The Naga

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Quote :: The Naga

The Naga are a race of sentient serpent like people who once dominated much of eastern Aeria 2,000 years ago - after the reign of the dragons and contesting with the Alfar Dominion. From the seat of their mighty empire in the once lush jungles of present day Sida, the Naga thrived off of the conquest and enslavement of "lesser" races and civilizations. Many of these races were driven to extinction by the harsh treatment of slaves. Humans and other present day dominant races themselves were often enslaved as they were not "worthy" of the Naga.

Slaves built the base of the Naga Empire even as they continued to expand more and more aggressively against the Dominion and the Dragonkin, who were the sworn enemies of the Naga because of their religious and ideology differences. The three forces were always at each other's throats, actively trying to destroy the other for dominance over Aeria. Through these wars, a stalemate between the powers would bring about the beginnings of the God War. The Naga themselves summoned Sylornath - the Naga's Ss'lornh - to Aeria in an attempt to break the stalemate and bring about the Crawling Path - a Naga concept whereby one creates a new world by destroying, eating, engulfing, the old.

Sylornath brought about this new world despite ultimately failing by being defeated at the hands of Aten and Tyr. The Naga were the greatest victims of the war, as Sylornath turned what Naga survived into the first of the feared Dreadspawn while the rest of the Naga and their empire were brought to the brink of extinction - the jungles burned into sand and cities left in ruin. Within months, the empire the Naga have built for centuries was destroyed. In present day, the Sultanates of Sida now reign where the Naga once did, believing the Naga to be just myths used to scare children. The Sidan's tell stories of the Naga seducing caravaners and evil doers to drain away their lifeforce, leaving nothing but a husk for the sands to claim.

Origins and Culture

Ss'ar'ess is told to be the First Snake born from the Birthing Place that carried much power - a power unparalleled to anything at the time, and arguably still today. From the death of the Birthing Place more snakes came who began to hate the First Snake, as she was the Pariah, the killer of the Birthing Place. The snakes who came after named themselves out of hatred for the First Snake, claiming to be Aht - the first and only above all others. Kel, another snake, summoned the First Snake to defend her egg against Aht and those who were named after him. The First Snake came, killing Aht and his followers. Kel, much to the sorrow of Ss'ar'ess, was killed in her rage.

Much to the hatred of Aht, Aht was placed inside the egg of the Pariah - the very egg he tried to destroy to make his own. This was not the end to the conflict of the spirit snakes trying to form and strengthen their own names. Amongst these forms the mortal realm of Aeria, where the Naga and other mortals are given life. Only thinking about adding more power to his name, Aht and his followers sweep through Aeria ruthlessly to seduce all they can so that they may finally gain power against Ss'ar'ess.

The fighting never stopped, only changed location to this new realm of Aeria that formed in the egg of Ss'ar'ess. Aht successfully plotted against the First Snake, claiming most of the mortal races as his own. Ss'ar'ess continued the fight, sending her first born to defend her creations from the sly words of Aht. Ss'ar, who can be identified as the Elven Shar, protected those she could from Aht - winning over the Naga and a few other minor races.

Naga, despite their near destruction by their own gods, still believe these events to be true as told by Ss'ar to this day. As a result, the Naga have no worries about enslaving or, in most cases, killing others for they believe that they are all agents working against the First Snake, Ss'ar'ess. Most Naga even go as far as trying to actively destroy Aeria so that the Naga will reign dominant so that they can control its fate in service to Ss'ar'ess and her children. This process, named the Crawling Path, has been adapted by other peoples and other religions across Aeria to suit their own needs. Most commonly, the Crawling Path represents reaching a kind of heaven through violence - that all life is murder.

Shar and her daughters are the image of the Crawling Path as they were the first to tell the Naga not to stay idle, but to dance, move, fight, and kill rather than being trapped as the other races have been. This is the oldest belief, which focused on escaping a doomed world by violence. In time, however, more Naga saw Sylornath, Ss'lornh, as the Pariah with his arrival on Aeria to be the killing of the world and to replace it with himself. Despite many believing Sylornath to not be the way to transcendence, the unification under Pazurish-Dagan, more saw Sylornath as the solution to bring about a new world.

The Crawling Path is often associated with a Pariah, or group of Pariahs, as Ss'ar'ess was the first to be named this in Naga ideology. From this, Naga have great praise for anyone who has been named one since their very title carries destruction and death with it. Where other people reject, cast out, or kill the aptly named Pariah's, the Naga almost worship them and seek to use them as tools for their ascendance into the very stars.

Technology

During the rise and prime of the Naga Empire over 2,000 years ago, the Naga were the most advanced race in terms of technology and magic and still are considered to be one of the most advanced civilizations even with the Dver competing with the Naga. It is from these technological advances that some Naga still live from before the times of the God War and still remain healthy. Even more, many of the magic forms and schools were created by the Naga themselves, but much of other techniques have been lost in the fires that claimed the Naga Empire.

From birth, the beginning processes of Naga life have been altered by injecting truminum, or liquid magic, into the eggs of the Naga. While this process kills many of the eggs, those who survive are granted longer lives and can bend magic to their will like no one else can. Learning magic is a breeze for these survivors, who are often taught all forms of magic without discrimination. In current times, however, this process is rarely used if at all so that the Naga can regain their numbers they lost during the events of the God War.

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