At long last, the fate of the Itocapehuans has been solved!
Deep in the Jungle of Spiders lays the Itocapehuan Ruins, a complex of temples, houses, and statues to reptiles of every variety. Constructed by the ancient Itocapehuans, a race of lizardmen, the site is likely the oldest settlement on the continent of Eden. Predating the Anjyarr Pharos, Magnia Attia, and even the ancient Azari Civil War which the 'Lunn were banished from the Glade and into the desert, it is a monument to the technological prowess of the ancient world. They had a blossoming religion, worshiping other reptiles like snakes and dragons.
However, I hear you asking, why are there no lizardfolk amongst us, if the Itocapehuans were so mighty? And to that I say, they have since gone extinct. Quite odd how one of the most prominent races of ancient Eden, which predates our time by almost 3,000 years, has vanished without a trace. But to those of you curious to how they have been wiped off the map, I tell you now: They poisoned themselves!
You see, many lizards across Eden, and many reptiles at that, share one common allergy. Coffee! When a reptile digests coffee product, whether it be beans or roast, or any of the sort after long periods of time, they become extremely and violently sick. They begin to throw up their food, regurgitating their meals. When their stomachs run out of food to vomit, they turn to blood. Spewing a hemomancer's wet dream all over the place until they eventually die to either blood loss or caffeine poisoning (most commonly the latter). But why is this related to the lizardmen of the jungle? Because they farmed coffee beans. Agricultural remnants of their floating gardens outside the city points to how they farmed the coffee beans.
Within the Jungle of Spiders are many large arachnids of many varieties. Huge scorpions brawl with their stinger-less, massive spider cousins, and the two species share the same hunting grounds. I believe that the giant spiders which inhabit the area may have also attributed to the downfall of the Itocapehuans.
So finally, with all the pieces in place, I may tell you the theory of how the Itocapehuans died.
When the Itocapehuans began to farm coffee, they likely kept it due to the positive effects it had on them, similar to the effects it has on the species that inhabit the continent now. Boosted energy, rejuvenation and the sort. They would use it over the coming months, and not realize that the pools of blood and the amassing piles of bodies was related to the coffee consumption. They would move the majority of the bodies to a large building with open-air windows and gates, the second largest in the entire complex of the city. Believing that the gods were deeply upset with them, they began to sacrifice their people to their deities. It was after some time that the giant spiders of the jungle would stumble across the odor of the building and begin feasting upon the corpses and laying their eggs so that their hatchlings may too eat upon the deceased lizardmen. Eventually, one day came where the majority of the Itocapehuans were working, but felt queasy, and began to vomit blood around their entire city. The spiders, seeing their opportunity, struck upon the reptile workers of old, and strung them up in their webs, which still stand today.
So there you have it, how the Itocapehuan race came to extinction. Through a mix of an arachnid ambush, senseless sacrifices, and over-consumption of coffee, the once-great lizardfolk have since been lost to the jungle, but let us not forget them, let their memory not be in vain! I truly believe that they would want us to remember them as pioneers of agriculture, metalworking, and the most advanced ancient civilization on the continent.
--Vyranxis Aranachra
Deep in the Jungle of Spiders lays the Itocapehuan Ruins, a complex of temples, houses, and statues to reptiles of every variety. Constructed by the ancient Itocapehuans, a race of lizardmen, the site is likely the oldest settlement on the continent of Eden. Predating the Anjyarr Pharos, Magnia Attia, and even the ancient Azari Civil War which the 'Lunn were banished from the Glade and into the desert, it is a monument to the technological prowess of the ancient world. They had a blossoming religion, worshiping other reptiles like snakes and dragons.
However, I hear you asking, why are there no lizardfolk amongst us, if the Itocapehuans were so mighty? And to that I say, they have since gone extinct. Quite odd how one of the most prominent races of ancient Eden, which predates our time by almost 3,000 years, has vanished without a trace. But to those of you curious to how they have been wiped off the map, I tell you now: They poisoned themselves!
You see, many lizards across Eden, and many reptiles at that, share one common allergy. Coffee! When a reptile digests coffee product, whether it be beans or roast, or any of the sort after long periods of time, they become extremely and violently sick. They begin to throw up their food, regurgitating their meals. When their stomachs run out of food to vomit, they turn to blood. Spewing a hemomancer's wet dream all over the place until they eventually die to either blood loss or caffeine poisoning (most commonly the latter). But why is this related to the lizardmen of the jungle? Because they farmed coffee beans. Agricultural remnants of their floating gardens outside the city points to how they farmed the coffee beans.
Within the Jungle of Spiders are many large arachnids of many varieties. Huge scorpions brawl with their stinger-less, massive spider cousins, and the two species share the same hunting grounds. I believe that the giant spiders which inhabit the area may have also attributed to the downfall of the Itocapehuans.
So finally, with all the pieces in place, I may tell you the theory of how the Itocapehuans died.
When the Itocapehuans began to farm coffee, they likely kept it due to the positive effects it had on them, similar to the effects it has on the species that inhabit the continent now. Boosted energy, rejuvenation and the sort. They would use it over the coming months, and not realize that the pools of blood and the amassing piles of bodies was related to the coffee consumption. They would move the majority of the bodies to a large building with open-air windows and gates, the second largest in the entire complex of the city. Believing that the gods were deeply upset with them, they began to sacrifice their people to their deities. It was after some time that the giant spiders of the jungle would stumble across the odor of the building and begin feasting upon the corpses and laying their eggs so that their hatchlings may too eat upon the deceased lizardmen. Eventually, one day came where the majority of the Itocapehuans were working, but felt queasy, and began to vomit blood around their entire city. The spiders, seeing their opportunity, struck upon the reptile workers of old, and strung them up in their webs, which still stand today.
So there you have it, how the Itocapehuan race came to extinction. Through a mix of an arachnid ambush, senseless sacrifices, and over-consumption of coffee, the once-great lizardfolk have since been lost to the jungle, but let us not forget them, let their memory not be in vain! I truly believe that they would want us to remember them as pioneers of agriculture, metalworking, and the most advanced ancient civilization on the continent.
--Vyranxis Aranachra