The Sorok (Sore-Ok)

The Sorok was an ancient empire that spanned large swaths of Velaria and held great pyramids full of wealth. Lizardfolk made up the empire, coming in a variety of shapes and sizes, and living in the lush jungles of a more primordial world. Although long since destroyed, the Empire still casts a shadow over the continent of Velaria. Their ancient sacrificial sites are constantly being discovered and their evil secrets and technologies being spread. The foremost of these old traditions that has made its way into the modern age is the plant War'Raku. This is a plant that grew during the rule of the Sorok Empire. It appeared like a large fern plant, with a rich green colour on top but a scarlet red colour on the bottom of the fern. This contrast was caused by the blood magics and rituals that were consistently undertaken throughout the empire, and the War'Raku grew and adapted, gaining some of the magical power. The deep red colouring on the bottom of the fern had a powdery texture, that when scraped off and stored, could be used again as a sort of dry paint. Also, when applied to the Lizardfolk's scales, they were whipped into a rage-fuelled frenzy, gaining extreme strength and speed, but losing all control and self-awareness. This served the Lizardfolk just fine, finding a use for this 'war paint' immediately in the conflicts with the Illithid Empire. When a battle looked lost, a Sorok warrior would utter a guttural prayer to their furious God and coat themselves in their sacred plants dust. They found they could suddenly turn the tide, blocking any psionic powers the Illithids were using with pure rage, and ignoring all of their wounds. This process would normally end in that same warrior's death however, due to the fact that if there were no enemies remaining, the warrior would start attacking their comrades, forcing them to cut him/her down or die trying. This plant was discovered by the Vastryan Orc Deadrage Tribe at 441AU, in a lost, underground and preserved sanctuary of ancient plants. As soon as this war-like tribe discovered the properties of the plant and what it could do, they immediately began cherishing it and its power, revering the plant and the Sorok people that brought it to life. Now, they use the plant and its red dust frequently, becoming addicted to the battle frenzy and revelling in the slaughter it brings.

Structure

The Sorok Empire was run by a singular leader, named the Emperor. Anything the Emperor said or did became law, none could deny the Emperor other than the Gila Priests. These were the religious leaders of the Empire, being the connection between the people and their tyrannical God. These priests would call for sacrifices of any kind, and perform them themselves. They were the only people who could challenge the Sorok Emperor, and only if they said it would go against Tenoch. Besides that, there were two main classes within the Empire. The Gekkota were the upper class, or nobles, which consisted of government and military leaders, high level priests, and lords of various land. The lower class, the Bachia, were the commoners and slaves that made up the rest of the bulk of the Sorok. This structure was followed extremely strictly, and due to the reduced variation in Lizardfolk reproduction, the two classes were kept entirely separate and distinct for the duration of the Sorok rule. If a Lizardfolk were born a Bachia, they knew it was their place to serve any of the Gekkota. And the same Gekkota knew they were the leaders of the Empire, and had to oversee it, using as many slaves as they wished. If a Lizardfolk ever disobeyed a higher up, the sentence would be anonymous death. This was the worst punishment for the Sorok, dying in shame without Tenoch witn4essing the glorious blood-spill, so was very good incentive for keeping all of the Bachia slaves in check for centuries. Although there were many slaves within the empire, none of the Sorok was born a slave. Instead, if a Bachia were to find themselves without land or struggling to survive, they could give their freedom away to a Gekkota and be saved. Also, lesser crimes such as stealing and failure to pay proper tribute would result in a Bachia becoming a slave. Anything more severe, would be death.

Military

At any one time, the Sorok actually had a relatively small standing army that was made up only of the elite soldiers, blessed with supernatural prowess and proficient with the War'Raku plant. However, every single member of the Empire was trained to fight since they were born, with the exception of the Priest Basks. Whenever a situation arose where a larger army was needed, to defeat an oppressive force or because Tenoch demanded it, the Sorok farmers, traders, builders, etc, would join the army and operate as well-trained and ruthless warriors. This made fighting the Sorok very difficult for the Illithid Empire, because it was so hard to gauge their strength, the Sorok would often swarm and overwhelm groups of the Illitthids with Lizardfolk that had been caring for new-borns the day before. The main weapons used by the Sorok were spears and shields, with the elite soldiers also carrying blowguns to use on stealthier missions. Leather clothing and minimalistic armour was worn, revealing most of their scaly skin for warfare, because the Lizardfolk scales were tough but also because the Sorok welcomed being wounded and spilling blood, not caring if they died.

