[hider=Zi'an Dynasty][center][h2]Zi'an Dynasty[/h2][/center] [h3]Government[/h3] The Zi'an Dynasty is ruled by a single blood linage that pass down the right of ruler to their child that proves themselves the most. The current ruler is Empress Kola Zi'an and she has been the ruler for the past fifteen years. The Empress won her right to rule over the rest of her royal brood during the Right of the Sun which is a series of tests and challenges that are undertaken by the entire brood to show who has the right to lead the entire Empire. The Empress or Emperor are viewed by the nation as chosen by the Gods and no one has the right to challenge their word without equal rights of the Gods. Besides the seat of power on the island capital of Tlaloc each of the Temple cities that are hidden within the rainforest are ruled by a governing lord. [h3]Geography[/h3] [hider=Interior][IMG]http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h326/monkeyboy226/a9924bf3-4b2e-46cf-a41b-6384211689c9.jpg[/IMG][/hider] The Miquiztli Forest is a dense and dangerous collection of trees that covers the entire lower half of the continent stretching from the western ocean all the way to the Poctli Mountain Range against the eastern border. The climate of the forest is a humid place with trees climbing sixty to a hundred feet into the air creating a low visibility issues on the ground with the lack of sunlight that can get through the canopy. Most of the forest is covered in perpetual shadows which can be worse with the common rain storms that can rage across the continent creating hazardous swamps which house a variety of dangerous creatures. There are only six Temple cities located within the Zi'an Dynasty which seem to have been cut out of the forest themselves. Each city is surrounded by a wall with a single large tiered temple standing in the center. The greatest of these cities is also the throne of power and is called Tlaloc. Tlaloc is located in the western part of the continent on an island transforming the entire island into a virtual fortress with a single narrow bridge to the north and a large port on the southern end. [h3]Culture[/h3] [hider=Tecoixin] The Tecoixin is the name given to the reptilian race that dwells deep within the Miquiztli Rainforest. The Tecoixin come in a variety of shapes and sizes with the average one standing near five feet and five inches with their scales ranging in color from a deep green to sandy brown. As a race, they like to wear minimal clothing to stave off the humidity of their region as their simple clothing consists of gold plated armor mixed with light colored cloth.[/hider] [hider=Religion]The Zi'an Dynasty sticks to their ancient pantheon of Gods that have been known since long ago. The representative of the Gods on the planet is who ever is the chosen ruler of their civilization as well as the priests that serve the temples of the Gods. Xochitl- The Giver of Creation: The Goddess that brought life into the world and created all races that walk upon the earth. She is also the great lizard who created the forest that protects her favorite creations from the dangers and even continues to watch them from above. Itzli- The Bringer of Fire, Sun and War: The great God that taught the Texoixin the warmth of the sun that would heat their bodies to keep them warm at night and the same that taught them how to wield weapons against their enemies. The only thing that Itzli requires in return for his teachings are ritualistic sacrifices of the spoils of war. Xolotl- Keeper of the Night and Death: The eternal keeper of the souls of the dead and the one who claims the night and all shadows as his own. Tlaloc- The Lord of Rain and Forest: The God that lords over the water of the world and the protector of the Miquiztli Forest. He is the bringer of life bringing rain that nourishes his favored race and even watches over them in the forest so that no invader is welcomed. He is also the blessed one that taught the Texoixin how to use their magic to alter the weather around them. In return, he asks for annual ritualistic sacrifices during the festival of the coming rains. He is thought to reside near the capital Tlaloc deep underneath the waters that surround the city, Yacatecutli- Giver of arts and smiths: The one that taught the Texoixin how to create weapons and the arts. He showed the lizards what music was in ancient times and is said to be constantly improving his art and passing it down to his people. [/hider] [hider=Views]The Zi'an Dynasty welcome all into their cities so long as they survive the journey to any of the temple cities. They see all the races as children of Xochitl meaning that they should also accept the others to join in their fires. This doesn't mean that there is much variety in their cities as the journey into the forest is not one for the feign of heart and they see anyone that braves the perils worthy to be among them. The Dynasty does not tolerate transgressions against them even with their welcoming view and most prisoners end up as sacrifices as they do not have a slave infrastructure or slave trade. The people of the Zi'an Dynasty value strength and loyalty of anything else. This view of strength has lead to a constant supply of military recruitment which have to be turned down during times of peace as there is no reason for a large standing army to just sit around. To make use of these restless recruits the Zi'ans came up with the idea that each Temple city is required during the biannual festival of the solstice to put force a small army to compete in mock battles against each other. The winning city gets prestige and glory and the honor that once battle does break out, they are given the position of putting their warriors on the frontline to test their metal first. [/hider] [hider=Magic]The magic of the Tecoixin reflects their environment of survival of the fittest and only the strong are allowed to wield their magic freely in the society. Beast Mastery Magic- This is the magic that well defines the Tecoixin and the Zi'an Dynasty and can be used by almost all given enough time. It is also one of the hardest magics to be mastered as it requires a true connection and understanding between user and beast to be truly