Race idea: Re'kieesh

Species: Re'kieesh
Height ranges: 5'1 to 6'2. 3 inches to 7 inches.
Diet: Omnivorous, fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry and Tinies.

Appearance: Re'kieesh are a reptilian race that have a combination of skin and scales covering their bodies, their scales cover their backs, their lower legs, forearms, hands, the sides of their face just under their ears, and the area of their head where hair normally would be on a Human. Their tongues are forked much like a snake's tongue would be. The pupils on their eyes are of oddly of crescent shape that resembles common depictions of what the moon would look like, because of this trait most races refer to them as moon eyes. Regardless of gender the only hair on their bodies would happen to be on the eye brows and pubic hair. Their faces are Human in appearance, being covered in skin not scales, oddly though, the Re'kieesh do wear clothing, often preferring hooded cloaks and robes.

Re'kieesh Magic: The Re'kieesh use black magic, most notably curses and illusions. Re'kieesh illusions are typically used as a means to throw off Predators and make them more difficult to stalk, though not the most powerful illusion magic, a predator would have to pay attention if trying to stalk one, as it's not uncommon for a Giantess to grab and swallow things like rocks due to an simple illusion. Re'kieesh use curses as their primary means of offensive Magic, though the Curses the Re'kieesh create are typically of a seemingly harmless nature, such as the curse of the unending itch or the curse of the constant sneezing, they are quite effective. Re'kieesh curses are all temporarily, lasting typically three months and they are impossible to dispel. The danger in Re'kieesh curses isn't their direct effect but rather the situation and combination which increase the likelihood of injury or death. For example, casting the curse of molting with the curse of watery eyes to make a Giant harpy giving chase crash into a tree. The most notable bit of Re'kieesh Magic is a certain spell the Re'kieesh all know which, though highly unreliable, has on rare occasion, saved a Re'kieesh from ending up in a stomach.

The spell of species borrow is a transformation spell which is extremely difficult to cast with a short window in which the effect lasts. The spell allows a Re'kieesh transform into a member of a target species, becoming the same size as the target and a member of that species for 15 seconds. To cast the spell the Re'kieeh would have to touch the nose of a member of the intended species for at least 10 seconds well casting the spell, meaning in order to transform into a Giant naga a Re'kieesh would have to touch the nose of a Giant naga for 10 seconds. But right after the effect ends they transform back into a Re'kieesh. Most Re'kieesh who ever managed to cast the spell successfully will likely never cast it successfully a second time.

Re'kieesh response to being eaten: Unlike most preyed upon races in Felarya the Re'kieesh do not fear being digested but rather the death that comes with it. The Re'kieesh do have quite a vengeful nature in this regard once inside the stomach of a giant predator the Re'kieesh will cast any curse it can on it's predator to make it suffer as much as possible. The only requirement to cast a spell in such a situation is merely having enough time to study the entire face of their predator noting every detail. Because of this long after their prey has been digested they will still feel the furry of their prey's vengeance for a long while. The Typical reaction to predators having eaten Re'kieesh is they will either avoid the Re'kieesh as a snack since it's more trouble then it's worth or they use more stealthy rapid hunting tactics to avoid the Re'kieesh in studying their face.

Re'kieesh temperament: Though being literally cold blooded the Re'kieesh are actually a warm and very friendly race to others their size.They are quite social and having a deep empathy for other sentient races their size the Re'kieesh are often known to befriend various races such as Humans and Nekos. Though merciful and protective of races their own size a human sized Re'kieesh isn't above catching and swallowing a tomthumb or Neera as a snack the exception being the tiny version of Re'kieesh.

Cold blooded: The Re'kieesh are unable to generate body heat on their own as such the Re'kieesh will often have a fire place burning even during a hot summer day. Their robes and clothing tend to be covered in runes since it's Common for a Re'kieesh to enchant their clothes to generate heat for them. Being cold blooded is a very evident and obvious trait for Re'kieesh as they will often sun bath or even snuggle up against a friend of a different race that does generate body heat such as Humans and Nekos.

