The Bestiaries of Déchiré - The Nagakind

Range: Isolated caverns and valleys of Al-Khor and Taserrat.

As with the other beings neither fully human nor animal, the nagakind were forced to flee their ancestral lands during the War of the One God. Like the Ævani, however, they chose to risk remaining in the physical world rather than abandoning their bodies to take sanctuary in the mists. Where the elves had sealed themseves off via magic, the nagakind sought what was already sealed - caverns and valleys all but inaccessible to creatures less agile. Over their aeons of exile, they lost both the need and the desire for holy guidance, and chose not to participate in the Council.

The nagakind of Déchiré are technically mortal, but so long-lived as to rival the elves. Since their creation at the hand of whatever god once called them its own, they have been divided into numerous tribes - some, all but harmess, lived in peaceful isolation; feeding on the fruit and water of the valleys and killing only in defense. Others, venomous or not, held wary truces with outsiders. Still more openly delighted in death; ruthless raiders who left swaths of destruction in their wake.

Among the latter was the clan of Ruja'a; whose king, Andha Sadangula, took specific pleasure in abducting men and women alike for acts better left unspoken. The most fortunate of his victims, paralyzed by a poisonous kiss, were eaten - alive, but at least their suffering came eventually to an end. Others, influenced by a partial dose of the toxin, became puppet-slaves; bound to his will until time itself chose to release them.

Terrified, the villages subject to his raids at last petitioned a local monastery for assistance. Banded together and led by the most skilled of the warrior-monks, they marched by day on the sleeping serpent-kin and - though not without great loss to their own numbers - drove the most hated of the naga-clans to the edges of the world. Scattered, broken, and few, the Ruja'a fled at last through the mists. Those who survived the journey settled on whatever habitable worlds they managed to reach.

Today, the nagakind of Déchiré dwell mostly in the far reaches of Al-Khor and Taserrat, though stray individuals are occasionally found elsewhere. In their natural form, they resemble various humanoids from the waist up. The remainder of their bodies is made up of a serpentine tail - smooth, scaled, and warm. Some are able to 'shed their skin' completely in favour of legs. How long the change lasts - and how easily the naga can walk - depends on the individual and their experience with the skill. In this manner, they are able to blend in with human society. While some take advantage of the trait only for amusement, others utilize it as a means of hunting larger, more pleasurable prey.

Not all nagakind are venomous. Those that are normally deliver the poison through a bite - though as the nagakind of Déchiré are immune to their own toxins, some flood their mouths with the fluid before passing it to their victims via a lingering kiss. Partial doses have effects ranging from euphoria to paralyzation. In the former state, the recipient becomes highly susceptible to suggestion. If the combination of venom and subliminal commands is administered repeatedly, without allowing the victim a chance to return to his or her own mind, it will eventually render the victim a helpless slave; unable to think for itself and capable of performing only the tasks set for it by the naga.

A full dose of naga-venom is invariably fatal.

Asunder - The Bestiaries of Déchiré