effective. Real masters of the magic can control many different types of creatures to do their bidding at once and since the Miquiztli Forest is filled with creatures that want to kill you there are plenty of beasts to choose from. Storm Magic- This magic can only be used by those who truly have a master affinity of magic. Users are able to summon vast fog banks and even condense clouds to create rain storms that can cover large areas. [/hider] [h3]Military[/h3] The Zi'an pride themselves on being experts in unconventional warfare. They only have a very small standing army as most of their recruits come from the civilian population during times of war as well as the Festival of the Solstice. All are trained at a young age to wield weapons of war before being sent back to their families to learn a relevant trade for the rest of their lives meaning that around ninety percent of the population knows how to fight. Noble broods of children are instructed in the arts of warfare and are given extensive training in all types of military tactics. The Zi'an Dynasty enjoys a good hard fight given their primal blood thirst at times, but with advances in warfare technology and their defiance to don heavy and restricting armor they have been forced to adapt their tactics to more guerrilla style fighting meaning that they don't like to leave the tactical advantage of the Forest very much. The military uses a lot of psychological warfare when presented with another army. They like to instill fear into the enemy with war cries and chanting accompanied by large war drums and rattling of banners created by bones of animals. They are known to fight a feinting battle as they lure the enemy into traps as they pretend to retreat before turning around and attacking the enemy again. As they tend to stick to their dense forests, they will draw the enemy into the trees and start to attack from all sides and even from up in the trees. [hider=Infantry][hider][img]http://orig03.deviantart.net/2e33/f/2009/305/f/5/lizard_man_by_sansyu.jpg[/img][/hider][hider][img]http://orig10.deviantart.net/d867/f/2010/173/1/f/lizard_man_by_koutanagamori.jpg[/img][/hider][hider][img]http://pre03.deviantart.net/3c12/th/pre/i/2013/069/9/4/lizardman_by_obrotowy-d5xlij1.jpg[/img][/hider] The main bulk of the Zi'an Dynasty army is made up of tecoixin that wear little to no armor as they rely on their thick hides to protect against damage done by blades and arrows. They are equipped with a [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macuahuit]Macuahuit[/url] as a standard weapon but are given the option to bring others weapons that they can afford such as steel weapons. The macuahuit is mainly used against bare flesh or calvary as the obsidian blades tend to chip and break against metal armor. Another standard weapon seen are wooden spears with steel tips to rip holes in the enemy armor to allow the macuahuit to go to work. The infantry prefers to march in loose formations as each fighter likes to gain their own glory and do not like to share honor as taking another's kill is unforgivable. Smaller tecoixin are given bows to use at range with arrows tipped with obsidian or iron and often are laced in poison to be effective even if the arrow heads shatter against the enemies armor. When their weapons would fail them, there is always the option of wielding their teeth and claws as their weapons on the battlefield. [/hider] [hider=Mages][hider][img]http://pre15.deviantart.net/a126/th/pre/i/2010/202/f/a/albino_lizardman_shaman_by_jwilsonillustration.jpg[/img][/hider][hider][img]http://pre00.deviantart.net/16e6/th/pre/f/2014/097/2/8/lizard_nude_by_khasdannyanlord-d7dl10w.jpg[/img][/hider] Magic users are not an uncommon sight on the battlefield for the Zi'an Dynasty, but unlike other nations who may protect their mages the Zi'an mages can be seen on the front line ripping opponents limb from limb. Beast mages often arrive upon the battlefield with either one or a hand full of war beasts under their command to assist them in battle. They coordinate attacks with their beasts using magic links to see through each others eyes. While storm mages are used to help coordinate ambush tactics as they are instructed to cause downpours or raise fog through the forest. Another tactic is to keep groups of spell casters together to combine power to control stronger war beasts and it is not uncommon for these mages to be seen carried on mobile platforms on the open battlefield so that they can concentrate on their chanting. Spell Casters can be recognized from the main infantry by their appearance as they tend to cover themselves in bones of fallen enemies or animals. [/hider] [hider=War beasts][img]http://img12.deviantart.net/671a/i/2011/175/2/f/1308961804_frilled_raptor_by_fleurdelyse-d3jswrc.jpg[/img]Pack Animals that work in groups under two mages. [img]http://pre08.deviantart.net/19e1/th/pre/i/2014/200/2/6/vis_caar___sinari_enemy_creature_by_chris_karbach-d769yq6.jpg[/img]Requires seven mages to control a single one. Rare. [img]http://pre04.deviantart.net/3173/th/pre/f/2013/180/e/e/creature_design_by_cxartist-d6b9f0l.png[/img] Another pack animal that is used by individual mages. [img]http://img01.deviantart.net/5f1f/i/2012/228/2/9/tree_monster_by_reptilexfatality-d5bcq1h.jpg[/img] A creature that is used only within the forest and is never taken outside onto the open battlefield. [img]http://img02.deviantart.net/b142/i/2013/251/b/c/bio_diverse_colony___warrior_by_tchukart-d6li9wq.jpg[/img] Used by the Sky riders as mounts to attack the battlefield from above. Agile creatures that can maneuver between trees. [/hider] [h3]Heroes[/h3] [hider=Superior Hero][img]http://pre02.deviantart.net/7766/th/pre/f/2015/245/3/5/35c7b81115d03bd120d60af057133e1d-d9858ug.jpg[/img] Yaotl The Primal, the strongest beast mage in the Zi'an Dynasty.[/hider] [hider=Hero][img]http://orig00.deviantart.net/df08/f/2012/304/c/1/aztec_lizardman_by_neoatlantis44-d5jjvn9.jpg[/img] Coatl, Lord of the Lightning Struck.[/hider] [hider=Hero][img]http://img00.deviantart.net/2c79/i/2016/169/3/d/drakeid_by_morgan_chane-da6sc11.jpg[/img] Empress Kola Zi'an, strong storm/lightning magic user.[/hider] [h3]History[/h3] [h3]Relations[/h3] [h3]Characters[/h3] [/hider]