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{{Info races
{{Info Lineage
|image = 645px-Fullfemaleslizz22.png
|name = Slizzar
|pronunciation = Slizz-ahr
|test = Ajneya (in Zoram)
|classification = [[Gorr]]
|test2 = [[File:Slizzarflag.png|80px]]  
|subraces = None
|test3 = '''Motto:''' "Without balance, a World undone."
|nicknames =  
|image = Remakeslizzarsplash.png
*Snake People (derogatory)
|state = Sarakand
*Shapeshifters (sort of praising)
|ruler = The Duarchy
*Puppeteers (praising)
|suzerain = None
|languages = [[Zorraana]], and whatever [[Language]] they pick up in the societies they emulate
|languages = [[Zoram]], Common
|naming = Dependent on whatever society they are in, yet often contains many L’s, S’s and Z’s. Many Slizzar abandon their real name and only reveal this to those they really trust.
|religion = [[Draconism]]
|first_recorded = Pre-Allorn
|demonym = Slizzar
|}}
Perhaps the oldest kin to have continuously existed on [[Aloria]], the Slizzar are serpent-alien-like shapeshifters that are rarely seen in their natural form, mingling with other societies for both benign and nefarious purposes. The Slizzar have been around since before [[Cataclysm]], as far back as the [[Seraph]] Civilization era, when their creation was judged a crime against the laws of creation between the [[Dragon]]s, causing their creator and patron God Nox to be banished. The Slizzar still continue his vision for the world, a people with unique skills and abilities that secretly and subtly guide events and history to their designs, for the betterment and benefit of the continued existence of all. While this mission may sound inherently benign, Slizzar are masters of infiltration and manipulation due to their shapeshifting powers, always leaving those who were put out of play to wonder: did they just face a shapeshifter? Was the last person I spoke to secretly someone else? All valid questions are raised when paranoia strikes, in the wake of the plots and machinations of these enigmatic and secretive people.
 
==Design==
As Shapeshifters, Slizzar do not truly have one set appearance, save for their natural Slizzar appearance. Slizzar natural appearance is quite snake-like, with a body covered in black, gray, white, or silver scales, some slizzar have the lower body of a snake, legs, or the lower body composed of both legs and a snake tail. Slizzar may have have horns colored like their scales on their head, the head itself which looks quite alien compared to the other humanoid Races, with a flat nose, double-hinged jaw, and a series of cranial and jaw protrusions forming unique features that are different for each Slizzar. It is thus important to stress, that even if they have the body of a snake, their head is not snake-like at all. Slizzar usually have a dominant and secondary color, the dominant color being the majority of their hair and shoulders, while their secondary color adds contrast to their neck and some of their hair, particularly close to their cranium. These colors can be any combination, though are usually quite vibrant. All Slizzar have slitted purple eyes and dark sclera. While Slizzar are shapeshifters, they can never change this base Slizzar appearance.  


|distinction = Highly intelligent snake-like shapeshifters
===Shifting===
|maxage = 1000 years
Shifting is the term Slizzar use when they change appearances. While it is in theory possible for Slizzar to play the lottery and appear randomly each time, most Slizzar use so-called Templates, which are pre-set designs of appearances they strongly remember, and can thus reliably re-create. Slizzar all treat shapeshifting very differently. Some Slizzar never shapeshift, preferring to be out in the open as their birth self, while others are always shapeshifted, to avoid detection. Then some combine a mixture of the two, or those who reveal their identity as a Slizzar on some Templates, but not on others. How a Slizzar feels about Shapeshifting and their Templates, depends on the Slizzar, and their ideology, and the motivations for what they do. Some Slizzar may benefit from revealing their true identity to their strongest allies for the benefit of trust, while others keep their identity completely hidden so as to always have an escape route available if things go bad. Exact rules on Shapeshifting are defined in the Heritage Traits. Keep in mind that Shapeshifting overall is incredibly powerful and flexible in Roleplay, but also meaningful OOC. If you find that your Character is not being trusted by the people around them, experiment with a bit of open-ness about their Slizzar identity. We have found that players who retain 100% secrecy as a Slizzar, have a hard time making meaningful IC connections because it OOC sucks for other players to emotionally invest in Characters that are deceiving theirs. That is technically Metagaming, but this feeling is still very strong, and we do not blame them.  
|height = 5’ - 6’
|weight = 100 - 160 lbs in their natural state
|eye = Any.
|hair = Any.
|skin = Any.
|}}
Hailing from the forbidden city of [[Sassrakkand]] come the Slizzar, a very rare and highly politically distinguished [[Race]] of shapeshifting infiltrators. Millions of people around the world live their entire lives without ever seeing a Slizzar, and yet the actions of Slizzar reverberate through history, sometimes right under the noses of historians who are missing the right clues to zone in on the true puppeteers of the strings of history. Slizzar remain one of the most fascinating, yet reviled Races all over the world, because of their ability to seamlessly merge into existing societies and hierarchies, and start working their way up fairly quickly and efficiently. They are known to play games of life and death over politics with others to such a high degree that accusing a successful and quickly rising politician as being a shapeshifter has almost become common practice, even in the [[Regalian Empire]]. Slizzar are inherently solitary, avoiding a communal existence like the other Races, yet where their cooperation does occur, it is done with surgical precision and respectful observance of the balance of power. In fact, the Slizzar are so obsessed with creating a balance of power between them all that any country, or society, can become an entirely unwitting plaything of a Slizzar using the locals as chess pieces in idle entertainment. It is as such no surprise that Slizzar are called master manipulators and schemers, and that their reputation always precedes them.  


==Physical and Mental Characteristics==
==Heritage Traits==
[[File:Slizzareyes.png|260px|thumb|right|Slizzar have a great deal of variety with their eyes in both Birth and Glamor Form.]]
When designing a Character, Proficiency Points allow for a limited Ability selection with Point Buy Packs. Heritage Traits adds free Packs and Mechanics on top of that to help with cultural themes. Free Packs grant Abilities usually, while Mechanics change the way a character functions in Roleplay through subtle, and usually out of Combat ways. In essence, Mechanics just add aesthetic flair that invest in the niche of each culture. Free Packs never raise Proficiency Points, but the character must be able to purchase them normally. (ex. if a character is a certain Affinity that locks them out of a category, they cannot take that specific free pack and must choose the alternative option.) If a Free Pack grants Magic of some type, that Magic can be of any Alignment the character can normally choose, or limited to a select alignment, which will always be written in the Free Pack description. Mixed Heritage characters (i.e. characters born from two parents of different Cultures) may take one parent's 'Free Packs' and mix and match up to 5 Mechanics from both parents, although some Peoples cannot produce Mixed Heritage children (due to Magical/Fantasy reasons). Slizzar cannot be included in Mixed Heritage Characters, as there is no such thing as a Half-Slizzar.
[[File:645px-Fullfemaleslizz22.png|260px|thumb|right|The Slizzar’s head in Birth Form reminisces of a snake combined with a humanoid face.]]
===Free Packs===
[[File:615px-Semishifted2.png|260px|thumb|right|Slizzar can change their Birth Form to be more humanoid.]]
* Slizzar gain the Magic version of the [[Adapt_Point_Buy#Mindcontrol_Pack|Mindcontrol Pack]] but it counts as non-Magic for free, or choose one pack from [[Command Point Buy]].
[[File:438px-Fullshapeshift2.png|260px|thumb|right|Some Slizzar choose to apply Slizzar visual features even to Glamor Form.]]
* Slizzar gain the Magic version of the [[Adapt_Point_Buy#Shapeshift_Pack|Shapeshift Pack]] but it counts as non-Magic for free, or choose one pack from [[Chem Point Buy]].
===Slizzar Forms===
Slizzar are by nature Shapeshifters, allowing them to change appearances at will and with a high degree of authenticity. Slizzar by nature have two types of forms, but each form has a wild range of variance and customizability. Their first form is called their Birth Form, the way they are born, and the second form is their Glamor Form, which is a mimic form of other characters or a more personalized appearance.  
====Birth Form====
In their Birth Form, the Slizzar appears most snake-like. They have no legs, instead having a lower body that is that of a snake from the waist down, a tail that is three times as long as their body, and coils and slithers behind them as they move around at normal walking speed. The rest of their body is however also covered in scales, a humanoid torso with humanoid arms leading to a head that resembles a combination between a snake and a more humanoid face. Some Slizzar in their Birth Form have no “hair”, while others have a bundle of snake-like tendrils, each with a snake head at the end that can move around independently as if sentient itself. This snake hair is in fact not sentient, and even if these tendrils have eyes, the Slizzar cannot see through them, however they can move them in whatever way they like and make them imitate actual snakes. These snake “hair” tendrils can be painlessly cut off, and regrow, and grow much like real hair. In their Birth Form, Slizzar are not capable of growing facial hair, and for all intents and purposes look a-gendered, having no gender dimorphism or distinguishable gender-coded specific body parts. With their snake lower body, the Slizzar cannot quite run at the speed of Ailor, instead slithering at a jogging speed, but are able to swim very quickly in the water, faster than most races, except Mai-Allar. Additionally, they can form pseudo-gills in any variant of their Birth Form, allowing them to breathe under water for extended periods of time, up to 48 hours at a time, after which they must re-surface for air. While in their Birth Form, Slizzar have some flexibility over their appearance. They can, for example, fuse apart their snake-tail and gain humanoid legs, which resets their movement speed to Ailor-kind. They can even choose to go somewhere in the middle, by keeping a much smaller tail, and having two humanoid legs to stand on. Furthermore, they can adjust their head to appear more humanoid, yet retaining the unhinged jaw, and are also able to make the snake “hair” tendrils appear more like dreads instead of actual snakes. These changes can occur instantaneously and painlessly, though when chased, it becomes harder to change in and out of legs, since the Slizzar do have to stand still while making changes to their appearance. While in their Birth Form, they can also split their arms and gain an additional set of arms, though this is purely just aesthetic, and confers no combat advantages beyond the fact that they can hold objects in their second set of arms. Finally, while in Birth Form, Slizzar are also able to change their entire upper body into Glamor Form, leaving only their lower body that of a snake. Even though their upper body appears in Glamor Form, this is still considered Birth Form, as the difference between these two forms is dictated by what the legs (or absence of them) looks like. Slizzar hair colors and scale colors and patterns are completely free game. That is to say, they can literally be any color, any hue and any pattern. The Snakes “hair” can be one consistent color different from the “skin” scales, or exactly the same, or have a different pattern. The eyes can have any color, white scaled Slizzar exist in equal measure to blue scaled, red scaled and black scaled Slizzar. Some have patterns, others have one smooth color, and others have gradients. Some have snake-hair to their hips, others only just beyond the ears. Despite shape shifting in their Glamor Form however, Slizzar can never change the colors of their Birth Form on their body, even if they can shift around various features. Shifting their snake hair from snakes to dreadlocks will not change the color or pattern, nor will their eye color change.
====Glamor Form====
Slizzar are able to change their appearance at will and mimic any other race, or even combination of races across their entire appearance. At a glance, a Slizzar can appear like an entirely different person, changing gender, race, body shape, bodily components etc. This is called the Glamor Form (when this change also includes their legs that is). From top to bottom, in Glamor Form, Slizzar are able to combine Qadir hair with [[Eronidas]] skin tone, an Altalar face with Cielothar ears, the body hair of an Avanthar, the body shape of a [[Lesarra]], with furred and digitigrade Asha legs. If they however want to be more subtle, they might also just mimic an Ailor or an Altalar in their entirety, or choose be an Altalar that only differs from the members of the actual race, with Maraya ears. At its core, Slizzar are able to mimic any combination of races or individual race to the letter and indistinguishable to the naked eye, though appearing like a combination of races does set off some alarm bells, and those familiar with racial theory will be able to tell that an impossible combination of races, is in fact a Slizzar. Additionally, on top of this infinite combination of other races, Slizzar are also able to manifest small appearance aspects of their Birth Form, onto their Glamor Form. This might include patterns of scales on parts of their face, manifesting their Birth Form eyes, and even the snake “hair”, including coloring said snake “hair” with whatever color of hair they picked for their Glamor Form (the only exception to not being able to change colors from the Birth Form). Even though [[Url]] and [[Manathar]] are not Races, Slizzar can still mimic them.


