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Rainbow Flyer
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Excerpts from “Native Lowlanders of Sullan” taken from the Lazurek chapter. By Anerassi of Thorenald.
The Lazurek, or “Lazuhrek” depending on region, are one of the more diverse species of lowlanders in Layridin. The three known races of Lazurek appear to be native to the northern continent of Sullan, spread across their varied habitats. While all three are quite different in appearance, with River Lazurek being small and thick, Jungle Lazurek being tall and lithe, and Mountain Lazurek being very large and broad, all possess several similar features across the species. Common attributes are a complete lack of eyes, 2 pairs of hands with one where you likely expect to find a pair of hands, and the other where one would normally find their feet. They also all possess an advanced form of echolocation which they utilize to “see” as it were and perceive their surroundings. All four hands on a Lazurek have a set of pads on their palms which assist in gripping objects or surfaces, this coupled with their long hooked claws make all three races adept climbers.
All three societies also appear to share a common religion which I’ll go into more detail about elsewhere in this book. However, I will mention that a common practice among all of the Lazurek villages I visited was a ritualistic cremation of their dead. When a member of their tribe nears the end of their life, they rested upon a bed of flowers. I am told this is symbolic of their perceived after-life; that being, an endless garden where they are reunited with their loved ones, and live along side their patron deity and Nalos, their goddess of fire and nature. The smell of flowers seems to soothe the mind of those at death’s door. Once the afflicted have passed, their are ceremoniously immolated, and their ashes given to their next of kin to be tended to. While attending one of these ceremonies, I observed that, while Lazurek cannot cry, lacking eyes and therefor tear ducts, they express sorrow through a mournful howl, which is morbidly beautiful in concert with one another. This cremation practice also makes it very hard to obtain a skeleton for study. I had to seek out a Hat’kal for the skull samples used for these sketches. He refused to divulge where he obtained them though.
In addition to the obvious physical differences between the races, each one appears to possess a unique physical quality unseen in the others of the species. For instance, the River Lazurek, in addition to being adept swimmers, secrete an oil from their skin that lets them glide swiftly through the water and prevents liquids form sticking to their fur. Additionally, it can allow one to quickly slide across the ground on their belly, or even back as I observed some children enjoying sliding down a hill. Jungle Lazureks possess the peculiar trait that any hole large enough for their skull to fit through, the rest of their body can follow. I would love to get a hold of one of their skeletons to see just how this feat is possible, but alas, I remain out of luck. Mountain Lazureks have what they call a “pit organ” located along their snouts which allows them to detect heat, in addition to their echolocation. In addition to that, the have a fully prehensile tail that is almost entirely muscle as far as I can tell, the tail of a Mountain Lazurek is capable of grasping objects, holding weapons and can constrict with enough force to crush a Per’che melon! For those not familiar with a Per’che melon, they are a gourd roughly one and a half to three feet long, on average, and anywhere between one and three feet around, that’s a big melon!
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