Inspired by stories like Summoning America and GATE, this is an original work that takes place in a completly original world with a unique and fleshed out hard magic system.
On June 5th 2053, Second Lieutenant Daniel Ramirez is enjoying his day in N...
While the river banks in the Upper and Lower Regions are fertile, the Delta Region boasts far better farmland. It is perhaps the best in all of Kraffnia. There are small settlements spread sporadically throughout the rest of the desert, but most serpentfolk live in these three regions
Map of the Sandorian Desert
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Civilization
The Serpentfolk are ruled by a Pharaoh who is as much a cultural leader as a political leader. They don't have major slave institutions because most bipedals are unable to work effectively in the desert. They are mostly isolated within the Sandorian Desert and regard outsiders with suspicion and mistrust. The Rontak Empire played a large role in shaping that outlook.
Among their various attempts at conquest over the years, the Rontak Empire once tried to dam the Krass'Ebri River, causing droughts and famine. The Serpentfolk were eventually able to destroy the dam, but the effects were still devastating. Afterwards, they built a large reservoir in the Lower Region to guard against such attacks in the future.
The Serpentfolk worship basilisks as gods and build great monuments in their honor. According to ancient myth, the great Basilisk god Mukhwana cut a swath through the Behmek mountains, and carved the original Krass'Ebri riverbed. If word ever reaches them that a basilisk has been slain, they will slither out and destroy whoever was responsible. They still pay respect to their local deities though.
Magic
Serpentfolk have a stronger than average affinity for magic. Their advanced mana pools have a bias towards elemental mana. The Sandorian Desert is surprisingly rich in all four elemental mana types. The abundant archwood trees along the Krass'Ebri River make magic wands and staffs a more common sight than in other magic using kingdoms. There are also significant deposits of magic ore in the desert.
Magic is used extensively throughout their society, but their magic technology is not particularly advanced. They mostly use casting magic and have otherwise limited magical development. Magic is used for construction, food production, mining, and warfare.
Warfare
Long serpentfolk bodies do not lend themselves well to bipedal military formations. Instead, they leverage their snake-like bodies to their advantage in combat. Their formations are usually thin but very wide. They rely on encircling their enemy and attacking from all sides, like a python constricting its prey.
They are capable of raising their torso several meters off the ground to tower over their opponents and attack from above. They are also able to coil their bodies like springs, lunge forward several meters with incredible speed to attack their opponent, and then quickly retreat back out of reach.
For protection, they usually wear leather, chain mail, or scale armor, since those types of armor are more flexible and do not impede their agility. In order to retain proper mobility, they don't wear armor on the underside of their bodies. However, they have been known to wear plate metal armor covering the front of their upper body, since their upper body is what's most likely to come within striking distance of the enemy.