====Common traits between Forms====
===Mechanics===
Either in Birth form of Glamor Form, Slizzar do not visually age beyond the age of 18, which is when they mature into adults, and all of their Abilities properly manifest. Unlike Yanar, Slizzar do have a biological sex that they are born with, but much like Songaskians, gynandromorphism exists, allowing both male and female Slizzar to carry children. When Slizzar reproduce, either with a non-Slizzar (in Birth or Glamor Form) or an actual Slizzar, children are always born in pairs of two, identical twins. Why this occurs, is not known, but it does differ per parent. Two Slizzar parents give birth to two identical Slizzar children, who in their Birth Form look identical, down to their scale patterns, besides a particular orientation of scales on their forehead, which is how they are told apart. If a Slizzar reproduces with a non-Slizzar however, one child is born as a Glamor Form Slizzar, and is in all aspects a Slizzar, while the other twin is born belonging to the race of the non-Slizzar parent, in all aspects not a Slizzar. If born from a non-Slizzar parent, the child will live in Glamor Form until the age of 18 when their identity of Slizzar is revealed to them on instinct and they gain their Abilities, or if they are told beforehand that they are a Slizzar and taught how to be a Slizzar by a Mentor, though even if taught before the age of 18, they still cannot use any Racial Abilities until the age of 18. Slizzar who do not wish to reproduce can manually suppress their fertility, thus never requiring contraception. Slizzar have one consistent Physical Stat across all Forms, but their Body Shape is malleable in both Birth and Glamor Form to whatever they want, the same goes for Body Fat, and also Character Height, though Character Height must remain consistent with racial limitations. That being said, both in Glamor and Birth Form, Slizzar only ever have access to the Racial Abilities of the Slizzar. Even if they are 100% Avanthar in appearance during Glamor Form, they can never gain the Avanthar Racial Abilities. Note: It is not permitted to identify a Slizzar based on the lack of their Racial Abilities. Challenging a Slizzar to perform Racials they do not have, or having a “gotcha” moment when a Slizzar is unable to use the Racials of the race they are imitating, is metagaming. Slizzar can grow up to 1000 years old, being some of the oldest living beings on Aloria. Many Slizzar live a "wilder" life in their first 200 years where they just do whatever they feel like, leaning the need for subterfuge and dignified distance from others as they grow older (Character Applications allow for a max age of 150 years old, anything above needs to be applied for in Special Permissions).
* Slizzar are immune to any type of mind control or mind scrying from mortals, particularly Mind Control, but also Mechanics that would result in thralling, emotion-reading, emotion influencing and so forth. Additionally, if someone is actively attempting to do any of these things to a Slizzar, that Slizzar becomes aware of the attempt, and who is attempting it.  
===Slizzar Personalities===
* Slizzar can perfectly mimic Afflictions and Affinities, including Transformations and even the aesthetics of Abilities and Mechanics, even if they do not actually work that way. For example, a Slizzar can perfectly mimic the appearance of a Vampire and then use fake Vampire teeth to engage in fake blood drinking. There is no way to distinguish this from the real thing, meaning Slizzar can seamlessly infiltrate groups. Anyone attempting to call out a Slizzar for not being authentic in their mimicry of something they are not, is engaging in meta-gaming. Note, however, this does not actually give them the Mechanics. They can for example summon Archon-like wings if they are mimicking Archon, but that does not give them flight or the function as described in the Archon Mechanic.  
There exist three distinct types of Slizzar. The first type of Slizzar, is Socialite Slizzar that while not necessarily co-operating with other Slizzar, let other Slizzar know who they are, and enjoy the company of their own race. Socialite Slizzar often work with other Slizzar on common plots and plans, but can also do things on their own independently. They may form friendly rivalries with other Slizzar, but generally speaking are positively pre-disposed to other Slizzar. Socialite Slizzar have a wider variety of personalities, but on average do have a sense of racial superiority over other races, as they do see themselves as the manipulators and puppeteers of world politics. The second type of Slizzar is the Wilder Slizzar, which involves all Slizzar that have not undergone typical Slizzar society raising, or were born entirely seperate, expelled, or orphaned in the wide world outside Sassrakkand. Wilder Slizzar are not expelled from Slizzar Society, they are always welcome to be re-introduced by a Slizzar Mentor, though more often than not choose not to, or to continue operating on the fringes, sometimes working with other Slizzar, sometimes not. Socialite Slizzar are not hostile to Wilder Slizzar, but Wilder Slizzar are not always friendly to Socialize Slizzar, seeing them as self-righteous and know-it-all. Wilder Slizzar generally have more unpredictable personalities, more fit to whims and fancies that aren't consistent with their planning, and less likely to even engage in plots or schemes, more-so just enjoying their racial Abilities to be hedonistic, or enjoy life to the fullest extent. The final type of Slizzar, is the Eremite Slizzar. Eremite Slizzar despise Slizzar society and the entire idea of co-operating with other Slizzar for schemes. While Socialize Slizzar and Wilder Slizzar don't necessarily dislike Eremite Slizzar, they sometimes dismiss them as fanatics and Nessrassian radicals (even if they do not follow Nessrassian tenets). Eremite Slizzar are extremely secretive and protective over their identity, they do whatever and anything they can to hide their identity, and refuse under any circumstance to work with other Slizzar. Eremite Slizzar tend to be more cruel, domineering and backhanded, acting very two-faced to otherwise more genuine Wilder Slizzar or ambivalent Socialite Slizzar. To be an Eremite Slizzar is usually a decision taken later in life, meaning that most Eremite Slizzar were once Socialite or Wilder Slizzar. By far, the majority of the Eremite Slizzar were once Wilder Slizzar, who could not re-integrate into Slizzar society, and saw weakness and stagnancy in the Slizzar that co-operate, believing that Slizzar should naturally be solitary schemers and puppeteers, and consider to even let one person know their true identity and plans to be a fatal weakness. Despite all these contrasting groups, Eremite, Wilder and Socialite Slizzar all come together celebrating religious festivals, even if they are not Nessrassians, purely for a sense of heritage and self-preservation, as these gatherings of Slizzar usually involve one or two loose-tongued Slizzar groups talking a bit too openly about their plans with an Eremite Slizzar listening in and plotting their demise for their own amusement.  
* Slizzar have an advanced network of off-screen politicians and Nobles under their control. As a result, whenever an Imperial Assembly is called, Slizzar are able to sit in the noble section of the Assembly, and their votes count for 2 Votes instead of one. Votes are always cast as "Aye" or "Nay", in order to use this mechanic, the Slizzar must say "Aye (a:Political Power)" for the vote to work. Additionally, Slizzar can be embedded into Noble Families, attaching to their Family-Leader as either an Ally or Manipulator. So long as both the Family Leader and the Slizzar are present at the same Imperial Assembly (in absentia or proxy voting does not count), the Family Leader may also use this Mechanic (but must be sure to use the formatting described above for it to count). Additionally, for this to count the Slizzar must self-register as embedded into a particular Noble Family through the Ticket Bot. It is not possible to stack this effect multiple times for multiple Slizzar embedded.
* Slizzar have an advanced network of bureaucrats, bankers, and other wealthy persons they can call upon, to give them access to the new wealth of the Regalian Empire. Firstly, this means they have access to an off-screen wealth that is close but not equivalent to registered Aristocrats. It essentially means Slizzar are wealthy, and have money to throw around. Secondly, it creates a situation where Slizzar can "claim" Noble Countryside Estates. These claims are not exclusionary, that is to say, we only have a limited number of Estates available, and multiple players trying to "claim" the same Estate. For this reason, we request players make use of the holographic display to indicate if players are already present, and suspend disbelief about who owns what Estate. Chances of multiple players trying to use the same Estate at the same time, is low.
* Slizzar are natural Persuaders with their ability to get into the heads of others. Any Persuasion Rolls done by a Slizzar, have their final Dice result increased by +1. This effect does not stack with other Mechanics that have the same effect on Persuasion Rolls.


==Summary of Racial Abilities==
===Birth Rites===
All Abilities are listed in detail on the [[Ability List]] Page. Additional rules applied to those Abilities are recorded in the table below. Aesthetics for Abilities may be dictated by the players, as long as the Ability Name is mentioned in the Emote, which is mandatory for Ability use. The following Abilities are what is considered a Racial Ability Set. Meaning, that none of these Abilities attribute Aberrant status to any individual, even if they are classified like they would. Only additional Abilities gained from outside of this Racial Ability Set can attribute Aberrant Status.
Because many Slizzar go through life entirely disguised and pretending to be a different people or society, their reproduction cycle could unintentionally reveal them. At a base line, all children born from at least one Slizzar parent will always be full Slizzar. In case this is not desirable, the Slizzar can perform the Birth Rites, in which they have more clearer control over how their offspring will be created, this allows them to dictate several different processes. Firstly, they can choose to have one or two children born. Secondly, they can choose for each child born, whether they will be born not-Slizzar (taking the Heritage from their biological parent, and whatever the Slizzar pretended to be), full Slizzar, or Delayed Slizzar. Delayed Slizzar will be born as not-Slizzar, but when they become 18 years old, are suddenly informed through visions and dreams about their true identity, and how to become a full Slizzar. If they agree and venture to the nearest Dragon Temple to connect with their true self, they become full Slizzar, if they reject for up to 12 months and never visit such a site, they will be not-Slizzar forever. It is also possible, if two children are chosen, to have each born differently, for example one as Delayed Slizzar, and one as not-Slizzar, or full Slizzar, or other combinations. Note, most Slizzar found in the world are Slizzar born tens of thousands of years ago. This is because Sarakand exists in a warped time-bubble where time can pass slower or faster than the world around it. Slizzar can in reality only become 300 years old, but many are from a different time.  
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;"
! Ability Name
! Ability Type
! Ability Range
! Ability Description
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Slizzar Shift 1
| Body Alter
| Self
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Slizzar Shift 1 | The Slizzar has no legs, and a lower body in the shape of a snake tail that is 3 times as long as their body. With the snake tail, the Slizzar can at most run at jogging speed, but can swim faster than all races, except Mai-Allar. They can form pseudo-gills, allowing them to breathe underwater for up to 48 hours. They can un-fuse the snake-tail to gain humanoid legs to run, but can no longer swim at high speeds. This change can occur instantaneously, unless the Slizzar is being pursued. They can adjust various visual features in this form, but can never change the colors they were born with. Slizzar can also manifest some of their aesthetics in other Mythic Shifts, such as their Snake-like Lower Body, as well as patches of scales, Slizzar Eyes, and Hair.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Flux Shift 1
| Body Alter
| Self
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Flux Shift 1 | This Ability allows the user to seamlessly mimic the features of any Race, changing their own appearance to exactly match any Race, or even combine various visual aspects of races in a combination. This Ability cannot be used to create a copy of another person visually, they will always look off or distinguishably different from the original. This Ability has no Cooldown.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Flux Shift 2
| Body Alter
| Self
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Flux Shift 2 | This Ability allows the user to change all visual aspects about themselves besides Race. This Includes: Sex-Coding, Hair Color, Eye Color, Skin Color, Body Shape, Body Fat, Body Height, Age Appearance. Hair Length, Hair Texture, Skin Markings, Tattoos, Scars, and Face Shape. Any of these changes occur instantaneously and seamlessly. This Ability has no Cooldown. This Ability cannot be used to appear younger than 18 years old, and can only be used at the age of 18 and onwards.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Flux Shift 3
| Body Alter
| Self
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Flux Shift 3 | This Ability allows the user to create a perfect imitation of a target person, down to voice and even missing limbs. In order for this Ability to work, the user must be able to see the target within Emote Distance. This leaves the change in effect for 1 hour, after which it expires. If instead the user goes to an Event venue for a Calender-marked Event, the Ability will remain active for as long as the Event lasts and the user is at the Event. 5 minutes after leaving, the Ability will cease and they will return to normal. It is not possible to Mythic Shift or Racial Shift out of Flux Shift 3, after use, it cannot be removed in any way besides letting it time out. This Ability can only be used once per day.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Flux Shift 4
| Body Alter
| Self
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Flux Shift 4 | This Ability allows the user to visually mimic any quantity of Mutations on their own body without actually acquiring these Mutations, or being infected with any Planar Essence that would manifest these Mutations. They can also be removed seamlessly and instantaneously. This Ability has no Cooldown.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Flux Shift 5
| Body Alter
| Self
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Flux Shift 5 | This Ability does two things. Firstly, with this Ability, a Constant Passive is active for the user, that allows their clothes to perfectly resize and change to fit whatever Mythic or Racial Shift they engage in except if they would somehow become quadrupedal or no longer humanoid, while also returning magically after Shifting back from any such non-humanoid Shifts. Secondly, with this Ability, the user is able to magically change the color, shape, material and appearance as well as layering of their clothing and foot and head wear, including removing and adding new pieces on the fly. This Ability acts instantly and seamlessly with no Cooldown. This Ability cannot create or emulate armor or any tough materials that add extra armoring, and materials cannot consist out of rare materials that require Abilities or Progressions to produce.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Mind Surge 1
| Control Power
| Emote Distance
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Mind Surge 1 | This Ability allows the user to target any Character without Control Power Immunity to transmit a strong desire to the subject. This Ability does not force them to comply, it merely gives them a strong urge to do what the Character is suggesting they do. The target is unaware that they are being Emotion Surged, and the Character using this Ability also gives off no telltale signs that they are using an Ability. This Ability can only be used to encourage a Target to do something, it cannot make them change their beliefs or alter things they consider truth. This Ability has no Cooldown, but players are expected not to spam it to every person. It is not permitted to engage in unprompted Romance-RP Emotion Surging without discussion with the Target beforehand.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Mind Surge 2
| Control Power
| Emote Distance
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Mind Surge 2 | This Ability allows the user to change another target’s feelings about another person. For example, the Target may love their sibling, but the user may use Perception Surge to convince them that instead they hate this person, or they may convince someone who despises another person to like them instead. This Ability fabricates a fake event in the mind of the Target that would have made them change their mind. After use, this effect remains in the target as Possession, and as such can be removed by Exorcism mechanics and Abilities. The effect can also be broken when the Target has been undeniably convinced that the event in their mind did in fact not happen, but remain unaware of it otherwise. This Ability can only target other Characters, and cannot be used by the user to make other Characters like or dislike them. The targeted person must also be known by name for the user. This Ability can be used once per day. Control Power Immunity makes the Target immune to the effects of this Ability.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Mind Surge 3
| Control Power
| Emote Distance
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Mind Surge 3 | This Ability allows the user to decipher the “ideal partner” appearance of a Target person as long as they are within Emote Distance. They may then store this as a “Template” in their memory for future use, and will be perfectly able to recall this Template if needed. If the Character has Flux Shift 1 and Flux Shift 2 as Abilities, they are also able to perfectly mimic this Template by using these Abilities, immediately, or any time later. It is best to request Template descriptions in Direct Messaging. If a player is refusing to cooperate, or states their Template is a specific other Character, contact Lore Staff.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Mind Surge 4
| Control Power
| Direct Touch
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Mind Surge 4 | This Ability allows the user to, through Direct Touch, apply a Control Power that creates a bi-directional telepathic communication link. This Ability remains active indefinitely, unless some form of Exorcism or Possession removal mechanic or Ability is used on the target, or the user breaks the communication link voluntarily. The user is also able to mute the Target from speaking back, thus subjecting them only to their telepathic communication. This Telepathic communication can be done from any distance, but both players must be Online for it to be used. After the link is broken, this Ability cannot be used for another 24 hours. Any Target can only have one active Mind Surge IV on them, and anyone who has access to the Ability Mind Surge IV also cannot be the Target of Mind Surge IV from someone else. A maximum of one Telepathic link can be active at any time.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Mind Surge 5
| Control Power
| Constant Passive
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Mind Surge 5 | The user is completely immune to Mind Surge 1, 2, 3 and 4. It also gives them Immunity to Puppet Control 1.
}}
|-
| style="background-color:#dfe0ef;" | Puppet Control 1
| Control Power
| Direct Touch
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Puppet Control 1 | This Ability allows the user to target another person, and establish complete Control over their actions and thoughts. After Direct Touch, the user creates a Control Power link with the Target that allows them to issue any command, which the Target must explicitly follow to the letter, even if the user of this Ability is no longer within Emote Distance of the Target. This Ability also allows the user to change the thought process or ideas of the target, and make them forget things that happened in the last hour so as to alter their perception. The Target is not incapable of independent actions or thoughts, but can at any point in time from any distance be overridden by the user of the Ability, and have their thoughts altered. The Target is unaware that they are being Controlled, and even after Control is removed, will be unable to fathom why they thought or did certain things. They will also be fiercely defensive of the user of the Ability on them for as long as Control remains, and not engage in any actions that would be detrimental to the user of this Ability. This Ability can be broken by the user at any time from any distance, or removed from the target with any Possession removal or Exorcism mechanic or Ability. While Control Power Immunity blocks this Ability from being used, the user may propose this level of control over the Target, and if the Target consents in Roleplay, then Control Power Immunity no longer applies. After this Ability is broken off, it cannot be re-used within 7 days. A maximum of 3 people can be targeted by this Ability at any time. WARNING: This is a Consent Ability, which is powerful, but requires absolute OOC written consent from the other party. Further information can be read on the Ability List page.}}
|-
|}


