MercenaryfromLimbo
First Post
I'm trying to build up a culture around my reptile-folk that makes them seem alien to my PCs, who're all humans. Here's what I've got on them so far:
Vaik Spirituality:
The Vaik believe that the cosmic anomalies known as Sarkaidrak pulled the world together from debris and matter scattered through space. Therefore, to the Vaik, the Sarkaidrak are the closest thing the world has to gods in the traditional sense. Vaik worship the gods by blending the art of organic and inorganic chemistry with fallout found in the lands where the Sarkaidrun dwell. The Sarkaidrun are the sauropods touched by the cosmic fallout of the Sarkaidrak. Vaik reverence of the Sarkaidrun involves augmenting the soft Vaik body with the bones and hides of certain sauropods and avians in an attempt to ascend to Ur-hood.
Vaik Rite of Passage:
Aftertheir first molt, a Vaik will eat a blend of herbs from the dragon (Sarkaidrun)-seas.The dragon-seas are areas where the dragons live; as a result the landscape isconstantly shifting and changing. The Vaik that eat the dragon-sea herbs gain an enhanced perception of reality. Under the drug’s influence, the Vaik will feverishly pen a theory from whatever it observes. At the ritual’s end, theVaik will shift into an androgynous state (they are sexually dimorphic) andleap over five juvenile sauropods. At the height of the drug-trance, the Vaik will see a tether running from the sauropod to one of the dragon in thedragon-seas. The Vaik will grasp the tether—to a sober observer, it appears asif the Vaik uses its tail and neck muscles to throw itself off course—and landbefore the sauropod.
TheVaik will fight the sauropod to sever the tether—the casual observer will seethe Vaik leap atop the sauropod and sever its spinal cord—and bolt into thewilds. Within the dragon-seas, the drug-entranced Vaik will seek out one of themutated sauropods that most closely resemble the dragon that it believes heldthe tether of the sauropod it killed. After the mutated sauropod has beenkilled, the Vaik will harvest the lymph nodes from the carcass before it isconsumed by the unstable elemental matter of the dragon-seas. Those Vaik thatare too slow are mutated by the dragon-seas into Vaik Elementals; failure atthe Rite of Passage has led the Vaik Elementals to embrace a philosophy contrary to that of the Vaik.
Vaikand the Path of the Sarkaidrun
The ghost of the sauropod and mutated sauropod that the Vaik slays to reachadulthood haunt the Vaik. Outsiders believe that the drugs a Vaik will takebefore the Rite of Passage causes brain damage to the area of the brainresponsible for visual processing. The sauropod ghosts drive the Vaik todedicate them to the theorem that they penned during the Rite of Passage. Thusthe sauropod serve as the drive for the Vaik that is on the Path of the Sarkaidrun.
The Path of Sarkaidrun describes the Vaik’s quest to harness the cosmic energies inthe Sarkaidrun Seas. Harnessing this energy allows the Vaik to reach the laststage of maturation, Ur-hood. The Path of Sarkaidrun describes the Vaik’sthaumaturgical practices and includes voyages to the lands of the Humans,Evojur, Nyokalev, and Kirak.
Vaik Spirituality:
The Vaik believe that the cosmic anomalies known as Sarkaidrak pulled the world together from debris and matter scattered through space. Therefore, to the Vaik, the Sarkaidrak are the closest thing the world has to gods in the traditional sense. Vaik worship the gods by blending the art of organic and inorganic chemistry with fallout found in the lands where the Sarkaidrun dwell. The Sarkaidrun are the sauropods touched by the cosmic fallout of the Sarkaidrak. Vaik reverence of the Sarkaidrun involves augmenting the soft Vaik body with the bones and hides of certain sauropods and avians in an attempt to ascend to Ur-hood.
Vaik Rite of Passage:
Aftertheir first molt, a Vaik will eat a blend of herbs from the dragon (Sarkaidrun)-seas.The dragon-seas are areas where the dragons live; as a result the landscape isconstantly shifting and changing. The Vaik that eat the dragon-sea herbs gain an enhanced perception of reality. Under the drug’s influence, the Vaik will feverishly pen a theory from whatever it observes. At the ritual’s end, theVaik will shift into an androgynous state (they are sexually dimorphic) andleap over five juvenile sauropods. At the height of the drug-trance, the Vaik will see a tether running from the sauropod to one of the dragon in thedragon-seas. The Vaik will grasp the tether—to a sober observer, it appears asif the Vaik uses its tail and neck muscles to throw itself off course—and landbefore the sauropod.
TheVaik will fight the sauropod to sever the tether—the casual observer will seethe Vaik leap atop the sauropod and sever its spinal cord—and bolt into thewilds. Within the dragon-seas, the drug-entranced Vaik will seek out one of themutated sauropods that most closely resemble the dragon that it believes heldthe tether of the sauropod it killed. After the mutated sauropod has beenkilled, the Vaik will harvest the lymph nodes from the carcass before it isconsumed by the unstable elemental matter of the dragon-seas. Those Vaik thatare too slow are mutated by the dragon-seas into Vaik Elementals; failure atthe Rite of Passage has led the Vaik Elementals to embrace a philosophy contrary to that of the Vaik.
Vaikand the Path of the Sarkaidrun
The ghost of the sauropod and mutated sauropod that the Vaik slays to reachadulthood haunt the Vaik. Outsiders believe that the drugs a Vaik will takebefore the Rite of Passage causes brain damage to the area of the brainresponsible for visual processing. The sauropod ghosts drive the Vaik todedicate them to the theorem that they penned during the Rite of Passage. Thusthe sauropod serve as the drive for the Vaik that is on the Path of the Sarkaidrun.
The Path of Sarkaidrun describes the Vaik’s quest to harness the cosmic energies inthe Sarkaidrun Seas. Harnessing this energy allows the Vaik to reach the laststage of maturation, Ur-hood. The Path of Sarkaidrun describes the Vaik’sthaumaturgical practices and includes voyages to the lands of the Humans,Evojur, Nyokalev, and Kirak.
