The greatest desert in Loriath is known, with good reason, as the Sea of Fire. It is a vast, endless wasteland of trackless sands and shifting dunes, where the sun beats down like the hammer of an angry god and the heat is as searing as the breath of a dragon. Few places in the known world seem as inimical to life as this barren place, and yet, a kingdom of great power flourishes here. Those who venture deep enough into the dunes will begin to see signs of this mysterious kingdom: ancient, weathered statues of men with reptilian heads towering above the sands and looming over the wastes. These silent sentinels are not just decorative; these statues serve as both boundary markers and a warning, for they mark the farthest borders of the Kingdom of Ti-Amatu, the realm of the Serpent-Men.
The Serpent-Men are just that: scaled, serpentine humanoids with the heads of snakes and scaly serpentine bodies. Males of the species sport cobra-like hoods that flare wide in moments of emotional turmoil, while females have the more slender, graceful heads of vipers. They lack legs; instead, their bodies in long, sinuous coils, and they sport an extra set of arms, each of which end in hands tipped with three clawed fingers and an opposable thumb. They are a people steeped in mystery and rumor about whom little is known; the relative isolation of their empire, combined with the natural barrier of the desert, means they have long had little interaction with the outside world. But those brave enough, resilient enough or foolish enough to brave the scorching deserts to reach them will find a sophisticated, powerful, and ancient civilization.
The Serpent-Realm exists as a strict caste system, ruled by an absolute monarchy, with the king as the final and ultimate authority. The royal lineage, the House of Amat'Yan, are revered and feared in equal measure. Their lineage is ancient beyond reckoning; Zassaliss the current monarch, is the one thousandth ruler of his bloodline to sit upon the Hooded Throne. However, the Priesthood of Sesstra is also very powerful and wields enormous influence in Ti-Amatu society. The King rarely makes a major decision without consulting the priesthood first, but the priesthood does not and has never had authority over the throne. The royal lineage is believed to be descended from Sesstra, the sun god, so the word of the king is also the will of the divine. When the king makes a decision, the priesthood cannot act against it.
The Serpent-Men are, as a whole, characterized by a number of distinct traits. They are a very patient people, due both to their reptilian nature and their long lifespan. A Ti-Amatu can live for over two centuries and some live for as many as four, so they can afford to be patient and wait for some favorable opportunity to achieve whatever outcome they seek. It also means they tend to see things not in the immediate present, but in the long term. Ti-Amatu are also a reserved people and do not show emotions easily; their unblinking stares are described as unnerving and when engaged in conversation they often wait for several moments before making a considered, careful reply. They are also distrustful and suspicious of outsiders as a general rule, and it is very difficult for them to warm up to those not of their own kind. They are not a people bent on conquest, but they have steadily expanded their kingdom as their population has grown over the centuries. They have warred with the rakshasa bitterly over disputed, fertile land on their border.
Ti-Amatu are also, to the surprise of some, very doting parents. Ti-Amatu lay clutches of eggs and the bond between egg-brothers and egg-sisters is one of the strongest of their society. The slaying of an egg-sibling is considered one of the worst crimes a serpent-man can commit and is punishable by death. The Ti-Amatu are usually monogamous, but it is not uncommon for high-ranking nobles to take concubines and mistresses as well. Ti-Amatu hatchlings are fully-formed and are able to eat meat as soon as they hatch.
The army of Ti-Amatu consists mainly of heavy armored infantry called the Ssessi, which translates roughly to 'the Shields of Ssestra.' They are armed with heavy scale armor that sheathes their serpentine bodies in a second skin of hardened steel. They wield weapons in three of their four hands: two khopesh swords and a long stabbing spear. The fourth hand holds a shield made from rhinox hide. The rhinox is a huge, lumbering beast that the Ti-Amatu have long domesticated, and its thick skin is as proof against spear and arrow and sword as any set of metal plate. The Ti-Amatu soldiery often decorate their shields with intricate depictions of Ssestra, the sun god whose emblem is that of an all-seeing eye within a blazing, fiery sun. The frontline infantry is supported by ranks of archers who fire volleys of arrows at the foe until the shafts blot out the sky. These soldiers are more lightly clad so they can move around the battlefield to provide ranged support. Their bows are constructed from a rare wood found only in the distant jungles to the south, and their arrows are fletched with feathers from the sacred sunbirds of the great desert, giving them unparalleled speed and accuracy. Each shot sends an arrow over incredible distances with enough force to punch through the toughest armor.