==History==
==Sarakand==
Slizzar have existed in [[Hadar]] for what most scholars assume is thousands of years. The forbidden city of Sassrakkand features a very unique pyramid at the very center of the city, the silhouette of which is frequently depicted in a variety of south-eastern Altalar murals, leading many to believe it has existed at the very least in the beginning of the [[Allorn Empire]], and possibly even before that. The reason why even the Altalar referred to it as the forbidden city, was because they could never quite penetrate its walls. In fact, it is said that many of the late Allorn city-states mimicked the massive bastion walls around Sassrakkand which stood for centuries unassailed. Each time an Altalar would come up with a plan to assault the city, they or their family mysteriously disappeared, and an actual assault never materialized.  
[[File:Sarakand222233.png|center|1600px|caption]]
===City Description===
To understand the place of the Slizzar, one must understand the City of Eternal Twilight, Sarakand. Sarakand is the only Slizzar city-state in the world, and it is Slizzar homogenous, not allowing outsiders in unless they have some connection to the Slizzar. The city itself is extremely advanced, having buildings that reminisce of Seraph, second, third, and [[Meraic]] civilization architecture in them, that have accumulated over time. While Regalia is often treated as the jewel of the world, and this metropolitan is certainly far more massive than Sarakand, Sarakand itself as a city has existed for 70,000 years, which pales Regalia's mere centuries in comparison. Sarakand is built on a massive bastion wall surrounding the outer ring of aquatic farms. Further in are large buildings and Temples to the various Dragon Gods. Closer to the center are the Hallowed Towers, which are not residential, but large defensive Dragon-Magic structures that project a shield around the city in times of need, and control the passage of time around it. These installations were built by the Dragon God Nox, who defied the will of the Dragons by creating Sarakand and the Slizzar and was banished. At the center lies the Pyramidion, a Pyramid-like structure with a large gap in the middle from which the Mydion (city's power source) can be seen.
===Defenses and Politics===
Through powerful Dragon Magics, Sarakand and its direct ocean around it are caught in a permanent twilight, with the passing of time adjusted inside to slow down or speed up depending on the city's needs. This explains why the city has lasted for so long and survived numerous Void Invasions, having an innate ability to hide from the invasion in Time Magic, and being shielded. Sarakand is the seat of power of the two ruling factions and Duarchy Sovereigns of the Slizzar, the Herald of the Sun, and the Herald of the Moon, and holds a crucial place for most Slizzar who venture into the world as a safe harbor to return to. The two Factions being the Surya Court and the Marya Court, live in a harmonious balance in the city. Even if these are Factions in the traditional sense, unlike in Regalia, they do not compete with one another but complement and hold each other in balance to do as Nox instructed them, preserve the world despite the slow-to-act nature of the other Dragons. Each Slizzar in a coming-of-age time, will align with the Surya or Marya Court, and venture out into the world to seek their way to ply the crafts of their people on the other peoples of Aloria, to do their Dragon-God's bidding. Many Slizzar who retire from their work return to Sarakand, where they live our their final days in peace.
===Slizzar Factions===
====Surya Court, Guides of the Sun====
[[File:Sunfrumpy.png|250px|caption|right]]
The Surya Court is the Slizzar Faction that holds that the young peoples of Aloria need a kind and delicate guiding hand. Whether through small acts like helping individuals or families, or large acts through advising organizations or gently nudging whole countries or Empires in the right direction, the Surya Slizzar seek to be a hidden beneficial hand to the lives of others. Surya Slizzar lean more in the direction of being pacifist or at least vowing not to strike unless in defense of another or holy site, as Nox instructed them to guard the world from the Sin of Free Will. Because of the Sin of Free Will, the Surya Court believes that the other peoples of Aloria will not see calamity coming when it arrives on their doorstep, and need guidance from a higher hand of experience and skill to avert disaster, that being the eradication of all living beings on Aloria by another Void Invasion. Surya Slizzar are more inclined than Marya Slizzar to appear in their natural form without any shapeshifting, but are still keenly aware, that a Slizzar is something alien and frightful, and that the acts of the Marya Court still incite rage, thus holding onto their Disguises to perform their duties. A Surya Slizzar can divert to the Marya Court. This happens usually when a Surya Slizzar believes that the incompetence brought on by the Sin of Free Will is so profound, that their attempts to be benign in themselves are holding them back, and that their work would be much simpler if they used subterfuge and assassination to get their way. It is also possible for a Surya Slizzar to be so inundated with their work to the benefit of individuals, that they start losing scope of the bigger picture and drift away from Nox's work. Those are referred to as Surya Eclipse Slizzar.
====Marya Court, Conspirators of the Moon====
[[File:Moonfrumpy.png|250px|caption|right]]
The Marya Court is a Slizzar Faction that holds that the young peoples of Aloria need to be manipulated to prevent destruction. Whether through small actions inflicted on individuals or families, or large acts of puppeteering and subterfuge against countries or Empires, the Marya Slizzar seek to be a hidden malign existence for the benefit of life itself. Marya Slizzar lean more in the direction of violence as well as emotional and intellectual manipulation of facts, creating false perceptions of reality, and mind-controlling others to do their bidding. The Marya Slizzar believe that the other peoples of Aloria are so self-absorbed and occupied with the explosive nature of their short lives, that they cannot possibly be taught how not to blow up the world, and should be dominated to prevent them from doing so. To them, the Sin of Free Will is extremely literal, in that free will itself is evil, and the best that can be done for the world is to remove it from the people who wield power. Marya Slizzar, due to their subterfuge, are far more likely to always remain Disguised and have multiple fall-back personas to escape detection or reprisals in case they are uncovered. A Marya Slizzar can divert to the Surya Court. This happens usually when a Marya Slizzar believes that the suffering or resentment they might have left in their wake, in and of itself becomes the destruction or calamity they seek to avoid, and that their work would be much simpler if they were kind and cooperative instead. It is also possible for a Marya Slizzar to be so inundated with vanity, pride, or just relishing in the violence and manipulation, that they become more obsessed with the game of control and lose scope of the bigger picture of Nox's work. These are referred to as Marya Darkstar Slizzar.
===Factional Nuances===
While in other people of Aloria factional politics might end up being bloody or contentious, it is very cooperative among the Slizzar. They believe strongly in the notion of balance, and that Nox created perfect balance among the Slizzar. As such, even if a Surya Slizzar is horrified by a Marya's actions, or if a Marya Slizzar has gone rogue as a Darkstar or left the cause as an Eclipser, Slizzar attempt in any circumstances to avoid violence or conflict with one another. Even if these factions are opposed ideologically, both factions appreciate and understand the value they bring in contract to one another, how some societies just cannot be helped with malignance, and how some societies just cannot be helped with benign guidance, in that all methods are needed to reach the end goal. This does not mean that Slizzar cannot criticize each other, or comment on each other's plots, just that they should not get in each other's ways to or make their work harder, unless they start intentionally obstructing the work of others. The outside world is aware of these Slizzar Factions, but Slizzar would do well never to reveal their alignment. After all, in Regalia, the Marya are well known to have orchestrated the long string of assassinations that followed after the [[Chrysant War]], in which many [[Ailor]] and Elven nobles perished as revenge for the destruction of the Essa Empire. It was the Surya who guided the hands of the [[Allar]] before this conflict, and it was the Marya who acted as the hand of revenge for their fallen brethren, to weaken the Regalian Empire and restore balance between the other Empires that were left. It should also be noted, that Faction membership, is not extremely strict. It is not impossible for a Surya Slizzar to need to be cruel sometimes, or a Marya Slizzar to be kind. Both are not moral absolutes, but more like guidelines that indicate intent rather than action. Each Slizzar will have to struggle with the moral implications of their actions, if they violate their own principles.  


The city stood alone in Hadar for most of recorded Allorn history, though the Altalar were completely oblivious to the presence of Slizzar among their political elite, even to the very end of the Allorn Empire. In fact, to this day, the only evidence of Slizzar ever having been inside the Allorn Empire is through word of mouth from contemporary Slizzar. If any Slizzar did indeed exist among the Allorn, they likely died during the [[Wildering]]. The Altalar, who had several colonies in Hadaria, pulled out of the region around 300 BC to focus most of their military powers on combating the Ailor who had become more militarily capable and aggressive against their would be slave captors. This resulted in 250 years of practical isolation until 22 BC, when as a result of the [[Sendrassian Civil War]], a massive exodus of [[Allar]] arrived in the wild and untamed continent that was Hadaria. The land was filled with many jungles and a whole host of dangerous beasts, but considering what the Allar had just left, it was a paradise. The Allar were welcomed, less as friends but more so as tools for the Slizzar to use for their own good, and for the first time in their history, the Slizzar changed their strategy. Instead of being hidden and infiltrating, they chose to try and openly control the Allar, at first by softening them up to their presence, and later by pretending to integrate into their society as one of their lizard-kind, only to then turn and manipulate them into allowing them to absorb all the high positions of Allar politics.  
===The Duarchy Heralds===
The Duarchy Heralds are the two enigmatic entities known as Surya and Marya, who act like co-rulers of the Slizzar as a whole. Surya and Marya were made by Nox (causing some to conclude they are complex Dragon Magic Automata) to guide the Slizzar in his absence, as he foresaw his banishment by the other Dragons and made preparations. Surya and Marya have guided the Slizzar ever since and operate the basic functions of Sarakand itself. They reside only in Sarakand, but have immense magical power, and tower over all other inhabitants as they slowly wander the streets. During the day, they offer guidance to the younglings in large classes where their melodic telepathic voice teaches them about the world and their place in it, and at night they patrol the walls in opposite rotating circles to herald the switching of night and day. Surya and Marya are living embodiments of their respective ideologies, Surya teaches the Slizzar kindness and warmth, while Marya teaches them cruelty and violence, both having the capacity to project teachings and skills directly into the minds of their students. In some manner, foreigners might see them as Automata Monarchs, but they do not make decisions for the everyday societal organization, such as who gets food and what supplies are sent abroad. These tasks are taken care of by the city's Slizzar inhabitants, though they still speak for Nox, and can communicate his oracle predictions to the people.  


