The tale of the Lacertae

The Lacertae are a race of lizard-men aligned to Zaros. They inhabit an underground city located beneath The Graveyard of Shadows in the wilderness.

Lacertae are reptilian humanoids. Their scaly flesh is cold and feels damp to the touch. Lacking any body hair, they are sensitive to strong sunlight, as it burns their skin.
It is difficult to tell a male and female of the species apart. The most solid gender differentiation is the the frills under the jawline, with the males having them and females not.
They lay eggs as opposed to producing live young, so the females have no need for breasts.
Both sexes lack a navel as well, despite evidence suggesting they'd still be born with one.

In terms of their clothing, the Lacertae have a varied style. Most of the species have very basic clothing. Due to their anatomy (in which most reproduction means are internal), the may usually go without clothing altogether.
However, combat specialists have specific uniforms:
Fatigue Bringers will usually have armour on their shoulders and back, and covering their groin.
Noir Strikers feature a lightweight clothing that conceals most of their faces and upper body. No lower garments.
Blood Witches have armaments protecting their back, neck, arms and upper torso. The navel region is exposed and there are no lower garments.
Venom Sisters wear no upper body garments save for a covering for their face, their left shoulder and manacles. The lower portion of the garment covering the legs is most unusual, as wearing it and activating its charms replaces the legs with a serpent like tail.

Lacertae are accomplished smiths and crafters.
They are also highly skilled in ancient magics, with each magician specialising in one of the 4 types of ancient spells.
Their greatest strength is their resilience: in the right climate, a lacert can go days without continual food supplies and have an adaptation to survive in regions with thinner air pockets.
Not much is spoken of the Lacertae within most historical books when it comes to combat. Despite being adept at very unique forms of combat and having great versatility, they were considered too cautious to be strong warriors and were often branded as cowards.

Lacertae have developed special versions of each of the 4 ancient magics:
-Noir: A technique where you move like shadows to conceal yourself from foes. Unlike direct combat, it all relies on Agility and Thieving, not just Strength.
-Primality: Inside every creature lies a hidden primal rage, only unlocked when they lose total control. The witches of the blood coven in the capital cannot teach this for your use, but rather allow you to manefest it within your familiars. Knowledge of Summoning is necessary, but also the fields of Dungeoneering and Hunter are too needed.
-Fatigue: It is known that by striking the right spot on a body, you can sap its energy. The fatigue technique uses cold ingenuity to strike numbness to an area of the body. Some rangers are in the know of these techniques and so practice it well. Not just Range is important, but also Constitution and Slayer to know how to land the right shot.
-Corruption: Sometimes it takes a little more than just brute force to undermine and enemy. Taught by the Sisters of the Venom, corruption works its way through the blood of a foe like a poison and damages their reflexes and may even command them to strike themselves or their allies. Herblore and Runecrafting are required in addition to Prayer to brew this sinister batch and then match it elementally to deeply take root.

Users of the 4 magical techniques are called Noir Strikers, Blood Witches, Fatigue Bringers and Venom Sisters respectively.
Venom sisters do not use Smoke magic, instead relying on the power of corruption, however, the other 3 use their corresponding ancient magic.

Lacertae used to be very trusting, but since the God Wars, they are somewhat more suspicious of outsiders.
Their behaviour is also described as highly erratic at times, growing attachment or developing disinterest very quickly. Their relative caution to other races may play a part in this social development. If they share a common trait they express strong friendship and will usually serve their allies well, even showing intimacy if commanded. However, if they show disagreement at any stage, they will refuse to co-operate and are notably stubborn.
As to why they have such a simple "black and white" view of the world isn't clear, but it might be down to needless caution or perhaps their original domain had very few intelligent species that made their allegiances clear.
It appears they are less unsavoury than most of Zaros' supporters.

The Lacertae's city is underground, and is unsuited to the cold blooded Lacertae: an artificial environment created by their strongest mages protects them and gives them the energy they need to survive.
The city is divided into 4 sectors representing the 4 types of ancient magic.
The City has an organised guard system, though it is a small force, and it's numbers are constantly decreasing - with Shadow Magic wiped out and Ice Magic so heavily frowned upon, the whole force is made up of just Noir Strikers, Blood Witches and a small number of non-magical Lacertae.

