Lacertus

[Dina Doo]

Lacertus
lass-er-tus

_{Region of Origin:} Calder

Basic Biology:
The lacertus are often referred to as "the lizard people" when their name has slipped from someone's mind. They are a very slender race are more lean than robust. Their skin can vary from very pale to a deep brown. Though they have been known to possess any eye color, their eyes are reptilic, their pupils slitting depending on how much light there is in the area Their physical anatomy is very similar to a human while also possessing unique traits of their own. The lacertus have reptilian scales that are found certain places on their body. Most commonly, they have scales on their shoulders, outlining their cheekbones and temples, and on their sides. , The scale colors depend on the lacertus’ eye color. The scales also have the ability to change color to match their skin color, to help them blend in other races and their environment. Their hair color often reflects the environment (i.e. if they live in a dark environment they are more likely to have darker hair and skin) to help act as camouflage. Usually, lacertus have some color of their scales in their hair. This usually can be a streak, or maybe just the tips of their hair.

Other anatomical differences are their nails and a web-like thin layer of skin between their fingers and toes. The nails, while not exactly claws, are much sharper and stronger than that of a human’s. This has a dual purpose of helping defend themselves and to climb. The web-like skin layer can shrink back so their fingers and toes look normal, and it can grow back.

Male Biology:
Male lacertus are taller and slightly more muscles than females. Near the top part of their back, along their spine, males have quills that match the color of their scales. The quills are often hidden beneath clothing and can fold down. They are a very sensitive part of the male’s anatomy. While being described as “quills”, they are more fleshy in a sense.

Female Biology:
Females are a lot leaner than male lacertus and tend to be smaller. They don’t have large breasts and often are very sleek and flat to help them move faster in the water.

_Lifespan: 323-334^YRS

General Behavior:
The lacertus are distrustful of other races. They don’t appreciate other races trying to use their waterways and often ward them away because of the dangerous creatures that live close by. Mostly, the lacertus are sly and quick. They have to be fast on their toes to survive. Young lacertus might often thirst for adventure and leave home, but if they wish to reproduce, they have to return.

Usual Habitat:
Lacertus make their home in the dense jungle-like waterways of Calder. There is one main village within the waterways with few other villages nearby. Usually, the race tends to stick to their waterways and is distrustful of other races who come along their way. While lacertus often may leave the waterways to explore the world, they have to return to their birthplace if they wish to reproduce because it is the only way their young will survive.

Aliment:
Lacertus are herbivores, though they do hold canines and dental-likeness to that of a human. A lot of the plants around the waterway are unique to the lacertus. While other races might find the plants poisonous or uncomfortable to ingest, the lacertus show no discomfort while ingesting the most poisonous of plants.

If a lacertus were to ingest meat, they would immediately become ill. While the meat doesn’t kill them outright, eating too much of it can weaken them severely. Even a little bit of meat will bring them extreme discomfort.

Basic Social Structure:
Lacertus view every other as equal. There are no leaders and they live together, yet separately. This means that while they have neighbors and live close, they don’t tend to work together. Except for certain things. If the lacertus as a race needs to decide something, those who care will go to a meeting and there the lacertus will discuss among themselves and make a decision.

There are certain “jobs” among the lacertus that usually young or single lacertus without children take. These jobs often are caring for the incubating young, being a messenger from the outside, guarding the borders of the waterways (often those who aren’t raising children are found here), and so on.

Family Life/Gender Roles:
Lacertus mate for life. Finding a mate is a very tricky procedure and may take a long while because lacertus are looking for someone for life. A lacertus will only look for another mate if their former mate had died, and usually a lacertus will find another mate if they are young. “Dating” to lacertus is very similar to any other race. They are trying to find out who they get along with and who they do not. While lacertus date, they do not sleep around. After finding a mate and giving birth to a child, the lacertus will share childcare between both the male and the female. Children of the lacertus will stay with their parents until they are fully mature before breaking away to do as they wish.

Procreation:
Once a lacertus canoodles with another, they are mated for life. Canoodling is very similar to human procreation. Females are fertile all year and it is extremely easy to get pregnant, if not taking a certain herb that grows around the waterways that acts as a birth control. While it is extremely easy for females to get pregnant, their infancy death is extremely common. When females are pregnant, they are pregnant for four to five months and barely show because it is necessary for lacertus to be able to run and swim quickly. The babies grow extremely quickly in the womb until time of birth. The lacertus can not mate with those of another race. They can choose another race as their life partner, but they are unable to procreate.

