Ohtli the Unifier

Summary

The story of Ohtli is one of pride for the Lizardmen tribes of the Bragan Swamp. It was a time of their peak strength and even were a threat to the Daqin Dynasty. During his reign Ohtli managed to secure the Bragan Swamp as well as a large swath of territory in the northern Vostok Forest making the Lizardmen one of the larger nations on Gaulren. Ohtli united the tribes under his banner and kicked the soldiers of the Daqin out of their lands and secured their borders. Ohtli lived a long life by lizardmen standards and under his reign he was able to usher in an age of prosperity for the Lizardmen.
Towards the end of his life he constantly sought recognition by the Daqin Dynasty of their independence and when that failed he attempted to become a vassal of the Republic, but the Republic was embroiled in the Third Republican civil war and had no ability to spare any troops to hold the swampy lands. Ohtli tried to find a suitable heir who could rule over the fledgling empire he had built, but before he could the armies of the dead covered the swamp in their hordes and Ohtli evacuated his people into the Citadel of the Divine saving his people from destruction. Ohtli himself fought wave after wave of undead swarming their stronghold, but died at the hands of the vampire known as Lindoff the Pallid. The lizardmen continued fighting and managed to hold out until the undead were pushed back to the isle of the dead during the Justicar's crusades.
Once the threat was over the people began going back to their tribal homes after being unable to decide on someone to take the mantle Ohtli had left. The tribes began to become more and more solitary allowing the Daqin to easily take them over only a few decades after Ohtli's death. Ever since the lizardmen tribes have been under the heel of the Daqin being used as a bulwark against the raids of the Tribes of Caelum.

Historical Basis

The Lizardmen say the story is entirely correct, but many nations were under significant conflict during the time and have no record of Ohtli. Any correspondence to the Republic or the Daqin Dynasty is believed to have been destroyed by the various threats that plagued their lands during the time of the sundering and anyone who the Lizardmen say Ohtli had met with during his life died in the conflicts of the Sundering before writing anything about him that wasn't destroyed. However, many Republic history books include Ohtli due to the large amount of proof the lizardmen have of his life and accomplishments.
The Daqin use the story to prove the only time the lizardmen proved a threat to them was under the most dire circumstances where the Daqin are under threat from all directions. The Daqin continue to exploit the tribes playing them off one another to keep them divided and not a threat.

Spread

The story of Ohtli is a big one within the tribes of the Lizardmen and is one of the few major heroes they have to look up to. They spend most of their time in the Bragan swamps and few venture out to make a name for themselves. It is one of the most popular stories amongst the tribes of the Lizardmen and a few have tried to recreate the successes that Ohtli had only for the other tribes to stop them from gaining too much power.
The story is very rarely talked about outside of the Lizardmen tribes, but there are records of it within the libraries of the Republic.

Cultural Reception

Many cultures don't think too much about the Lizardmen as the Daqin do what they can to prevent them from being seen or heard. As such many other nations don't know the story and regard the Lizardmen as backwater, uncivilized tribes.

In Literature

While the Lizardmen do have plenty of books and written works only one copy for the six tribes is kept as the story is almost exclusively told verbally and is almost never read. Usually the oracle of the tribe tells it sitting around a campfire to the younger generation.