This political control galvanized to such a degree that one Slizzar, [[Miko Missa]], was declared Empress, who has in modern times been classified as a [[Mage]] post-mortem. The reason why the Slizzar accepted one of their own to become more politically powerful than all other Slizzar is unclear, but it is likely that along with the fact that they started being a public part of Allar society, the Slizzar simply started sampling new ideas and trying new things that they had not done for thousands of years, a decision that would inevitably come to harm them. The Slizzar power spectrum finally came crashing down when the [[Regalians]] invaded Hadar with their superior military equipment in the [[Chrysant War]]. The Slizzar were first weakened by the Humans, and then suffered full racial genocide at the hands of the betrayed Allar, who had since learned of the serpent’s puppeting ways. This resulted in a massive flight of Slizzar back to the forbidden city of Sassrakkand, which the Ailor laid siege to at the end of the Chrysant War. While the tactic of infiltration against Altalar had always been successful to avoid a full blown siege of their city, this tactic was of no avail to them against the Ailor. The Slizzar were both unprepared, because of their focus on the Allar, and also unable to quickly enough win over the Ailor, who with a much shorter life span than Altalar reacted to the world’s events much faster, faster than the Slizzar could catch up.
==Language and Naming==
The Slizzar language is Zoram, which is based on real-like Sanskrit. Many other people accuse the Slizzar of speaking with a lisp, but this is generally just bigotry. In fact, Slizzar are very articulate, and their language has a lot of strong consonants, meaning they hardly make noises that one would expect a snake to make. Slizzar are however capable of producing a rattle-snake-like sound at the back of their throat, which they frequently produce when in combat, or when they are about to attack someone, or as a way of warning others that they are annoyed or feel threatened. Slizzar naming customs also use real-life Sanskrit. It is rare for Slizzar to have a surname, most Slizzar only carry a single name, though they can sometimes adopt a surname for ease of use to the non-Slizzar members in their family. When they do, this surname is always from another culture's language. Here follows a list of example names for the Slizzar (they are all non-gendered because sex and gender don’t exist in Slizzar psyche).
* Achyut, Advait, Bhavin, Chittin, Girivar, Jatasya, Jaitra, Kush, Manav, Nandish, Parth, Prayag, Sambhav, Shivansh, Udit, Vibodh, Yug, Bhoomi, Chetaki, Gatha, Kaveri, Namasya, Paridhi, Shloka, Swara, Tavishi, Udita.  


The Siege of Sassrakkand ended in a complete disaster for the Slizzar. With the loss of the Empress who was noted as one of the most powerful Slizzar at the battle of Fessa Huallo, and most of their Allar guardians dead or resentful of them, the city had no defensive garrison to speak of, or any weapons to defend the walls. The Ailor also used the terrifying fire-power of their battleships to pound the ancient bastion walls into submission, since the city was essentially built in sea-shallows, and could easily be reached by gunboats and even smaller frigates. The outer wall of the city crumbled after a week of non-stop shelling, after which the Ailor discovered that the city was actually made of 3 encircling walls, each ringing around the inner wall. The outer section of Sassrakand was broken, and this section of the city experienced massive flooding, resulting in destruction of almost forty percent of the city. The Slizzar fled to the inner level, which then experienced terrifying mortar bombardment. The Ailor could not reach into the inner city, as the rubble of the bastion wall prevented the ships from sailing into the interior, and soldiers could not launch an amphibious assault on the high towering walls. They then chose to simply bombard the second ring into submission. This bombardment did massive amounts of damage until massive smoke plumes obscured view into the city interior, and the ailor simply assumed the city would burn up from the inside and left, never to return.  
==Brief History==
===The Beginning===
Slizzar History, despite it spanning 70,000 years, is actually very short. Because of the afore mentioned time-warping of the city of Sarakand, large periods of history in which thousands of year passed, were experienced as mere days for the Slizzar in the city. Slizzar records show that the city was created by Nox in the latter century of the Seraph losing war against the Void Invasion. The Slizzar record clearly that this war lasted 1000 years, and that the war was an incredibly slow attrition war, because a single Seraph could hold off tens of thousands of Demons alone in the blink of an eye, and that Demons in most cases only won from the Seraph because they changed tactics which the slow-acting Seraph were not capable of reacting to. The records say that Nox was specifically in disagreement with the other Dragons about future plans for the continuation of life. Among Dragons exist the Laws of Creation, which dictate that Creation must never contain a spark of Creation itself (implying, a being that can re-make itself into whatever it wants), as this would bring them in closer proximity to godhood. Nox was of the opinion that Dragons would just continue creating flawed creations because of his objection to free will itself. Relenting that free will was still required in his own creation, because he knew that the Dragons would immediately banish him to the ether and deny him the ability to command his creations, Nox wove the first Slizzar into being, some of which are even still alive today due to Sarakand's time magic. In the time it took for the Dragons to banish him (as the Dragons were also slow to act), Nox had nearly a century to build Sarakand with his god-like Magic, and build Slizzar society from the ground up. When Nox was banished, the Heralds Surya and Marya took his place, the dome around Sarakand closed, and the city slumbered.


With the near destruction of sixty percent of their city, the Slizzar learned a hard lesson. While the vast majority of them had survived the reprisals of the Allar and the Ailor genocide, they were seriously caught on the backfoot and pushed into a corner. The Slizzar thus decided to make a public display of power, a sign that they were beaten but not broken, and that they should not be so easily dismissed. In one final act of complete co-operation, all Slizzar in the Regalian Empire were recalled after assassinating the aristocracy of the Empire. In a short time span, as the [[Regalian Military]] sailed back to the capital to celebrate their victory, the sleeper agents and infiltrants in Ailor society were all activated at once, poisoning, strangling and stabbing the nobles of the realm in one massive concerted revenge attacks. Many notable politicians and important families lost numerous important members, the death toll was particularly high among the [[van Sherburne]] and [[Kade]] families, resulting most notably in the death of the niece of the Emperor, Princess [[Liliane Kade-Ivrae de Sange]]. It is said to this day that every noble family in the realm has at least one family member that was killed in this manner, inflicting a massive humiliating loss on the Empire that has not been rivaled since by any other enemy. The Slizzar came together in the leftover parts of Sassrakand and started rebuilding, eventually venturing out into the world again and rebuilding their network of infiltrant manipulators.
===The re-opening===
Sarakand remained closed for the entirety of the second and third civilization, with mere months passing inside the city, while Surya and Marya used their magics to determine the state of the outside world. They taught the Slizzar that which Nox could not with the time that was given, and the shield was first re-opened during the Meraic Empire days. For centuries, the Slizzar interfered with Meraic politics both seen and unseen, until the day that technological advances brought about machines that could detect and would hunt down shapeshifters. The Meraic civilization eventually progressed far enough to the point that the Slizzar knew that they would go extinct if they stayed, so many were called back to Sarakand's safety. When the Meraic felt secure in their expulsion, a huge dome-like structure was built around the city that would shroud Sarakand in darkness for a long time. The only light that shone on the horizon was the Mydion itself, giving the whole city a purple glow, that was normally basked in blue and orange light of the horizon poles. Over time, the Slizzar saw the dome crack and crumble in real time over the span of several years, while outside thousands of years passed as the city slumbered again.


It is commonly accepted nowadays that the Slizzar have infiltrated nearly every level of society among most Races, despite their small population number. In Regalia though, most of the memory of their assassinations have been forgotten, both because of the fact that remembering would be a painful humiliation, but also because the power void created by so many other nobles allowed for the catapulted rising of a new class of nobles who gained power from the series of events. In some cases, some of the detractors of these families would even allude to Slizzar helping these upstart nobles gain power, leading to their modern generally not-hostile yet distrusted view.  
===The Allorn Stage===
Sarakand re-opened once more when every sign of the dome that was once built around their city had rotted away, now forming a ring of mountains around the city's surrounding sea as all the metal and stone had compacted and returned to dirt. The Slizzar once more ventured out into the world during the early days of the [[Allorn Empire]], when the [[Dewamenet]] still stood. It is here that the Slizzar were met with Regulus, who led a conclave of Crown Dragons to Sarakand, and temporarily disrupted all Magics and put Surya and Marya to sleep. It was here that he declared the Will of Conclave, that the creation of the Slizzar and Sarakand was a crime out of place and out of time, and that their existence was in violation of the laws of the world, but that their own laws could not compel them to drive the Slizzar to extinction. What the Slizzar refer to as the Allorn Stage, actually refers to this dictate by Regulus, which proclaimed the Slizzar's right to continued existence on a technicality, but that the Dragons would inflict the will of Umbra if ever they showed the intent to conquer the world. This proved perfect for Nox's pre-designed plans, as he had already anticipated the Allorn Stage, and codified into Slizzar culture that to desire the world, was to destroy it like all other Civilizations would.


==Society==
From this point on, the dome would no longer close, even during the [[Fifth Void Invasion]], as the Slizzar had learned from the Meraic and Seraph days what they could not apply then, they would apply now. The world was in a better state for them to act, the Dragons had stopped creating species that would create globe-spanning Empires, and had instead produced many fractured societies and heritages all over. The Slizzar were able to mesh into many of them, and attempted to gently guide them away from the same calamity they had seen before, all the while Slizzar kept an eye out for any birds that were watching them in the name for Regulus, explaining why Slizzar may not always be fond of birds and think them judgmental. The Elves became aware of the Slizzar over time, causing several high-paranoia-induced periods in the later Allorn Empire during which there were many witch hunts. There are even Slizzar, who claim to have had instrumental roles in the Dewamenet-Elven War, and aided both in the destruction of the Elves, and of the Dewamenet. Towards the peak of Allorn power, their Magic became so great that many Slizzar had to flee back to Sarakand, to avoid being detected and executed.  
Slizzar society is a bit difficult to pin down, because Slizzar intrinsically do not live in a communal manner like other Races. While there are certainly still Slizzar within the walls of Sassrakkand, the vast majority live outside of these walls in the wide world, and have very little interactions with one another outside of Nests and the Sole Slizzar roaming around. That being said, to say that Slizzar don’t have a society is far from the truth, it just presents itself in a different manner that other Races would not consider a society. Slizzar do live communally in the city of Sassrakkand, but very little is known about this city by outsiders, and Slizzar like it this way, because most Slizzar simply don’t talk about their lives as Slizzar, and instead prefer to focus on their infiltrant life, or what life is like outside of the forbidden city. In Regalia, Nests may often have a compound to live in together, but for the sake of their hidden identity, also choose to have houses of their own further away from their Nest Compound, which usually ends up being a Clandestine base of sorts. Slizzar have a strange level of loyalty to one another not quite found in other races, that allows Slizzar to completely dismantle and destroy another Slizzar’s plots and livelihood, but never lead to their death. If a Slizzar is accidentally responsible for another Slizzar’s near-death or impending death, they are tasked by Slizzar society to prevent it from happening. Within Sassrakkand, there are no political leaders, this egalitarian self-investment is consistent throughout, and most Slizzar simply look after themselves, or in some way their descendants, for whom they might have a fondness, though not one that would stop them from competing against them in the game of influence and manipulation. The only real sense of communal loyalty Slizzar have is to one another inside a Nest, and towards their Matron if they have one.  


===Culture===
===The Calm Era===
Slizzar culture is incredibly subtle, since many of the individual actions taken as custom or tradition, can be attributed to other Races. Indeed, Slizzar don’t engage in much cultural expression like other Races do, and a lot of their quirks and expressions of identity are easily mistaken to belong to someone else’s culture. The most important person in a Slizzar’s life, sometimes even more so than their Slizzar mate (though the line between them can often blur) is their Slizzar Mentor. After they reach adult age, considered 18 in their society, they choose a mentor, who is usually a few decades or at the very least 10 years older. A Slizzar mentor teaches their student about the world at large and what dangers to find within, Slizzar culture, religion and other aspects of life, while also honing their skills through teaching. Most Slizzar who learned things in Sassrakkand, learn their Proficiencies from their Mentor, and continue to hone those skills later in life to perfection. Mentors remain important figures to look up to in a Slizzar’s life, and a Slizzar will generally speak fondly of their Mentor.
The Calm Era, is anything but, but the term is frequently used to define the hope from the Slizzar that the dome should not have to close anymore, due an end to threats of Void Invasion. The city itself is still suspended in a slow-moving time bubble, where days inside amount to years outside, but this is considered rather slow, as prior dilations affected centuries. After retreating mostly from the Allorn Empire, the Slizzar interacted with the Allar, and the newly awakening [[Maraya]] who had some very obvious historical resentment towards them. Some Maraya in fact are extremely resentful, of the fact that Slizzar have incorporated Meraic architecture in their city, but did not save any Meraic people when the Void Invasion came (ignoring the fact that they built a giant dome over the city which denied them the ability to do so). During the Void Invasion itself, the Slizzar ventured out into the world in an attempt to help or bend the Elves into success, though their interactions are quite unclear. Some claim they influenced the [[Eronidas]], some claim they influenced the Cult of Dronnal, while some claim they influenced the [[Arken]] to do as they did. What exactly happens remains entirely unclear, as the Slizzar that claim these feats have no way of proving any of them, due to their disguised nature making them inherently undetectable to history.  