Childbirth and Childcare:
All lacertus children are born prematurely. Usually all births are given under the water, and the child has to be quickly delivered to plants that grow in a pool like area that runs off of the river. These plants are pods that are able to act as an incubator for the child. The pods look like flower buds that have see-through petals. The petals are white with green veins and clearer middles. Once a child is placed inside the plant, the pod closes around it and begins to make a very poisonous liquid that surrounds the child. If anyone, or anything, tries to force the pod open, the poison would kill them (if they are not lacerus.)

The pod and child benefact each other. The poisonous liquid holds a lot of oxygen within it, and as the child is in the pod, he/she creates carbon dioxide that the plant in tern the plant needs to survive. There are many factors that can kill the child. One of the first is that the pod might reject the child and not close around it, but this is rare. Another is that there was too much time between birth and delivering the child to a pod. The third is that the child may die because of natural causes within the pod.

The children of lacertus will grow very slowly inside the pod. The poisonous liquid gives them nutrients needed to grow. The child will stay within the pod up to three years until the pod blooms. When a pod is getting closer to blooming, it begins to glow. By then, the poisonous liquid has turned into glowing particles that rise to the surface and will glow at night. The glowing particles are seeds that will eventually float down to the bottom of the small pond to make more plants.

Magic and Abilities:
The lacertus have evolved to be sneaky and to run away at fast speeds. This is because they are hunted by another creature that hunts their kind. One of the lacertus’ many abilities is swimming. When a child emerges from his/her pod, he/she is fully able to grasp swimming. The lacertus are very skilled and fast swimmers, and they are able to stay underwater for up to an hour and a half. The next ability lacertus have is the ability to breathe out smoke. This ability allows them to escape, like a smoke bomb. Though, it also is often used to show off to the other gender. The last two abilities of the lacertus are climbing and running. The lacertus are extremely good climbers and often build their homes in the thick trees. They are very quick runners and can leap a good distance to avoid danger.

Legends and Folklore:
Long ago, in the thickest parts of the jungles, Ren guided thick, deep waterways through the thick trees. After working, he rested against a cliff side, burrowing deep and creating a pond that was filled by the water from the waterway. As he burrowed, some of his scales fell off into the water. When the burrow was deep and wide enough to hold him, he curled up and fell asleep.

The next morning, he awoke to new beings within the water. They gaped and admired him, and at a close glance, Ren could see that they shared his scales. Standing up from the pool, Ren told them that they could continue to live, as long as they tended the waterways. Just as he was about to continue carving water into the earth, he warned them that they were allowed only one mate and that if they broke this, their race would face ruin.

Years passed and the lacertus lived very peacefully. They followed Ren’s rules, only mating with a single person all their life. The lacertus discovered another race that lived outside of the waterways. This race lived in the deepest, thickest parts of jungle, parts with thick deep water. They were angelic and beautiful. One day, a young lacertus left the protective waterways to discover more about the other race. A member from the race welcomed the lacertus with open arms and told her the way they lived their life. They told her that they were allowed to be together with anyone they wanted, which was a lot different than the lacertus.

The young female lacertus was very unhappy with her life. She didn’t want to live among the waterways and had chosen a mate stupidly quick. Everyday, she would leave the waterways and spend time among the other race. One night, she didn’t return.

She had slept with another person from the other race, and woke to be laying next to a four legged beast with oily black skin and ugly muzzle. The beast smirked at the girl, telling her how stupid she was. By breaking the promise they had made with Ren, they had broken a protective spell around the waterways.

The creature allowed the girl to run back to her people and warn them. At first, they didn’t people her. Then the sounds of horrid howling filled the jungle. The creatures swarmed from the dark shadows of the jungle and began hunting the lacertus, dragging them off to eat them.

One of the lacertus ran to Ren, to beg for his help. He told the lacertus it was too late, that they were now cursed to be hunted forever, but he did grant the lacertus with the power of his smoke in order to hide away from the terrible creatures.

History:
No one knows how the lacertus originally originated, though they have evolved immensely over the years. They have evolved to be quick and to run if any danger were to come to them. The lacertus are distrustful of other races by default and tend to only gather in one place, though there are young lacertus (and sometimes older) that spread farther from the waterways to discover the world.