Saturday, April 21, 2012

People of Espeth 2


Traxbon
There are few people anywhere across Espeth that are as cool and collected as the traxbon.  Although many would say this has to do with their reptilian heritage, it is in fact due to their instinctive attunement to the world around them.  They understand that all things pass and that over-reacting to something is often the first step in failure. 

Traxbon do not recognize individual families as the other species of Espeth do.  To a traxbon the first and most important allegiance is to the race as a whole and to the protecting of its already fragile society.  The loss of two of their most holy cities, along with the deaths of so many of their numbers at the hands of the Dragon King has created a ripple of fear to course through the hearts of this normally stoic people.

The traxbon have not sought to be a political or military power on the continent for many generations.  They are content to merely protect their lands and live lives of general seclusion away from the rest of the world.  This standard of staying to themselves served the traxbon well enough for the last several years, even in the face of the cyclopean advance.  However the destruction of two of their sacred sites, Ta’link and Mi’athua, at the hands of the Dragon Kings forces has led many traxbon to believe it is time to take up arms and go to war for the first time in centuries.

The traxbon are led by the sha’karmet.  The sha’karmet are the priests of the traxbon and among the only ones able to harness magical powers.  All traxbon children are tested at one month of age to see if they possess any form of magical talent.  Those that exhibit magical aptitude are taken from their families and begin training as a priest.  Of those that begin the training roughly three-quarters will fail to become fully fledged priests.  Of those that fail only half will prove worthy of becoming sha’keth, the warlords and champions of the traxbon, while the rest will go on to become servants for the priests and sha’keth.

The sha’keth are among those traxbon who are able to use magical spells but not to the great extent of the high priests.  Sha’keth are trained to combine their magical abilities with martial skills to become masters of warfare and the protectors of the traxbon as a people.  Sha’keth are taught to be totally fearless and to protect the traxbon society with every breath. 

Unlike the other races of the region the traxbon do not have any form of standing army.  There are far too few traxbon for them to be able to front a force suitable for open field warfare.  To make up for the lack of a standing army all traxbon, male and female, are trained in the arts of self-defense and are expected to act in the defense of their home.

“The average traxbon male has a body length of up to eight feet, with females being only a bit smaller.  They possess a humanoid upper body but from their waist down are entirely serpentine in nature.  There are a variety of different coloration patterns found among the traxbon, but the most common are those similar to the natural varieties of snake and reptile found in close proximity to their enclaves.

Traxbon arms are long and quite strong, ending in a wide hand made up of two fingers and a thumb.  Traxbon do not possess any sort of hair but pride themselves on the luster and upkeep of their scales.  Most prefer to wear loose fitting shawls and coverlets made of light materials in bright colors, particularly shades of blue and yellow.  The priests of the traxbon wear loose robes cinched at the waist by wide cloth wraps.  The priest’s robes are decorated in vibrant depictions of the traxbon deities or great moments in traxbon history.”

-From a Poets Observations by Whilmet Darhs

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