Slizzar do take other Slizzar as partners, but the relationship sometimes blurs between lover and partner in proverbial crime, and sometimes it gets more confusing when that partner ends up being their mentor. It is not uncommon for mentors to become partners with their students when their studies are complete (usually around 12 years after having become an adult Slizzar). Slizzar partners can also live far away from each other and remain loyal to one another in a bond that is not always physical. Some Slizzar couples can go without physical intimacy for decades, but have an unbreakably strong emotional connection that expresses itself in extremely emotional feelings. Children of Slizzar unions are carried to term by either parent, if both parents are Slizzar usually in Sassrakkand to be connected to their holy city, but otherwise anywhere outside of the general view of non-Slizzar to avoid complications with a snake-child being born. The children are usually taken care of for one year by the parent, after which they are given to the House of Mentors, where a group of currently retired and no longer teaching mentors of advanced age will raise them between the ages of one years old and six years old, though the parents can still be very much involved in this process. Twin Slizzar are always kept together, both through the House of Mentors, as well as the choosing of a Mentor who guides them both. Even after raising, parents become a model to look up to, and are frequently used as a motivation tool for the Mentors to encourage their students to excel and surpass the performances and achievements of their parents. Slizzar culture in such a way is very much focused around the concept of the child out-doing the parent, a stark contrast to many other Ailor cultures where respect for elders can sometimes border on accepting their parental superiority and not exceeding them. The Elders choose a Mentor for the Slizzar from the pool of eligible Mentors, though Mentoring does not have to take place in Sassrakkand, it can happen "on the road" out in the wide world, and there is no clear end-date for Mentoring. Each Mentor may identify that a Slizzar has learned enough and can be free from their guidance. Sometimes, the students may also choose a Mentor if their parents permit it, but in any and all cases, twin Slizzar gain the same Mentor.
===The Essa Era===
The Essa Era defines the Cataclysm to the modern day roughly speaking, that highlights the Essa Empire as a focal point. During this period, the Slizzar attempted to use both Surya and Marya Factions to create an Empire led by them, combining both benign and malign ideologies. Essa was a quickly rising Empire, rising so quickly that it drew the ire from the Regalians, those Ailor with their paranoid ideas about the shapeshifter Empress of Essa. Refusing to bend, the Essa Empire was brutally invaded by the Regalian Empire, which was technologically more advanced than the Allar were. The War turned less into a genuine Imperial conquest, and more into a bloodbath where Regalian fleets caused massive civilian casualties in indiscriminate bombing of coastal cities and attacks on civilian shipping. The Essa Empire was eventually destroyed when the capital was conquered, and the Surya fled back to Sarakand, while the Marya enacted their revenge on Regalia. In the modern day, Slizzar are deeply loathed and mistrusted, because of the external perception that they are all snake deceivers and killers, but the reality is far more nuanced. While there was tyranny and manipulation in Essa, the Empress herself was Surya, and the leading castes all had benign intentions to the Allar, albeit with the caveat that they decided the Allar would be more beneficially ruled by them, than by themselves. There are hundreds if not thousands of Slizzar spread all over the world, with several tens of thousands still living in Sarakand, but many of them continue to hide, as their shapeshifting skills now more than ever draw unwanted attention.  
==Conflicts & Alliances==
A lot of MassiveCraft's lore is constructed around conflicts that are based on religious, historical, or societal grievances. This section aims to set out the various conflict and alliance points for the Lanlath, while also attaching some nuance so that there is wiggle room for players to not get stuck in endless loops of arguing the basics of societal conflict without clear Character Development or Resolution.
* '''Ailor:''' Ailor, due to being some of the most short-lived people on Aloria and their explosively energetic and active personalities, are often prime target for the Slizzar, whether for benign or malign reasons. Many Ailor harbor extreme paranoia to Slizzar, sometimes even suspecting relatives of having been replaced by these infiltrates. This is all based on historical events, as directly after the Chrysant War, many sleeper agent Marya Slizzar struck out, killing hundreds of Regalian Nobles to weaken Regalia after winning the war against their kin. This habit for assassination among the Slizzar, is one deeply feared and mistrusted by Ailor.
* '''Dwarves:''' [[Dwarves]] have a deep-seated loathing for Slizzar that is not historically justified, but just an extension of their brutal honesty and directness culturally speaking, that clashes with Slizzar habits to lie and deceive.
* '''Suvial:''' [[Suvial]] see the Slizzar as rivals, notably the Marya, because they engage in the same type of political manipulation, it's just that the Slizzar are far better at it. The Suvial are constantly searching for ways to reveal shapeshifters, and naturally have a predisposition to discover Slizzar engaging in political intrigue, and then to try and beat them at their own game as a form of competition.
* '''Kathar:''' Despite many Slizzar working against the interests of the [[Kathar]], and them being entirely responsible for the waves of assassinations among the Kathar nobles, they are held in high esteem, particularly for this reason, as well as the fact that they believe Slizzar make the best courtesans and advisors. The Slizzar have historically made ample use of this by constantly destabilizing the [[Dread Empire]] and preventing it from really expanding despite the large hosts of Demons in their service.
* '''Allar:''' Slizzar and Allar relations are rather contentious and often dependent on the individual. The two people made up the two halves of the Essa Empire, a state which was guided by the Surya Slizzar to give the Allar seeking a way out of Sendrassian Evolism a safe place to develop and flourish. Yet, at the same time, the Allar were also manipulated and bent into service by the Marya Slizzar who used their mind control over Allar Digmaan to establish in effect dictatorships over regions of the Empire. In the calamity that was the Regalian Invasion, both people died side by side, but it was the Slizzar who could return to the safety of Sarakand which withstood repeat Regalian attempts to assail the city, while the Allar languished in occupation and second-rank citizen status for years before Regalian properly integrated them. As such, individual Allar may hate, or adore Slizzar, depending on their perspective.


Slizzar cultural quirks are far and wide in between, but some are fairly consistent. Firstly, Slizzar love smells, incense is a very common way Slizzar use to surround themselves with floral scents, but particularly chrysanthemum flowers and water lilies are very important to them. It is said that a specific type of water lily grows all over Sassrakkand, and the sweet scents remind them of home, which is why many Slizzar enjoy the smell of flower based incense. The Slizzar also have a heightened affinity for dancing, and turning their body in ways that other Races find alluring. To the Slizzar themselves, these dances are just a mode of entertainment, sometimes even bordering on religious theatre, as the movements are meant to represent their [[Deep Sea Serpent]] deities, but the unknowing and ignorant other Races just see these dances as alluring and sensual belly-dancing. Slizzar furthermore also love the feeling of fur, the exact reason why being unknown, but the sensation of fur between their fingers is like giving a cat a scratching pole. Many Slizzar wear clothing that has some form of fur lining, or wearing actual pelts or a fur coat.  
==Religions==
* '''[[Draconism]]:''' Draconism is the obvious choice for any Slizzar. They are one of the few people on Aloria who have either direct or near direct interactions with their own creator, and a very clear blueprint for their existence. It is important to note however, that even if Nox imparted a resentment towards the other Dragons for "doing creation wrong", he did impart respect and worship of their other qualities, onto the Slizzar. The Slizzar are not pure Nox worshipers who ignore all other Dragons, they understand the nuance that each of these Dragons also has great other qualities and things worthy of worship, but that they can make shortsighted decisions about the future that they cannot see. As such, Slizzar should always be worshiping all Dragons, though pay exceptional service to Nox.  
* '''Others:''' Because of the strong interwoven role of Draconism in their creation and being, it is very rare to find Slizzar who are not Draconism worshipers. While it is possible to run into a Slizzar who is worshiper of [[Unionism]], [[Estelley]], [[Evolism]], [[Khama]], or [[Fornoss]], this is usually only because they grew up outside of Slizzar society and simply never learned about their true identity, or became Marya Darkstar Slizzar and were seduced by the Void Gods of Evolism or the Vola of Fornoss. It is exceptionally strange for a Slizzar to be Khama worshipper, as they might have helped liquidate the Dewamenet Empire.


The only expressions of Slizzar culture occur during the month of January, when most Slizzar return to Sassrakkand to celebrate communality. The exact sequence of events in Sassrakkand is unknown to outsiders, but every night is filled with communal singing to the moon as the moon rises above the city and reflects on the white marble of the walls and the cascading water that flows into, around and inside the city. This communal singing is sometimes so grand that it can be heard far outside the walls, lucky listeners describing it as a song bordering between melancholy and sadness, yet with a hopeful twist and a spark of passion to it.
==Culture==
===Nox's Banishment===
Nox's Banishment is a major pivotal point and origin-story relation for many Slizzar, but at the same time it is an unsolvable conflict. The Slizzar are aware that if the Dragons notice them trying to free Nox in any way, that Regulus's Dictat may become more violent and unpleasant for them, just like the Dragons turned on the Sariyd. Nox's banishment was part of his plan, so many Slizzar opt for the opinion that he does not want to be saved, and that whatever he did to be trapped in the ether but still be able to interact with the world indirectly through mirrors, is actually a preferred state of being. Other Dragons, who are still physical, can only project their presence or awareness in a singular form, and can only ever physically be in one place at once. Nox however, despite being limited to speech and influence on the mind when looked at, can interact with the whole world, because mirrors exist in every house, every pond, every lake, and every shiny object. As such, even if they would like Nox to return to give them guidance, the Slizzar accept that his banishment was actually just an upgrade to his ability to affect the world to his own designs, and make peace with this reality. Their primary objective is to support him in what he does and continue their own work to ensure balance between all Factions and peoples in the world, and prevent the next Void Invasion.  


