Ashametj

“When I first saw an ashametj city, I thought I was seeing some kinda mirage, what with all those great stone spires erupting from the sands and reaching out for the heavens, with masterful stonework I didn't think I'd ever see outside of a dwarven kingdom. Moradin’s beard, if they weren’t half-covered in scales and twice my size, I’d ask if we weren’t related!”

-Dagmar Boulderstein, explorer extraordinaire

Children of their matron goddess Ashaaja, the Ashametju make their homes within desert climates, constructing huge stone structures filled with reliefs and murals depicting stories and lore that they’ve learned. Half-human and half-lizard, their upper bodies resemble humans and from the waist down, they resemble a large lizard. They hoard lore and stories within their stone-built settlements, happily trading one tale for another to expand their collection. Some tales are inscribed onto paper in libraries, but other more important ones are artistically sprawled across building walls to deeper immortalize them.

Scale and Skin

The ashametju are a hardy race. Perhaps the only reason they have managed to survive in the harsh deserts which they have claimed as their own, largely uncontested by other civilizations. Their bulky lower body is that of a lizard, sporting four large, stocky legs and a tail, and scales commonly being tan colours matching their natural terrain, but some rare clans of ashametju bear exotic colours like blues and reds. Above the waist, they appear human-like with lean, muscular upper bodies with little fat. They have smooth facial features, inverted pupils and slightly pointed ears. Their hair ranges from black to blonde colours.

Their hybrid nature also brings with it the drawbacks of a cold-blooded lizard, limiting their ability to regulate their body temperature. Female ashametju lay between one and two eggs per cycle, which hatch over a period of several months. The young are vulnerable and reliant on their parents for the first few years and tend to be carried around on the backs of their parents for the first year of their lives.

Stone and Spear

Ashametj society is tied heavily to the stone structures they create and live in. The major pillars of society are the Stonesculptors who construct their settlements and preserve lore, and the Sandtreaders who protect the lands and provide resources. Stonesculptors are the builders, miners and lorekeepers of society, merging their knowledge with both paper and stone. Sandtreaders act as farmers, guards and hunters, eliminating threats that would endanger their society and ensuring that the settlement can sustain itself.

These groups fit within the social hierarchy as advisors and enforcers of the settlement’s chief, or to the king or queen of the kingdom, granting their wisdom and support to help maintain influence. While the settlement’s needs may shift from one side to another, it is critical that both groups work in co-ordination to ensure their survival.

Despite the division of their society, young ashametju are taught from members of both groups, making their decision on which group they wish to follow upon reaching adulthood, despite many following in their parent’s footsteps. While stonesculptors fabricate the major structure of a building, each individual ashametj is taught in the arts of masonry, and sculpt and paints murals, bas-reliefs and various other stone arts to make their rooms their own. Likewise, a young ashametj is taught how to defend themselves, using their bulk and form to their advantage should they be attacked by the other inhabitants of their deserts.

Burning Heat and Biting Cold

Ashametju biology is not without fault to their habitat. When the sun sets, their desert lands shift from scorching hot to freezing swiftly, and their half-lizard traits make this even more dangerous to an ashametj. Most folk rarely set foot outside their homes of a night, but those who do are especially prepared, wearing thick layers of linen clothing and clinging to any form of heat they have. Without this protection, an Ashametj will not survive long in the cold, whether it be from the cold itself or the other dangers of the wilderness that will take the opportunity for an easy meal.

The Lizard Mother

Some ashametju may pay respects to other pantheons if their civilisations connects with another with similar ideologies, but they only truly worship Ashaaja as a true deity. She is their creator goddess that birthed their race to the world, and gifted them the knowledge of stonecutting, farming and hunting to let them thrive in their desert habitat. Among her other names and titles are the Lizard Mother, the Great Teacher and the Warmthbringer.

Her clerics are split equally amongst the two societies, using the powers gifted to them to heal the sick and wounded, provide warmth and aid to those travelling the desert at night, and defend their homeland. Ashaaja also gifted her children knowledge of the magical arts, and lore tells that she taught the first of her people how to use magic. As such those with magical ability are well-integrated into society, working within the Stonesculptors and Sandtreaders.

Legends say that she once walked the sands with her children as she taught them how to survive, but she left to remain in her realm, the Sunlands, millennia ago and has not returned since. It is said she will return with her champions in their time of need.