Ancient History:
Lacertae are thought to have come to Gielinor from another world. They easily burnt in the sunlight of most areas in Gielinor, so Zaros offered them residence in shaded forests of Forinthary, and they willingly served him.
They were valued by His empire as crafters and smiths.
During their time under Zaros, they picked up the ability to use ancient magic. Whether they were taught, or whether their exposure to it made them natural users of the spells is unknown.
When their master disappeared, they retreated to the depths of ground, taking most of their vibrant capital with them. Those that didn't, being kind and emotionally attached to their allies, were decimated in the God Wars.
Over time, the city separated itself into 4 sectors - Smoke, Ice, Blood and Shadow. Each sector was inhabited by Lacertae which used a particular type of magic.
As the Godwars raged above the Lacertae's city, magic seeped through the ground, making many areas of the underground caverns polluted with radioactive-like magic. This caused a large group of Lacertae to mutate into creatures called Impurus. The Impurus swiftly cast out of the city and walls were established to keep them out. These creatures still wander the wastelands outside the city today.

Recent History:
The Lacertae, being cold blooded, relied on the heat generated by the Kings of Smoke to survive in their chilly underground habitat for hundreds of years, and, with their monopoly on something so important, the Smoke Sector rapidly grew rich and opulent while the other 3 sectors fell into ruin.
42 years ago, Suffitus VI, the then King of Smoke, died without teaching his heir the Ways of Smoke, and the technique was lost, effectively cutting off the Lacertae's vital lifeforce - heat.
What followed was a gradual descent into chaos - having lost its power, the smoke sector quickly became poor and social unrest grew amongst all Lacertae as the carvern they live in gradually became colder and colder.
In a society craving heat, those who follow the Way of Ice quickly became a target of hatred - their spells believed to be sapping the little heat remaining in the city. Members of the other sectors rioted and vandalised the ice sector, with many ice mages and royalty murdered.
One of the Princes of Shadow and captain of the City Guard, Lex Homicidae, has recently begun searching for a solution: There are rumors that on the very outskirts of the city, lava from the Wilderness' volcanoes has seeped into the cavern, and this could be used as a heat source and many a City Guard has been slaughtered by Impurus looking for the elusive lava.
Impurus have been steadily moving closer and closer to the main city over the years.

The quest series will be between 3 and 4 quests in length.

Player somehow discovers Colony of Lacertae beneath the wilderness
Upon arrival, the player is asked to assist in the establishment of a small outpost in the God Wastes
The player discovers a Lacertae that can utilise smoke magic
A lone Impurus infiltrates the city, seemingly targeting the smoke Lacertae

After two more Impurus penetrate the city, so the player joins an expedition into the wastelands to spy on them, and discovers that something has elevated their intelligence
An alliance is formed with the Bandits who agree to help defend against the threat of the Impurus in exchange for using the city as a base

The player contacts the Senntisten Temple, who's workers agree to supply a machine that can provide power for the city
A cataclysmic event increases the size of the God Wastes
The cause of the Impurus' higher intelligence is discovered and dealt with
More smoke users are found, and together they provide heat for the Lacertae

Lex Homicidae: The Prince of Shadows (and thus heir to rule the Shadow Sector), and leader of the City Guard. It is Lex who will teach you the Noir techniques.




Pozi: Leader of the Venom Sisters, she is the one who discovers that the God Wastes are increasing in sice

An Unnamed Lacert: This unnamed female is a central plotline, as she and she lone can use Smoke Magic at the beginning of the quest series.

"Centuries ago, our kind was prosperous. Basking within the sunlight of the lush and verdant Forinthary, our kind thrived working for him, forging his weapons and tools and enjoying the protection he provided us. But now, we live beneath the ground, our cold-blooded countenance being the death of us in these frigid depths, that is, if the sly things above don't kill us first." - An unnamed Lacertae, speaking of their history.

"They captured the last sunlight they saw and vanished from sight, the rumbling of the ground prevalent from where they once stood." - From a document on the Lacertae, early Third Age.

"The scum of ice, meddling with their spells, shall be the ruin of us"
-Lex Homicidae

Occasionally, a fight will break out between City Guards positioned on the walls of the city, and Impurus who stray to close to the city.
The chaos tunnels seen today are believed to be some of the vestiges of their capital
Lacertae is the plural name for this species, an individual member is a Lacert.
The likes of Sliske are notable experts of the Noir technique, giving them the titles of Shadow delvers.
The Arzonusii also know how to use Primality. but rarely use it, for familiars under its influence are too easily unruly.
The Lacertae were allies with the Arzonusii whilst under Zaros' dominion, but the werewolves then decided it was best to remove themselves from divine allegiances (as did the Dorgeshuun) and ally themselves with Raizahka at a certain stage. After that, the Lacertae refused to be their allies any longer.
Excavation attempts have unsucesfully tried to find the Lacertae's city, but instead unearthed areas such as the Forinthry dungeon and the chaos tunnels all across the Wilderness.
Impurus are cannibals