===Religion===
===Families and Romance===
The Slizzar follow the [[Nessrassian]] Faith: the faith of the giant Deep Sea Serpents. This faith has several gods embodied as various snakes which represent various aspects of a Slizzar’s personality. This religion is central in their life, for it guides their actions, and in hopes of becoming successful, they worship and offer tribute to their gods who they constantly aspire to become. It can be said as such that the Nessrassian Faith is less a religion, and more a life view or life philosophy. Still, the Slizzar worship the Sea Serpents as divine beings—and would even bow to the living ones if, or when, they surface. Many of their life choices and actions are woven into this concept of worship, whether it be manipulating others, succeeding in a plot, or rearing their puppets to have a mock-conflict with another Slizzar and prove the better manipulator by winning over the other. Within their home however, the Slizzar do not engage in active worship, and in some cases, Slizzar have even been known to accept a secondary faith, their Race being the only one known in Aloria that does this, called Faith Syncretism. That being said, they will still and must always acknowledge the Nesrassian gods as the primary more important diety, accepting the secondary god(s) as only a temporary additional fulfillment of a Spiritual need that is not always present in the Nesrassian Faith, which is often depicted as quite ruthless and uncaring for their own people.  
Slizzar don't do Gender. The supposition of gender experience, expression, or identity is entirely nonexistent, and rules to do with romance are equally nonexistent, as the social constructs relating to these norms were never developed in Slizzar society. It is however possible that a Slizzar learns a gender identity from the heritage or culture they were raised as, which can cause a modicum of gender dysphoria as they actualize their Slizzar identity. This is usually what causes some Delayed Slizzar to reject Slizzar society and abandon their Slizzar heritage, being unable to console their old identity with the idea that their identity was merely a temporary fake, and that they are genderless and sexless. Equally, just because there are no gender norms, does not mean a Slizzar cannot prefer monogamy due to learned behavior from their childhood. To some effect, how a Slizzar is raised can affect their future opinions on things. Slizzar in Sarakand are raised with the intent to serve Nox's will as creator and God in all. Surya and Marya act like surrogate parents that teach and raise children, though biological parents can also have a role in shaping the personality of the child. Children born outside of Sarakand can still be brought there to be taught, but may sometimes need to be instructed in other societies. In such cases, how they grow up, and whether they know at all about Nox and their purpose, depends on who trains and raises them. A Slizzar who is entirely existing outside of their heritage society, is called a Lonestar Slizzar. Lonestar Slizzar are not strictly reviled by other Slizzar, and can in theory be re-connected with their destiny, but can be considered loose cannons and unpredictable because they are not bound by the golden rules that all other Slizzar obey in balance and duty.  
===Clothing===
Slizzar derive much in the way of influence from Elven and [[Ithanian]] Ailor clothing styles, those two including the most flowing and comfortable robes that can sit fluidly between different shapes that the Slizzar like to take. Just like there is some telling similarity between the Slizzar and Suvial scripts, so too is there a little similarity between preferred way of dress, with the Slizzar having a love of richly decorated, colorful, and layered fabrics that serve as a sort of statement of identity to the wearer. Outside of that, much of Slizzar fashion is in a way utilitarian between the many shifts that their time is inevitably spanned between, though there are some Slizzar who like to play a game of call-signs with one another in terms of clothing patterns both so subtle and just repetitive enough to flag what they are to other Slizzar who are playing the game of politics with them in the same place at the same time. Very, very rarely, will a Slizzar occasionally cheekily engage in historical reconstructionism by donning the costume of a dead or destroyed civilization just to remember the good old days when they meddled in it, with this usually being reserved for the company of other Slizzar at house-parties. That said, Slizzar might full well be the only people in the world whose tailors could tell you exactly what the Meraic, [[Sarnan]], and sunken Sundered Principalities dressed like, and make all their clothes with the same pair of hands.
===Art===
Much like with clothing, the Slizzar have a cornucopia of different artistic styles collected from all around the world, but they also have their own. Slizzar are absolutely masterful workers of blown liquid glass, creating mosaics that lack the tiles, pieces of smooth and continuous glasswork that seem to bleed perfectly from color to color with an almost psychedelic effect. They tend to arrange these as a sort of individual viewing experience with a large series of mirrors that contrast the position of the viewer in relation to the piece, sometimes placing them outside it, sometimes visually within it. The Slizzar like to see their artwork as an interpretive experience, with the interpretation changing drastically depending on the arrangement of the mirrors, the time of day, and how many people are in the room. While these pieces were in the past hard to bring out of Sarakand because they implied the one who owned them to be a Slizzar, the looting of Ailor nobles from various Slizzar estates in the Chrysant War has meant that nowadays it is possible to enjoy these works without suspicion. That it was the greed of wartime enemies that made this possible, is a fact that the Slizzar enjoy very, very much.
===Cuisine===
The Slizzar have a complex cuisine that combines local Hadarian fish and wild plants with some of the jungle fruit that is common on the outlying islands like hearty plantains, only, they are sometimes frustrated that they have to change up their recipes all of the time when geopolitical conditions change or they must seal Sarakand to skip forward in time. However, generally speaking, the Slizzar have a refined native palate with a lot of fresh seafood and complicated plating usually assisted by Leytech automata. Since Sarakand has not closed off for a while now, though, Slizzar cuisine has been largely stable. Older Slizzar or those who have found a way to persist through the ages, however, stereotypically lament the loss of a particular blue plant from the Meraic era called Qalejara by the Maraya that gave a tang to fish soup that no modern plant can quite match. There are hundreds of attempted alchemical substitutes in the modern day to Qalejara flowers, some Meraic, some Slizzar, and some Allar who are just trying to help when asked to, but nothing is as good as the real thing, which the Maraya and Slizzar (despite the presence of some resentment) sometimes help each other try to recreate.


:*''For more information on Nessrassian, click [[Nessrassian|here]]
==Recommended Playstyle==
This section will be provided by another Lore Staff member at a later date.


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*It is rumored that one Slizzar once managed to worm their way to the chambers of Chancellor [[Morgann Kade]]. There is no physical evidence of this ever having occurred, but it would explain his erratic behavior, with how sensible and calm most Kade Chancellors have been.
* Accusations of snakehood, are merely societal bias against the animal known as a snake, and the fact that Slizzar have tails and slitted eyes. There are no real other comparisons.
*Slizzar tails or legs that have been cut off slowly grow back over the course of two weeks.
* Somehow, at the center of all calamity or glory, there is always at least one Slizzar hidden. At least, that is what everyone thinks, and the Slizzar prefer it that way.
*Slizzar greatly appreciate fruit, and have even been known to include flowers in their diet.
* Nox actually despises the idea that Slizzar have free will, but had to accept this reality to make them function without him. For now, it is an unspoken discomfort.  
{{Races}}
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{{Accreditation
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|Artists = MonMarty
|Artists = MonMarty
|Writers = MonMarty, HydraLana
|Writers = MonMarty
|Processors = HydraLana, MonMarty, Birdsfoot_violet
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[[category:Races]] [[category:Gorr Races]]
[[category:Heritages]]

Latest revision as of 00:46, 14 October 2024

Slizzar
Ajneya (in Zoram)
Motto: "Without balance, a World undone."
Nation StateSarakand
RulerThe Duarchy
Other PresentNone
LanguagesZoram, Common
ReligionDraconism
First RecordedPre-Allorn
Demonym(s)Slizzar

Perhaps the oldest kin to have continuously existed on Aloria, the Slizzar are serpent-alien-like shapeshifters that are rarely seen in their natural form, mingling with other societies for both benign and nefarious purposes. The Slizzar have been around since before Cataclysm, as far back as the Seraph Civilization era, when their creation was judged a crime against the laws of creation between the Dragons, causing their creator and patron God Nox to be banished. The Slizzar still continue his vision for the world, a people with unique skills and abilities that secretly and subtly guide events and history to their designs, for the betterment and benefit of the continued existence of all. While this mission may sound inherently benign, Slizzar are masters of infiltration and manipulation due to their shapeshifting powers, always leaving those who were put out of play to wonder: did they just face a shapeshifter? Was the last person I spoke to secretly someone else? All valid questions are raised when paranoia strikes, in the wake of the plots and machinations of these enigmatic and secretive people.

Design

As Shapeshifters, Slizzar do not truly have one set appearance, save for their natural Slizzar appearance. Slizzar natural appearance is quite snake-like, with a body covered in black, gray, white, or silver scales, some slizzar have the lower body of a snake, legs, or the lower body composed of both legs and a snake tail. Slizzar may have have horns colored like their scales on their head, the head itself which looks quite alien compared to the other humanoid Races, with a flat nose, double-hinged jaw, and a series of cranial and jaw protrusions forming unique features that are different for each Slizzar. It is thus important to stress, that even if they have the body of a snake, their head is not snake-like at all. Slizzar usually have a dominant and secondary color, the dominant color being the majority of their hair and shoulders, while their secondary color adds contrast to their neck and some of their hair, particularly close to their cranium. These colors can be any combination, though are usually quite vibrant. All Slizzar have slitted purple eyes and dark sclera. While Slizzar are shapeshifters, they can never change this base Slizzar appearance.

Shifting

Shifting is the term Slizzar use when they change appearances. While it is in theory possible for Slizzar to play the lottery and appear randomly each time, most Slizzar use so-called Templates, which are pre-set designs of appearances they strongly remember, and can thus reliably re-create. Slizzar all treat shapeshifting very differently. Some Slizzar never shapeshift, preferring to be out in the open as their birth self, while others are always shapeshifted, to avoid detection. Then some combine a mixture of the two, or those who reveal their identity as a Slizzar on some Templates, but not on others. How a Slizzar feels about Shapeshifting and their Templates, depends on the Slizzar, and their ideology, and the motivations for what they do. Some Slizzar may benefit from revealing their true identity to their strongest allies for the benefit of trust, while others keep their identity completely hidden so as to always have an escape route available if things go bad. Exact rules on Shapeshifting are defined in the Heritage Traits. Keep in mind that Shapeshifting overall is incredibly powerful and flexible in Roleplay, but also meaningful OOC. If you find that your Character is not being trusted by the people around them, experiment with a bit of open-ness about their Slizzar identity. We have found that players who retain 100% secrecy as a Slizzar, have a hard time making meaningful IC connections because it OOC sucks for other players to emotionally invest in Characters that are deceiving theirs. That is technically Metagaming, but this feeling is still very strong, and we do not blame them.

Heritage Traits

When designing a Character, Proficiency Points allow for a limited Ability selection with Point Buy Packs. Heritage Traits adds free Packs and Mechanics on top of that to help with cultural themes. Free Packs grant Abilities usually, while Mechanics change the way a character functions in Roleplay through subtle, and usually out of Combat ways. In essence, Mechanics just add aesthetic flair that invest in the niche of each culture. Free Packs never raise Proficiency Points, but the character must be able to purchase them normally. (ex. if a character is a certain Affinity that locks them out of a category, they cannot take that specific free pack and must choose the alternative option.) If a Free Pack grants Magic of some type, that Magic can be of any Alignment the character can normally choose, or limited to a select alignment, which will always be written in the Free Pack description. Mixed Heritage characters (i.e. characters born from two parents of different Cultures) may take one parent's 'Free Packs' and mix and match up to 5 Mechanics from both parents, although some Peoples cannot produce Mixed Heritage children (due to Magical/Fantasy reasons). Slizzar cannot be included in Mixed Heritage Characters, as there is no such thing as a Half-Slizzar.

Free Packs

Mechanics

  • Slizzar are immune to any type of mind control or mind scrying from mortals, particularly Mind Control, but also Mechanics that would result in thralling, emotion-reading, emotion influencing and so forth. Additionally, if someone is actively attempting to do any of these things to a Slizzar, that Slizzar becomes aware of the attempt, and who is attempting it.
  • Slizzar can perfectly mimic Afflictions and Affinities, including Transformations and even the aesthetics of Abilities and Mechanics, even if they do not actually work that way. For example, a Slizzar can perfectly mimic the appearance of a Vampire and then use fake Vampire teeth to engage in fake blood drinking. There is no way to distinguish this from the real thing, meaning Slizzar can seamlessly infiltrate groups. Anyone attempting to call out a Slizzar for not being authentic in their mimicry of something they are not, is engaging in meta-gaming. Note, however, this does not actually give them the Mechanics. They can for example summon Archon-like wings if they are mimicking Archon, but that does not give them flight or the function as described in the Archon Mechanic.
  • Slizzar have an advanced network of off-screen politicians and Nobles under their control. As a result, whenever an Imperial Assembly is called, Slizzar are able to sit in the noble section of the Assembly, and their votes count for 2 Votes instead of one. Votes are always cast as "Aye" or "Nay", in order to use this mechanic, the Slizzar must say "Aye (a:Political Power)" for the vote to work. Additionally, Slizzar can be embedded into Noble Families, attaching to their Family-Leader as either an Ally or Manipulator. So long as both the Family Leader and the Slizzar are present at the same Imperial Assembly (in absentia or proxy voting does not count), the Family Leader may also use this Mechanic (but must be sure to use the formatting described above for it to count). Additionally, for this to count the Slizzar must self-register as embedded into a particular Noble Family through the Ticket Bot. It is not possible to stack this effect multiple times for multiple Slizzar embedded.
  • Slizzar have an advanced network of bureaucrats, bankers, and other wealthy persons they can call upon, to give them access to the new wealth of the Regalian Empire. Firstly, this means they have access to an off-screen wealth that is close but not equivalent to registered Aristocrats. It essentially means Slizzar are wealthy, and have money to throw around. Secondly, it creates a situation where Slizzar can "claim" Noble Countryside Estates. These claims are not exclusionary, that is to say, we only have a limited number of Estates available, and multiple players trying to "claim" the same Estate. For this reason, we request players make use of the holographic display to indicate if players are already present, and suspend disbelief about who owns what Estate. Chances of multiple players trying to use the same Estate at the same time, is low.
  • Slizzar are natural Persuaders with their ability to get into the heads of others. Any Persuasion Rolls done by a Slizzar, have their final Dice result increased by +1. This effect does not stack with other Mechanics that have the same effect on Persuasion Rolls.

Birth Rites

Because many Slizzar go through life entirely disguised and pretending to be a different people or society, their reproduction cycle could unintentionally reveal them. At a base line, all children born from at least one Slizzar parent will always be full Slizzar. In case this is not desirable, the Slizzar can perform the Birth Rites, in which they have more clearer control over how their offspring will be created, this allows them to dictate several different processes. Firstly, they can choose to have one or two children born. Secondly, they can choose for each child born, whether they will be born not-Slizzar (taking the Heritage from their biological parent, and whatever the Slizzar pretended to be), full Slizzar, or Delayed Slizzar. Delayed Slizzar will be born as not-Slizzar, but when they become 18 years old, are suddenly informed through visions and dreams about their true identity, and how to become a full Slizzar. If they agree and venture to the nearest Dragon Temple to connect with their true self, they become full Slizzar, if they reject for up to 12 months and never visit such a site, they will be not-Slizzar forever. It is also possible, if two children are chosen, to have each born differently, for example one as Delayed Slizzar, and one as not-Slizzar, or full Slizzar, or other combinations. Note, most Slizzar found in the world are Slizzar born tens of thousands of years ago. This is because Sarakand exists in a warped time-bubble where time can pass slower or faster than the world around it. Slizzar can in reality only become 300 years old, but many are from a different time.