The Ti-Amatu, due to their serpentine bodies, are unable to use mounts. Instead, the Sessi are supported by an elite corps of heavy charioteers, though rather than using wheels, their chariots glide across the sand on runners similar to those used on sleds. This allows them to move across the sand-strewn battlefield with remarkable swiftness. These armored chariots are always pulled by teams of bipedal, swift-footed lizards known as Crested Ones for the brightly-colored bone crests on their heads. These ferocious beasts are reminiscent of large dinosaurs like Utahraptor or Deinonychus: six feet or more at the shoulder, bipedal, agile, and with razor-sharp claws and teeth. Each chariot follows a standardized pattern: it consists of a simple frame of wood reinforced by metal and covered rhinox hide coated in iron or steel mounted on runners of tempered iron sheathed in snakeskin or animal hide. Each chariot is usually pulled by a team of two Crested Ones but some are pulled by as many as four, and they sport metal blades attached to their sides to mow down enemy troops like wheat before the scythe. A standard chariot crew consists of three warriors: a driver, a spearman, and an archer or javelin-thrower, all of whom are protected by the same heavy scale armor worn by their comrades in the infantry. The nobles of the Ti-Amatu often equip their Crested Ones with suits of armor all their own and adorn their chariots with gemstones and gold, and the most elite of the Ti-Amatu charioteers are the Sessi-Akar, hand-picked warriors chosen as the king's own bodyguard and personal shock troops.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
But none are more dreadful to behold on the battlefield than Zassaliss himself. When the Great King takes the field, he strikes with all the white-hot fury of a star going supernova. His Chariot of Sesstra, pulled by no less than eight of the largest, most heavily-armored Crested Ones in the kingdom, smashes into the foe like a comet falling from the heavens. Clad in steel plate laid over with silver and enchanted with the most powerful spells the priests of Sesstra can bestow, he blazes with bright and terrible glory as he lays waste to all about him with his great double-headed war-axe Sses-Amat, the "Wrath of the Desert." Sses-Amat is a priceless relic handed down through generations of Serpent-Kings. It is said to have been given to Zassaliss' ancestor, the fabled First King, from the hand of the sun god Sesstra himself, and in battle its edge burns so hot that merely gazing upon it is enough to blind the Great King's foes forever. Every stroke of this mighty weapon is enough to melt armor into bubbling slag and turn sand into glass.
While the Ti-Amatu are rich and powerful, they are not and never will be an industrial powerhouse. Unlike the Empire of Morghast, industrialization is not a significant aspect of serpent-men culture because they simply do not have the resources to sustain it at the same level other races and nations do. While they do have access to raw minerals and ores mined from the mountains along their northern borders, these are never extracted on the same scale or in the same quantities that other kingdoms in Loriath enjoy. And while there are workshops and forges operated by skilled blacksmiths--some of whom are artisans at their craft--there is nothing on the scale of some other realms' industrial might. What industrialization the Serpent-Men have achieved is focused on the production of weapons, armor and military goods, and the largest foundries, such as the Great Forge of Zhi-Khara, are overseen directly by the royal government.
As such, the economy of the Serpent-Kingdom is mainly agrarian. The Great Oasis of Zi-Khara is a fertile bastion, surrounded by a green band of crops that sustain the city. The serpent-people are masterful farmers, employing ancient techniques to draw water from deep underground wells and ingenious irrigation systems that date back millennia. The crops they grow are a testament to their adaptability: exotic fruits, hearty grains, and even livestock that have evolved alongside them in this harsh environment. The great strength of the Ti-Amatu is not in raw minerals or resources, but in its ability to produce truly vast quantities of food that it exports far and wide for immense profits. However, the Serpent-Men are loath to leave their desert empire and utilize proxies to act in their stead. Many of the nations that purchase Ti-Amatu's produce have no idea who they are truly purchasing from, and that is how the serpent-men prefer it, for they are an insular and secretive people, wary of outsiders and their intentions. They have learned, from bitter experience, that outsiders often regard them as little more than animals. They long ago grew weary of the irrational fear and violence that have often accompanied contact with lesser races. They care not what happens beyond their borders, so long as their trade continues unimpeded and no one dares to threaten their way of life.
