Riddle's Keeper lore drop 3
The Nilemen of Sothis
Umr At-Tawil once mused of having the Nilemen as an ally against Arlys. Umr found them impossible to convince, leading the Warriors of One-Thousand to be (mostly) humans. Their collective adamancy and possible indifference stems from somewhere one might not expect...
Living in the desert region of Sothis, the Nilemen are a race of bipeds who take pride in what they've built despite the harsh conditions. They appear as if they are crocodiles who decided to stand on two legs, resulting in a hunched appearance. Much like their human counterparts, they drape themselves in flowing cotton clothing, though its more out of symbolism (and decency) than any practical reason. Even without standing at their full height, Nilemen tower over humans and can stare an Arlysian Cauldron-Born in the eye. While they make particularly fierce warriors, it takes an oddly-specific event to see a Nileman roused: a direct threat to their cat (or cats) will throw a Nileman into an unstoppable rampage until the threat is destroyed.
…Cats?
Oh yes...Nilemen love their cats. A Nileman settlement is infested with lazy, sun-bathing kitties, and the Nilemen love every single one. They love cats so much, their culture has evolved to center around the furry things; Nilemen believe when a cat and a Nileman are in the same room, it is the cat who is in charge! The idea of being chosen by a weeks-old kitten is not only heartwarming to a Nileman, but a privilege and an honor. A Nileman, chosen or not, would give their life in defense of a cat, begging the question if this is not just a one-sided example of symbiosis...though cats are handy in guarding Nileman eggs from predators.
All this love of cats has to stem from somewhere, and that somewhere is Bastet. A being neither god nor Old One, Bastet is mother to all cats, and has walked Jasconius for time immemorial. While her true form is a slender black cat, she is able to shapeshift, often taking the form of a human woman with three sets of breasts. An aloof and indifferent creature who probably only settled in Sothis because it was warm, Bastet is still an object of worship by the Nilemen and a number of Sothan humans, and for a good reason: Bastet and all of her children are anathema to the Old Ones and all those who serve them.
Bastet is aware of the plight that humanity faces with the Arlysians; she doesn't care. The Arlysians do not seem to target animals, and thus do not provoke the Nilemen. She has far more reason to hate humans, who have done more to hurt her children than any Arlysian. That said, she would never join forces with Arlys herself...Bastet might find humans at fault, but punishing them sounds like far too much work. Let someone else handle that, it's been barely ten minutes since her last nap and she's tired.
Umr At-Tawil once mused of having the Nilemen as an ally against Arlys. Umr found them impossible to convince, leading the Warriors of One-Thousand to be (mostly) humans. Their collective adamancy and possible indifference stems from somewhere one might not expect...
Living in the desert region of Sothis, the Nilemen are a race of bipeds who take pride in what they've built despite the harsh conditions. They appear as if they are crocodiles who decided to stand on two legs, resulting in a hunched appearance. Much like their human counterparts, they drape themselves in flowing cotton clothing, though its more out of symbolism (and decency) than any practical reason. Even without standing at their full height, Nilemen tower over humans and can stare an Arlysian Cauldron-Born in the eye. While they make particularly fierce warriors, it takes an oddly-specific event to see a Nileman roused: a direct threat to their cat (or cats) will throw a Nileman into an unstoppable rampage until the threat is destroyed.
…Cats?
Oh yes...Nilemen love their cats. A Nileman settlement is infested with lazy, sun-bathing kitties, and the Nilemen love every single one. They love cats so much, their culture has evolved to center around the furry things; Nilemen believe when a cat and a Nileman are in the same room, it is the cat who is in charge! The idea of being chosen by a weeks-old kitten is not only heartwarming to a Nileman, but a privilege and an honor. A Nileman, chosen or not, would give their life in defense of a cat, begging the question if this is not just a one-sided example of symbiosis...though cats are handy in guarding Nileman eggs from predators.
All this love of cats has to stem from somewhere, and that somewhere is Bastet. A being neither god nor Old One, Bastet is mother to all cats, and has walked Jasconius for time immemorial. While her true form is a slender black cat, she is able to shapeshift, often taking the form of a human woman with three sets of breasts. An aloof and indifferent creature who probably only settled in Sothis because it was warm, Bastet is still an object of worship by the Nilemen and a number of Sothan humans, and for a good reason: Bastet and all of her children are anathema to the Old Ones and all those who serve them.
Bastet is aware of the plight that humanity faces with the Arlysians; she doesn't care. The Arlysians do not seem to target animals, and thus do not provoke the Nilemen. She has far more reason to hate humans, who have done more to hurt her children than any Arlysian. That said, she would never join forces with Arlys herself...Bastet might find humans at fault, but punishing them sounds like far too much work. Let someone else handle that, it's been barely ten minutes since her last nap and she's tired.
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