Slaan
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Revision as of 15:08, 26 May 2007
The Slaan:
The slaan are one of the most ancient, and oft-times one of the most enigmatic, of the peoples who inhabit our world. They strongly resemble tall humanoid frogs or toads, with slick amphibian's skin through which they draw oxygen underwater, allowing them to breathe both in and out of it, and large, sensitive eyes which see equally well in dark ocean depths and unlit caves. Most of their race are primitive and savage, displaying little desire for the fruits of civilized life; yet many ancient accounts indicate that the slaan once had a tremendously advanced culture that dominated the earth in the old days before the Altrian and Istax Empires. What happened to this civilization is a mystery, though perhaps a clue lies in the terrible hatred which slaan and elves (particularly the quessae, who share their preferred underwater habitat) bear one another to this day; it seems that some awful ancient wrong poisons the relations between the races even now, though no elf nor slaan can tell you why they feel as they do.
The origins of the slaan are said to be mingled with those of the slaad, a race of beings inhabiting the chaos plane of the Exoma, who strongly resemble the slaan in physical shape. This is borne up by the fact that all slaan appear to enjoy the favour of chaotic forces, and also in that every one of them displays tremendous reserves of spiritual energy all out of proportion to their admittedly strong mental faculties, a trait consistent with a heritage amidst primal chaos. Another similar point is the fact that slaan display a definite vulnerability to weapons of crystal, that substance being symbolic of order. How the slaan came to dwell upon this plane if these suppositions are true remains unexplained, and likely will for a long time to come.
Most modern slaan are content in a savage state, living in jungles and tropical oceans, sometimes even within what may be the ruins of their own ancient cities, defending themselves with primitive weapons and shamanic magic backed up by their impressive reserves of mana. They display all the signs of a dying race, with the remainder of their span perhaps measured in a handful of generations; yet still the occasional brave individual comes to go forth from her tribe, learn of the world, conquer foes, and perhaps even have a chance at forging some sort of new future for her nigh-lost people.
Slaan speak the Ularu language, which it is rumoured the ancient pisceans learned from them, and pass down knowledge of the Nilasnai tongue, further confirming their origins in the Exoma. They have more enemies than allies, bearing both the hatred of the elves and the enmity of those races oriented toward the forces of order, such as the invae and duergar. Their lifespans stretch to nearly five hundred years, though little good this appears to do them in prolonging the longevity of their shrinking race.
