Lizardman Archer by MarkTarrisse on deviantART | Dungeons and dragons characters, Fantasy inspiration, Fantasy races [https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ec/08/0c/ec080c8bee92809af680a7d196897e96.jpg]

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In my many campaigns all across Coroleya, I first came across the Gamorons atop the mountains of what is now being called Kalswan. Cold blooded by nature, these people resemble the lizards in my home world, walk about on two legs, and speak a dialect of tongue that sounds much like chirps to the ears.

They lived in isolation far away from the rest of the world, when by accident a patrol of my men found these lizard people fishing by a lake, and attempted to slay them. Much quicker, bigger, and more agile than my warriors, the gamorons fled at the first sign of violence. And in my rage at finding out one of my men had been injured giving chase, I chose to hunt them.

They however were clever, set up decoy trails, and led us up and down the mountain till exhaustion, hunger, and disease wore down my troops. And yet I persisted. They were the enemy, and they had to die.

Eventually, we managed to track a group of lizard hunters down into a large grove of trees, where they seemed preoccupied worshipping some tree deity that was carved into the immense wooden trunk of a hearthtree. We scouted the area to make certain it was no trap, when something happened. The tree began to move, releasing droplets of white light that sparkled down to the ground.

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Frozen in place, I had gotten the sudden urge to flee, and before I could stop myself, I had commanded my troops to fall back, leaving the lizard folk and their deity alone.

I spent many days thereafter, thinking about what had occurred back then. I had not only seen something in that tree, but I had felt a presence urge me to leave. It was the first time I had come across such magic that could control the mind. A terrifying weapon, if the demon lords ever got a hold of it.

And so for months, I continued to seek the tree again, but no matter how I searched. I could never find it. All memory of that mystical place had been removed from my mind, and yet the feeling remained. I did not know what that feeling was back then, but now, after so many years, I can not help but believe that it was fear. Not for its own existence, but for the sake of it’s non-violent people.

Many years later, near the end of the Demonic Wars, I returned back to the mountains. I’m not sure what I hoped to find there, but I went alone, and unarmed. And even now I can remember the taste of air so sweet that it refreshed the soul. I remember beautiful trees that glowed with ethereal energy, and nude gamorons that moved through the glade carrying baskets of fruit.

Stunned as I followed them through the trees, I found her again, waiting for me, her caress touching my mind as I watched the lizard people offer her fruit. It was like she could see me, knew me. And in knowing me, she was saddened. That was perhaps the very first time I knew regret as she gently nudged me away. It was as though she had said that this was not for me.

In my anger at being denied, I returned with an army to burn everything away, and yet, still I hope that she survived.