Tausha's Legion

Current Population: 32,000


The Past

Long ago, before the time of humans, the Naga ruled much of the world. Their land was beautiful, covered in swinging vines and tropical flowers, and the palaces of the Naga shone with gems and jewels. They grew in their understanding of natural magic and harnessed the power of pearls, which they used to store magic, calling upon it as needed.

The Naga were foes to the Foul, a powerful evil that hunted the land unchecked, destroying everything it could find. Terrible demons and shadows with no faces were their enemies, but the Naga fought these creatures back, conquering the Evil and sending it away. In the time of Naga history, this became known as "The First Burning of the Land."

After the war, the prophets and astrologers of the Cobra bloodline spoke of a time of Great Sleep, a period of Ages in which the Naga would rest, undisturbed, waiting to fight the Dark again in the far-distant "Second Burning of the Land." The Naga agreed to enter this sleep, believing that they would awaken in a thousand years to once again fight back the darkness.

They were deceived.

When the Naga awoke, they found that their cities had fallen to ruin and that many of their people had perished in their sleep. The mighty Shinomen Forest had shrunk to almost a third of its size, and a new race of bipedal creatures had built an Empire upon the open plains. Even worse, these creatures - these humans, as they called themselves - carried the taint of the Foul upon them. The Cobras revealed that the humans had brought about a terrible corruption to the world, and the leaders of the bloodline believed them to be the newest incarnation of the Foul's minions.

The Naga struck out at the humans, only to find that their Empire was much larger and their warriors far stronger than they had anticipated. The different tribes of humans banded together in a way that the minions of the Foul never had, fighting the Naga back to the Shinomen. The Naga attempted to fortify their ancient cities, but a great army forced its way into their forest, led by a terrible warrior who had become corrupted by the Foul.

It was at Siksa that the armies of the humans encountered the Tausha. The diplomats of the humans spoke with the Tausha and her generals, and during the discussion, she came to realize that while a few of the humans did bear the corruption of the Foul, they were not its enemies. In the end, the Tausha agreed to join forces with the humans, and when they fought against the Shahadet's legion, the Tausha's warriors turned against their own kind to strike the general down.

The humans honored their agreement and left the city of Siksa in the Tausha's hands, marching onward to Vyakarana, the city of the Cobra. As Tausha's Legion went about fortifying their ancestral city, the Naga hissed condemnations of their betrayal through the Akasha. It was only after the humans killed the Shashakar, the leader of the Cobra, that things changed.

The Shashakar and the other Cobra had been using their ancient magics to keep their souls trapped within their enchanted pools, ensuring that their memories would stay within the Cobra bloodline and not disseminate throughout the greater Akasha. When the humans captured Vyakarana, they disrupted the pools and slew the Shashakar, which sent his soul screaming back into the Akasha. In a moment, the knowledge of thousands of years of Cobra manipulation and lies flooded through the Akasha. The "Great Sleep" of the Cobra had doomed their race; not only did the spell draw the life force out of thousands of sleeping Naga to perpetuate itself, it had also rendered their race infertile. Worse yet, the Cobra had known this, but lied to the other Bloodlines in order to earn their cooperation.

In the light of this monumental betrayal, disillusioned Naga began to wander back to Siksa, seeking a place with the Tausha and her followers. Those who were of the Asp bloodline were allowed to stay if they swore loyalty to the Tausha, while those of other bloodlines were turned away. The Cobra had betrayed the Asp with their lies, and now the Asp would stand alone in this strange new world.



Tausha's Legion Today

Tausha's Legion is the name given to the Asp who have gathered together at Shiksa beneath the banner of the Tausha. The Naga race was shattered during what the humans call the War of Broken Fangs, and though the Qamar has recaptured the city of Iyotisha from the few humans left behind to hold it, his military forces are all but nonexistent. The Asp can still hear his voice in the Akasha, condemning their actions and demanding that they rejoin the other Bloodlines, but it has grown weaker with each passing week. For all intents and purposes, the city of Siksa is the last bastion of Naga civilization.

The Tausha has made an alliance with the human Empire, and both sides are eager to see peace between their two races. It has been difficult, as their cultures are quite different and neither is particularly accepting of outsiders, but there has been some progress made towards lasting peace. Diplomats from the Naga now move within the Empire, and a number of courtiers from the Empire have found a place within Siksa.



The Tausha

The Tausha: Shortly before the Great Sleep, the Shahadet died, and following the tradition of their people, any Asp who wished could enter a tournament to claim the title. The Tausha defeated her opponents time after time, until she faced the other finalist. After he defeated her, the Tausha begged to be killed, as was the fate of the loser, but the Naga who became the Shahadet refused. The Tausha was forced to resume her position at the Shahadet's right hand, but the shame had left her bitter and angry at the new Shahadet, whose insult was made worse by the fact that the two had been lovers prior to the tournament.

The Tausha worked to undermine the Shahadet's control whenever she had the chance, and when the opportunity came to use the humans against him, she took it. It was her spear that took the general's life, and though doing so should have elevated her to the position of Shahadet, the Tausha refused, instead allowing the position to die along with him.

While her initial agreement with the humans was based upon vengeance and spite, in the months since she has come to see them as useful allies. It is still a tenuous alliance, but she knows that there is little hope for her people if they continue to fight against the human Empire.

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Credulous at best
Your desire to believe in
Angels in the hearts of men