Zjenithi

One could spend days wandering aimless and hopeless in the desert before stumbling onto the Zjenithi, the natives of the sand-cities and rulers of the slave-city of Zjenahd. But the Zjenithi would be there nonetheless, watching from the dunes and deciding whether to attack during the day or the night, slay or subdue, enslave or release. For the Zjenithi would never just let a perfectly good body waste away in the desert.

Physiology

Zjenithi have long faces set with two sets of two eyes. Bony protrusions and spikes jut from their cheekbones, brows, elbows, head and knees. Their skin has the gritty consistency of sandpaper and is hairless, ranging in color from clay reds and dull greys to black. Zjenithi tongues are forked while their four eyes are golden yellow to brown or black in color.

Appearance

Zjenithi men and women have hands with long, thick nails which are often lacquered. Zjenithi dress is loose and thin and embroidered with cloth of gold or other finery. The Zjenithi take great pleasure in displays of wealth or power. Zjenithi fashion and armor takes on a decidedly insectile flair, made of overlapping and interlocking plates resembling chitin and web-work. Their weapons are often serrated, barbed, or hooked.

Personality

Boiled, blasted, and hardened by desert winds, stinging sand, and the unforgiving rays of the sun, no race is as brutal as the Zjenithi. They live out a harsh existence and quite literally have made a home out of their own blood, sweat and spit. As such, they expect little understanding or mercy from other beings and grant little in return. Theirs is a life of harsh reality.

Habitat

The most powerful Zjenithi abode is the city of Zjenahd, which is constructed mostly from sand, mud, and the spittle which Zjenithi are able to produce from specialized glands, which acts as a strong adhesive when dry. It can be bottled, and is sold in the markets of the South. When combined with other particles, it makes for a great building material. Zjenithi also like to surround themselves with art, luxuries (like ice), and precious items. The antiquities trade among Zjenithi merchants is very lucrative.

Zjenithi are found all along the South, and in the more northern cities of Machera, Vast, Haven, Seagate, and The Hanging City.

Society

Zjenithi society is structured around a caste system as well as the prominent slave trade. To the Zjenithi, a slave is simply the lowest class possible. They see nothing wrong with owning and selling other beings the way others own and sell possessions. How a Zjenithi treats his or her own slaves varies greatly, however.

The castes of Zjenithi society are called "Tiers". Gardeners, healers, farmers and those capable of raising and restoring life in the desert are of the highest tier. Next powerful are the Merchant Lords, artists and craftsmen. Public service persons, soldiers, and government officials are of a middle tier while peasants, laborers and menial workers fill the next tier. The lowest tier are slaves, who are owned by the upper three tiers.

Zjenithi birthing is a strange process. First, during mating, the male and female secrete the strange spittle native to all Zjenithi. Eventually, the combination of the hormones and the spittle secreted are then absorbed by the female. They combine to form a Bezoar, a sort of stone in the stomach of the female, which after a period of a few weeks, she coughs up. The Bezoar is then placed in a birthing pit: a special fireplace which is kept continually hot. The stone expands until the baby Zjenithi inside matures. The Zjenithi then "hatches" much like a bird from an egg.

Relations

Zjenithi get along best with the Vayu, who share their love of beautiful things and whose birthing process is similar to theirs. Zjenithi also deal well with Humans, due to the fact that Humans get along well with just about anyone, and the Nyx since both their races are sometimes judged negatively on their strange appearance.

Motivations

Zjenithi are eager to increase their status in society as a whole as well as personal power and possessions. Any chance for a Zjenithi to gain something is reason enough for them to fight fiercely or subtly for it. A quest to prove worth to a beautiful Zjenithi mate, a heist to steal a piece of priceless art, a quest to learn the secrets of Ice magic, or the search for a renowned healer to tend to a prized slave are all good ideas.

Max Caps

• Endurance 12
• Persuasion 12
• Courage 8
• Psyche 8

Powers

• Tough Cookies: Zjenithi are unaffected by desert conditions (sand, heat, lack of water).
• Spittle: The Zjenithi's saliva is naturally sticky as well as venomous in large quantities, and will harden after leaving the mouth and being exposed to air. The spittle can slow movement, induce asphyxiation, or cause impairment to the nervous system. By spending a MP, and 4 AP the Zjenithi can make a ranged attack using hand-to-hand as the weapon skill and where the Spittle's Harm is 8. If the attack is successful, the target is covered by the sticky saliva. Only upon succeeding a Thievery check (which takes no AP) equal to a DL of the Zjenithi's attack roll can it be pried off. Until it is pried off, the target suffers −1 AP for each hit of spittle they suffer. Each successful hit of the spittle also moves the defender one step down the Condition Track.
• Fire-resistant: Zjenithi take half-damage from Fire Spells and no damage from natural fire. Zjenithi cannot burn and flames will not cling to them. Explosive weapons like grenades and bombs, and weapons which do not entirely rely on flames affect Zjenithi normally. Also, since they breathe air like other beings, Zjenithi can still fall victim to smoke inhalation.
• Sticky-grip: When Zjenithi draw their weapons, they spit into their palms, which allows them to use their spittle to hold onto their weapons. This makes it very difficult to disarm them. Zjenithi receive a +2 racial bonus on defense rolls made to avoid being disarmed.