Grassland Clans
From Greatelementrpg
1 - Duck Clan Village
2 - Great Hollow
3 - Zur Tribe
4 - Mantor Nests
5 - Archaco Land
Contents |
Archaco Clan
Basic Info
Culture
Government
Duck Clan
Basic Info
The Duck Folk are simply large bipedal ducks. They're much smarter than their more common counter parts, and in fact seem to have a scholarly inclination.
Culture
While the Duck Folk have been known to be very effective in battle, especially when fighting in watery terrains, they prefer peace. Their city, has always enjoyed the protection of the Lizard Clan and the [[Grassland Clans|Archaco Clan]. This along with being smack in the middle of the Cayes Grasslands has made the Duck Village a large commercial center, and the largest city in the Cayes Grasslands. The Ducks have grown into the role of merchants very well, as they are friendly and generally tend to get along with everyone, and tend to be quite business savvy by nature. Like the Lizard Clan, they see the other Cayes Grassland Clans as family, although they don't take that role quite as intensely.
In a social sense, Ducks are very progressive. They don't tend to cling to tradition when something new is found. They've also grown capitalistic in a good-natured way. They regularly engage in commerce with humans outside of the Cayes Grasslands. They can be considered the most modern of the Cayes Clans.
Ducks tend to be very conservative in a dull minded sort of way when it comes to moral and family matters, however. It's not that they straddle a particularly high moral horse, but simply that they're not imaginative enough to be much mroe. While not particularly looking down on the few individuals who aren't, they see them as strange and very unusual. Most Ducks have simple aspirations; to work, earn money, and raise a family with little ducklings.
Ducks once had their own language, but have mostly abandoned it for more common tongues. Ducks learn Commonspeak in school, and generally learn Archaco and Chaldean.
Government
The Duck Clan is the only one not governed by a Chief; it is instead run by a mayer, elected by the citizens of the city. Though they are very friendly and encourage other races to live within their city, only Duck Folk are counted as citizens. This suits most of the non-Ducks that live in the city just fine; pretty much all Duck mayors tend to be calm and encourage business in the same way.
Crime of any sort is taken very seriously by Ducks. Most Ducks are generally very law abiding, and thus crime was extremely rare before other races started living in their city, with the culprit usually turning himself in anyway. Because they're so unfamiliar with crime, they often don't know how to react to it, and sometimes are overly harsh or overly indulgent, depending on the Mayor in charge at the time.
Ducks tend to have the most advanced education amongst the Cayes Clans; they make their young go to school until they're old enough to enter the working world.
Lizard Folk
Basic Info
The Lizard Folk are large bipedal lizards, native to the Cayes Grasslands. Amongst the Grassland Clans, they are the most war-like and amongst the most influential and powerful. Though one would be hard pressed to call the honest and straight-forward lizards deceitful, they do not uphold any chivalric notions such as honor. Ambush in battle, for example, is not seen a cowardly act but a smart strategic choice. They wear decorated cloth garments, and almost always carry a weapon - usually a large Glaive or Spear. Though most lizards grow to be warriors, other roles are also highly appreciated. They make their livelihood through hunting, weapon-smithing, and trade. The Lizard Clan is very communal; no Lizard Clan member is better off than another, even the chief - the fact that Lizards have very low requirements to be quite comfortable helps. The Clan as a whole make sure that everyone has enough to eat everyday, and that the young are looked after. One interesting note is that there are more female lizards than male lizards; at about a 6 to 4 ratio.
Culture
The Lizard Clan is extremely aggressive towards it's enemies, and equally supportive of it's allies. Despite their war-like nature, the Lizard Clan is one of the few reasons that the Cayes Grassland Clans are able to band together and resist outside invasion. They see other Grassland Clans as brothers; the Lizard Clan is often quite unaware that the other Grassland Clans often fight amongst themselves, and when they do notice they often dismiss it as a small squabble instead of the more serious conflicts that they actually are.
The Lizard Clan is extremely dedicated to their role as warriors and protectors of the Cayes Grasslands. Nearly all Lizards become warriors and hunters, and even the few who are less typically inclined take up roles that help with the effort, such as that of a blacksmith. All Lizard Clans members are extremely dedicated to the clan, and their chief. Clan members share all their resources with each other freely, and the top priority is to make sure that everyone in the Clan has everything they need to live a comfortable and happy life.
Homosexuality and Bisexuality amongst lizards is close to unheard of. This is simply because in reality, Lizards are quite asexual most of the time. Only young lizards between the ages of 13 and 25 have a libido at all, and even then only during a single brief month every year in the springtime, which culminates in the yearly mating ritual. Because sex for lizards is not nearly as pleasurable for lizards as it is for humans, most individuals see sex simply as nothing obscene and merely as biological function that needs to be taken care of . Much like the body needs to eat everyday, release excrements everyday, and sleep every night, so must they breed every year for a period of their lives. During the 12 years of in which they breed, Lizards typically produce 1 offspring each year. Lizards don't actually chose who they mate with; though their mates are not specifically assigned, Lizards simply mate with the Lizard of opposing gender closest to their rank.
Children are raised by the entire clan as a whole; elderly female Lizards often spend most of their time making sure all the children are well fed. Children rarely even know who their parents are, as the eggs are incubated through communal efforts.
Lizards generally don't have anything similar to conventional human marriages, and nothing official at all. They simply live with their clan as a whole. Generally Lizards develop a relationship of mutual trust with one other lizard, in which gender is not an issue, but other than that they regard all members of their clan with generosity and love.
Lizards are also quite interesting, because although they mature much faster than humans they also live quite a bit longer. They enter a slow puberty at about 7 years of age, becoming capable of breeding by 13 years of age and being fully mature by 16 years age. Most Lizards simply die in battle as old age deteriorates their ability; they're forced to retire as warriors if they reach the age of 80 however, and take more passive roles within their community. Lizards have been known to live as much as 150 years.
Government
The Lizards have a very simple government; all lizards are equal, except for the Chief. For a Lizard to become Chief, he must have proved himself to be a great warrior, and believed by his peers to be insightful. A position as Chief lasts until death. However, because the Chief traditionally the one that leads the Clan into large battles, time as Chief isn't nearly as long as it sounds. Although this system sounds very simplistic, it has served the Lizards quite well for hundreds of years.