Sarakand

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City Description

To understand the place of the Slizzar, one must understand the City of Eternal Twilight, Sarakand. Sarakand is the only Slizzar city-state in the world, and it is Slizzar homogenous, not allowing outsiders in unless they have some connection to the Slizzar. The city itself is extremely advanced, having buildings that reminisce of Seraph, second, third, and Meraic civilization architecture in them, that have accumulated over time. While Regalia is often treated as the jewel of the world, and this metropolitan is certainly far more massive than Sarakand, Sarakand itself as a city has existed for 70,000 years, which pales Regalia's mere centuries in comparison. Sarakand is built on a massive bastion wall surrounding the outer ring of aquatic farms. Further in are large buildings and Temples to the various Dragon Gods. Closer to the center are the Hallowed Towers, which are not residential, but large defensive Dragon-Magic structures that project a shield around the city in times of need, and control the passage of time around it. These installations were built by the Dragon God Nox, who defied the will of the Dragons by creating Sarakand and the Slizzar and was banished. At the center lies the Pyramidion, a Pyramid-like structure with a large gap in the middle from which the Mydion (city's power source) can be seen.

Defenses and Politics

Through powerful Dragon Magics, Sarakand and its direct ocean around it are caught in a permanent twilight, with the passing of time adjusted inside to slow down or speed up depending on the city's needs. This explains why the city has lasted for so long and survived numerous Void Invasions, having an innate ability to hide from the invasion in Time Magic, and being shielded. Sarakand is the seat of power of the two ruling factions and Duarchy Sovereigns of the Slizzar, the Herald of the Sun, and the Herald of the Moon, and holds a crucial place for most Slizzar who venture into the world as a safe harbor to return to. The two Factions being the Surya Court and the Marya Court, live in a harmonious balance in the city. Even if these are Factions in the traditional sense, unlike in Regalia, they do not compete with one another but complement and hold each other in balance to do as Nox instructed them, preserve the world despite the slow-to-act nature of the other Dragons. Each Slizzar in a coming-of-age time, will align with the Surya or Marya Court, and venture out into the world to seek their way to ply the crafts of their people on the other peoples of Aloria, to do their Dragon-God's bidding. Many Slizzar who retire from their work return to Sarakand, where they live our their final days in peace.

Slizzar Factions

Surya Court, Guides of the Sun

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The Surya Court is the Slizzar Faction that holds that the young peoples of Aloria need a kind and delicate guiding hand. Whether through small acts like helping individuals or families, or large acts through advising organizations or gently nudging whole countries or Empires in the right direction, the Surya Slizzar seek to be a hidden beneficial hand to the lives of others. Surya Slizzar lean more in the direction of being pacifist or at least vowing not to strike unless in defense of another or holy site, as Nox instructed them to guard the world from the Sin of Free Will. Because of the Sin of Free Will, the Surya Court believes that the other peoples of Aloria will not see calamity coming when it arrives on their doorstep, and need guidance from a higher hand of experience and skill to avert disaster, that being the eradication of all living beings on Aloria by another Void Invasion. Surya Slizzar are more inclined than Marya Slizzar to appear in their natural form without any shapeshifting, but are still keenly aware, that a Slizzar is something alien and frightful, and that the acts of the Marya Court still incite rage, thus holding onto their Disguises to perform their duties. A Surya Slizzar can divert to the Marya Court. This happens usually when a Surya Slizzar believes that the incompetence brought on by the Sin of Free Will is so profound, that their attempts to be benign in themselves are holding them back, and that their work would be much simpler if they used subterfuge and assassination to get their way. It is also possible for a Surya Slizzar to be so inundated with their work to the benefit of individuals, that they start losing scope of the bigger picture and drift away from Nox's work. Those are referred to as Surya Eclipse Slizzar.

Marya Court, Conspirators of the Moon

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The Marya Court is a Slizzar Faction that holds that the young peoples of Aloria need to be manipulated to prevent destruction. Whether through small actions inflicted on individuals or families, or large acts of puppeteering and subterfuge against countries or Empires, the Marya Slizzar seek to be a hidden malign existence for the benefit of life itself. Marya Slizzar lean more in the direction of violence as well as emotional and intellectual manipulation of facts, creating false perceptions of reality, and mind-controlling others to do their bidding. The Marya Slizzar believe that the other peoples of Aloria are so self-absorbed and occupied with the explosive nature of their short lives, that they cannot possibly be taught how not to blow up the world, and should be dominated to prevent them from doing so. To them, the Sin of Free Will is extremely literal, in that free will itself is evil, and the best that can be done for the world is to remove it from the people who wield power. Marya Slizzar, due to their subterfuge, are far more likely to always remain Disguised and have multiple fall-back personas to escape detection or reprisals in case they are uncovered. A Marya Slizzar can divert to the Surya Court. This happens usually when a Marya Slizzar believes that the suffering or resentment they might have left in their wake, in and of itself becomes the destruction or calamity they seek to avoid, and that their work would be much simpler if they were kind and cooperative instead. It is also possible for a Marya Slizzar to be so inundated with vanity, pride, or just relishing in the violence and manipulation, that they become more obsessed with the game of control and lose scope of the bigger picture of Nox's work. These are referred to as Marya Darkstar Slizzar.

Factional Nuances

While in other people of Aloria factional politics might end up being bloody or contentious, it is very cooperative among the Slizzar. They believe strongly in the notion of balance, and that Nox created perfect balance among the Slizzar. As such, even if a Surya Slizzar is horrified by a Marya's actions, or if a Marya Slizzar has gone rogue as a Darkstar or left the cause as an Eclipser, Slizzar attempt in any circumstances to avoid violence or conflict with one another. Even if these factions are opposed ideologically, both factions appreciate and understand the value they bring in contract to one another, how some societies just cannot be helped with malignance, and how some societies just cannot be helped with benign guidance, in that all methods are needed to reach the end goal. This does not mean that Slizzar cannot criticize each other, or comment on each other's plots, just that they should not get in each other's ways to or make their work harder, unless they start intentionally obstructing the work of others. The outside world is aware of these Slizzar Factions, but Slizzar would do well never to reveal their alignment. After all, in Regalia, the Marya are well known to have orchestrated the long string of assassinations that followed after the Chrysant War, in which many Ailor and Elven nobles perished as revenge for the destruction of the Essa Empire. It was the Surya who guided the hands of the Allar before this conflict, and it was the Marya who acted as the hand of revenge for their fallen brethren, to weaken the Regalian Empire and restore balance between the other Empires that were left. It should also be noted, that Faction membership, is not extremely strict. It is not impossible for a Surya Slizzar to need to be cruel sometimes, or a Marya Slizzar to be kind. Both are not moral absolutes, but more like guidelines that indicate intent rather than action. Each Slizzar will have to struggle with the moral implications of their actions, if they violate their own principles.

The Duarchy Heralds

The Duarchy Heralds are the two enigmatic entities known as Surya and Marya, who act like co-rulers of the Slizzar as a whole. Surya and Marya were made by Nox (causing some to conclude they are complex Dragon Magic Automata) to guide the Slizzar in his absence, as he foresaw his banishment by the other Dragons and made preparations. Surya and Marya have guided the Slizzar ever since and operate the basic functions of Sarakand itself. They reside only in Sarakand, but have immense magical power, and tower over all other inhabitants as they slowly wander the streets. During the day, they offer guidance to the younglings in large classes where their melodic telepathic voice teaches them about the world and their place in it, and at night they patrol the walls in opposite rotating circles to herald the switching of night and day. Surya and Marya are living embodiments of their respective ideologies, Surya teaches the Slizzar kindness and warmth, while Marya teaches them cruelty and violence, both having the capacity to project teachings and skills directly into the minds of their students. In some manner, foreigners might see them as Automata Monarchs, but they do not make decisions for the everyday societal organization, such as who gets food and what supplies are sent abroad. These tasks are taken care of by the city's Slizzar inhabitants, though they still speak for Nox, and can communicate his oracle predictions to the people.

Language and Naming

The Slizzar language is Zoram, which is based on real-like Sanskrit. Many other people accuse the Slizzar of speaking with a lisp, but this is generally just bigotry. In fact, Slizzar are very articulate, and their language has a lot of strong consonants, meaning they hardly make noises that one would expect a snake to make. Slizzar are however capable of producing a rattle-snake-like sound at the back of their throat, which they frequently produce when in combat, or when they are about to attack someone, or as a way of warning others that they are annoyed or feel threatened. Slizzar naming customs also use real-life Sanskrit. It is rare for Slizzar to have a surname, most Slizzar only carry a single name, though they can sometimes adopt a surname for ease of use to the non-Slizzar members in their family. When they do, this surname is always from another culture's language. Here follows a list of example names for the Slizzar (they are all non-gendered because sex and gender don’t exist in Slizzar psyche).

  • Achyut, Advait, Bhavin, Chittin, Girivar, Jatasya, Jaitra, Kush, Manav, Nandish, Parth, Prayag, Sambhav, Shivansh, Udit, Vibodh, Yug, Bhoomi, Chetaki, Gatha, Kaveri, Namasya, Paridhi, Shloka, Swara, Tavishi, Udita.

Brief History

The Beginning

Slizzar History, despite it spanning 70,000 years, is actually very short. Because of the afore mentioned time-warping of the city of Sarakand, large periods of history in which thousands of year passed, were experienced as mere days for the Slizzar in the city. Slizzar records show that the city was created by Nox in the latter century of the Seraph losing war against the Void Invasion. The Slizzar record clearly that this war lasted 1000 years, and that the war was an incredibly slow attrition war, because a single Seraph could hold off tens of thousands of Demons alone in the blink of an eye, and that Demons in most cases only won from the Seraph because they changed tactics which the slow-acting Seraph were not capable of reacting to. The records say that Nox was specifically in disagreement with the other Dragons about future plans for the continuation of life. Among Dragons exist the Laws of Creation, which dictate that Creation must never contain a spark of Creation itself (implying, a being that can re-make itself into whatever it wants), as this would bring them in closer proximity to godhood. Nox was of the opinion that Dragons would just continue creating flawed creations because of his objection to free will itself. Relenting that free will was still required in his own creation, because he knew that the Dragons would immediately banish him to the ether and deny him the ability to command his creations, Nox wove the first Slizzar into being, some of which are even still alive today due to Sarakand's time magic. In the time it took for the Dragons to banish him (as the Dragons were also slow to act), Nox had nearly a century to build Sarakand with his god-like Magic, and build Slizzar society from the ground up. When Nox was banished, the Heralds Surya and Marya took his place, the dome around Sarakand closed, and the city slumbered.

The re-opening

Sarakand remained closed for the entirety of the second and third civilization, with mere months passing inside the city, while Surya and Marya used their magics to determine the state of the outside world. They taught the Slizzar that which Nox could not with the time that was given, and the shield was first re-opened during the Meraic Empire days. For centuries, the Slizzar interfered with Meraic politics both seen and unseen, until the day that technological advances brought about machines that could detect and would hunt down shapeshifters. The Meraic civilization eventually progressed far enough to the point that the Slizzar knew that they would go extinct if they stayed, so many were called back to Sarakand's safety. When the Meraic felt secure in their expulsion, a huge dome-like structure was built around the city that would shroud Sarakand in darkness for a long time. The only light that shone on the horizon was the Mydion itself, giving the whole city a purple glow, that was normally basked in blue and orange light of the horizon poles. Over time, the Slizzar saw the dome crack and crumble in real time over the span of several years, while outside thousands of years passed as the city slumbered again.

The Allorn Stage

Sarakand re-opened once more when every sign of the dome that was once built around their city had rotted away, now forming a ring of mountains around the city's surrounding sea as all the metal and stone had compacted and returned to dirt. The Slizzar once more ventured out into the world during the early days of the Allorn Empire, when the Dewamenet still stood. It is here that the Slizzar were met with Regulus, who led a conclave of Crown Dragons to Sarakand, and temporarily disrupted all Magics and put Surya and Marya to sleep. It was here that he declared the Will of Conclave, that the creation of the Slizzar and Sarakand was a crime out of place and out of time, and that their existence was in violation of the laws of the world, but that their own laws could not compel them to drive the Slizzar to extinction. What the Slizzar refer to as the Allorn Stage, actually refers to this dictate by Regulus, which proclaimed the Slizzar's right to continued existence on a technicality, but that the Dragons would inflict the will of Umbra if ever they showed the intent to conquer the world. This proved perfect for Nox's pre-designed plans, as he had already anticipated the Allorn Stage, and codified into Slizzar culture that to desire the world, was to destroy it like all other Civilizations would.

From this point on, the dome would no longer close, even during the Fifth Void Invasion, as the Slizzar had learned from the Meraic and Seraph days what they could not apply then, they would apply now. The world was in a better state for them to act, the Dragons had stopped creating species that would create globe-spanning Empires, and had instead produced many fractured societies and heritages all over. The Slizzar were able to mesh into many of them, and attempted to gently guide them away from the same calamity they had seen before, all the while Slizzar kept an eye out for any birds that were watching them in the name for Regulus, explaining why Slizzar may not always be fond of birds and think them judgmental. The Elves became aware of the Slizzar over time, causing several high-paranoia-induced periods in the later Allorn Empire during which there were many witch hunts. There are even Slizzar, who claim to have had instrumental roles in the Dewamenet-Elven War, and aided both in the destruction of the Elves, and of the Dewamenet. Towards the peak of Allorn power, their Magic became so great that many Slizzar had to flee back to Sarakand, to avoid being detected and executed.

