SLITH SLITHS

History
The slith are amongst the oldest of the known races, yet are amongst the
last to rise to prominence. In an age when the druids were still seeking to
organize their ranks, they sent a young druid named Kharandor to a small
inlet south of what is now the city of Val Miran. His task was to survey the
land and various creatures surrounding the inlet.
 
On the beach of the inlet he found a nest containing a dozen eggs, unlike any
he had ever spotted before. Of the originator of the nest there was no trace;
the druid assumed that the being must have come from the sea, which connected
to the inlet via submerged caves. Kharandor monitored the eggs closely. After
a few days they finally hatched, but to his alarm there were only eight
hatchlings left when he returned the next morning. Whether some predator
had eaten them, they had been carried off by some unfavourable current, or
the hatchlings had fallen prey to their nestbrothers remained a mystery.
 
It would take years for the hatchlings to resemble the slith we know, but
these infantile beings were sentient, and quick. Of the first eight, six
survived to their full form. Of the first six, four were females. These four
females would lay hundreds of eggs before the end of their lifetime, leading
to massive numbers of slith inhabiting what is now known as Drktshyre wood.
 
Their presence here wreaked havoc on the ecosystem. They hunted with such
immense prowess as had never been seen before. The lesser creatures were
driven to the point of extinction when such a superior foe was so awkwardly
thrust into their midst. What made matters worse, the Slith appeared to be
extremely intelligent and in a very short time learned to fashion weapons from
crude instruments. The spear, once considered an inferior weapon, became a
tool of destruction in their agile hands.
 
As the inlet soon would no longer sustain their young in such numbers, the
druid guild advised the slith to move north, where they could have more direct
access to the sea, and could fish. So, for a time, the Slith took a home in
Val Miran. Here, the slith were not welcomingly accepted. Their beast-like
appearance, preference for raw food, and vast numbers made them a constant
nuisance to the people of Val Miran, and in time, they came to believe them
to be dark and evil, mostly due to their misunderstanding of civilized ways.
 
So, when the great purge happened within Val Miran, the Slith were not spared.
The entire city of Val Miran was besieged, and the evil factions were driven
out. The dark guilds, temples and squares where evil had once been prevalent
were burned to the ground. Perhaps mistakenly, or perhaps not, the Slith were
also driven from Val Miran. They fled north, into the forest of Elium. However,
far from water, and their primary source of food - fish, they soon grew both
unhappy and unhealthy. Both cities, north, and south, had access to water,
yet both refused them entrance. Eventually, the Slith grew desperate and tired
of their outcast status, and took over the city of Falen Dara by force, slaying
nearly all humans within, and declaring the city home to the Slith populace
of Aabahran.
 
There were many resources within Falen Dara, but they were brought about by
a commerce system and economy the slith had little understanding for. Without
trade, the Slith people experienced famine, shortly following a period of
extreme wealth. Entitlement, followed by deprivation, is almost always a
formula for violence. Food became scarce, and the city was no longer a safe
place to be. Crime arose at such a high rate and in such a short time as had
never been seen before. Then a select few rose to power who called themselves
the Crimson Cartel, because their leaders' scales had a reddish tinge. There
was not nearly enough food for all of them, so their solution was simple.
Those with red scales, like themselves, could eat. Those without the coloring
could not. A tiny tinge of red, the only uniting factor amongst those who took
power, became the only way of distinguishing the haves from the have-nots.
They reigned terror upon the city. 
 
See also: SLITH2