Agamians

Agamians are a reptilian-humanoid race native to the isle of Broodnest. They appear almost-human, save for the scales and the tail. Many colors of skin exist in agamians, though the most common one you see is yellow. There's... a reason for that.
Because of their large population, they're the most common race in the world. Even the human capital, Cha Tesid, is swarming with them. This also makes them a solid workforce, so expect to see factories and work trucks staffed with them.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Agamians are covered in a rough, scaled skin all over their bodies. The colours of these scales are based on numerous factors, some unknown, and have been found in various shades of green, yellow and red. They also have a tail that can be as long as their arms.
They share most other traits with humans, such as facial and skeletal structure.

Genetics and Reproduction

Agamians are ovulary lizards, and can lay clutches of up to a dozen eggs at one time. The amount of children possible in an agamian mother is so staggering, that modern society has been forced to place a limit on mating, lest be faced with an overpopulation crisis. This, however, hasn't prevented agamians from becoming the most populous race in the known world.

Growth Rate & Stages

Agamian children start out as limbless tails with heads, much like a tadpole. This is the infant stage. The toddler stage sees the growth of legs, and the beginning of arms. As the child develops, the space between their arms and legs forms into a more humanoid torso shape, and their stubby arms become much more human-like in the "late teen" stage. By the time an agamian is 20 or so cycles old, they're considered adults and almost entirely resemble humans, the tail of course excluded.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Agamians, like humans, are omnivorous. They tend to lean towards vegetation for food, however animal meat isn't out of the question, particularly stecc meat.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Formerly a caste system, now an oligarchy. People are free to do as they wish, but service to the city is encouraged.

Average Intelligence

Averagely intelligent. Agamians have a mental history akin to real-world humanity, and currently residing in the "average joe" level of tech competence and science comprehension.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Agamians have a strong sense of family connection, and their names reflect this. Each agamian has two names, a given name and a brood name. Their brood name always ends with the suffix "-brood". So, an agamian is named as follows: "<firstname> <lastname>-brood".

Gender Ideals

Agamians are hermaphroditic, both being able to fertilize and provide eggs. (Biology has given them a natural defense against self-fertilization, don't worry.) To this end, no divide between males or females exist, since there are no male or female agamians. They just are.

Relationship Ideals

A relationship between two agamians is considered a celebration, since it's a relatively rare event. For every one agamian couple, you'll see ten human ones. Festivals are held every year, with couples treated as celebrities and special guests, with their children hosting and celebrating their parents.

Average Technological Level

Thanks to humans, agamians share a tech level with them. However, they weren't extremely far off without their help. Agamian science is very much a problem-solving school, unlike the wanton advancement of human science. They only ever figured things out when they needed to, such as water purification during the civil war and erg traversal afterwards. (Of course, thanks to that civil war, agamian weaponry is considered the most advanced and deadliest stuff out there.)

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Ancient agamians spoke te-ulora, which is referred to by humans as "lizard speak". Over time, this language and the human tongue combined to form the universal "modern tongue" spoken by humans and agamians alike. Many agamians still speak te-ulora, most commonly those in agamian-centric groups and settlements, but the vast majority of agamians simply speak modern.

Common Taboos

If you're in the city of Lifehook, stating disdain for a particular color of agamian is grounds for immediate execution. But out in the erg, it's a lot more common to hear an agamian trash-talk their differently-colored cousins.

History

The history of agamian society is a racially-charged one. Red, green, and yellow agamians were raised to distrust eachother. This evolved into a caste system, where greenfolk believed themselves superior, and had the resource control to "prove" it. Yellowfolk shared a hue, and were permitted to live as they were, without the privileges that greenfolk got to enjoy. And redfolk were considered garbage. To a greenfolk, a redfolk was okay to treat as property. Slaves, lab rats, target practice, you name it. Life was bad (and short) if you were born red.
When the rumblings of revolution began, some greens were paranoid and outraged. Without provokation, they sent an army of yellowfolk to torch an entire refuge in the mountains one day. This event is known as "The Long Scream", named after the horrid, torturous screams heard all the way into Lifehook proper. Redfolk population was effectively halved, and this kicked the revolution into high gear. The remaining able-bodied reds, a handful of sympathetic yellows, and even a few greens, led a charge against the administration in a bloody civil war that lasted years. The fighting was mostly kept to the mountains, so as to not pollute the great spring under Lifehook, though a few bodies did find their way into the pool. (Thankfully, purification was invented by this time, albeit as a result of the fear of blood ruining the water).
The war ended with the greenfolk administration being beheaded and a more even institution being installed in its place, using the war as a fear tactic to prevent discrimination in any form. Anyone found to be belittling someone based on the color of their scales was subject to severe punishment. While this government has been toned down some over the years, they still remain in power, and disliking someone's scale color is still considered a massive social taboo.
With reds and greens being the most targeted people of the war, the color to come out of it the most populous was yellow, who are now the most common agamian you'll see.
When the agamians discovered non-melting materials and started traversing the erg, their large travel numbers scared their first contacts, the humans. Humans believed that these odd people were traveling en masse for an invasion, and prepared for the worst. And while first contact didn't go so well, the agamians didn't want to start a new war. Not after the blood in their past. Things were tenuous, but only got better from there, and are now close allies of humankind.

Scientific Name

Reptile

Lifespan

200 - 250 years, by far the longest-lived of the major races.