Re'kieesh culture: All Re'kieesh are either Witches or Warlocks. Though in many cultures both types of people are considered evil and cruel Re'kieesh Witches and Warlocks are contrary to those of other races very kind and friendly. In fact calling a Re'kieesh woman a witch is a form of compliment. Though they do wear black clothing this has nothing to do with their status as Witches or Warlocks but rather the heat absorbing trait of the color black, though some Re'kieesh do wear bright colorful robes sometimes too. Though the Re'kieesh are friendly, a few traits of their culture include their vengeful nature and their opinion on truth. The worst thing one can do when dealing with a Re'kieesh is lie, though silence or refusal to respond is acceptable regardless of reason lying is something that always provokes Re'kieesh. Another trait is the use of their hisses, Re'kieesh don't smile but rather hiss in place of it, it serves the same function as as smile in Re'kieesh culture, however they aren't unable to smile some Re'kieesh will smile and hiss to express the same feeling. A particularly odd trait of Re'kieesh culture is the act of kissing, though the Re'kieesh do kiss it's actually merely a lick on the lips or face. At four years of age Re'kieesh youth are assigned to a Warlock or Witch of the parrent's choice to undergo an apprenticeship. The apprentice witch or warlock will vist their master or mistress often in order to study practice and learn the basics of the dark arts.The apprentice will return their parrents and family after completing their lessons for the day. Since such studies seem to come naturally to the Re'kieesh they typically complete their apprenticeship at age ten, though this is merely a basic general understanding as at this point the Re'kieesh student is expected to improve on their own through practice and study. Fledgling warlocks or witches though able to perform Magic generally quite weak in it as well, a Re'kieesh Warlock or witch typically become compareable to Mages wizzards and sorccerors around age twenty after several contined years of practice and study.

Re'kieesh aquatics: The Re'kieesh are amphibians having Lungs and Gills. However swimming is something Re'kieesh prefer not to do if unnecessary, though very fast in the water Re'kieesh completely lose all elements of stealth to aquatic predators when their body falls below a certain core temperature while in the water, when this happens they involuntarily commit all their Magic to heat their bodies internally which results in their distinct and noticeable magical aura to become more distinct and noticeable which not only alerts all potential predators in the water a Re'kieesh is in the water but also it's exact location too. It's not unheard of for a Re'kieesh to dive into a river escaping a Giantess only to be eaten by a Mermaid who was just prior forty miles down stream. Another reason Re'kieesh do not like to swim if unnecessary is because of loss of body heat in water though there are some exceptions, such as hot springs.

Tiny Re'kieesh: The much smaller size group of Re'kieesh aren't a separate race but rather the same race on a much smaller scale. Other than the key difference is size the Re'kieesh are completely identical to their larger counter parts in their proportions. Some Nekos who had eaten the tiny Re'kieesh have suffered from various curses, such as hair loss, fleas, bad smell and even of dizziness. The Human sized Re'kieesh though known to snack on various tinies won't dare gobble up their smaller cousins. On top of curses, cannibalism is a taboo in Re'kieesh culture, besides Re'kieesh, even the tiny ones, all taste terrible to other Re'kieesh.

Re'kieesh and adventuring: Both size ranges of Re'kieesh are known to host or join adventuring parties, since some predators actually avoid the Re'kieesh as prey due to negative repercussions of eating them in the past Re'kieesh witches and Warlocks are sought after for adventuring groups, though not the strongest in terms of Magic most feel it's good to always have at least one in your group.