Ti-Amatuan religion, and indeed their whole society, is centered around worship of the sun, which they call Ssestra. There is no aspect of Ti-Amatu culture that does not in some way venerate the fiery orb that allows them to survive in the harsh desert. As cold-blooded beings, the Serpent-Men rely on the warmth of Ssestra to regulate their body temperatures, and the sun is a constant presence in their daily lives, influencing everything from their religion to their architecture. The priesthood of Sesstra, the Arakhi, wield enormous influence in the Serpent-Realm. In addition to their religious role, they are also the scholars, scribes, healers, archivists and the diplomats of the kingdom. They are responsible for maintaining the Temple's sacred scrolls and the vast collection of royal archives. More, each priest of the Arakhi is a powerful mage in his own right. Serpent-men magic is based around the sun, heat, fire and sand. Mages of the Temple can conjure sandstorms and great blasts of fire or blinding light, manipulate heat to bend steel bars, and even make the blood of their enemies boil to cook them from the inside out. They aid the armies of the serpent-men in defending the borders of their domain and are always accompanied by a retinue of elite Temple Guards. These ferocious armored warriors, chosen and trained from birth to fight and die for the glory of Ssestra, wield a khopesh in each clawed reptilian hand. The blade of each sword has been enchanted to burn with white-hot heat, and in battle, the Temple Guards are a whirlwind of destruction. The current High Priest of the Temple, Hesaccs, is the oldest living member of his kind at over five hundred years of age and is one of King Zassaliss' closest and most trusted advisors.
The Serpent-Kingdom is, for the most part, isolationist when it comes to its foreign policy. The fact that it's difficult to even reach the Serpent-Kingdom means that most other races and factions are only dimly aware of the Ti-Amatu, if their existence is even acknowledged at all. That is how the Serpent-Folk prefer it, for they have learned from bitter experience that outsiders tend to view them as animals or monsters due to their inhuman, reptilian appearance. The Serpent-Kingdom does have dealings with intermediaries such as the Merchant Republic of Argonis, who sell Ti-Amatu's agricultural produce at inflated prices at ports around the world, but even these interactions are brief and engaged in only when absolutely necessary. Using these proxies and middlemen, the Serpent-Kingdom exports vast quantities of food around the world. Figs, dates, olives, apples, wheat, and livestock, primarily the rhinox, are just some of its agricultural products that end up in markets on every continent. Using these go-betweens can be expensive, but the Serpent-Kingdom is willing to pay that price to avoid troublesome face-to-face dealings with outsiders. Additionally, the Ti-Amatu lands are blessed with vast quantities of precious stones and metals, and its mines produce enormous amounts of gold, silver and gems. The Serpent-Kingdom's main imports consist of raw materials, particularly metal ore, as well as incense and spices that cannot be produced domestically. The kingdom's need for tin, copper, bronze, iron and steel is always larger than its ability to produce them in the necessary quantities. This is an issue that generations of kings have struggled to solve without success.
The one exception is the Serpent-Kingdom's isolationism is its neighbor, the Jungle-Realm of Keshara. This kingdom, inhabited and ruled by the felinoid rakshasa, is the sworn and bitter enemy of all Ti-Amatu. The scheming cat-folk have long warred with the Serpent-Kingdom over the lush, fertile lands along the border region and they have a deep, abiding, bitter hatred for each other. Countless battles have been fought between the two races and numberless wars have been waged, only for the outcome to be the same each time: the Serpent-Men cannot penetrate the thick jungles of Keshara, and the rakshasa cannot march into the Sea of Fire to take the fight home to the Ti-Amatu. King Zassaliss would give three of his arms if it meant ensuring Keshara's downfall...
