Iznhars

Values

Determination. Once an Iznhar has something on their mind, a goal, they will do everything to accomplish it. They make implacable fighters.

Frankness. Coupled with their determination, it has earned them a brutish reputation. They will not go about two ways doing or saying things, they are going to be very direct.

Openness. They never hide anything. They might get you in an ambush, or come at you silently in the murky hour before dawn, but you can trust them to tell you the truth. They will, however, retain information or tell simple lies to protect their clan.

Simplicity. Although there are some very capable artisan in each clan, they prefer to do things simply. If something is too complicated, they might get frustrated or even angry. They dislike puzzles and downright hate riddles.

Language

Their language is called Iznhid. It borrows heavily from draconic and humans find it very difficult to enunciate.

Singing

They don't often sing, but when they do, often after consuming a little too much alcohol, it is guttural and low, most often soft.

Names

Iznhars have usually rough-sounding names, often gutturals. For ideas, check out this website: FNG.

Physiology

They have large tough scales, an elongated skull, prominent eyes, a mouthful of large teeth, an agile tongue, a long tail, large hind claws and fingers sporting sharp, but small claws.

They usually have a single or dual color set of scales, sometimes sporting more colorful scales marking their origin.

Outsiders can never distinguish a male from a female, which baffles the Iznhars to whom it's obvious.

Desert Iznhars

The biggest and strongest amongst them, they are usually a full head taller than a human. They are mostly nomads with maybe a single more permanent canyon hold close to an ancestor sanctuary.

They are the more energetic of the Iznhars and the most fun loving of them. They are as likely to laugh with an outsider as be suspicious of them.

Their scales have a base of beige and brown, with a few colors to distinguish their clan.

They like to pray to Astar, Father of Suns and god of purity.

Forest Iznhars

These are mostly what most people think of when they picture an Iznhar. Their scales have a base of green and some brown, with a few colors to distinguish their clan.

They like to pray to Nina, goddess of forests and trees.

Swamp Iznhars

These are definitely the most idle of their race. When active they mostly hunt and gather. They establish very small holds and each clan stays very far from one another to maximize what they can extract from the land. They do not have livestock or practice agriculture.

They are the most suspicious of outsiders, but the least likely to fight them. They are the most isolated of their kin.

They are the smallest of their kin, barely taller than a human, but their scales are definitely the most colorful of them all with a base of green and black.

They like to pray to Isi, goddess of plants and life.

Society

Iznhars have a clan-based society and feel a deep bond toward each member of their clan. The clan can be distinguished from one another by the color patterns of their scales.

Rules & Authority

A clan has a chief, sometimes a circle of elders, often a shaman and between them, they make up the rules, laws and dish out punishments.

There is no set of rules that are permanent or consistent between the diverse clans, but each member of a clan is well aware of what is expected of them.

The chief is usually elected by the whole clan, usually after a few fights between the pretenders. They are loyally followed are respected. They do not really give orders so much as make suggestions, which in their language is the same, and makes them look very authoritative when translated improperly.

Clan members are free to dissent and voice their opinion, but not when on a raid. If dissent is strong enough, and a group of dissenters as a strong enough leader, they might call for a challenge, else, they might leave to form a new clan.

There is never any civil war within a clan. Those who form a new clan will have to establish as far away as possible.

Food

Iznhars will eat just about anything. They mainly hunt and gather, but they do also some minor agriculture and raise some livestock.

When eating an animal, they consume everything, even cracking the bones open, except for the teeth. The bones are ground up to make some kind of bread shaped like a loaf, the inside of the guts are used to make strong, pungent and nourishing liquor called Brak, nothing is left to rot.

Death

Upon the death of a member of the clan, a large feast is organized for the ritual consumption of the dead individual unless they were diseased, in which case they are given to the environment.

In the case of an important figure, the skin of the head is tanned, the skull is dried up, polished and engraved with runes. Then the skin is put back on the skull and stuffed to give it its original shape. 

Religion

They often see dragons as godlike. They were their master and teacher in the beginning. However, they are much more religious than most give them credit for.

Their religious ceremonies are a group affair. It might be started by somebody important, like the chief, shaman or an elder, but it can also just come about by aggregation as a few members of the clan kneel down in prayer and others join. No one leads the ceremony, there are no structure to it and everyone can speak and pray out loud. They do it one at a time, no one can start their piece until the previous speaker is done. It's considered improper to go on for too long.

They love Kaia, Mother of the earth and goddess of creation, but their main deity is Kro, god of dedication and stubbornness, which they represent in their own image. However, they are not above praying to all of them, especially Era, Eris and Kor.

They revere their heroic ancestors, but in a very personal way, visiting their skull whenever they are close to the sanctuary or when they particularly feel the need to.

Procreation

Pair Bonding

To an Iznhar, any casual relationship is a form of bonding, if not, you are an outsider. Pair bonding is very rare among the Iznhars, and they have no concept of love. For them the feeling of love is just a stronger form of bonding, even though they feel it just as strongly as any other race.

Mating Ritual

There are no mating ritual to speak of amongst the Iznhars. If one of them feels the urge to procreate, or simply have sex, they may directly approach another individual for that explicit purpose or declare it to the entire clan and pick from the volunteers. Group sex is not uncommon.

It is not rare after sex to have one or more of them sport a few broken scales.

Eggs

If the clan has a hold, they are kept there, protected by the people present with always at least two guards looking over them. Those produce in the same day are buried all together and will hatch 12 weeks later.

The hatchlings are very small and kept together in a basket, carried around by their minder and fed small insects and grubs from the insect garden.