The Calm Era

The Calm Era, is anything but, but the term is frequently used to define the hope from the Slizzar that the dome should not have to close anymore, due an end to threats of Void Invasion. The city itself is still suspended in a slow-moving time bubble, where days inside amount to years outside, but this is considered rather slow, as prior dilations affected centuries. After retreating mostly from the Allorn Empire, the Slizzar interacted with the Allar, and the newly awakening Maraya who had some very obvious historical resentment towards them. Some Maraya in fact are extremely resentful, of the fact that Slizzar have incorporated Meraic architecture in their city, but did not save any Meraic people when the Void Invasion came (ignoring the fact that they built a giant dome over the city which denied them the ability to do so). During the Void Invasion itself, the Slizzar ventured out into the world in an attempt to help or bend the Elves into success, though their interactions are quite unclear. Some claim they influenced the Eronidas, some claim they influenced the Cult of Dronnal, while some claim they influenced the Arken to do as they did. What exactly happens remains entirely unclear, as the Slizzar that claim these feats have no way of proving any of them, due to their disguised nature making them inherently undetectable to history.

The Essa Era

The Essa Era defines the Cataclysm to the modern day roughly speaking, that highlights the Essa Empire as a focal point. During this period, the Slizzar attempted to use both Surya and Marya Factions to create an Empire led by them, combining both benign and malign ideologies. Essa was a quickly rising Empire, rising so quickly that it drew the ire from the Regalians, those Ailor with their paranoid ideas about the shapeshifter Empress of Essa. Refusing to bend, the Essa Empire was brutally invaded by the Regalian Empire, which was technologically more advanced than the Allar were. The War turned less into a genuine Imperial conquest, and more into a bloodbath where Regalian fleets caused massive civilian casualties in indiscriminate bombing of coastal cities and attacks on civilian shipping. The Essa Empire was eventually destroyed when the capital was conquered, and the Surya fled back to Sarakand, while the Marya enacted their revenge on Regalia. In the modern day, Slizzar are deeply loathed and mistrusted, because of the external perception that they are all snake deceivers and killers, but the reality is far more nuanced. While there was tyranny and manipulation in Essa, the Empress herself was Surya, and the leading castes all had benign intentions to the Allar, albeit with the caveat that they decided the Allar would be more beneficially ruled by them, than by themselves. There are hundreds if not thousands of Slizzar spread all over the world, with several tens of thousands still living in Sarakand, but many of them continue to hide, as their shapeshifting skills now more than ever draw unwanted attention.

Conflicts & Alliances

A lot of MassiveCraft's lore is constructed around conflicts that are based on religious, historical, or societal grievances. This section aims to set out the various conflict and alliance points for the Lanlath, while also attaching some nuance so that there is wiggle room for players to not get stuck in endless loops of arguing the basics of societal conflict without clear Character Development or Resolution.

  • Ailor: Ailor, due to being some of the most short-lived people on Aloria and their explosively energetic and active personalities, are often prime target for the Slizzar, whether for benign or malign reasons. Many Ailor harbor extreme paranoia to Slizzar, sometimes even suspecting relatives of having been replaced by these infiltrates. This is all based on historical events, as directly after the Chrysant War, many sleeper agent Marya Slizzar struck out, killing hundreds of Regalian Nobles to weaken Regalia after winning the war against their kin. This habit for assassination among the Slizzar, is one deeply feared and mistrusted by Ailor.
  • Dwarves: Dwarves have a deep-seated loathing for Slizzar that is not historically justified, but just an extension of their brutal honesty and directness culturally speaking, that clashes with Slizzar habits to lie and deceive.
  • Suvial: Suvial see the Slizzar as rivals, notably the Marya, because they engage in the same type of political manipulation, it's just that the Slizzar are far better at it. The Suvial are constantly searching for ways to reveal shapeshifters, and naturally have a predisposition to discover Slizzar engaging in political intrigue, and then to try and beat them at their own game as a form of competition.
  • Kathar: Despite many Slizzar working against the interests of the Kathar, and them being entirely responsible for the waves of assassinations among the Kathar nobles, they are held in high esteem, particularly for this reason, as well as the fact that they believe Slizzar make the best courtesans and advisors. The Slizzar have historically made ample use of this by constantly destabilizing the Dread Empire and preventing it from really expanding despite the large hosts of Demons in their service.
  • Allar: Slizzar and Allar relations are rather contentious and often dependent on the individual. The two people made up the two halves of the Essa Empire, a state which was guided by the Surya Slizzar to give the Allar seeking a way out of Sendrassian Evolism a safe place to develop and flourish. Yet, at the same time, the Allar were also manipulated and bent into service by the Marya Slizzar who used their mind control over Allar Digmaan to establish in effect dictatorships over regions of the Empire. In the calamity that was the Regalian Invasion, both people died side by side, but it was the Slizzar who could return to the safety of Sarakand which withstood repeat Regalian attempts to assail the city, while the Allar languished in occupation and second-rank citizen status for years before Regalian properly integrated them. As such, individual Allar may hate, or adore Slizzar, depending on their perspective.

Religions

  • Draconism: Draconism is the obvious choice for any Slizzar. They are one of the few people on Aloria who have either direct or near direct interactions with their own creator, and a very clear blueprint for their existence. It is important to note however, that even if Nox imparted a resentment towards the other Dragons for "doing creation wrong", he did impart respect and worship of their other qualities, onto the Slizzar. The Slizzar are not pure Nox worshipers who ignore all other Dragons, they understand the nuance that each of these Dragons also has great other qualities and things worthy of worship, but that they can make shortsighted decisions about the future that they cannot see. As such, Slizzar should always be worshiping all Dragons, though pay exceptional service to Nox.
  • Others: Because of the strong interwoven role of Draconism in their creation and being, it is very rare to find Slizzar who are not Draconism worshipers. While it is possible to run into a Slizzar who is worshiper of Unionism, Estelley, Evolism, Khama, or Fornoss, this is usually only because they grew up outside of Slizzar society and simply never learned about their true identity, or became Marya Darkstar Slizzar and were seduced by the Void Gods of Evolism or the Vola of Fornoss. It is exceptionally strange for a Slizzar to be Khama worshipper, as they might have helped liquidate the Dewamenet Empire.

Culture

Nox's Banishment

Nox's Banishment is a major pivotal point and origin-story relation for many Slizzar, but at the same time it is an unsolvable conflict. The Slizzar are aware that if the Dragons notice them trying to free Nox in any way, that Regulus's Dictat may become more violent and unpleasant for them, just like the Dragons turned on the Sariyd. Nox's banishment was part of his plan, so many Slizzar opt for the opinion that he does not want to be saved, and that whatever he did to be trapped in the ether but still be able to interact with the world indirectly through mirrors, is actually a preferred state of being. Other Dragons, who are still physical, can only project their presence or awareness in a singular form, and can only ever physically be in one place at once. Nox however, despite being limited to speech and influence on the mind when looked at, can interact with the whole world, because mirrors exist in every house, every pond, every lake, and every shiny object. As such, even if they would like Nox to return to give them guidance, the Slizzar accept that his banishment was actually just an upgrade to his ability to affect the world to his own designs, and make peace with this reality. Their primary objective is to support him in what he does and continue their own work to ensure balance between all Factions and peoples in the world, and prevent the next Void Invasion.

Families and Romance

Slizzar don't do Gender. The supposition of gender experience, expression, or identity is entirely nonexistent, and rules to do with romance are equally nonexistent, as the social constructs relating to these norms were never developed in Slizzar society. It is however possible that a Slizzar learns a gender identity from the heritage or culture they were raised as, which can cause a modicum of gender dysphoria as they actualize their Slizzar identity. This is usually what causes some Delayed Slizzar to reject Slizzar society and abandon their Slizzar heritage, being unable to console their old identity with the idea that their identity was merely a temporary fake, and that they are genderless and sexless. Equally, just because there are no gender norms, does not mean a Slizzar cannot prefer monogamy due to learned behavior from their childhood. To some effect, how a Slizzar is raised can affect their future opinions on things. Slizzar in Sarakand are raised with the intent to serve Nox's will as creator and God in all. Surya and Marya act like surrogate parents that teach and raise children, though biological parents can also have a role in shaping the personality of the child. Children born outside of Sarakand can still be brought there to be taught, but may sometimes need to be instructed in other societies. In such cases, how they grow up, and whether they know at all about Nox and their purpose, depends on who trains and raises them. A Slizzar who is entirely existing outside of their heritage society, is called a Lonestar Slizzar. Lonestar Slizzar are not strictly reviled by other Slizzar, and can in theory be re-connected with their destiny, but can be considered loose cannons and unpredictable because they are not bound by the golden rules that all other Slizzar obey in balance and duty.

Clothing

Slizzar derive much in the way of influence from Elven and Ithanian Ailor clothing styles, those two including the most flowing and comfortable robes that can sit fluidly between different shapes that the Slizzar like to take. Just like there is some telling similarity between the Slizzar and Suvial scripts, so too is there a little similarity between preferred way of dress, with the Slizzar having a love of richly decorated, colorful, and layered fabrics that serve as a sort of statement of identity to the wearer. Outside of that, much of Slizzar fashion is in a way utilitarian between the many shifts that their time is inevitably spanned between, though there are some Slizzar who like to play a game of call-signs with one another in terms of clothing patterns both so subtle and just repetitive enough to flag what they are to other Slizzar who are playing the game of politics with them in the same place at the same time. Very, very rarely, will a Slizzar occasionally cheekily engage in historical reconstructionism by donning the costume of a dead or destroyed civilization just to remember the good old days when they meddled in it, with this usually being reserved for the company of other Slizzar at house-parties. That said, Slizzar might full well be the only people in the world whose tailors could tell you exactly what the Meraic, Sarnan, and sunken Sundered Principalities dressed like, and make all their clothes with the same pair of hands.

Art

Much like with clothing, the Slizzar have a cornucopia of different artistic styles collected from all around the world, but they also have their own. Slizzar are absolutely masterful workers of blown liquid glass, creating mosaics that lack the tiles, pieces of smooth and continuous glasswork that seem to bleed perfectly from color to color with an almost psychedelic effect. They tend to arrange these as a sort of individual viewing experience with a large series of mirrors that contrast the position of the viewer in relation to the piece, sometimes placing them outside it, sometimes visually within it. The Slizzar like to see their artwork as an interpretive experience, with the interpretation changing drastically depending on the arrangement of the mirrors, the time of day, and how many people are in the room. While these pieces were in the past hard to bring out of Sarakand because they implied the one who owned them to be a Slizzar, the looting of Ailor nobles from various Slizzar estates in the Chrysant War has meant that nowadays it is possible to enjoy these works without suspicion. That it was the greed of wartime enemies that made this possible, is a fact that the Slizzar enjoy very, very much.

Cuisine

The Slizzar have a complex cuisine that combines local Hadarian fish and wild plants with some of the jungle fruit that is common on the outlying islands like hearty plantains, only, they are sometimes frustrated that they have to change up their recipes all of the time when geopolitical conditions change or they must seal Sarakand to skip forward in time. However, generally speaking, the Slizzar have a refined native palate with a lot of fresh seafood and complicated plating usually assisted by Leytech automata. Since Sarakand has not closed off for a while now, though, Slizzar cuisine has been largely stable. Older Slizzar or those who have found a way to persist through the ages, however, stereotypically lament the loss of a particular blue plant from the Meraic era called Qalejara by the Maraya that gave a tang to fish soup that no modern plant can quite match. There are hundreds of attempted alchemical substitutes in the modern day to Qalejara flowers, some Meraic, some Slizzar, and some Allar who are just trying to help when asked to, but nothing is as good as the real thing, which the Maraya and Slizzar (despite the presence of some resentment) sometimes help each other try to recreate.

Recommended Playstyle

This section will be provided by another Lore Staff member at a later date.

Trivia

  • Accusations of snakehood, are merely societal bias against the animal known as a snake, and the fact that Slizzar have tails and slitted eyes. There are no real other comparisons.
  • Somehow, at the center of all calamity or glory, there is always at least one Slizzar hidden. At least, that is what everyone thinks, and the Slizzar prefer it that way.
  • Nox actually despises the idea that Slizzar have free will, but had to accept this reality to make them function without him. For now, it is an unspoken discomfort.
Peoples of Aloria
Central Peoples
• Ailor • Narim • Solvaan •
Northern Peoples
• Dwarves • Isldar • Sihndar • Urlan •
Eastern Peoples
• Skyborn • Sihai • Dragonkin •
Southern Peoples
• Allar • Bralona • Maraya • Slizzar •
Western Peoples
• Asha • Eronidas • Fin'ullen • Kathar • Lanlath • Maquixtl • Suvial • Yanar •
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Last EditorMonMarty on 10/14/2024.
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