Re'kieesh Origin: The Re'kieesh were originally one race of the same size, An event known to the Re'kieesh as the great purge was the result of one of their Gods Ver'ni "God of reptiles" was angered at the Re'kieesh not offering as large a offering to his shrine during the festival of spirits one year as the prior. He cast all the Re'kieesh into the void of eternal pain, the Re'kieesh Hell. In the Void the Re'kieesh were unable to die suffering from all manner of creatures within it who's only purpose was to torment and eat the Re'kieesh over and over again. The endless torrent of pain and horror after two thousand years would start to open occasionally releasing Re'kieesh into the World of Felarya. Since no Re'kieesh escaped being eaten over and over in the Void it's not surprising the they do not fear digestion. Since arriving and adapting to Felarya the Re'kieesh oddly quickly grew to love the lands despite the dangers. Unsure as to how or why their Hell opened them to this world many adventure across Felarya trying to learn a spiritual reason as to why, often believing perhaps a God of Felarya shown them Mercy.

As to the last bit the origin one. That's still being worked on. What you commented about is subject to change.

As to why they are sought out for adventuring parties. I won't say they "Just arrived on Felarya" But are a recent edition. I won't specify how recent. Only that they can be hired fairly cheaply. And to why it's good. They're a deterrent not garenteed protection. A Re'kieesh witch will often toss a few curses onto any predator that chases or successfully eats one of her party members. If a Monster does choose to eat all members except the Re'kieesh they will still have bothersome curses most likely.

Now before you question deterrent, The word Deterrent merely means motivation against something. Like how jail time is a deterrent against crimes etc. However just because a deterrent is in place even a good one that doesn't mean people won't do it anyway.

Course Re'kieesh can be successfully hunted. A Re'kieesh that unawarally walks into a Dryad's mouth likely wouldn't have had the chance to see the face before being swallowed. Hence a Curse free Re'kieesh snack. The trick to avoiding Re'kieesh curses is stealth. If they get a moment or two to see the face of the predator then while eating them isn't going to end well.

Well they arrived recently but not too recent. Basicly recent enough for Predators to still be having first encounters. But they have been on Felarya for new generations of Re'kieesh to be born on Fel'arya. The oldest of the Re'kieesh in Felarya are 15 years of age, course despite becoming somewhat accepted many do not trust the Re'kieesh and to a degree the other races take advantage of the Re'kieesh. The lack of distrust is mainly from the their open use and training of Black magic, though it's clearly established the Re'kieesh view Black magic as a weapon rather then some mysterious evil force that doesn't stop other people from doubting their claims.

When they did arrive they arrived in a similar manner Squirrels. Seemingly all at once, many predators of course like with the Squirrels rushed in for a feeding frenzy however the Re'kieesh were too numerous to have been stopped there, Due to this the confused an panicked Re'kieesh managed to in great numbers find their way to several Human, Neko and Human sized Elf settlements. As well as various tomthumb, Neera, and Efrii settlements for the Tiny Re'kieesh.

The arrival and feeding frenzy that resulted is also how predators first learned of the curses, the first predators to taste Re'kieesh also had the worst recorded experience of curses, every curse known to Re'kieeh civilization had plagued the unaware predators for three months. With little surprise with the three months of Hells those particular predators suffered most of the predators from the frenzy avoid the Re'kieesh thinking they're posioness or cursed. Only would further encounters confirm it's actually the latter believe that's true.

As to why the two races changed in size. well When they were released into Fel'arya roughly half the population was in the process of being digested by their tormentors while other was being tortured. The ones who were being digested at the time were shrunk by the tormentors.

As to how their illusions could be weak but do what I described simple, the dummy images would walk through solid objects such as trees and such or have details which are easy to notice if you study them such as complete lack of a face or fingers. Course in the heat of a pursuit a predator might not notice these otherwise obvious give aways.

If you take into account that they were stuck in the void for however long, they may still be at different developmental stages.

*Face palms*

I meant the oldest of the newest Generation. Aka Re'kieesh survived the Void made it to a town and started a family raising little Re'kieesh of their own.

I meant of the oldest of the Re'kieesh to be born on Felarya are 15. Course their parents are likely 2,000+ years old.

perhaps when they escaped the void they started to develop into dragons and the Re'kieesh are just juvenile forms of them

Been awhile since I been here. Might as well get to work fleshing out this race concept and cleaning up the errors I made initially writing it.