king who is the most powerful mage within that Kingdom and therefore the closest one of all to the realm of the gods. The various Priest-Kings all rule from the Holy City of Chitdol-Asiba. To determine which Priest-King leads the confederacy at a given time, every five years a tournament is held where the various priest-kings all bring forth their greatest champions to do battle. The champion who reigns victorious determines which Priest-King takes Primacy over all others. [b]Economy[/b] The Confederacy lacks a distinct economic slant to it; many goods are produced, traded for, and consumed. Their homeland is arid and resource poor so metals are the most common import the Le'shi require. Their primary export are the many vivid dyes made from materials unique to the region.The currency of the Le'shi is the he'le, a bronze coin (copper and tin being some of the only metals that exist in abundance within their lands) that is circular with a square hole stamped through the center. Instead of purses Le'shi keep their currency on long strings which hang from their belts. The denominations of he'le go up by twelves with 1, 12, 24, 48, and 144 he'le coins existing. [b]Culture[/b] The culture of the Le'shi is highly regimented and tradition bound. The Le'shi practice a soft caste system. There are no specific rules about what a Le'shi does with their life, but a family based guild system ensures that the chances of a Le'shi changing its course in life is rare at best. The major industries of the Le'shi are all based around individual families. They are also heavily steeped in ritual, with elaborate ceremonies for everything from hunting, marriage, warfare, and even the act of writing texts. Being theocratic the Confederacy is also deeply religious and every household has at least one shrine to the local nature deities that keep them safe or ensure good harvests or what have you. [b]Religion[/b] Religion is the cornerstone of Le'shi society. Their faith is animist in nature, they believe that everything animate or inanimate has a spirit known as a Kachina. Some Kachina are obviously more powerful than others and could be considered deities in their own right such as the great mountains and the Sun who are worshiped universally by all Le'shi for they are considered the givers of life to the cold blooded reptiles. Kachina are said to reside in the underworld, a realm where newborn Le'shi souls come from and dead Le'shi souls return to and is also considered to be the origin of Le'shi magics. Religious rituals are based around appeasing the local Kachina to gain favor or right wrongs that a village or kingdom may have caused. To represent Kachina in ritual, the priests of the Le'shi wear elaborate costumes and masks in an attempt to channel the Kachina into the mortal plane. Those with magical powers are considered to be "between" worlds and therefore better able to communicate with and channel the powers of the spirits. The Priest-Kings, being the most powerful mages, are therefore also considered to be the holiest members of society and are themselves worshiped like minor deities by the Le'shi. [b]The Arts[/b] While lacking in precious resources the Confederation has access to large amounts of materials to make incredibly vivid dyes and so Le'shi clothing is brightly colored. Colors are not attached to any social significance but the numbers of colors are. Common farmers for example only wear clothing of one color, normally purple as the insect that is ground up to make purple dye is considered a major pest that attacks crops, whereas the Priest-Kings' outfits could only be described as technocolor vomit. While not ones for paintings, the Le'shi make elaborate statues of wood, bone, and stone of the local Kachina. The greatest of all of these statues are known as the Dueling Twins, avatars of the Sun and the Stars who are considered to be in an endless battle with one another over control of the Earth. These statues are locked in battle and form the arch that all must walk under when entering the Holy City of Chitdol-Asiba. [b]Architecture[/b] There are two distinct styles of Architecture within the Confederacy. Those who live in the open lands live in Pueblos of a few hundred to several thousand in the largest cases. These communities are normally made of Adobe as there is a shortage of stone or wood in these areas. The cities that live closer to the great mountains are made in a similar manner, though are done so with stone. The holy city of Chitdol-Asiba is one such city with strong basalt walls protecting the Priest-Kings who rule from what could only be called a great pyramid at the heart of the city. [/hider] Just getting up what I have at the moment. Super duper wip, don't have anything about the stats or military but that shall be put up in due time.