Raka

The Scaled

Raka are the mythical, legendary creators of the first mortal civilizations. They lived during the Third Era, on the Second Plane, in the deep jungles and tropical oases of that world. Very little is known of them, as they disappeared at the twilight of that era. What is known now comes from the Six of Scales, the six High Gods that were originally mortal Raka, as well as from ancient scaled beasts, such as Naga, which originated from that plane but survived its destruction, appearing in the Third and now the Ninth Plane as well. They are not a species of Men, nor are they remotely genetically related, and thus would never be able to interbreed the way Orcs, Brethren, Elves, Dwarves, and Goblins can.

Raka, or Scalefolk, is actually an umbrella term for several races of scaled men, which lived together within their own societies. They were reptilian, cold-blooded, and bipedal, possessing four-fingered hands and digitigrade feet. While some of the races were taller than any man today, others were diminutive, like Goblins. They were highly communal, cooperative, and driven as a rule. Charity was not so much a virtue for the Raka as it was an expectation, for the welfare of the community always superceded the welfare of the individual. Nothing is known of their life cycle, though it is known that they hatched from eggs rather than live birth.

The Raka vanished from their plane suddenly at the end of the Third Era, as Oh's forces encroached on them. The High Gods, as far as they've spoken on it, have no idea of their whereabouts, and many scholars think it likely that the Raka found a way to escape their doomed plane. Cynics, however, believe that they may have succumbed to a great plague or something of the like.