The Feerrott

The ferocity of the lizardmen of the Feerrott is legendary, yet it seems there is another side to the stories told of them by outsiders. This is a collection of short stories written by lizardmen and translated from the Rallosian.

“Tales of the Alliz Ew,” translated by Pearl Honeywine — Being a collection of short stories by anonymous lizardmen of both the Alliz Evol Ew and the Alliz Tae Ew of the Feerrott. As these are translations, they can be somewhat difficult to grasp but are worth a look.

“Two Tales.” You speak of those with two minds, two hearts and I speak of the two tales. The first tale, my brethren, listen! For the ogres listened not and all that remains are our memories, longer than the tail of the Queen. Did they forget their promise? Yes, it seems that they did forget and will pay the price. The Temple of Cazic-Thule, set aside from them, yet they forgot. —

— In the long-ago did Rallos, the god of War and mighty Cazic-Thule cross hands and agree that the army of one would not defile the Temple of the other. Yet, the Rallosians forgot this and in they crossed the Temple’s threshhold to declare the Temple was theirs! —

— In the long-ago did this happen, where the Rallosians stood in the Temple and gloated over its treasures and put the blood of the Alliz Ew into the sacrificial vessels as should not have been done, no ritual or rite to purify. And yes, they later paid but in the hour of our need, we could do nothing but gnash our teeth and thrash our tails. —

— That is the first tale, the ending which I need not tell for all know how that vile army was destroyed. The second of my tales talks of the Alliz Tae Ew, those that now are found inside the Temple that remains. To the east, they are and inside the Temple itself, they are. They are strong of will and in their worship of the darkness, did participate in the rituals of darkness such that they now do not see. The weak, they will eat. So say I, and so it is.

“The Vessel.” Carved of stone, its surface is black from the years of use. Wide is the brim and it is shallow. Handles once it had that were defiled by the Rallosians, yet its purpose is not changed. In service will they offer their blood, whether willing or not. Stained it is, as are the Alliz Tae Ew, by the precious offerings made to the gods and the Queen. Shallow may be the vessel, but deep is the honor with which we use it.

The Feerrott: A place filled with lush exotic beauty. This jungle has stood its ground for ages and still thrives to this day. Through the ages the children of war and the children of fear have met and vied for control of the jungle, all the while having to fend off the great dangers of the fauna and sometimes carnivorous flora. Ruins of attempted civilizations rest all about vines and roots entwined around stone, the jungle reclaiming itself. Only the tribal lizardmen have been able to maintain a long existence with this land and it is with great respect for the dangerous jungle that they still remain.

The Drowning Causeway: Made of megalithic slabs only an ogre effort could move, this stone roadway once ran from the Sunken Coast to a ogre made isle named Greenblood Port. These days the once grand causeway reaches for an isle that the sea has swallowed. Immense stones hold fast to each other as they reach deep into the Blackwater Sea to meet an isle that no longer breathes.

Explorer's Haven: Emerging from the coast a person may find themselves being chased from the ancient ogre roadway and deeper southward. Here is where, in the dense walls of the rising foothills, a path exists leading towards a hidden vale. Here in this vale few lizardman venture and here is where explorers may find a place for retreat. But remember to post watch! There is but one way into this vale and one way out. If you get trapped in here there is nowhere to run.

Thulian Glade: Representing the god of fear this location is defined by a circle formed by ancient pillars or totems of stone. The very trees that claim most structures that attempted to defy the land here refuse to enter the clearing creating a glade fit for a campsite, but bones often found within hint that this is no place to rest, the Thulian disciples are ravenous!

The Crescent Shrine: Traveling deep along the boulder paved ogre roadways one will find this ancient shrine. Massive stones line the perimeter as a great carving of a crescent creates a focal point or altar of the shrine. Ancient records tell that these were once points of energy for ogre mages. They have been reported wherever ogre empires have stood or soon to be conquered territory. I have seen such sights even in the highlands of Karana, now known as the Thundering Steppes. There they stand defiantly, but here they appear gasping for breath as the roots of the Feerrott squeeze the life from the shrine.

Murdunk's Fall: Draining from a water source unreachable Murdunk's Fall spills into the jungle floor. Two nostrils pour forth gushing green water, the blood of the ogre hero Murdunk as the orge myths record. Murdunk was the destroyer of the Rathe Council, gods of the earthen plane. He slew them and formed the Rathe Mountains and became legend. But it was here at the foothills of the Rathe Moutains that the dead gods of earth had their revenge as Murdunk slipped from a single loosened pebble and plummeted to his death at this very spot, his blood forming the Greenblood River of the jungle.

The Pyramid of Fear: Embraced by the Greenblood River on its march to the south, there is this small isle that I warn all to avoid. Sitting on this isle is one of the ancient Thulian pyramids built an eon ago before the days of man. Go no closer to it, though it surely holds treasures of the mind as well as the coinpurse. This is sacred ground to the Thulian disciples and atop the pyramid rests a herald of the abhorrent gods, a twisted and mutated creature having a vaguely humanoid appearance that suggests a more terrestrial origin, but a mangled passage of suffering into Thulian society.