Technological Level

Although primal in nature and technology, using basic wood/stone weapons and tools and constructing with basic materials, the Sorok had proficiency with developing powerful and dangerous artifacts, imbued with unknown magic. The Sorok were aware of the existence of magic and how common it was in the world, but didn't have the preciseness that the later Common race Wizards would uncover, so would attempt to use magic through powerful devices that could perform extraordinary things. A trial and error method was used by the Grekkota scientists of the Sorok, using Bachia slaves to test with, the scientists would put together various minerals and ores in different shapes and sizes, then imbue it with pure, primordial magic and witness the effects. Thousands of Bachia slaves lost their lives being evaporated, or liquified by Sorok artifacts that couldn't hold power, but after years of experimentation, the Sorok got a relative grasp on the methods to restrict the chaos magic. Throughout the Sorok rule, many artifacts were created for various uses. These artifacts resembled two mirroring, floating pyramids stacked in a way to represent a diamond, covered in religious runes by the Grekkota scientists. Different runes were used for different purposes, usually destruction or creation for the Sorok. The most notable artifacts created was one that was imbued with nature magic, and the Sorok used in places of recent battles to revive the jungle and cause mass growth of the wildlife there. This was dangerous for the Sorok to keep around because they couldn't control the amount of the flow coming from the artifact, so used it sparingly. The main use the Sorok found for this technology, was sending these floating diamond-pyramids into a mass of enemies, then unleashing the stored chaotic energy to instantly evaporate anyone close to it. The artifacts became a very lethal weapon in the war against the Illithid Empire, and could counter the Illithids destructive Psionic powers. Another is a slightly more infamous device known as the Xiloxoch. This was the first prototype of a new type of artifact that was supposed to be multipurpose, and could utilise chaos magic itself to either create or destroy, and it would last. However, the experimental technology failed, and caused a catastrophic explosion, instantly annihilating most of the Sorok Empire and ending the creation of Sorok artifacts forever. This event caused The Scar .

Mythology & Lore

Tenoch, sometimes referred to as 'The Tyrant' is a God that is believed to have perished alongside his followers and now only lives on through his children, each having taken up a separate part of what made up Tenoch. Bane, his son, is the God of Tyranny, and Silvanus, his daughter, is the Goddess of wild nature. Tenoch would always appear as a gargantuan reptilian monster capable of devastating destruction, a form that the Lizardfolk of the Sorok both feared and worshiped vehemently. He was a God that demanded sacrifices to be appeased, resulting in the construction of many great pyramids topped with a slab of stone covered in markings of old blood from countless sacrifices. High up in the sky, the sacrificial alter would be sheathed in blood and call forth the spirit of Tenoch, appearing and enveloping the entire sky. After such a ritual, the sky would rain blood, bringing good fortune to the Lizardfolk, as it healed them of any ailments and bolstered them for the future. However, if the Sorok began to stray and did not worship Tenoch properly, divine power was brought down to smite the disloyal Lizardfolk, who would in turn be eaten by their allies for nourishment. The Sorok lived a life believing that at any moment, their world could end violently because of Tenoch, and they were postponing this by feeding the God with their blood.

Tenets of Faith

Faith - There is one true God, and we must prove ourselves worthy of his favour.
Sacrifice - There is no greater privilege than to feed the Tyrant with your own blood, through sacrifice you will live on through the scattering of blood.
Power - All of Velaria belongs to the Sorok and anything that stands in the way of that should be killed.
Blood - Blood is the holy liquid, holding the Sorok's souls inside it. To shed blood is to bless the earth, and to touch the War'Raku is to be blessed by the earth.

Ethics

There were only two ethical rules within this empire, to always serve those born above you, and to shed blood happily. If a Lizardfolk were to tell a Brachia to do something, they are obligated to do it no matter what. They cannot refuse an order from a Bask higher than them. And a Sorok citizen must always be ready to shed blood for Tenoch. Any Sorok would be delighted to join a battlefield, flinging themselves into the enemies, or volunteering for a sacrifice. These things were ethical for the Sorok to do, they were serving their people and doing as they were raised to do.

Priesthood

Only the Grekkota can ascend to become priests. The Sorok Empire was also divided into Basks, and members of the fattest Basks were capable of becoming Priests. Within the culture, priesthood was exclusive to Grekkotas hailing from Basks of wealthy and obese Lizardfolk, to Bachia's it is not even an option. The process of Priesthood revolves around the sacrificial nature of the religion. Performing a successful sacrifice and gaining a boon from Tenoch himself would boost a Priest through the ranks, gaining them power and fame. Otherwise, smaller sacrifices and constant faith would distinguish the Priests from the rest of the Sorok Empire, constantly looking for ways to serve Tenoch and delay the death of the Empire.